by Holly Jaymes
I wasn’t going to lie. Having my sexual prowess questioned wasn’t a good feeling. I lay my head back on the couch, wondering what was going on. My logical self told me she’d have a good explanation, but my chest was constricted and I was fucking pissed, which meant I was hurt and jealous, which I couldn’t afford to be. This marriage was fake. A short-term thing until we could graciously get out of it with our reputations intact.
Being jealous was a bad sign. It made me realize that regardless of who that man was and why she was letting him touch her, I had to put distance between us. I couldn’t let myself get emotionally involved with her.
Too late, my conscience said. It was right, but I could pull back. I had to pull back. Even without this new issue, it was unwise to let myself get attached to her. A real relationship with her would cause all sorts of problems with Lily. And there was the fact that our lives were separated by a continent and an ocean. For those reasons alone, I needed to put a wall around my heart.
Then there’s this man, I thought, looking at the pictures again. I liked to think I was a modern, sensitive man, but I had an ego that wasn’t going to let me be cuckolded. Victoria’s stunt might not have hurt my reputation as much as being an irresponsible Vegas partier, but it did make me look like a fucking pussy. No man, no matter how evolved, was okay with that.
The front door opened. “Pax? I’m back.”
I took a deep breath, and put my phone in my pocket. I turned my attention to the TV. “In the T.V. room,” I called out.
She appeared in the doorway, her eyes bright and her cheeks rosy from being outside. My heart clenched at her beauty and then went cold at her betrayal. I forced a smile, “All is well?”
She nodded. “I’m thinking of getting in the hot tub. Want to join me?” Her eyes flashed with suggestion and my dick, being the traitor it was, started to fill.
“I’ve got some work to do,” I said, clicking off the TV and rising from the couch. “Enjoy yourself though.”
I walked past her and toward the room I stayed in when I first arrived, and where I had my recording equipment.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah sure. I’ve just been slacking today and I need to get to it.” I didn’t wait for a response. I was nervous that she might talk me out of avoiding her, and I couldn’t afford that.
I entered my room and shut the door. I flopped on the bed, wondering how I ended up here. After a childhood spent being dragged around the world by my famous model mother, my entire goal in life was to live quietly with no issues or drama. When I was old enough, I told my mother I wasn’t traveling anymore and I stayed put where I was on my eighteenth birthday, which happened to be London. Being a musician didn't always fit into my goals as I had to tour and people often swarmed me if I was out and they recognized me, but on my own, I tended to keep to myself or a small circle of friends.
So how did I end up in Vegas, accidentally married to the one woman I shouldn’t be married to? Not because there was anything wrong with Victoria. She was a tremendous woman. But she was Lily’s best friend. She had her own life here in California. And clearly, she wasn’t letting that go. Her outing today was now threatening everything we were trying to accomplish by coming here.
I stood and began to pack, thinking I didn’t need to stay. What was the point if she was going to do something that undermined what we were trying to do?
A knock on the front door had me stopping. I remembered Victoria was in the hot tub so I answered it.
“Dad?” I hadn’t been expecting him.
“Pax.” He stood staring at me like he was searching for something. He was probably wondering, like me, if I’d lost my mind. He had to have heard about me and Victoria by now. I looked behind him, wondering why my mother wasn’t also there.
“Come in.” I opened the door. “I heard you were out of town.”
“I’m back.” He stepped inside and made his way to the living room. I remembered that he’d found this place for Lily when she’d needed a refuge, so he was probably very familiar with it.
“Can I get you a drink? I’ve got beer, wine-”
“Beer would be great.” He scanned the area. “Is your wife around?”
He said “wife” in a way that let me know he was here to find out what the hell I was up to.
“She’s in the hot tub.” God. I hoped she wasn’t naked. That would be just what I needed, Victoria to come waltzing in front of my dad while nude.
He sat at the island while I popped the top on his beer and handed it to him. I got one for myself.
He stared at me again. “Do I have to ask?”
I sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“Vegas.” He said it like it explained everything. And I supposed it did.
I nodded.
“So is this all a PR thing or what?” he asked.
I cleared my throat as I sorted out what to tell him. Did I say the truth? He was my father, but he and I weren’t close like other families. Could I trust him? Then again, he’d been there for Lily, so maybe I could rely on him.
“No. It was an accident.”
My father’s brow arched. “Accidentally married?”
“More like a prank by an artist my record label has signed.”
“So you and Victoria… It’s not a real relationship.”
My heart squeezed in my chest as I said, “No. I mean, we’re friendly of course. She’s Lily’s best friend, but she and I, no.”
He nodded. “Your mother said it had to be some sort of mistake or PR thing because you wouldn’t have done that to Lily.” Apparently, Lily had told Mom about her negative feelings about me and Victoria. “So why not get a divorce? Why all this fakery?” my father asked.
I took a long drink of my beer. “Because my label says it would be bad for my reputation to be the sort of musician that got accidentally married.”
“So, you’re married to avoid losing your wholesome reputation?”
“I wouldn’t say it’s wholesome. But I’m not the type to end up in tabloids. I don’t party. I don’t get into drunken brawls.”
