by J. Sterling
A little numb with surprise, I handed the phone back to Sam. “She’s bossy.”
Sam laughed. “That she is, sir. But it suits her.”
I glanced outside where Colin had stood and noticed he was no longer there. Breathing out a sigh of relief, I braced myself for what was to come.
• • •
Quinn arrived shortly after hanging up in my ear.
I blew out an exasperated breath as she exited her ridiculously overpriced car, her blond hair blowing in the breeze. Being a young actress in Hollywood sure had its perks. The paparazzi that had gathered again attempted to swarm and attack her, but she maneuvered through them with ease, appearing completely unaffected by their presence. It was as if they didn’t even exist to her as she refused to acknowledge them or even look their way.
Bursting through the double doors like a hurricane, she raised her sunglasses and narrowed her eyes at me. “Tatum?”
“Quinn?”
“Hi, Sam,” she said before giving the man a hug, and I watched as the older man practically turned to goo in her arms.
“How’d you know I was here?” I asked as she faced me and placed a hand on her hip.
“I get any media alerts about Paige sent to my phone. And I was already close by, so I figured why not come here and see what you’re all about.”
“All right then,” I said, my tone hesitant.
She narrowed her eyes on me. “You hit Colin.” It wasn’t a question.
I shrugged. “Allegedly.”
She grabbed my hand and inspected my knuckles. “Allegedly, my ass. Sam, I’m stealing him for a bit. Make sure his car stays here, and don’t tell Paige I have him. Promise?”
Sam frowned before slowly nodding his head.
“Say you promise, Sam. You can’t tell Paige.”
“I promise,” he reluctantly agreed, his gaze pinging between the two of us.
I shrugged at his unasked question. I had no idea what Quinn was up to any more than he did.
“Unless she kidnaps and murders me,” I told Sam with a grin. “Then definitely tell Paige, okay?”
“You’re too cute to murder.” Quinn gave me a slight smile. “Now hurry, before she gets back from wherever she went.” She turned toward the door and started walking.
“Where are we going?” I asked as I followed in her wake. The woman was like a force of nature.
“To my place.”
Quinn drove like a crazed lunatic, swerving in and out of traffic as the paparazzi trailed behind us. How celebrities lived this way seemed utterly insane to me. When you viewed a chase like this onscreen, it didn’t seem entirely real, as if it were a movie. But actually being chased like this felt pretty damn real. And it was terrifying.
“This is crazy,” I said as I glanced back at the cars following dangerously close behind us.
“Don’t look at them. Ugh, Tatum, open the glove compartment.” She pointed, and I did as she asked. “There’s a pair of sunglasses in there. Put them on.”
“Damn. You really are bossy.”
“Nice to meet you too.” She glanced over and smiled, then turned her gaze back to the road.
I stared out at the ocean scenery whipping past us as Quinn drove. It was beautiful. Mesmerized by the waves crashing against the shore, I immediately saw the appeal of living here, especially if you got to see this view every day.
“I’m mad at you,” she announced, but I had figured as much.
“I know.”
“Do you even want to know why?”
“I’m pretty sure I already do,” I said, figuring it had to do with the way I left Paige.
“Then how come you’re in LA?”
Her tone wasn’t entirely friendly, but I assumed it could be much, much worse. Something told me that Quinn was many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.
“I’m sure you can figure that out,” I teased gently, hoping to lighten the mood and sway her toward my side, even if just a little.
“Well, it’s about time you showed up. I mean, seriously, how long were you planning on going without talking to her? Not even a single text? Who does that?”
I burst out laughing. “Bossy and direct. I don’t have any excuse other than the fact that I’m a complete idiot.”
“We can both agree on that. Hold on,” she warned before turning the wheel sharply to the right. We cruised through a residential neighborhood and pulled up to a house unlike anything I’d ever seen before in my life.
The large iron gates swung open as she pulled her car inside, then ground to a halt before shutting with a groan when she pressed a button on her rearview mirror.
“This is your house?” I asked.
“Mine and Ryson’s,” she said offhandedly, as if I should know who she referred to.
I followed her inside as reporters gathered outside the gate, shouting our names as cameras click away.
“Babe, that you?” a guy’s voice shouted from somewhere deeper in the house.
“No. It’s a robber,” Quinn called out with a giggle as I followed behind her, unsure where we were headed.
“Do you have him?”
I stumbled to a halt as Ryson rounded the corner, his face instantly familiar, and I wanted to smack myself for not realizing who Quinn had been referring to. Immediately, I sized him up, unsure of what was about to happen. He stood about an inch or so taller than me, but we had a similar build. If he threw the first punch, I was fairly certain I’d be able to get the next one in.
He extended his hand toward me and I automatically reached for it; a gentleman never shies away from a handshake, no matter what.
I sucked in a deep breath as we both squeezed hard enough to break the other’s fingers if we truly wanted, which made us both break out into a fit of laughter as we pulled apart. I stood there, shaking out my already swollen hand as Ryson glanced at it, noticing the bruising around the knuckles.
“You need ice,” he said with a chuckle.
“What the hell are you two laughing at?” Quinn stomped her foot, and we both straightened up.
