Page 77 of Claim to Fame

“Oh.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair.

“Do you want to go by Ethan, or by Slade?”

His brows knitted together. “Why would I want to go by Slade?”

“I don’t know. Some people like to use a stage name with the press. I wasn’t sure if you wanted—”

“But these people will be seeing my face. People I know might see these pictures. People who don’t know about Slade.”

“Ethan,” she said gently, “even if we give the press your real name, they might still figure out about Slade.”

He reeled back as though she’d punched him. “How? How would they do that unless someone told them?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know how much they’re going to care or how hard they’re going to dig, but some of these reporters...” She thought about that photo through her living room window, the one taken from her fire escape, and a shiver flitted over her skin. “They can be ruthless when they want to be. If there’s any chance they could find a trail that connects you to Slade, you might want to tell your friends and family anyway, so they hear it from you first.”

“That is not an option,” he said, slashing his hand through the air like he could wipe away the suggestion, his vehemence catching her off guard. “And there’s nothing connecting us. The only other people who know I’m Slade Hardcastle are Baz and the author. And the grandma gang.”

“You’re sure?”

He nodded tightly. “No one else knows. No one else needs to know.”

“Okay. Then we’ll introduce you by your real name. I’m sure it will be fine.” She should leave well enough alone, but she couldn’t help herself. “Can I ask you something? Why not just tell your friends? Wouldn’t that be easier than trying to keep it a secret?”

An emotion flickered across his face before he hardened his features again, a glimpse at something he kept hidden away from her, a part of him she’d never been invited to access before.

“I’ve put my family through enough,” he said at last.

“What does that mean?”

He sighed and sank into the armchair opposite her. She wished he’d sat beside her, that she could touch him, reassure him while he spoke.

“You don’t know what it’s like in a small town. When I got Steph pregnant, it was all anyone could talk about. My choices defined my entire family for over a decade. There are still people in this town who judge me and my daughter because of a choice I made when I was sixteen.”

“And you think if people in town knew about Slade, they’d judge you for that too.”

“Not just me, but Tessa. My parents. My granddaughter. Those assholes who made Steph feel so unwelcome she had to leave town—what would they do to my business? My family’s legacy?” Pain slashed across his face. “All my parents worked for, my grandparents, building the vineyard. I will not bring another scandal to their doorstep.”

Hannah moved across the room, kneeling at his feet and taking his hands in hers. “That was decades ago. Don’t you think attitudes have evolved even a little since then?”

“I won’t put my daughter through that again. What kind of father would I be? What kind of grandfather?”

“Tessa doesn’t strike me as the kind of person that’s particularly afraid of some narrow-minded gossip. She did marry your best friend, after all. That must have sparked some rumors around town.”

“It’s different.”

“How?”

“It just is.” He stroked a hand through her hair, pushing the loose strands behind her ear, but there was a sadness in his voice that made her want to wrap him up in her arms and never let go.

“For what it’s worth, I think your friends and family would want to support you. To celebrate with you. I think they’d want to know this part of you, since it’s obviously important enough to you to pursue, despite the risk of being found out.”

“There’s no risk. I love them too much to hurt them.”

“What makes you think they love you any less?”

He still cradled her cheek in his hand, but his eyes were far off, lost in thought. Hannah turned her face into his palm, pressing a kiss to the center of his hand. “I’m going to go unpack a few things, now that I’ll be coming back. Then we can get on the road.”

She got to her feet and was already halfway down the hall when he called after her, “Don’t leave behind the red lace thing you wore the other night.”

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