“Which we are,” I said. “And it’s better than digging into your past, right? Finding anything to turn into a story. If they think we’re married and happy, the story gets boring. It’ll fade. So it won’t matter anymore.”
“He’s right,” Nia said.
“Of course I’m right,” I said. “I’ve been in this storm for years.”
“Why didn’t you say to do this then?” Wren asked Nia.
“Excuse me?” Nia asked. “Do what? Have you call Jay and ask him to play along? Is that what you wanted to do?”
Wren moved toward the door and opened it.
She gasped and stepped back and shut the door.
“They’re still there,” she said.
“They’re not going anywhere,” I said. “It’s not that simple.”
“Then what do I do?” Wren asked. “I just want to get into my car and go somewhere.”
I moved closer to her. “Come for a ride with me, sweetheart. I’ll get you out of here for a bit. Then I’ll bring you back and you can get your car and go home.”
“I feel like this is one of those times when I don’t have a choice,” Wren said.
“You really don’t. I have a private car. Windows all tinted.”
“Fine,” she said.
Wren started to walk.
Nia jumped in front of her. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not,” she said. “This is my fault. I was jealous about your wedding and ended up getting married myself. Now I have to deal with it. Thanks for your help.”
“Wren, wait…”
Wren pushed by Nia and walked.
I let her get some distance and then started walking too.
“Do you really know what you’re doing with her?” Nia asked.
“I just saved her ass,” I said. “What did you do?”
“I know who you are. I’ve dealt with your kind before.”
I smiled. “Same to you. You’re fake. I walked around the building and saw those people attacking her. While you were looking at your phone. Some friend you are.”
“Jay, she’s got a messy life,” Nia said as I started to walk again. “Please don’t make it messier.”
I ignored the comment.
I couldn’t avoid messy.
It was just part of my DNA.
I turned the corner of the hallway and stopped at a door.
Wren was already halfway down the hallway.
I let out a whistle.
She looked back.
“This is our door,” I said.
“Oh,” she said.
Wren came back toward me, head down.
When she got to the door, I moved in front of it.
“Hey,” I said. “Have a little fun with it.”
“Fun with what?”
“Us.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said. “You don’t know anything about my life, Jay.”
I touched her cheek and grinned. “Then let’s work on that right now.”
The paparazzi tried to run after the car, but they lost interest.
Wren turned on the seat, got up on her knees and stared out the back window.
“Are they going to follow us?” she asked.
“They might,” I said.
She looked at me. “I thought you said we could get away.”
“We are getting away,” I said. “Doesn’t mean they won’t bother us. The story will fade, Wren. They won’t care. You might not like this part, but we may need to be seen together a few times. A coffee shop. Out on the beach. At a strip club.”
I winked.
Wren spun around, blushing. “Not a chance in hell.”
“I bet drunk Wren would.”
She looked at me. “Don’t talk like you know me.”
“I know drunk Wren,” I said. “She’s the one who wanted to fight a security guard. She’s the one who watched another woman pull her top down. She’s the one who wanted to get married.”
“Drunk Wren is gone,” Wren said. “Never coming back.”
“Wow,” I said. “You’re going to live completely sober. That’s admirable. I’m proud of you, sweetheart. I’ll support you in any way I can.”
“You can refrain from drinking too,” Wren said.
I laughed. “Yeah right.”
She shook her head. “Jay… we have to be real here…”
“Why did they write that stuff about you?” I asked.
I knew where Wren wanted to guide the conversation.
I wasn’t interested in that.
I wasn’t going to talk about ending the marriage.
“What?” Wren asked.
“All those stories about you and your grandmother. Where did that all come from?”
“The truth… or at least parts of it.”
“Which parts?”
“Why?”
“I can’t ask questions about your life?”
“What does it matter to you?”
“It just matters,” I said. I leaned forward and knocked on the window. It lowered down. “Beach house. Make sure nobody is following us. If you see anyone, grab an alt route and I’ll get another ride.”
“Yes, sir,” the driver said.
The window went up.
“An alt route?” Wren asked.
“When I want to be invisible, I have ways to make that happen,” I said. “I don’t want anyone bothering you. Actually… let me make a call.”
I grabbed my phone and called Toby.
“Jay, what the hell are you doing?” Toby yelled.
“You never say hello,” I said.
“I don’t have time. Did you hold a press conference with your new wife?”
“I answered a few questions,” I said. “Listen. I need you to get some security at Wren’s house. I want all paparazzi gone. I want the security to be low key. She’s got a sick grandmother at home. I’m more worried about her over anything else. Got it?”
“You’re really in on this, Jay,” Toby said.
“Do what I said,” I said.
I ended the call.
I looked at Wren. “There. Your house will be safe. Your grandmother will be safe too. I won’t let anyone bother you while we figure this all out.”
