“Who beat you up?”
“Who’s the mystery girl you were seen with?”
Oh, no. This was bad. So bad. She stole a sideways glance at Gracie, but shockingly, the woman simply stood tall and proud, the perfect picture of a proud mother. She didn’t seem the least bit upset about last night’s brawl.
Weird…
“Thanks for coming out here, everyone.” Ben leaned into the mic and pasted on some smile she didn’t recognize. Reporters shouted more questions, but he raised his hand to quiet them.
“First, I’d like to make a brief statement about last night.” Paige waited for him to seek her out, to glance her way and smile, but he didn’t. He looked like a statue, standing tall and straight, perfectly posed.
“Last night, I was enjoying dinner with my sister when I noticed an altercation at another table.”
Wait. Altercation? She’d hardly call Luke’s paw on her an altercation. It probably would’ve become an altercation if he hadn’t interfered, but still…that felt exaggerated, somehow.
“I grew concerned for the woman at the table…”
Woman. No mention of her name. No mention that he actually knew her. That he’d actually followed her to the restaurant, that she was actually standing twenty feet away from him…
Was he ashamed of her?
“…so I went over to make sure she was okay. When I arrived at the table…”
Arrived at the table? That didn’t even sound like him!
“…I discovered the man had consumed too much alcohol. When I offered to drive his date home, he gave me a pretty strong right hook to the face.”
No. Paige shook her head. That’s not what happened at all!
“What happened then, Mr. Noble?” One of the reporters shouted.
Ben held off in a dramatic pause—he was obviously very skilled at this. Very skilled at a lot more than she’d realized.
“Well…” He delivered one hell of a humble-guy shrug. “Honestly, I felt bad for him.”
“What?” She gasped. He did not!
“He passed out, so I made sure he got home. It seemed like the right thing to do.” He half shrugged like this was totally his gig, like noble deeds were just another day in the ordinary life of Benjamin Hunter Noble III. Paige crossed her arms and tried to breathe normally. Well, wasn’t he a regular superhero?
Murmurs buzzed through the crowd, and weren’t they all impressed? Who wouldn’t be? Some jerk had messed up his face and what does good the senatorial candidate do? He gives the man a ride home, keeps the street safe from another drunk driver like some kind of cowboy savior.
Fake. It was all so fake. Color seeped into her cheeks. She was an idiot. Such. An. Idiot.
Gracie leaned close. “This is absolutely the best thing that could have happened for him right now.”
The best thing? Instead of warmth and tingles, her body felt sticky hot. Gross. “What do you mean?”
“If it hadn’t been for that scene at the restaurant, the media wouldn’t love him so much right now.” She looked at her son with blatant admiration. “Thank you, Paige. You have no idea what this will do for us at the polls.”
Paige blinked because the anger was breaking apart, crumbling into a deepening sadness that stung her eyes. She couldn’t give a damn about the polls. This was her life. Not some stupid publicity stunt. She gazed at Ben standing there so at ease with the crowd. How could she have been so stupid? His life was one big publicity stunt. And it always would be.
“This was a mistake,” she whispered. Another huge mistake.
Gracie didn’t seem to hear. For once her plastic face looked genuinely happy. “Benjamin is a wonderful politician. Don’t you think?”
The sting in her eyes blurred everything—the crowd, the lodge. “I have to go.” She stumbled away from Gracie, ballet flats pounding the porch as heavy as if she were wearing boots. She couldn’t cry in front of his mother. She couldn’t look at her, knowing how foolish everyone must think she was. She didn’t belong with someone like him. She couldn’t live the way he lived. Always pretending, always spinning everything to her advantage. She wouldn’t survive the questions, the cameras, the constant scrutiny.
“We’ll see you in a little while,” Gracie called from behind her. “I’m looking forward to our river trip.”
She pretended not to hear, escaping back into the lodge without turning around. Once inside, she headed straight for the kitchen.
