Page 49 of Heart to Heart
“That’s exactly it.”
“It seems so convoluted. You’re expected to be two different people at once.”
“Exactly. Although many entertainers do it because it works.”
“Really?” I asked. “Like which ones?”
“Nice try.” Tristan smirked, seeing right through me.
“Then, if that’s true, why were you and Jessica Davis so public?” He winced, and I gritted my teeth, waiting for him to tell me that anything between Jessica and him was none of my damn business. “You know what, don’t answer that,” I said, guilt washing over me. “That was probably out of line.”
“No, it’s okay.” Tristan stood up and stretched. He was almost too big for his trailer and reminded me of an adult trying to maneuver their way through those plastic tunnels in every playland I’d ever seen in a McDonald’s. “Jessica and I were young and naive. Well, I was naive. She always seemed to be one step ahead of me. But we were in love and, I thought, infallible, until…”
“Until that night with the paparazzi,” I added, finishing what he couldn’t bring himself to.
“Yeah. Jessica… she really threw me under the bus that night. She’d had an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction while getting out of a car at the VMAs that year and the press had a field day with it.”
“Oh, I remember,” I said. “The headlines at that time were cruel. ‘Leave It To Beaver’ and such.” I did my best to hold back a laugh at the absurdity of it all but broke when I met Tristan’s eyes and saw a smile that told me he was trying to do the same.
“I can laugh about it now, even though I still think they’re all a bunch of vulgar, opportunistic vultures,” he said, allowing himself to find some levity. “However, that still doesn’t excuse the misogynistic, disgusting bullshit that was being thrown at Jessica that night. One of them, the paparazzo I accidentallyshoved when I lost my footing on the sidewalk, was even trying to angle a camera up Jessica’s dress.”
“Oh my gosh,” I gasped, appalled. “That wasn’t reported at all.”
“Tell me about it. I expected Jessica to take my side. I thought we were a team, after all. But at the end of the day, she needed the attention of the paparazzi more than she wanted attention from me. She defended them and told the world I had anger management issues, which led to my subsequent drinking and me being out of work for a while.”
Speechless, I couldn’t find the right words to say to him—if those words even existed. No wonder he’d stayed out of the public eye for so long. He’d been betrayed by the woman he loved and the public who’d adored him up to that point. If I were him, I wouldn’t want to find love, either. There were only so many times you could repair a heart that had been shattered before it stopped beating altogether.
“I’m sorry, Tristan,” I said, merely for the sake of conveying something.
“It’s okay, Avery. But I appreciate it.” He smiled, the warmth returning to his voice. “It was a long time ago, and I’m on the verge of putting it all behind me now.” He gestured to the door with a nod of his head. “Should I walk you back? I’ll distract the security guards; let you slip in the door instead of trying to scale the side of the mansion again.”
“How very chivalrous of you,” I said, standing up. The ache in my arm had subsided and had become hardly noticeable. “I’m sure you want to get to bed, too.” That’s when it hit me. Why was Tristan still here? “Wait. Where do you sleep, anyway?”
“Here mostly,” he answered, gesturing to the less than extravagant surroundings. “I mean, I don’t have to stay here. I can go back to my house in the Hills, but the drive back and forth is a bit of a hassle, so I opt to stay close to set.”
“If the other women in the house knew that, they would be beating down your door. You wouldn’t get a moment of peace. You’re a brave man, Tristan Tate.”
I stepped out of the trailer through the door he held open for me, a sudden heat washing over me when his hand clutched my forearm to help me down the stairs.
“Which is exactly why you and I are going to have to keep this a secret, too,” he said, his breath caressing the back of my neck, exchanging heat for goosebumps.
“It would seem we’re full of secrets then, aren’t we?”
“Except I’m at a disadvantage here,” Tristan added. “Are you sure you have nothing else you can confide in me so we’re on equal playing fields?”
“As much as I’d like to tell you that I have a nip slip incident I’d like to keep under wraps or a tawdry affair, that in and of itself would be a lie. I’m painfully boring.”
He shook his head. “Now, you see, Avery Martin, I don’t believe that for a second. To me, you’re the most intriguing person on this show.”
His hand brushed mine as we walked back to the mansion together, and I realized that, along with the electricity working its way up my arm through the rest of my body, that I did have a secret I was keeping from Tristan. A secret I was just going to have to take to my grave.
CHAPTER 26
TRISTAN
“Sasha,”I called to the befuddled woman standing next to Avery. Her already large doe eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at Avery, who smiled at her, clearly relieved that she was going to have her friend here a little longer.
The chemistry between Sasha and I had been next to nothing on our group date. That much had to have been obvious to the audience at home. Enough that my keeping her would raise eyebrows and bust the brackets of those betting on the season's winner. She had a great personality, cracking a few jokes. But I could tell her heart wasn’t into it, that maybe she was torn about me. Or, hell, just plain not interested.