“I’m Ryson. It’s nice to meet you, man. It’s about time you got your Southern ass out here.” He cocked a grin at me as he pulled open the freezer and tossed me an ice pack. “Beer?”
“Definitely. After the way this one drives.” I jerked my thumb in Quinn’s direction, and she snarled at me.
“Tell me about it,” he joked. “We don’t let her out of the house much.” When she smacked his head in response, he shot back, “Woman! Don’t hit me.”
“Don’t call me a bad driver. You know how hard it is to drive on PCH with those assholes trailing me like hunters,” she said with a little pout, and he leaned down to kiss the top of her nose.
I shifted my weight, feeling a little uncomfortable at the PDA since we’d all just met.
Ryson pulled two bottles of beer from the fridge and popped the tops, handing me one.
I took a swig and swallowed it hard. “Thanks.”
“No problem. What happened to your hand?”
“Colin.”
“Did you hit him?” he asked, and I nodded. “I’ve always wanted to hit him. I’m so jealous.” He smacked me on the back, and I almost choked on my beer. “What’d he do?”
“Said something shitty about Paige.”
Quinn sneered. “I hate him so much.”
“Did you tell him why you kidnapped him?” Ryson brought the conversation back on track.
“I haven’t told him yet.” Quinn tried to glare at me, but I could tell she was already warming up to me. I was convinced that her boyfriend accepting me so easily might have something to do with it.
“Told me what?” I asked, downing another gulp.
“It’s a brilliant idea, actually. Hear her out before you say no, okay?” Ryson’s tone had turned serious, which worried me. “Let’s go sit down first, though.”
I followed them through the kitchen, loving how the natural light filtered in from every angle
. A glimpse outside at their backyard and view nearly took my breath away. It was spectacular, the kind of thing that dreams were made of, and I was convinced only existed in LA for the rich and famous.
When we reached the dining room, Quinn and Ryson sat down next to each other, so I picked a seat across from them. It felt like a business meeting, not that I’d ever really been in one before.
“First of all, I need to ask you a couple of questions,” Quinn said, her hands folded on top of the table.
I shrugged my shoulders in response and waited, so she went on.
“I heard how Paige talked about you while she was in Hanford. She likes you, really likes you.”
My insides warmed with that revelation, even if I had already hoped for it to be true. “Good, because I’m in love with her and I want to be with her. That’s why I’m here.”
Quinn’s eyebrows practically shot up to her hairline. “You’re in love with her? Well, that will help things. And we already know how you feel about Colin, which is another point for you.”
The mere mention of that douche’s name soured my mood. “I want to kick the living shit out of that guy. He’s lucky I only hit him once.”
“I call dibs on the next Colin beat down,” Ryson said seriously as he turned toward Quinn and jerked his head my way. “I like this guy.”
“Me too. Maybe,” Quinn said to him before glaring back at me. “You really hurt her. She’s my best friend and you hurt her. Worse than jerk-off Colin did, I think.”
“I know,” I admitted honestly because I knew it was the truth. Something inside me knew that things with Paige and me were vastly different than they had been with her and Colin.
“So, what do you plan on doing about it?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
She slammed her hands on top of the table, making me jump. “Did you really come out here without any sort of plan at all? Nothing? Just thought you’d show up and be all hot looking,” she waved a hand in my general direction, “and she’d take you back?”
“So, your girlfriend thinks I’m hot?” I directed the question toward a now-smirking Ryson.
“Apparently.”
“Will you two stop the bromance already,” Quinn said with a frown. “Your plan?”
“I didn’t come here with a plan at first. I just wanted to apologize and get her to give me another chance.”
“How’d that work out for you?” she asked, cocking her head to one side.
“Not great,” I admitted. “I know that I need a gesture, something that will prove to Paige that I can handle being here for her and that I won’t run. I know what she’s afraid of, and I deserve it. But I need to prove her wrong. I need to show her that this lifestyle doesn’t scare me, and that I’d go through all of it to be with her.”
“So you do have a plan, you just don’t know how to execute it. Fortunately for you, I do.” She rubbed her hands together as Ryson raised his eyebrows and took another sip of beer.
Quinn outlined the details of her idea, excitedly going through each point one by one.
When she finished, I looked over at Ryson, feeling a brotherly bond with him already. “You think this is a good idea?”
“I do, actually. It’s sort of brilliant, if you’re up for it.”
“I think I could pull it off.” Taking another swig of beer, I added, “I hope.”
“You can do it,” he reassured me as I internally freaked out. This was something completely out of my comfort zone, but I was willing to do it.
“And you think it will work?”
“Hell yes, it’ll work. Paige is a romantic at heart, and she’d never expect this from you. She knows that this will be a totally uncharacteristic thing for you to do, so she’ll fucking melt over it,” he added.
I nodded in agreement, praying this would be enough, then directed my gaze toward Quinn. “Why are you helping me?”
Her expression finally softened. “Because I love my best friend, and I know she wants to be with you, even if she doesn’t. She’s going through a lot of stuff right now, and she’s trying so hard to be strong in every aspect. I’m really proud of her, but this thing with you…I think she would regret it eventually if she let you walk away.”
