The orderly kept moving forward, hesitating only long enough to wave at the nearest security guard.
The guard stepped forward, trying to make a path for them. “Hey, let these people through.”
A reporter pushed past Ben and stepped right in front of the wheelchair. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”
Maya didn’t speak but instead shifted to look at Ben.
The fear in her eyes was enough to heat his temper and make his blood boil. He stepped forward. “Hey, back off.”
“Did you start dating before you and Heather Wallenberg broke up? Is that why you kept your marriage secret?” another reporter asked. “What about Cassie Birchfield? She said you were going out with her after you got married.”
Ben clamped his teeth together, refusing to answer. Instead, he pushed through the crowd in the hope of shielding Maya from the cameras and the questions.
The next few minutes passed in a blur of security guards pushing reporters out of their path and the orderly trying to weave the wheelchair past them while questions continued to punctuate the air.
When they finally made it outside, Kari was waiting for them.
Ben opened the front door and helped Maya into the car. Then he climbed into the backseat behind her.
“What is going on?” Kari asked the minute they were all inside their mother’s car. “Is this because of Cassie?”
“Cassie? Why would the press be asking about her?”
Kari looked at him sheepishly. “Because she posted a photo of the two of you on Twitter and Facebook and said you were back together.”
“She what?”
Ben saw the look pass between Kari and Maya, the one that clearly said Maya had known all about it. He turned from his sister and aimed his question at Maya. “You knew about this?”
Kari didn’t let her answer. “I’m the one who saw it, but it was on Christmas Eve. Maya didn’t want it to ruin your holiday, so we didn’t say anything.” She started the car and looked back at Ben, confused. “If this isn’t about Cassie, then what are the reporters doing here?”
“Someone found out that Maya and I are married.” Ben leaned forward between the two front seats and jerked a thumb toward the reporters. “They all want the inside scoop.”
“Oh man.” Kari started the car and pulled away from the curb. “How could this have happened?”
“Someone must have overheard me talking at the hospital,” Ben said with a shake of his head. “Every time I turned around, someone was asking what my relationship was to Maya.”
Kari’s eyes widened. “And you told them?”
“Well, yeah. How else was I going to stay with her?”
“This is all my fault,” Maya said softly.
Ben put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s not your fault.”
“I’m so sorry,” she continued as though he hadn’t spoken. “If I hadn’t forgotten to take my medicine, this never would have happened.”
“Maya, don’t worry about any of this right now,” Ben told her. “For now, let’s just try to enjoy the rest of our visit here. It will only be a matter of time before this all blows over.”
* * *
Ben helped Maya to the living room couch, but before he could sit down beside her, his father called him into the kitchen.
“I’ll be right back,” Ben told her. “Do you need anything?”
“No, thanks.”
Reluctantly, Ben left her alone and headed into the kitchen, where his parents and Kari were waiting for him. “What’s up?”
His father peered through the doorway to check on Maya. Then he motioned for Ben to sit down at the kitchen table with everyone else. “Have a seat.”
Anticipating a discussion on the press camped outside, he dropped into a chair. “I’m really sorry about all of this. I’ll call the PR guy at work to see if he can figure out a way to call these guys off.”
“That’s a good idea, but there’s something else we need to talk about.”
“What’s that?”
“A man from immigration showed up looking for Maya this morning. It looks like her former fiancé is still trying to force her to move back to India. Because of the photos of you and Cassie that have been circulating on the Internet this week, they have decided to open an investigation into the validity of your marriage.”
“What?” Ben looked around the table, waiting for someone to tell him this was some insane joke. The grim expressions staring back at him told him there was nothing funny about the situation. “How is this possible?”
His father sat beside him and explained what the immigration officer had told them that morning. When he finished, Ben finally said, “Then as soon as he talks to Cassie, this whole thing should resolve itself. I ran into her the other day at the mall, but other than that, we haven’t talked since we broke up last January.”
“I thought the same thing. Unfortunately, she’s the one who posted the photo and a tweet that said, ‘Back together again, this time forever.’”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Ben dragged a hand over his face. “This is a nightmare.”
“Ben, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about it when I first saw it,” Kari said. “I had no idea it might be important.”
“Don’t worry about it. The real question is, what am I going to tell Maya?”
“Tell her not to worry about the press,” Jane told him. “We’ll do what we can to shield her from it.”
“If immigration is insisting on an investigation, Maya is going to find out,” Ben reminded her.
“Before you worry her about all of this, call your team and see what they can do to help,” Steve suggested.
“First I’m going to call Cassie.” Ben retrieved his phone and called, annoyed when she didn’t answer. He left a message asking her to take the photos down. Then he turned back to his parents.
