She snorted. “Sounds familiar.”
“Exactly. I’m sorry, I’m just not into it. Think about it, Paige. I could have gotten injured in college, and then what? My baseball dreams would have been shot, I didn’t even like school, and your dad would have dropped me anyway.”
“So, instead,” she said, working this out in her head, “you said no to all of the colleges and joined the military. A steady paycheck and a retirement plan. No risk.”
“I know it’s probably dumb to people like our dads and maybe even you. No risk, no reward. But the reward for me is the no risk. I don’t have a lot of money, but I don’t have a lot of drama either. And without money, guess who leaves me alone?”
“Your parents.”
“Exactly.”
We’d made it to the top of the mountain and stood there admiring the beautiful view for a moment. Making it to the top of the iconic hump of the camel-shaped mountain in Phoenix meant an uninhibited, 360-degree view of the valley below us. It had been a tough hike with frequent breaks in our conversations to finally make it up to the top, but the view was so worth it.
She turned to me, her eyes welling up slightly. “When we were here eight years ago, I didn’t realize there was so much behind the breakup. I had to fill in a lot of the blanks.”
“I’m sorry. I was eighteen, Paige. I didn’t understand a lot of it myself. I just knew I had to walk away.”
Slowly, she stepped toward me. Impatient, I stuck out my hand and pulled her tightly against me. We stood there like that for a long moment. Her head tucked against my chest, our arms wrapped tightly around each other, staring out at the city we used to call home.
“Come to LA with me,” she said, squeezing me tighter around the waist.
I kissed the top of her head. I had to be back at work on Wednesday, but it was only Sunday. I could probably spend a couple of days out there without needing to put in leave for it. Before I had a chance to answer, camera flashes and annoying questions alerted us to the presence of the paparazzi. We turned to find the bodyguards ushering them back down the mountain, on the trail this time, rather than through the bushes where they’d come from.
“Wow,” I said. “They really will find you anywhere, won’t they?”
“Pretty much.”
“Let’s eat.” As I took off my backpack and started unpacking our lunch, she pulled out her phone and started scrolling. Her eyes widened, and I stood from my crouched position. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Chase. This says he’s checked himself into rehab to get treatment for depression.”
I raised a brow. Images of her on-again-off-again ex flashed in my mind. It was a bummer they were love interests on the show because that meant I knew what it looked like to see him with his arms around her or his lips on hers. I shuddered, pushing the images out of my mind.
“Does it say why?”
She groaned. “Yes. He’s apparently devastated that I cheated on him with you.”
“Cheated? But you said you guys weren’t together right now.”
“Oh, we are definitely not together. And he knows it. But it’s Hollywood. His publicist must have a plan for how this can benefit him.”
Anger swelled up inside of me. “And he would go along with it even if it trashed your reputation?”
“Looks like it.”
Another paparazzi jumped out from behind a bush. “Paige, who’s the guy? Why did you cheat on Chase? Did you hear he’s in rehab now? Do you feel bad? Is this the same Marine from Vegas last night or is it another new guy?”
For the first time that weekend, I was grateful for Paige’s bodyguards. If Joe hadn’t stepped in and pulled that loser away, I definitely would have punched him in the face.
9
Paige
Noah was pretty reluctant to let one of the security guards drive his bike to LA, but I needed to get there fast, and he wanted to come with me, so the helicopter was the obvious choice. We hadn’t even stayed at the top of Camelback long enough to eat, we just took a water break and munched on our way back down the mountain. We did, however, snap a couple of pics for my social media profile that I was now updating.
“What are you going to caption it?” Noah asked from beside me, speaking into the microphone on the large headset he wore.
I shifted on the plush cream seat and put a finger on my chin. “How about, ‘Hiking with bae’?”
Noah raised a brow. “Am I supposed to know what ‘bae’ means?”
We laughed at that, and it made me feel a little lighter. In truth, it was hard not to feel good as I was tucked into a luxurious helicopter cabin with a guy whose smile could instantly make my heart race.
I finished my post—with a few nature emojis as the only caption—and submitted it. Noah sent me a wink before turning back to look out the window, and my insides churned. How could Chase do this to me? We’d had our problems in the past, but as far as I knew, we were currently on good terms. We had a great working relationship, we could mingle at parties despite our dating history, and we even helped each other run lines.
I couldn’t imagine what his publicist hoped to get out of this charade, but I hated that I was involved in it. This just wasn’t my style and Chase knew it. In fact—
I gasped out loud.
“What?” Noah asked.
“We had an NDA.”
“Yeah, I remember. I signed it last night.”
I waved a hand. “Not me and you. Well, us too. But I’m talking about me and Chase. We had an NDA.”
Noah stared at me with a puzzled expression. “Okay …”
“And he is violating the terms of our agreement by saying that I cheated on him. It specifically says neither of us is allowed to disparage the other one’s character in the event of a breakup.”
“Nice. Those things are pretty cool, after all. So, now what?”
I hummed. “Now, I think I’ll go try to talk some sense into him before I take legal action. Maybe just reminding him about the NDA will be enough for him to make a statement that will clear my name.”