I met her eyes and sighed. “I know that feeling all too well.”
Forgiveness
Paige
After seeing Tatum, I’d driven straight to my parents’ house. I was dying to tell my mom how he’d shown up unannounced, then ask for her advice.
My heart hurt and my head was confused. I didn’t know what the right thing to do was when it came to Tatum. I wanted to take him back into my life the second I saw him, but I knew I needed to stand up for myself when it came to him. It was hard as hell, but I had managed to survive it. Barely.
“I wish you hadn’t sent him away,” Mom said, practically pouting in her disappointment.
“Mom!”
She shrugged. “I’m just saying that it would have been nice to meet him.”
“You’re supposed to be on my side,” I complained as she wrapped her arms around me.
“Oh, honey, I am on your side. You can’t blame me for wanting to meet him.”
I let out a dramatic sigh and rolled my eyes. “Fine. I don’t blame you for wanting to meet Tatum, but I want you to tell me that I did the right thing.”
My phone started to ring with Quinn’s ringtone and I reached for it, my mom currently saved by my best friend.
“Hello?”
“Turn on Channel Seven right now.”
“What?” Nerves coursed through my body as what I assumed was more bad news about me being spread. “I can’t take any more bad press, Quinn.”
“Paige Lagertha Lockwood, turn on Channel Seven this instant before I hunt you down and hurt you!” she screamed into the phone before hanging up on me.
“Apparently we need to turn on Channel Seven,” I told Mom before looking around the living room for the remote. Pressing the power button, I switched the cable box to the right channel and felt the color drain my face immediately.
“Oh good Lord, is that him?” my mom asked as I all but fell back onto the couch.
Tatum looked stupid hot in his charcoal-gray suit as he sat across from Wendy Wong, a well-known entertainment reporter with golden skin and long dark hair.
“What is he doing?” I breathed out to no one in particular, knowing how uncomfortable he had to be.
I clicked the volume button up on the remote until I could hear him loud and clear, the drawl in his voice pinching my heart. I recognized the candles adorning the wall behind him, along with the other artwork that barely showed in the television frame. He was at Quinn’s house. Reaching for one of the couch pillows, I pulled it to my stomach and squeezed it against me.
Wendy: Would you care to clear up the rumors about you and Paige cheating long before Colin ever did?
Tatum: I didn’t even meet Paige until after she and Colin had broken up. He cheated on her, and not the other way around. Paige isn’t the type of person to do that, and I think you all know that. Colin, on the other hand, every time I see him, he gives me a new reason to dislike him.
Wendy: Is that why you hit him?
What? Tatum hit Colin? When had they even seen each other?
My mom turned to look at me, her mind clearly filled with the same questions as mine.
Tatum: I hit him because he said something horrible about Paige. He said things a guy should never say about a girl.
Wendy: So you admit to assaulting him, which is what Colin is claiming.
Tatum: No, I admit to punching him. Once. In the jaw.
Wendy: Would you do it again?
Tatum: If he talked like that about Paige, then yes, I would. I don’t understand why y’all always take his side.
Wendy: We don’t take Colin’s side.
Tatum: It sure seems that way.
Wendy: Well, I’m sorry we’ve given you that impression. Colin tends to sp
eak out a lot.
Tatum: That’s because he’s a liar and he’s conniving. He gets pleasure out of throwing innocent people under the bus to save his own skin, and the only way he can do that is if he’s constantly in your face. Colin is the type of guy who only cares about himself, and he doesn’t care who he hurts in the process.
Wendy: Are you referring to Paige or yourself?
Tatum: (Laughs) Colin doesn’t hurt me. But I don’t like him hurting Paige or anyone else with the stories he tells. Especially when he gets caught doing something wrong. He can’t own up to it. Instead, he makes up a story and hides behind it.
Wendy: One of the girls from that original video spoke out earlier today and basically echoed your exact sentiments. But you know what? Let’s move on. How did you meet Paige?
Tatum: She got a flat tire when she was driving through my town. I run the only mechanic shop there, so it was on me to help her.
Wendy: And this was where?
Tatum fidgeted in his seat, the discomfort in his eyes growing, and I wondered what on earth he’d gotten himself into. For me.
Tatum: In Louisiana.
Wendy: And now you’re here in Los Angeles. Why exactly?
Tatum: Well, ma’am, I wanted to set the record straight because how y’all do things out here isn’t how we do them back home. And when a man loves a woman, he defends her honor. He stands up for what’s right, and that’s what I wanted to do here today.
Wendy: So you and Paige are in love?
Tatum: I’m in love with her. I’m not sure how she feels about me at this point.
Wendy: And why do you say that?
Tatum: Because I messed up, Wendy. I’m a man, and I make mistakes. I didn’t handle things well, and that’s why I’m here with you today. I want her to know how sorry I am.
My heart skipped a beat at his very public declaration. Of course, he’d made that very statement to me a few hours ago in the lobby of my apartment building, but this was on national television for the whole country to see and hear. Including everyone back in his hometown.
Wendy: What did you do, exactly? There weren’t other women, were there?
