Page 62 of Holiday Star
I roll over to stare at him asleep. He’s stretched out with one arm thrown above his head and the other wrapped around me. It’s the most beautiful view, to see him lying there with his face soft and unguarded. His hair runs smooth as silk through my fingers as I brush it aside. I press a whisper of a kiss to his forehead, careful not to wake him.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand, stirring a flash of irritation. Who’s calling so early? The screen shows it’s Jenny. Her voice is frantic when I pick up. “Did you see the news?”
Stifling a yawn, I answer hoarsely, “What news?”
“Gwen, I need you to Google your name immediately.”
Her obvious alarm has me sitting up straight. “What? Why?”
I’ve literally never Googled myself in my entire life. I’m not important enough for that.
“Just do it now.”
After I put her on speaker, I open the internet browser on my phone and do as she asks. The minute I hit enter, hundreds of responses pop up. They are all the same words said in different ways, but I only skim what is written. The thing my eyes zero in on is the picture that pops up with each article.
It’s grainy because the room where the photo was shot was dim. The image shows a crowd of people, pressed tightly together, but in the middle of them a couple stands out like there’s a spotlight shining down just for them.
It’s a man and a woman caught the second after they have kissed. Their lips hang inches apart. They gaze at each other with identical expressions of surprise, wonder, and desire. The depth of their emotion leaps off the page. The woman’s hands are fisted in his shirt, holding on like she’ll never let go. The man’s arms are wrapped possessively around her back.
I recognize the wood-topped bar with the wolf painted over it.
It’s Caleb and me.
The first time we kissed at Shooter’s.
And it’s all over every newspaper, magazine, and social media page.
I remember it then, that burst of white when Caleb kissed me, the afterimage still blinding me as I opened my eyes to look at him. In that moment, I had thought it was my brain short circuiting from amazement, but now I realize it was the flash of a camera. Someone in the bar captured us and then sold the picture, probably for a tidy profit.
Damn you, whoever you are.
“Jenny, I’ve got to go.” I hang up before she has a chance to respond.
My gaze returns to Caleb, sleeping peacefully. It pains me to wake him, but this is an emergency. I shove his shoulder roughly.
He sits up with a start. Immediately, his hands are on my arms, eyes full of concern as he searches my expression. “Gwen? Gwen, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
I shake my head no and thrust my phone at him. He takes it from me and swings his legs over the side of the bed to sit up more fully. Emotions flicker over his face as he scrolls through the articles. Shock, anger, and finally fear.
“I don’t understand,” I rasp, my voice rough. “That picture is from weeks ago. Why is it coming up now?”
Caleb gives my phone back and pushes his hands through his hair, leaving it sticking up all spiky. “It takes time for whoever took it to negotiate with the magazines. Or maybe the person who took the photo initially gave it to someone else who sold it. I’ve had photos that were over a year-old pop up out of nowhere, and the press acted like it was stuff that had just happened.”
I run my hand over his unruly hair, smoothing it back in place. Caleb captures that hand and kisses it absentmindedly, then keeps it loosely clasped in his. “Listen, this is—”
Pounding on the front door drowns out whatever he was about to say. Caleb’s wide eyes meet mine as fear spikes through my veins, icy cold. Together, still holding hands, we go downstairs to the door. As soon as it swings open, Marjorie comes rushing into the room, gripping her phone tightly. Ben trails behind uncertainly.
“Caleb!” she screeches. “What have you done? Your PR agent just called, and she’s furious.” Marjorie halts and goes wild-eyed when she sees me, my hand still held by her son.
“You!” She jabs a finger my way. “You sneaky girl. Under our noses, you’ve taken advantage of him. And at Christmas of all times.” Her face twists with disgust.
“Me?” I drop Caleb’s hand and point to myself, shocked that someone just called me sneaky.That’s a first.
Before I can say anything else, Caleb steps in. “Mom, stop! Gwen did nothing wrong. Why are you talking to my PR people? Why isn’t Nicole calling me directly?”
Marjorie drops her eyes and fidgets with her phone. “I told Nicole to run things through me.” When she sees that Caleb is upset, she adds, “It was only for a little while. I instructedallyour staff to call me. You said that you needed some rest, darling. You’ve been so exhausted recently, overworked and stressed from that horrible crash. I was trying to protect you.”
The emotions of shock and anger war with each other on Caleb’s face. “I should have known. I wondered why my phone’s been so quiet.” He shakes his head like he’s as furious with himself as he is with her. “I’ve been distracted. Otherwise, I would’ve figured out what you did sooner.”