“So, um, not to kick you while you’re down, but have you given any thought about how the cheating thing will affect the movie? I mean, we’ve been talking about your reputation as a whole and getting into hot water with the network, but what about Sandra?”
“Ugh, you’re right.” I groaned, hunching over, and dropped my head into my hands. “Here I am hoping to get on her good side with my Marine boyfriend, and then it turns out I’m a cheating tramp.”
He leaned across the leather armrest between us and rubbed my back. “You are not a cheating tramp. This isn’t real, PW. Remember? You said it yourself. It’s Hollywood. Just because they say it doesn’t make it reality.”
I peeked up at him. “Perception is reality.”
Two hours later, I sat behind my desk in my home office with Noah lounging on the chaise in the corner. My dad was steaming mad and pacing the room, muttering about bad decisions and broken trust. Molly nervously stood next to me, waiting for direction, and my publicist was in the other room making phone calls. My head was spinning.
“I still don’t think he needs to be here for this,” Rich said, jabbing a finger in Noah’s general direction but not sparing him a glance.
“Well, I think he does,” I said simply.
“Right, because you’re the queen of good decisions when it comes to that boy.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’s not a teenager anymore. And neither am I. Drop the Romeo and Juliet act because no one’s dying for love over here. We just need to figure this out before my career dies.”
Noah snorted, then tried to cover it up with a cough. “Excuse me. Sorry.”
“Oh, please,” Rich spat. “You know as well as I do that none of this would be happening if you had listened to me about the Marine ball thing. This dumb movie isn’t worth all of this negative publicity, and you know it.”
I stood from my seat and placed my hands on my desk, leveling a gaze
on my dad. “It’s not just a dumb movie. It’s a chance at a fresh start. It’s finally stepping out of the role of Dr. Young and into something else. Anything else. And this just seemed like my avenue, considering everyone else is mysteriously scared away from working with me.”
“And you think that’s my fault?” Rich asked, one hand splayed defensively over his chest.
I held my hands out and shrugged. “I don’t know, is it?”
Without answering, he turned on Noah. “And you, Mr. Too-Good-for-All-of-This, you’re okay with her using you to get ahead in her career?”
Noah cleared his throat and sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees and holding my dad’s gaze. “The very fact that I’m in this room, listening to all of this, means she’s not using me for anything. I’m trying to help her figure it out, just like you.”
“Sure, sure,” Rich said, waving a hand sarcastically. “You’re a real helper. News flash, buddy. If you hadn’t kissed her for the cameras to get your fifteen minutes of fame, we wouldn’t be in this mess. That ball stunt would have been a simple photo op and it would have been over by now.”
“Rich, please,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“It’s true. If he hadn’t taken it from photo op to front-page news, Chase wouldn’t be claiming you cheated on him and the director would see that you care about the military,” Rich replied, then turned back to Noah and jabbed a finger in the air between them. “You’ve done nothing to help Paige. Only hurt her more.”
Steam came out of my ears, but before I could say anything to defend Noah, he held up a hand in my direction. He stood from the couch and faced my dad, his shoulders squared. “Mr. Walker, you know better than anyone that I don’t care about money or fame. Or I wouldn’t be within a mile of your daughter. Right?”
I watched as my dad’s eyes narrowed. His mouth snapped shut, and he swallowed back whatever else he’d been about to say before turning and storming from the room. None of us moved for a moment. We just stood there, frozen.
The door opened, and I jumped, making my publicist hold out her hand. “Sorry to disturb you. Is now a good time?”
“Yeah. Come on in, Joy,” I replied, plopping back down in my chair with a huff. I wanted to grill Noah about what he said to my dad about coming within a mile of me, but I supposed it needed to wait. “How did it go?”
“He said he’ll take the meeting with you. Here’s the address of where he is.” Joy crossed to my desk and placed a piece of paper in front of me.
I took the paper, glanced at the address, and rolled my eyes. “Seriously? This is his home address. He’s supposed to be in rehab.”
“Apparently that was just what they told the media,” Joy replied.
“I can’t even.” I turned to Noah with a huff. “Noah, as much as I would love to have you there for moral support, would you mind waiting here while I go talk to Chase?”
“That’s probably not the best plan,” Joy said, shrugging apologetically when all eyes turned to her. “Just saying, having you both go to see Chase would fit the narrative better. If you were really cheating on him with Noah, would you both go see him?”
“I guess not,” I replied, mulling it over. “But what’s the narrative that you’re trying to put out? That we’re all friends or something?”
“I’m banking on him coming clean. I think that’s what you should aim for,” Joy replied.
I shared a skeptical look with Molly at my side. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
10
Noah
Paige’s publicist suggested we take the motorcycle to see Chase. Apparently, it would be best for “our narrative” if we arrived together, but I was just happy I’d get to see it again after trusting Paige’s security team to get it to LA. We just had to wait a few hours for it to arrive, which gave us a chance to hang out at Paige’s house and decompress.