* * *
Pausing outside the kitchen door, Paige swiped the tears off her cheeks and inhaled deeply. Five minutes. She had to pretend to be fine for five minutes until she found someone to drive her to her car, which still sat at the restaurant. Then she could go home and cry in the shower. Easing in long breaths, she tried to soothe the pain in her chest as she pushed open the door.
Bryce, Avery, Ruby, and Elsie all sat at the island chatting, sipping their coffee. The room silenced when she walked in.
“Paige!” Elsie bounced up from her stool and ran to greet her.
“Want some coffee?” Ruby asked, already retrieving a mug.
“Nope,” she belted out cheerfully. She could tell by Bryce’s hard stare at the opposite wall that he had a pretty good idea what had happened between her and Ben last night. But she couldn’t let him think that. So she marched over to him, holding her head high. “I’m sorry we were so late this morning,” she said, forcing herself to maintain eye contact.
“Don’t worry about it, Paige.” Avery’s smile said she wanted details later. But she’d never tell. No one could ever know. She grinned at Bryce. “Just so you know, nothing happened between Ben and me.” The lie pierced her.
Last night she’d thought something wonderful had happened. She’d thought she finally understood how it felt to be loved. But Ben was a good actor. Did he even mean anything he’d said? How would she ever be able to know what was real with him? Tears threatened again but she kept her smile intact. “After the scene at the restaurant, he asked if I could help him with talking points for his little speech today,” she said, praying her face didn’t flush and expose the truth. “So we went over to the café.”
“Really?” Avery tilted her head like that wasn’t exactly what she’d expected to hear.
“Yep,” she chirped. “We figured he could spin this whole thing into something that would help him in the polls.” Because that’s what his job demanded. Spinning everything that happened in his life to put himself in the best possible light. That’s what his job would always demand. And she wanted nothing to do with it.
“Huh.” Bryce’s lips dipped into a thoughtful frown. “Didn’t realize that. Sorry if I seemed a little pissed off.”
Casually, she sipped the coffee Ruby had set in front of her, making an extra effort to look from one face to the next, still smiling. “By the time we’d finished, it was so late, I let him crash in the apartment above the kitchen.”
“Wait. There’s nothing going on between you two?” Avery demanded, her blue eyes narrowed with suspicion and maybe a hint of disappointment.
Paige laughed, and, wow, it sounded so real. “God, no. A Republican senator?” She rolled her eyes. “He’s so not my type.” That was the truest statement she’d ever spoken. How could she have let things go that far with him?
“What a shame,” Elsie murmured with a sad shake of her head.
Paige looked at Ruby, and, judging from her friend’s sad, soft smile, she saw right through the whole act. She let her eyes confirm what Ruby already seemed to know. “Can you give me a ride back to my car?” she asked her friend, barely holding her voice together.
“Definitely.” Ruby slipped the apron over her head and left it on the counter.
“I’ll be back in an hour to get the trailers loaded,” Paige told Bryce, then raised her hand in a happy wave. “See you soon. Can’t wait for the trip,” she gushed.
Then, before the threatening tears gathered, she followed Ruby out the door.
Chapter
Twenty-Four
Leaving the podium behind, Ben didn’t even bother to turn and give that one last charismatic wave to the crowd the way he’d been trained. Kev had a point that introducing Paige to the media would only make her life harder, but the whole speech had felt all wrong, especially knowing Paige stood there watching. Withholding certain details from the media had never bothered him before, but somehow she put everything in a different light.
He’d wanted to show her off. Hell, he’d wanted to tell everyone he was falling in love with this brave, beautiful girl. He’d wanted to tell them all that she was tenacious and smart, that she wanted to change people’s lives.
And she would. No doubt about that. When Paige wanted something, nothing stopped her. That much was obvious. That was one of the things he loved most about her. That and her enticing body…
Searching her out, he walked the length of the front deck before turning to head inside.
Compared to Paige, what good was he doing, really? Standing up there and giving speeches. What good did that do Julia? Nothing even close to what Paige had done for her in one morning of horseback riding. Somehow she’d taken the pain in her past and used it to do something important. He thought he could, too, being a senator. But standing up in front of the media sure didn’t make him feel the way he’d felt when he saw Julia riding, when he saw her smile and laugh and savor every moment.