Wren nodded. “Thank you.”
She slowly moved her left hand and put it on my right hand.
Nobody followed us to the beach house.
The driver had strict orders to park his ass there and not leave.
He had no problem with it.
None of the drivers did these days.
They were getting paid to sit and dick around on their phones.
That didn’t bother me.
I walked to the front door and I remembered something.
“Mitchy,” I said.
“What?” Wren asked.
“I have someone here, sweetheart. Mitchy. The sixth member of FILTHY LINE. The guy we kicked out years ago. He’s a mess right now. Drugs and stuff. I let him crash here. I forgot about him for a second. He’s either high or sleeping.”
“Okay…”
“Welcome to my life, Wren,” I said.
I opened the door.
The house was quiet.
And it didn’t smell like cheap sex and vomit.
I looked around.
Nothing was broken.
“Make yourself at home,” I said. “The two doors over there are the bedrooms. I’d avoid those. Just to be safe. Kitchen is there, obviously…” I pointed. “Grab a drink or whatever else you want. Let’s take some time to talk and then I’ll get you back to your car.”
Wren nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”
I watched her wander to the big window that looked out to the beach.
I had only known Wren in a dress, so I took a second or two to appreciate her in normal clothes.
Her jeans fit her curvy body perfectly. The back pockets hugged her ass in a way that made me kind of hate the fact that she fell asleep so fast back i
n Vegas.
I shook my head, walked to the window and stood next to her.
“Nice view, right?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said. “I see why you bought the place.”
“It’s nice to have somewhere to get away. To think. To not have the world chasing you down.”
Wren looked at me. “I bet. Your life is busy.”
“Very. I have to fly out tomorrow for a show in Seattle.”
“That’s good.”
“You can join me if you want,” I said. “The other women will be there.”
“Women?”
“Liv, Candice, and Abby,” I said. “They are with Nash, Dex, and Reed. Right now, Sab is the only one single. Which none of us would have ever thought.”
“Why not?” Wren asked.
“Let’s just say… Sab has always had a thing. He left someone back home when the band came out here to make it big. She’s never left his heart. I don’t think he’s ever left hers. They’re kind of pathetic to watch to be honest.”
“Good to know,” Wren said.
“That’s a juicy piece of info,” I said. “You could sell that and make a few bucks.”
“Why would I do that?” Wren asked.
“I don’t know. Just putting it out there.”
“I’m not that kind of person, Jay.”
“I want to know why they made up those stories about you,” I said. “About your grandmother.”
“Nothing is made up,” Wren said. “Other than me shaking you down for money.”
“Talk to me, sweetheart.”
Wren stared at me for a few seconds. “My grandmother is dying. She was supposed to go a few months ago. That was the timeline we were given. But she’s still alive. Which doesn’t shock me much because she’s so…” Wren moved her eyes. “Ohmygod…”
I turned my head and saw a naked woman strolling through the beach house.
This woman was tall, skinny, in need of a meal and a hug.
Her hair was everywhere, a messy rat’s nest looking thing. And her bush matched.
“Christ, Mitchy,” I whispered.
Mitchy was all about being natural. There was nothing wrong with it, but this woman had more hair between her legs than I did on my head.
“Sorry about that,” I said to Wren.
“Who is that?”
“One of Mitchy’s girls,” I said.
The woman walked to the fridge and grabbed four beers.
It was only then she realized we were there.
She smiled big and faced us.
Naked.
“Hey!” she said. “Did you come to party?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Wren is going to get naked in a second.”
“Excellent,” the woman said.
Wren slapped me. “Why did you say that?”
“She’s cute,” the woman said.
“She’s clean shaven too,” I said.
The woman laughed and walked back to the bedroom.
The door flew open and Mitchy stepped out.
Naked.
He covered his dick with his right hand.
“Oh, hey, Jay,” he said. “Is that the new wife with you?”
“Yeah,” I said. “This is Wren.”
“Hey, Wren,” Mitchy called out.
“Uh, hey,” Wren said.
“You’re pretty,” Mitchy said.
“Mitchy,” I said. “Just do your thing, man. Okay?”
“I’m waiting for a beer,” he said. “I’m clean today, Jay. No bullshit stuff.”
“Good for you,” I said.
The naked woman and Mitchy went back into the bedroom.
I looked at Wren again. “Sorry.”
“That’s normal for you?”
“I guess,” I said.
“That was a naked woman and you barely flinched. You barely even stared at her.”
“I guess I’m used to it.”
Wren exhaled a breath. “Jay…”
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“I just want to go home, right now.”
We pulled into the parking lot and it was empty.
“Told you,” I said to Wren. “They’re already on to something else.”
“That quick?” she asked.