She gave me a tour of her enormous villa, starting in her office where we’d taken that infuriating meeting with her dad. It took everything I had not to tell Paige about his scheming last year, and the fact that he was the inspiration behind my very public ball invitation.
But it wasn’t the time. Really, would there ever be a good time to tell someone that a person they trust completely, that they’ve loved and looked up to their whole life, was actually a huge jerk? Probably not.
If she’d gone with me to the ball that night a year ago, I likely would have told her then. I would have told her all about the creep who tracked me down and how her dad had then showed up at my apartment in San Diego. How he’d admitted to having someone keeping tabs on me to let him know if I ever moved to California, and he was ready to step in as soon as it happened.
Supposedly, Paige had made a comment or two in front of him over the years about knowing there was a Marine base nearby and had wondered if I’d ever get stationed there. It had been a small thing, but it’d been enough to make him take action to ensure notification if that ever happened. And when it did, he’d been quick to come knocking on my door. And for the second time in my history with Paige, I had to tell her dad that he couldn’t buy me off.
We meandered through the halls of her sprawling home, and I knew I was right about being able to fit several of my studios inside of one of her rooms. She wasn’t boastful or anything, but I could tell she was proud of having worked hard to be able to live in her dream house. It was cool to see that on her face as she told me about her life and her routine in the house.
I could tell that even though she was ready to move on from the show specifically, she hadn’t been miserable for the last eight years; she enjoyed what she did for a living. She savored her lavish lifestyle and the excitement of Hollywood. But since this wasn’t my world, what did that mean for us?
“So,” I asked, holding out my hands in one of the large guest rooms in the house, “just pick one?”
She laughed. “You’ve got a view of the skyline and hills from the one down the hall, a view of the pool from this here, or the ones on the other side all have mountain views.”
“I feel like I’m at a hotel choosing my preference. Do they have a difference in price? Is there a parking lot view? That’s probably more in my budget.”
With a wrinkled nose and a giggle that made my heart pick up speed, she lightly pushed me in the chest and walked out of the room. “Hush, Noah.”
“Okay, I’ll take the pool view,” I called after her. “Feel like going for a dip?”
“Hush, Noah,” she called back.
I grinned and looked around the guest room that I’d use for the next couple of nights. Like the rest of the house, it had Spanish-style decor and a warm color palette. Thanks to arched windows that took up an entire wall of the room, it was still bright and open. There was a queen-size bed with a cream-colored spread, a dresser, and a writing desk.
A thought occurred to me then, as I stood there looking at the furniture. I didn’t have any clean clothes. Did this place have a normal laundry room where I could take care of it myself, or would I need to ask some kind of butler-type person for help?
I stepped out of the room and saw Paige talking to Molly. She jumped up and down and clapped her hands, then hugged her assistant so tightly that it made her yelp.
“What’s up?” I asked.
Paige spun around. “It’s down to me and one other girl for the movie. There were like five others in the running last I heard.”
“Wow, congrats,” I said. “That’s awesome. Even with the papers saying you cheated on Chase with me?”
“Hmm. Good point. Molly?” Paige turned to her assistant. “Did that come up? Maybe she just doesn’t follow the gossip rags.”
Molly bit her lip. “Joy told her you guys have a long history and that you and Chase were definitely broken up before you and Noah reunited.”
My brows shot up as I turned to Paige. “What does your publicist know about our history?”
“Whatever my dad must have told her,” she replied, biting her lip.
“I heard her on the phone with Sandra,” Molly said. “She didn’t give details, just said this wasn’t some cheap publicity stunt. You guys are the real deal. And I quote, ‘you’ll be hearing wedding bells before you know it,’ end quote.”
Paige and I looked at each other with matching expressions of shock. I cleared my throat. “Wedding bells?”
“That escalated quickly,” Paige added.
Molly shrugged unapologetically. “Joy just wants to help your image, Paige. If you’re cleared of this cheating thing, in a wholesome relationship with an active duty Marine, and just landed your first major film role, that’s a win for Joy.”
“Let me get this straight,” I cut in, holding up a hand. “Paige and I made the decision at the ball to give this thing between us a real shot. You know, make it more than a photo op just to benefit her career. And now that decision itself is being used to benefit her career?”
“Pretty much,” Molly said. “You’re dating a celebrity, Noah. Do you expect reality?”
“Molly, take it down a notch,” Paige said.
Her assistant held out her hands. “I’m sorry. I guess I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, Noah. I care about Paige, and I know about your history. I just don’t want to see this whole thing blow up in her face.”
I understood where Molly was coming from. As her assistant, she probably saw every move Paige made. Some turned out to be good for her and some turned out to be bad. They had a close friendship, too, so it was probably a bigger deal to her when it went bad. I cared about Paige as well, so I got it. But that didn’t make it any easier to hear how readily they’d strategized about a decision that was a really big deal to me.
I blew out a breath. “Fine, yeah. Whatever we need to do.”
Molly gave me a tight-lipped smile and left us in the hallway without another word.
Adored by You: A Sweet, Celebrity, Military Romance (San Diego Marines Book 7) Page 8