Jane glanced at her watch. “It’s only five o’clock. Maybe you should call your publicist now to see if he has any suggestions.”
Ben nodded. He dialed the number, not bothering to step away from the table as he normally would when making a phone call. Whether he wanted them to or not, his family had clearly decided to stand behind him through whatever he and Maya were about to face.
The phone rang a half dozen times, and Ben was just about to hang up when Trent answered with a breathless, “Hello.”
“Hey, Trent. Sorry to bother you, but I need a favor.”
“What’s up, Ben?”
“Remember when you said that if I ever had any problems with the press I should give you a call?”
“Yeah.” Trent sounded hesitant. “What’s wrong?”
“At this point, it might be easier to give you a list of what’s right. It’s probably shorter.”
Now resignation sounded through the phone. “Just start at the beginning.”
* * *
Maya looked helplessly out the window, feeling very much alone despite the multitude of voices coming from the kitchen. The half dozen cars parked on the street and the photographers clustered on the sidewalk outside Ben’s home proved that she wasn’t as isolated as she felt.
She thought of the stunned look on Ben’s face when he had realized the reporters at the hospital were there because of them. Because of her. He had recovered quickly enough, becoming protective of her as they’d exited the hospital, but that didn’t change the facts. The above-reproach reputation he had worked so hard to maintain had been severely damaged, and it was her fault.
The photo with him and his old girlfriend might have garnered some attention when it hit the Internet, but it wouldn’t have been much of a story without the additional news that Ben was married and had been at the time the photo was taken.
She felt silly now to have thought Ben had really gone out with Cassie when she’d seen that photo. She should have known he wasn’t the type to go behind her back with someone else, even if their relationship was platonic.
“Hey.” Ben’s voice sounded a
moment before his hand came down to rest on her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
She looked at him. “Just wondering how long they will wait for you to come outside.”
“Once it gets dark, they’ll give up. It’s cold out there.”
“I’m so sorry. This never would have happened . . .”
Ben sat down and turned her so she was facing him. “Stop apologizing. It will all work out.”
“Your publicist can’t be happy about this.”
“He’ll handle it. This is what he gets paid for.”
“I imagine he’ll want a raise as soon as these stories start hitting the news.”
“They already have,” Ben said, his voice tight.
Immediately distressed, Maya asked, “What are they saying?”
Ben shrugged. “It’s nothing worth stressing over.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”
He didn’t respond, but Maya could tell by the look on Ben’s face that he was worried.
His mother walked into the living room and said, “Ben, Maya, dinner’s ready.”
“We’ll be right there,” Ben told her. Then he took Maya’s hand and tugged her toward the dining room. “Don’t think about the reporters. Let’s just try to enjoy the rest of our time here. Like I said before, this will all blow over.”
Chapter 35
“This isn’t going to blow over,” Trent said with a frustrated shake of his head. Several recent articles about Ben and Maya were spread out on his desk. “Heather has been talking to the press, and she confirmed that the two of you only broke up a week before you got married. Cassie isn’t answering my calls, and she hasn’t taken down the photo or her comment saying you were dating again.”
Ben lowered himself into the chair across from Trent. This was not how he wanted to start his New Year’s Eve. “How did they find out when I got married?”
“My guess is that one of the reporters found a source at the courthouse.”
“Now what?” Ben asked. “We had reporters camped outside our apartment when we got home yesterday. I had to hire a car to take Maya to the hospital this morning so they would follow me here instead of bothering her. I don’t know if she can take this kind of stress. I still haven’t told her about the immigration investigation.”
“I hate to break it to you, but the easiest way to get the press to go away is to give them what they want.”
“Which is?”
“Your story.” Trent rested his elbows on his desk and leaned forward. “They want to know how you met, how you fell in love. They want to see you together so they can capture photos of the happy couple.”
“And when they ask about Heather and Cassie?”
“Tell them the truth . . .” His voice trailed off, and he gave Ben a quizzical look. “What is the truth anyway?”
Ben stared at him for a moment. How could he explain his relationship with Maya to Trent when he barely understood it himself? “It’s a little complicated.”
“Why don’t you start with telling me how you met her. I assume you met her before you broke up with Heather.”
Ben nodded. “I actually met her about a year ago. She’s my sister’s friend.”
“So you met her before you even started dating Heather.”
“Yeah, but I was dating Cassie then.”
“When did you and Cassie break up?”
“Early January. At the time, Cassie thought I was interested in someone else, but I actually didn’t start dating anyone else until I met Heather in May.”
