Page 22 of Falling Into Forever
“It’s not a gaggle,” I correct with an incredulous chuckle. She sounds jealous, and it makes my body buzz with hope. If she’s jealous, that means she still cares. “And you can’t believe everything you read. That world is created with smoke and mirrors.”
“Whatever. You traded up in life. Some things never change, and I’m still me. I shattered once, I can’t let it happen again. Go back to your models and actresses. Whatever you think you need from me, from this place, doesn’t exist anymore. It’s not your job to fix me.”
What I hear is that I broke her.
She places her palm on my face, pushes me away, then rests her fingers on her keyboard.
“You’re a terrible liar, sweetheart. This connection between us is clearly tugging at you in the same way it does me. If it still exists after all these years, it’s not ever going away. Ever. I fucked up once, but so did you. The difference between us is that I don’t intend to make the same mistake twice.”
Standing tall, I roll my shoulders to deal with Kate, who waits impatiently for me at the end of the dock, while Saylor turns an ashen face toward the lake.
It’s not easy to leave that woman at a loss for words, but there’s no joy in it this time.
“Olivia’s outburst was a shock,” Kate says loud enough for Saylor to hear when I reach her. “I didn’t see that coming, and I certainly wasn’t expecting her to follow up with more allegations or a takeover with your business partner.”
“He’s not a partner, he’s…never mind.”
“Well, whoever they are, they’re trying to bury you, and that interview this morning is creating a landslide of shit. What did you do to piss them off?”
I wouldn’t give up the career I’ve poured my blood, sweat, and tears into or the girls who are my entire world. Trent wanted more from me than I could give, and somehow, he got Olivia on board with all his lies. Damn it. I haven’t seen the new interview, but my mind whirls with possibilities.
“That’s their angle,” I say instead of answering her. The words vibrate with the anger I’m trying to keep in check as their plans take form in my mind. “He wants to make me the most hated man in Hollywood so he can take over my company, and she comes off as the wounded victim ready for her next close-up. I never touched that woman. She was a client. I haven’t ever fucked around with clients.”
I peer over my shoulder to make sure Saylor isn’t watching us, then I lean in and whisper, “That’s why Saylor won’t be a client either. I’m here for her, our careers, and to correct the mistakes of our past. That’s worth more than any kind of payment.”
Kate smirks, watching me closely, and I’m reasonably certain she could be a human lie detector. “They’re bringing a little girl into it now.”
My eye twitches, but otherwise, I keep my icy expression. On the outside, anyway. On the inside, I’m a lit fuse racing toward the explosion.
Tinny voices break the tension. Single words echo in the silence—Dante, daughter, predator. Saylor googled me.
“Oh no,” she gasps, but I refuse to look at her.
My world tunnels, and I wrap my hands around the railing to keep from trying to break something. I’ve never been a violent person, but my life is spiraling, and I need control back.
I should be hurt that my own brother is eagerly attacking everything and everyone I love, but the only thing filling me with rage is myself. I’ve always known this world was a game, and I’ve allowed myself to be played.
I swallow hard. “Saylor.” My voice is rough, but she stands and shockingly comes to my side without her usual sass. She may hate me. She may not understand my world, but she’s always understood me. She hears my silent plea.
She always has.
Kate’s plan has legs, but if I’m going to survive this, our timeline needs to speed up. Ideally, we would have waited until we filled Saylor in on all the details tomorrow, but now I’m ready to beg if that’s what it comes to.
“What?” Her voice is neutral, but she’s twisting the bobble of her necklace along the chain. My attention catches on the platinum metal she drags back and forth. The friction against her skin causes an angry red welt to rise on the delicate column of her neck.
I hate anything that hurts her, so I lift my hand and place it over hers until she stops the offending motion. I remove my hand when she stills, but she keeps hers clasped tightly around the pendant.
Dropping my head and my voice, I hope it’s enough to cut Kate out of this conversation. I need it to be me and Saylor—the way it was always meant to be. Kate may have gotten the ball rolling, but she has no place between the two of us.
“Do you see what I’m dealing with now?”
Her silence tells me it’s worse than I imagined.
“Do you understand how the media and paparazzi work?” She nods but still doesn’t make eye contact. “I can’t allow them to feed these lies to the press unchecked. It’s not only me they’ll ruin. I love my niece with everything that I am. She’s been the one bright spot in my life since I lost you.”
Saylor gasps, and it lances my chest like a knife, but I continue.
“Her mother and I are friends—it’s all we’ve ever been.” That distinction is important because it’s the truth. “Lena and Trent decided, together, to keep their daughter out of Hollywood, and I’ve done everything in my power to make that happen.”
