Page 108 of Romance Is Dead

I rolled my eyes. “She admitted everything to me, like, fifteen minutes ago.”

“Did you record it?”

“She had my hands tied behind my back, how on earth would I have done that?” I paused for a moment, thinking. “I do have several envelopes licked by her, though. DNA evidence.”

Chloe’s eyes dried instantly. “Fine, I did do it!” Her eyes roamed the room. “Hey, where’s the press? Don’t they cover things like this?”

“Ma’am, you’re coming with us.” Larry turned to Teddy and me. “Will you be able to meet us at the station for a statement?”

We nodded.

“Good.” He motioned to the other cops. “Alright, boys, let’s go.”

Satisfied the police had things under control, I wasted no more time, rushing over to Teddy.

In the long seconds it took for me to close the space between us, I planned to apologize. To tell him all the ways that I’d been wrong, and to tell him how sorry I was that I hadn’t believed him, and that I’d assumed the worst in him, and that I’d left him to be abducted by a deranged killer. I’d planned to tell him all of those things, as many times as I needed to, until he believed me. And if it still wasn’t enough for him to forgive me, I’d have to live with my consequences.

But by the time I finally reached him, all I could do was frantically untie his wrists before straddling his lap and kissing him, murmuring my sorries in the moments I paused to take a breath.

And he kissed me back—thank God, he kissed me back—between telling me that it was ok and that he forgave me.

When we finally left the house, it was still dark but the horizon had a hint of the sunrise to come. Chloe had yammered on and on as Larry escorted her to the police car, asking once again when the media was going to show up to get her side of the story. Larry didn’t bother to answer before slamming the door.

“Alright, you two.” Larry approached Teddy and me, pulling a notebook out of his pocket. “You know the drill.”

Nodding wearily, Teddy and I each made a statement, filling him in on everything we knew. Finally satisfied, Larry promised he’d call us with anything else they needed. Then he left and got into his police car, driving off with Chloe staring moodily out the back window.

As the car disappeared, Mara yawned. “As much as I enjoyed this, I need to go back to the hotel. I feel dead on my feet.”

“Yes, go! Oh, right.” I rubbed my temples, realizing how foggy my head had gotten. “I need to drive.”

“No, that cop over there said he’d give me a ride.” She waved to the man waiting by the remaining car. “He’s cute, don’t you think?”

“Oh my God, Mara.”

“What? The best way to get over a guy is to get under another.” She winked and held out her arms for a hug. “Come here.”

I hurried over, holding her tight as another wave of regret washed over me. “I’m really sorry,” I whispered. “I owe you big time.”

“It’s fine.” She pulled away, grinning. “You can pay me back by giving me all the details of you guys’ make-up sex.”

Teddy’s eyebrows flew up in alarm. “What?”

“Nothing.” She smiled innocently and blew us a kiss before getting into the car, leaving Teddy and me alone. We sank onto the porch, Teddy wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close. I leaned my head against his shoulder with a sigh, exhaustion creeping up on me, too.

“I’m really, really sorry,” I whispered. “I should have believed you when you said you didn’t leak those photos. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt.”

Teddy shrugged. “I understand why you didn’t. It looked pretty shady.”

“Still, I shouldn’t have reacted like that. Even if we never find out—”

“Oh, I found out.”

“Really?” I pulled away in surprise. “What happened?”

Teddy’s eyes darkened. “I was trying to think when someone could have gotten a hold of my phone. Even if someone grabbed it during filming, they wouldn’t have had my passcode. Then I remembered. The day after we took that selfie, Natasha asked to borrow my phone for a call. Afterward, I caught her tapping around on it. She must have emailed it to herself and then sent it to the tabloid. Wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one who took the photo at the field, too.”

“How pathetic.” At least we hadn’t been totally off base about Natasha—she might not have committed murder, but she’d certainly been willing to stoop pretty low to get publicity for the movie. “How would she have even known the photo was on your phone?”

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