Paige had done that. She’d made Julia come alive again. And he loved her for it.
He might not be able to tell the media that, but he had to at least tell her. Pausing at the edge of the deck, he glanced around. Where’d she run off to, anyway?
“Benjamin.” Gracie approached him wearing a wide, fake smile that showcased her dental implants.
“Where’d Paige go?” he demanded. Even the sound of her name gave him that kicked-in-the-gut feeling. Nerves and pure excitement. Nothing better. Couldn’t remember a woman giving him that feeling before. A Grand Champion steer, maybe, but not a woman.
“Why, I’m not sure where she is,” his mother drawled, looking around like she’d misplaced her sweet tea. But Gracie’s eyes always gave her away. They widened into the same look Julia had worn when she’d crashed the tractor into the barn when she was seven.
“Mother,” he ground out. “Where is she?”
“She said she had to get going,” his mother lied. Because whenever she lied, her lips twitched in the corners, but he always called her bluff.
“What’d you say to her?”
“You were wonderful up there, Benjamin.” She leaned to the side to see past his shoulder. “Wasn’t he, Kevin? Brilliant. The press ate it up!”
Kev now stood behind him. It was like an ambush. “She’s right. That was quite the save, Ben.” Kev whacked him on the back. “The local Dallas affiliates all carried it. Not sure about Houston, but it doesn’t matter. Can’t wait to see the new numbers.”
“Great.” Who cared about the damn press conference? “Where’d Paige go? Why’d she leave?” He glanced at his sister, who had wheeled herself up behind Kev.
“I’ll give you one guess,” she said, glaring at their mother.
Gracie looked away as though enjoying the scenery, so Ben turned to Kev. “What’s going on?”
“Wow. It’s getting late.” Kev turned and hoofed it across the porch. “I’d better get packed. We’re meeting at ten-thirty for the trip, right?” Without waiting for an answer, he jogged down the steps. “See everyone soon.”
Coward. Ben narrowed his eyes at Gracie and posted his hands on his hips so she’d know he meant business. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know,” his mother responded, and this time she wasn’t lying. “That’s the honest truth, Benjamin. She simply left.”
She must’ve left for a reason, but he was wasting time trying to drag the truth out of Gracie. He’d have to ask Paige what happened.
Without another word, he booked it down the porch steps and followed the dirt road to the boat sheds where they stored all of the rafts. Maybe she was getting things ready for the trip…
He peeked inside. Deserted. Huh. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was avoiding him.
Not knowing where else to look, he stopped into the office and pounded on Bryce’s door.
“Yeah?” came from inside.
He pushed it open. “You seen Paige anywhere?”
“Sure.” Bryce was sitting behind his desk, Moose by his side. He looked up from his computer screen. “I saw her about twenty minutes ago. In the kitchen. She asked Ruby to give her a ride to her car.”
Okay. So maybe she wanted to go home and change, but wouldn’t she have at least waited to say good-bye? Wasn’t she still thinking about last night as much as he was?
Ben stepped inside Bryce’s office and closed the door. “Did she seem okay?”
His friend shrugged. “Sure. Why?”
“I thought she’d stick around. After the press conference.” Not that he’d tell Bryce why without her permission. “Did she say anything?”
“Guess she felt like she had to explain herself for last night,” Bryce said. “But I get it. She was helping you out.”
Huh. That was an interesting way to summarize their night together. He sank into the chair in front of Bryce’s desk. “What’d you mean she was ‘helpin’ me out?’”
“You know.” He looked at him like he was stupid. “Helping you write the script for your press conference.”
“What?” Where’d he get that idea? “What the hell are you talking about?”
Frustration colored Bryce’s face. “Did you two hang out at the café last night to work on your talking points or not?”
His mouth opened, but he didn’t know what to say. Is that what Paige had told him? Was she worried about getting fired or something?
