Page 18 of Resisting You
Bright blue eyes regarded me carefully. “If I was married, even just for a few weeks, I could get out of this stupid bachelor auction Kristen wants me to do.”
Married. To Noah. My heart cinched at the thought. The only reason I was getting through this now was because I knew it was temporary. And as soon as those annulment papers were signed and filed, this whole thing would be over.
Because a tiny piece of myself didn’t want it to be.
I knew it was a bad idea.
It was why I said no to Noah time and time again when he’d ask me out. Not because I didn't want to, but because I didn’t ever want a relationship in the spotlight.
But when I was around Noah… I almost forgot that.Almost.
My phone buzzed from within my purse and I sighed, digging around inside. “Probably Hazel, making sure I made it here okay.”
I pulled my phone out and didn’t recognize the New York number blinking on my screen. It could be one of my clients, though.
Holding one finger up to Noah, I slid the other across the screen to answer it. Then, stepping away, I said, “Hello, this is Rosa Alvarez.”
“Dr. Alvarez? This is Edwin Gulliver calling,” The man on the other end of the call said, then paused as if I should know who he was.
I searched my brain, but nothing about that name was ringing any bells. “How can I help you, Mr. Gulliver?”
“I represent Lilly Cotte and Jason Myers… as well as many others. Lilly and Jason are looking for couples counseling. Do you offer this sort of therapy?”
My heart raced in my chest and I clutched the phone tighter, pressing it to my ear. Spinning, I paced away from Noah, doing everything I could to keep my breath calm and my voice even.“I do,” I said. “I specialize in anxiety and trauma surrounding media pressures. I think I could help them greatly.”
Mr. Gulliver sighed heavily. “Oh thank God. We would want to do a trial session first before signing onto any commitment.”
“Of course.”
“And they’re each filming different projects right now, making their schedules kind of challenging?—”
“I can set up a Zoom meeting at their earliest convenience, even if it’s an odd hour for me.”
“This is great, Dr. Alvarez,” Mr. Gulliver said. “Seriously. It’s been so hard to find someone they can trust and this morning, they werebothexcited at the prospect of talking with you.”
They trust me. Two huge, A-list celebrities trust me to help them! The thought exploded through my chest. But the excitement was short lived as the little voice in the back of my head asked,why? Why and how could they possibly trust me so much? I’d barely had any clients and they hadn’t so much as had an email with me themselves.
“How did you come across my name?” Unease itched across my skin, crawling like a thousand baby spiders up my neck.
“We just got very lucky,” he said. “Your name was on a list of referred therapists. And this morning when they saw that you were Noah Blue’s wife, they justknewthey could trust you. And that you would understand the stress of their lifestyles. You know, because you yourself are married to someone in the business.”
My throat knotted. “I?—”
“I know, I know, you two are newlyweds and probably hoping to have a few days off. Don’t worry. Lilly and Jason won’t be available until Tuesday at the earliest.”
Oh God. Ineededthese clients. Desperately. But not like this. Not because of a lie… although, technically, it wasn’t a lie…was it? Iamtechnically married to Noah. And I did certainly understand the weight that comes with public lifestyles.
I bit my bottom lip. No. I couldn’t mislead them like this. “Mr. Gulliver, you should know?—”
“You’re looking for an exclusive, aren’t you?”
“A—a what?”
“A promise that if this works out, you’ll get all my clients? Well, I can’t promise all of them, but certainly, I have about eight more clients who are looking for new therapists. For a multitude of reasons. You know how these stars can be.” He paused and laughed at himself. “Look who I’m talking to… of courseyouknow! Not only as Noah’s partner, but I dug a little deeper and learned you were also the daughter of legendary Francesca Reyes and Senator Victor Alvarez.”
My words lock in my throat. For years I’d been trying to escape being the daughter of Francesca and Victor. Trying to make it on my own.
But this was also the break I’d been waiting for.