“And you don’t end up in Vegas accidentally married.”
“Right.”
My father shook his head. “I always thought it was a bad idea for you and Lily to go into the celebrity business. Your mom loves it. She loves the limelight and gossip. You and Lily, you’re too much like me. You want privacy. You want quiet.”
He wasn’t wrong and I felt guilty now that I hadn’t tried harder as an adult to spend time with him.
“Were you with Mom?” I asked, and then wasn’t sure I wanted the answer. Obviously they’d talked, but I wasn’t sure if they did it in person or if perhaps she’d called him at wherever he’d been.
He looked up at me. “The thing about your mom and me is that we love each other but we love our lives more.”
“I know.” I supposed that was a yes.
“So, you’re in this fake marriage for how long? I mean, what’s the time frame for a marriage to not look like you were irresponsible?”
I shrugged. I wasn’t going to tell him a year. After what Victoria did today, I wasn’t going to stay in this charade for a year anyway. “Shouldn’t be too much longer.”
My father frowned. “So married a month is long enough to not look like your marriage was a Vegas mistake?”
“Dane, he’s the label’s CEO, is working on some ideas that will get me out without hurting my reputation.”
“How’s that?”
I didn’t want to tell him it involved making Victoria look like the bad guy. It seemed like a shitty thing to say or do, but she was the one “cheating”.
His expression morphed into disappointment. “You’re not going to throw her under the bus, are you, son?”
My jaw tightened. “No. As much as possible, we’ve been telling the truth and that won’t change.” After all, it was the truth that she was just photographed by onlookers kissing another man.
He stared
at me like he was waiting for me to elaborate. “You know, that dipshit Holloway told the ‘truth’ and it ruined your sister’s career. Now, I know she’s okay with that. She’s happy now, but still.”
“I’m not Trask Holloway.” My gut burned that he thought I’d be like that fucker. If anything, Victoria was the Trask Holloway in this situation.
“I’m not saying you are. I just would hate to see either of you hurt by this.”
“So, what do you suggest we do?” I asked. I didn’t remember ever asking for my father’s advice.
“I’m a simple man, Pax. I like the truth. I like being straightforward. Go with your gut and do what’s right for you. Fuck the paparazzi or the fans.”
That was easier said than done and yet, he had a point.
“What about Lily?” I asked.
“What about her?”
“When she hears about me and Victoria, she’s going to be pissed.”
He frowned. “Why? Your mother never explained that.”
I shrugged. “She just doesn’t like the idea of me being with Victoria.”
His eyes narrowed. “So you and Victoria are a thing? I thought you said you were just friends.”
“We are. But that’s because of Lily.” I didn’t know why I was taking this route. It didn’t matter now. But I kept going. I pressed my hands on the countertop like I needed the extra support. “Years ago, Victoria and I sort of saw each other and Lily didn’t take it well. So we ended it. You just said I needed to live my life and do what’s right for me. What if that is being with Victoria?” Jesus. Was I really saying that? “Do I tell Lily to fuck off, as you suggest I do to the paparazzi and the fans?”
My father let out a low whistle. “Family is harder, Pax, that I know. But I also know that Lily cares for you and Victoria. I think she’d come around. The question is, is that what you want? Why is there all this hiding away or talking about staying married for your reputation if you want to be with her?”
I stepped back from the island and tossed my empty bottle in the recycling. “I didn’t say I wanted to stay married or be with her. It’s different now. My point was, telling people to fuck off and stay out of my life isn’t easily done.”
He nodded and finished off his beer. “I never said it was easy.”
The door off the TV room opened and I hoped to hell Victoria didn’t come sauntering in wearing nothing.
She appeared with a towel wrapped around her. Straps over her shoulders suggested she had on a swimsuit or maybe her bra.
“Oh. Sheriff Maddox.” She stopped short and looked at me and then him.
My dad smiled. “Victoria. How are you?”
“Ah…good. Just enjoying a soak. I should change.”
My father got off the stool. “I’ll be heading out. Keep in mind what I said, Pax.”
“Sure thing.”
“Good to see you, Victoria.” My father gave her a kiss on the cheek.
“You too,” she said, looking a little self-conscious about standing in nearly nothing in front of my father.
I remembered something and ran after him, meeting him at the door. “Listen. If you talk to Lily, don’t tell her about this. I want to do it.”
My father laughed. “I learned a long time ago to avoid family drama if I could. If I hear from her and she asks, I’ll tell her to talk to you.”
“Thanks.”
I shut the door behind him and headed back to the kitchen. Victoria wasn’t there. I assumed she went to her room to change. I went to the kitchen to make dinner and shore up my resolve to not let Victoria beguile me again.
Chapter 17: Yet Another Mistake
Victoria
I was shocked to see Pax and Lily’s father at the kitchen island when I came in from the hot tub. I panicked, wondering if Lily was on her way over to pull my hair out.
Mr. Maddox was jovial and left after giving me a kind kiss on the cheek. I rushed off to shower and change before asking Pax what the visit was about. I didn’t even know he was back from wherever he’d been off to.
