Page 65 of Chance of Romance
She clenched her teeth. She’d suspected this would be a problem, but Logan had acted like it was no big deal. “I haven’t had a chance to move into his place, but we couldn’t be happier.”
“Pretty quick marriage.”
She ignored him and headed toward the sidewalk, pulling her wheeled suitcase. He kept stride with her. “Any comment on Willow Clarke’s artwork?”
She froze. That was her mother.
He went on. “She gave me an interview at her loft studio. She had interesting things to say about you.”
Bile rose in her throat. She just bet she did. She’d probably lined up a whole slew of interviews talking about Sabrina as a child, all the while making sure her paintings were in plain view of the camera. “No comment.”
“She said you were a dreamy child always making up elaborate alternate realities.” No kidding. What else was she supposed to do? She couldn’t even have friends over. Her friends’ parents wouldn’t allow their kids near “all that smut,” and even if they had, she would’ve died of mortification.
Sabrina kept walking. Her dad had sold her out. Her mom had sold her out. Next maybe her half brother would pose in his nude sci-fi body paint, talking about how odd he always thought she was. Irony.
The man’s voice gentled, speaking in a conspiratorial tone. “Hey, I get it. My family’s not picture-perfect either. Maybe that’s why you became a relationship counselor. Willow said your family doesn’t do commitment and it was a big surprise when you chose that career.”
Her gut did a slow roll, but she managed to keep walking, keeping her gaze straight ahead and heading upstairs.
He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and called up to her. “Seems a bit fraudulent to bill yourself as a relationship expert, considering where you came from and the fact that you and Logan don’t even live together. Was the marriage fake too?”
She raced the rest of the way and let herself into her apartment with trembling hands. She got inside, locked the door, and sank against it, hyperventilating for a few moments while she desperately tried to take a deep breath. Finally she broke down in big gulping sobs—all of the events of the past week catching up to her.
After a good cry, she sat on the sofa and tried to think through her options. She had Logan on her side, she had Claire, she had a lawyer, though the lawyer had done very little. And then it hit her—she didn’t need any of them. What she needed was to confront that psycho relationship counselor face-to-face and end this thing. It had to be her behind this. She couldn’t imagine why this particular reporter was stalking her like this, digging into her past so much. He was probably paid to do that.
She’d ask Lexi for help; she lived right down the hall. Lexi could make an appointment with the psycho, and then Sabrina could show up in her place. She couldn’t imagine Tara would let her in the door otherwise. She pulled her phone from her purse to text Lexi, hoping she was still up. There was a text from Logan.Get in okay?
She texted back rapidly.A reporter was at my apartment. Now he knows we don’t live together. And my mom is giving interviews about me.
Her phone rang. Logan. She answered, and he immediately started ordering her around. “Get my house key from Ben and go ahead and move in. Stay with me until this blows over.”
“I will not.” It was too much too fast to be living together. Their relationship would implode from all the pressure.
“Just to get the heat off you.”
“I can’t just move in,” she said stubbornly. “We’ve only had one date. There’s an order to things.”
“Just for a visit. No big. I’ll be home Wednesday night, and we’ll come up with a game plan. We’re a team now. You don’t have to deal with this by yourself.”
Her breath caught. She really liked that he thought of them as a team. She always thought the best relationships were true partnerships.
He exhaled loudly. “Is your silence one of those passive-aggressive deals?”
She pursed her lips. Look at him, throwing around her psychological terms. “No, I was just thinking.”
“Nothing to think about.”
“How long would I live with you?”
“I don’t know. Until your mom stops blabbing about you in the news, and your dad stops selling pictures of you? Until everyone has lost interest in us as a news item?” He lowered his voice. “I read the interview your mom gave. Damn, Sabrina, it was bad. She got real personal about you.”
She rubbed her temple. She didn’t even want to know what her mom had said. Logan was on her side, and she’d be foolish to turn away what he offered. Looking like a happily married woman instead of a fraud with a troubled childhood sounded really appealing right now. “Okay, I’ll move in.”
“Awesome. Does that include cooking?”
She pushed down the pang of anxiety that he wanted her in his bed and in his kitchen in that order. “Yes, I’ll cook. I cook every night.”
“Damn, this just keeps getting better and better.”
