Page 47 of She's the Star

“The good Samaritan?” she asks.

“That’s right.”

“You hired a stranger to be Maddy’s nanny?” Slater turns to Nolan, a frown on his face. “What’d you do before you became a nanny?” he asks suspiciously.

“I was the headmaster of a preschool,” Nolan responds calmly. “What do you do?”

“I’m a quarterback.”

Nolan nods as if he doesn’t know who Slater is. “That’s nice.”

I blink. “Wait a second. You…don’t know who Slater is?” I wasn’t aware that was possible. Slater is almost as famous as me.

“I do.” Nolan hesitates, before adding, “When someone asks what you do, it’s polite to ask them back.” He shifts his feet. “I don’t like to make assumptions.”

“It isn’t an assumption that Slater plays football.”

“Maybe not. But I like to let people define themselves.” He grimaces. “That sounds absurd.” He tips his head back. “He could have been vague and said he was an athlete. He could have deflected and asked me another question. Or he could have played the ex-boyfriend card.”

“I never play the ex-boyfriend card in regards to Amber.” Slater interjects. “Do you have any idea how hard the press salivates for details about her dating life? Do you know what happened when someone snapped a picture of us hugging?” He shudders and snags Ellie’s hand. “Thankfully, I have a girlfriend now, so I don’t have to live in constant fear, but we still have to be careful.”

He’s joking, but I still narrow my eyes. “Constant fear?”

“We can’t even hug in public,” he reminds me.

Fortunately, he doesn’t mention that when I found out I was pregnant with Maddy, I begged him to pretend to be her father. I’m beyond embarrassed that I suggested it and quite grateful that he didn’t agree and that Nolan doesn’t know.

“We could maybe hug now that you and Ellie are serious.”

Slater tugs Ellie into his chest. “Not unless we both want to spend the next six months dodging questions about whether we’re dating. I don’t relish the prospect of being accused of cheating on my girlfriend.” He kisses Ellie lightly and then looks at me. “Plus, aren’t you already maxed out with all the Teddy rumors floating around?”

“What Teddy rumors?” I ask, no longer joking around.

He snaps his mouth closed.

“Slater,” I warn.

“It’s nothing.” He waves his hand in the air. “In the weight room the other day, one of the guys mentioned he couldn’t believe you’d reconciled with Teddy.” I gasp in outrage and he rushes to assure me, “Don’t worry, I set him straight.”

My blood pressure is rising by the second. “Why did he think that Teddy and I had reconciled?” If Mina and Brian have been keeping something from me, I’m going to be so pissed. I have been diligently avoiding social media and haven’t googled myself in weeks so I’m feeling rather clueless.

“I guess there was a picture a couple weeks ago of you and Teddy making out.”

“What?” Nolan asks, his jaw suddenly tight as if he’s jealous. I shouldn’t wish he is, but I can’t quite stop myself.

“It wasn’t me,” I rush to say, my attention locked on Nolan. “Brian had her identity released within hours of the photos surfacing.”

“I didn’t think it was you,” Slater assures me. “I’m sorry I mentioned it, I was trying to make a point, and I went too far. I know how much you hate rumors. Forgive me?”

“Yes. Of course. It’s fine.” I nod and smile brightly as I turn to him even though I’m still frustrated that even offering the truth isn’t enough to kill the rumors.

“I’m sorry.” Slater repeats as he lets go of Ellie and pulls me into a brief hug. “How are things between you and Teddy?”

“Not great, but I’m handling it.” Teddy’s been dodging me since Sunday so he’s clearly still mad, but I don’t want to get into the details of that right now.

“If you need?—”

“I don’t. I’m good. I promise.” My smile only feels a bit fake as I steadfastly refuse to glance at Nolan. I don’t want to see pity in his eyes, nor do I want him to explain to Slater and Ellie that we’re pretending to date in order to deter Teddy. Slater is not a fan of Teddy, but I imagine he’d have concerns about my propensity for lying to him. And he’d have questions about Nolan and me. “What about you guys? Did you decide on an vacation spot?”

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