“Paige said you were at the café all night,” Bryce repeated, looking the slightest bit pissed off.
Best not to answer any questions without talking to her first. “Look, I just need to talk to her,” he said, standing. If she didn’t want anyone to know, he wouldn’t be the one to share, even though it was hard keeping it to himself.
“She said she’d be back in an hour,” Bryce said, refocusing on his computer screen. “We’ve got a lot to do before the trip.”
“Sure. Okay.” He’d have to catch her before everyone else met. Hopefully, he’d be able to track her down. “Thanks, Walker. Guess I’ll see ya soon.” He started to leave.
“Hey, Noble,” Bryce called.
He stepped back into the office.
Bryce leveled him with an intense glare. “I’ve got a favor to ask you. Don’t want things to be awkward, but seeing as how Paige said you’re not her type, I don’t suppose it will be.”
The words knocked the wind out of him. “She said that?”
“Yeah. In the kitchen.”
Not her type? He wasn’t her type? That wasn’t what she’d told him last night…
“I need you to report back on the trip,” Bryce said, leaning over his desk.
“Report back?”
“Yeah. Tell me how things went. How she did. We’ve gotten some complaints about Paige.”
Some weird defensive heat pounded his forehead. Was Bryce implying she was incompetent? “From what I’ve seen, she’s a professional.”
“I didn’t say she wasn’t.” Bryce shot him a simmer-down look. “She’s been talking about this therapy program—”
“And she’d be damn good at it,” he shot back. He couldn’t stop himself. Why’d it feel like Bryce had Paige under the microscope?
His friend looked away. “We’re running some numbers, looking into insurance and all that. But I’m not convinced she’s ready to take it on.”
“She’s ready.” He sat across from Bryce. “Trust me. I couldn’t believe it when we took J out. She was a total professional.”
“I need to know if anything happens on the trip,” Bryce said, dismissing his arguments. “If you see any
red flags or anything.”
“Sure. I’ll let you know.” He didn’t have to worry. Nothing would happen. Paige had already proven to him she could handle anything.
“I need unbiased feedback.” Bryce’s frown revealed that he knew something was up between him and Paige. “I would’ve asked Gracie, but I had a feeling that’d go south quick.”
“Yeah. She doesn’t need help picking on Paige.” Hopefully his warning had remedied that situation. But something about Gracie’s odd behavior earlier told him he hadn’t made a dent in her determination.
He popped out of the chair. Man, he had to find Paige before they went on this trip. “If you see her, tell her I’m looking for her.”
Bryce went back to his computer screen. “Will do.”
* * *
Ruby pulled over the car and parked behind Paige’s Subaru, which still sat a few blocks down from Elevation 8,000. “So he lied to the media?” she asked, slipping the car into park.
“Not exactly.” Technically, he hadn’t lied; he’d only omitted critical facts from the story.
“Maybe he was trying to protect you.” Ruby rolled down their windows as if she knew they’d be there for a while. “Seriously, Paige. He’s so into you. It’s obvious. Maybe he was worried you didn’t want him to tell the world about you. Talk about being in the spotlight.”
“Exactly.” She turned to look at her friend. “Can you imagine dealing with that all the time?” Last night, Ben had made it sound so simple, but nothing about a relationship with him would be simple. What? Did he expect that she’d up and move to Washington, DC, when he won the election? The thought of living in a crowded, polluted city made her shudder. If only she’d been more rational last night…
“You sure you’re not scared of a relationship?” Ruby asked, tilting her head in a way that invited Paige to spill her guts. “From the sound of it, you two had quite the amazing night.”
Right on cue, her cheeks blazed. Amazing didn’t begin to describe it…
“Trust me, Paige. I get the whole fear thing.” Her friend’s head bobbed in a sympathetic nod. “I understand it better than you realize.” The weight in the words hinted at empathy, at the secrets that she kept. “But if he’s as perfect as he sounds, then all of that might be worth it.” A dreamy smile made her green eyes glisten. “I mean, he remembered what wine you drank the night you met.”
Something Like Love Page 22