Once cleaned up, I put on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt with a V-neck sweater. I returned to the kitchen where Pax was busy cooking some sort of pasta dish.
“Everything alright with your dad?” I asked as I got a bottle of white wine from the refrigerator.
“Yep.”
I waited for him to elaborate but he didn’t. “Did you tell him about our arrangement?” I grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured the wine.
“Yep.”
I frowned and turned to look at him. His back was to me as he stirred a rainbow of vegetables in a pan.
“Has he heard anything from Lily?” Every day when I checked my messages I dreaded something from her.
“No.”
What is the deal with all the one-word responses? “Is something wrong?” I asked.
“No.”
I was about to prod some more when my phone beeped a notification. Oh God, it’s probably Lily. I picked up the phone and saw a message from Allie:
“Bad news.” She included a link which I clicked. It showed a picture of me with Galen at Paradise Java.
“What’s bad about that?” Galen worked for me. But then I noticed the headline.
“PAX RYDER’S WIFE A CHEAT?”
Oh, for God’s sake. I looked over at Pax and wondered if that was why I was getting the one-word treatment. Was that why his father was here earlier?
“That’s Galen,” I texted back to Allie.
“I know. Just an FYI if you hadn’t seen.”
I left the room, going to the TV room and called Galen. He had to have been back in Los Angeles by now.
“I’ve seen it and I’ve already put out a statement,” he said when he picked up. “Bloodsucking leeches.”
“You’re the best, Galen. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well, I had the last laugh. I told them that if I was going to have an affair it would have been with Pax.”
I smiled, loving that I had him in my camp. “I hope you didn’t give them the impression you were actually doing that.”
“Nah. I toed the line. I told them you were living in wedded bliss. I also told them that we met in Eden Lake because it was half-way between Vegas and L.A. Let them think you’re still in Vegas.”
“You rock,” I said, looking over at Pax who was putting food on the table.
“I might have hinted at a lawsuit as well. Some of these gossip rags probably don’t care, but some might think twice about posting lies or making up stories to fit a narrative.”
“I’m not sure I pay you enough.”
“I know you don’t. We can discuss it when you get back to work.”
“Thank you, Gal. Really.”
“You know I have your back, girl. But if you could finish up with Lisbeth, that would help me help you,” he said.
“I’ll get on it.”
We hung up and I re-entered the living area. Pax was at the table eating and looking at a book on historic Eden Lake.
I tried not to be annoyed that he hadn’t waited for me. I went and got a plate and served myself.
“Did you know that Tucker’s family is part of a long-time family feud here. Like the Hatfields and McCoys.” I sat across from him and nodded to the book he was reading.
Pax didn’t look up. “So it says here.”
“Tucker’s brother married a Haynesville. Feud over.”
Pax nodded as he took a bite of his pasta.
I ate some of mine as well. “This is delicious. If that rock star thing doesn’t work out, you have a future as a chef.”
He turned the page of his book.
I tossed my fork down with a clang. “What’s wrong with you, Pax?”
He didn’t look up. “Nothing’s wrong. Just eating dinner and learning about this area.”
I stared at him. Was he possessed? Then I remembered the pictures of me with Galen. “Is this about the photos that were posted today?”
He sh
rugged.
“Don’t tell me you believe them?”
He finally looked at me. “We’re here to protect our images.”
“No.” I pushed my plate away and leaned forward over the table. “We’re here to protect your image.” Was that all he cared about? His image? Was all this between us just to pass the time until he moved on again? Of course it is, I reminded myself.
“Meeting another man when you’re on your honeymoon doesn’t do much for my image. Or yours. You might want to consider that. You have something to lose as well.”
He wasn’t wrong and I made a mental note to check my social media to see what was being said. I really hoped Galen’s statement put the rumors to rest by now. It would be easy for others to see that he wasn’t just an employee of mine, but also that he wasn’t inclined to be with a woman.
The fact that Pax was bent out of shape about this suggested he hadn’t done any research about Galen. It seemed to me if he really cared about me, he’d have done that. If I’d seen him with another woman, I’d have Googled everything I could about her and probably hired a private eye to dig up more. But he took the news at face-value which suggested that he was more concerned about his reputation than me.
The fact that he didn’t ask me about it, but just assumed it was true, also told me that he didn’t respect or trust me. He clearly thought I was a woman who’d cheat. Or at least would sleep with two men at one time.
All of a sudden, I wasn’t hungry anymore. I stood and carried my plate to the kitchen, tossing my food, rinsing my plate, and shoving it in the dishwasher. As I did, I stewed, getting angrier and angrier that he hadn’t asked me about the photo. He was clearly more concerned about his image than whether or not it was true. It made me think of Lily, and how she’d been treated when the photos of Trask and her came out. Everyone believed the implications of the photos. But I knew Lily. I didn’t even have to ask her if it was true because I knew they weren’t. I called her and told her right off that I knew those photos were wrong. But I wasn’t dealing with Lily. I was dealing with Pax.
I strode back to the table and gripped the back of a chair. “You’re an asshole, Pax.”
“Me?” He looked up at me. “I’m not the one meeting men while they’re supposed to be on their honeymoon.”