“You’ll still have someone try to stir the pot,” I said. “Just ignore it. Don’t engage. If anyone asks about us not living together, it’s simple. I’m on the road touring and you’re home with your grandmother. Your grandmother wants to live in that house and that’s that.”
“Okay,” Wren said.
Wren opened the door.
I thought about grabbing her hand and kissing her cheek.
She quickly shut the door again.
She looked at me. “My grandmother raised me, Jay. Well, my grandparents both did. My grandfather died a while back. But my grandmother was everything to me. I mean, she still is. She’s here. I had myself ready for her to go. And she didn’t. I don’t want her to die, but going through the motions each day is hard. Knowing that one of these days it’s going to happen. She’s fierce though, Jay. She’s smart. Her mind is all together. I had to watch her see pictures of herself on TV. Then I had to watch her get excited that I was married. I’m screwed no matter what I do here. All she wants is for me to be happy.”
“Are you happy?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t think you are.”
“Of course you don’t.”
“You just said it yourself,” I said. “She wants you to be happy. She’s everything to you. If you were happy, she’d know it.”
“So getting married to a rock star in Vegas is going to make me happy?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“I’m just answering the question you asked about her,” Wren said. “I don’t know why they wrote the story about me needing money. That was a lie. I have money. She has health coverage. It has nothing to do with that. I wanted you to know that in case a part of you believed it. I mean, for all I know, you’re just playing along to make sure that isn’t true. I would never do that, Jay. I would never marry someone with this grand scheme to get their money. I’m not that person.”
“I know that,” I said.
“You can’t possibly know that.”
“See, you keep assuming things, Wren,” I said. “Listen to me. I was drunk too. But I wasn’t that drunk. I saw you. The real you. Not just the beautiful woman in a dress. Not just the sexy woman with a jealous side. I saw the real you. The way you talked, smiled, laughed… you let loose. Maybe we shouldn’t have gotten married. Maybe I should have stopped it. But I didn’t. Oh fucking well.”
“I have to go,” she said. “I guess… we’ll be in touch?”
“I hope so,” I said. “I’d like to see my wife before I fly out again.”
Wren bit her bottom lip. “Thank you again for today.”
She turned and I grabbed her hand.
“Hey,” I said. “Come here.”
“Jay…”
I smiled. I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it.
She blushed.
She opened the door and paused again.
“Oh, fuck it,” she said.
She turned and dove at me.
I wrapped my arms around her and our mouths came together. We kissed like I was going on tour for two years and wouldn’t see her the entire time.
I opened my mouth and was greeted with Wren’s tongue touching mine.
I growled.
She was letting loose again.
My hands moved down to her ass.
She reached back and slapped my hands away.
Then we both smiled and laughed.
Our breaths became entangled together.
I kissed her bottom lip and put my hands to her hips.
I pushed her away.
“You better go,” I whispered. “You’ve got three seconds before I shut that door and really make you my wife.”
Wren let out a shuddering breath and slid he
r way out of the car.
I watched as she got into her car and drove away.
I sat back and touched my lips.
The right thing would be to end the marriage and let the story fade.
But I had a feeling that’s not what Wren wanted.
14
WREN
I kept licking my lips like I was a snake on the hunt.
I just wanted to keep tasting Jay.
Thinking that was just… crazy.
I had no business making out with a rock star in the back of his car.
How am I even able to think that and have it be true?
My heart raced as I drove home.
Jay had come to my rescue. He saved me from those paparazzi reporter people. He got me out of that parking lot. Everything he said was true too. I had to play into the marriage a little to make the story go away.
Then we could quietly end this thing and move on with our lives.
He was flying to Seattle for a show.
That in itself was perfect.
Of course people would ask him about the marriage… but he knew how to deal with it. It was his life in the public eye. He made big money for that reason.
My phone started to ring and I pressed a button on the steering wheel to connect the call.
“Hello?”
“Wreeeeeen,” I heard Lola’s voice say.
“Looooooola,” I said back.
“You crazy bitch,” Audrey said. “I just saw you online. Hugging and kissing Jay!”
“What?” I yelled.
“Your little interview thing,” Lola said. “It’s everywhere now.”
My face burned red hot. “Oh. That.”
“Oh, that?” Audrey asked. “You were standing with him. A real-life rock star. Are you kidding me? Keith wants to know if he can get an autograph.”
“I’ll ask Jay,” I said.
“Listen to her,” Lola said. “Talking so casually now. What the hell is going on?”
“You two need to relax,” I said. “Did you talk to Nia?”
“No,” they both said.
I sighed. “I was trying to clear the air and they started pressuring me. So Jay stepped in and helped. We’re going to tell everyone the marriage is real so they leave us alone. Then we’re ending it. Trust me, it’s nowhere nearly as exciting as it looks.”
“Even still,” Lola said. “Did you sleep with him yet?”
A FILTHY Marriage (Filthy Line Book 4) Page 12