“That’s good. We can imply that you and Maya were dating last spring, broke up, and then after your breakup with Heather, you realized you were in love and decided to get married.” He jotted down some notes on the pad of paper in front of him as he spoke. “The press is still going to jump on the timeline though. Going from dating one girl to marrying another in one week is pretty extreme.”
“Heather is exaggerating a bit on when we broke up. I told her I wanted to take a break a week earlier, but she didn’t want to hear it. When she followed me to DC, I had to get blunt about it.”
“I hate to break it to you, Ben, but two weeks is not exactly a long engagement either,” Trent said. “Any explanation of why you married Maya so quickly?”
Ben thought of Rishi. “A couple of reasons, but I’m not sure we want them in the press.”
“Her health?”
“That’s one thing,” Ben admitted. “I guess you could say that I didn’t want to see Maya go through her treatments alone.”
“Is there something else?”
“In a way, it’s the immigration thing.” Ben explained Maya’s previous engagement and the arrival of her former fiancé.
“Is that the real reason you got married?”
Slowly, Ben shook his head. He tried to think of a way to explain how he had come to the decision, but he still wasn’t quite sure he understood it himself. Before he could try to put words together, images of Maya poured through his mind. The way she looked when he took her to his teammate’s wedding, the satisfaction he felt when he slipped the ring on her finger Christmas morning, the conviction in her voice when they debated baseball.
After several seconds of silence, Ben straightened his shoulders. He couldn’t explain the truth of why he had gotten married, but the reason he wanted to protect his marriage was incredibly simple. “I’m married to Maya because I love her.”
Trent studied him in silence for a moment and then nodded. “I guess that says it all.”
More than a little shaken, Ben found himself agreeing. “I guess it does.”
* * *
Maya looked out the window of the rented car and saw the reporters by the front door of the apartment complex. Using the same ploy she’d used when avoiding Rishi, she asked the driver to drop her off by the elevator in the garage and found, to her dismay, that several more reporters were waiting there as well.
“Do you want me to walk you to the elevator, miss?”
She started to say yes, but then she saw Ben getting out of his car. This group of reporters must have been following him around. Noticing the hired car, Ben crossed to it and opened the back door for Maya.
He offered his thanks to the driver and reached for Maya’s hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here before we get cornered.”
“I hope that’s possible,” Maya muttered. Gripping Ben’s hand, she climbed out of the car and followed him past the reporters, who immediately started throwing questions at him and snapping photos. Ben’s only response was to pull his hand free of Maya’s and slip his arm around her shoulders to draw her closer.
To her surprise, instead of heading for the elevator, he steered her to his car and opened the passenger door. She started to ask where they were going, but the presence of the reporters made her bite back the question. Ben helped her into the car and then claimed his own seat, not wasting any time in starting the engine and pulling out of the garage. As soon as they made it past the reporters, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ben, what are we going to do about all of this? You can’t keep living this way.”
He glanced sideways at her. “I talked to Trent today. His suggestion is to tell the press our story.”
“What do you mean, tell our story?”
“He’s going to set up a press conference, but basically, he said we need to make it look like we’re married for real.”
Her eyebrows drew together. “How are we supposed to do that?”
“Just promise not to slap me if I kiss you in public.” Immediately, Maya felt her cheeks flush, and she noticed the wry humor in Ben’s voice. Before she could comment, he added, “I also thought that it might be nice if you let me take you out to lunch after we finish with the jewelers.”
“What jewelers?”
“Trent thinks it’s time I start wearing a wedding ring.” When Ben pulled up to a stoplight, he shifted and reached for her left hand, where the emerald ring gleamed from h
er finger. “We should probably get you some kind of wedding band to go with this too.”
“Do you really think it’s a good idea for us to be seen ring shopping two months after our wedding?”
“It’s part of our story. We chose not to wear wedding rings because we were protecting our privacy. Now that everyone knows about us, it’s time to take that next step.”
What he said made sense, she supposed, but she wasn’t sure about the idea of having the media scrutinizing their marriage or possibly discovering the real reasons Ben had married her. She looked over at him and found herself wondering again about his real motivations. An instant later, she was scrutinizing her own. Why had she married Ben?
Admittedly, she had been lonely, but if company had been all she wanted, she could have married Rishi. Protecting herself from an unwanted marriage was the most logical of the various reasons she could think of, but looking back now, she could admit that Ben had swept her up in a kind of fairy tale and had given her hope for her future. It was the same kind of hope she had grown up expecting she would find when her parents arranged her marriage, right up until she learned her father wasn’t going to give her any say in her future.
Hope. Promise. Love. Ben made her feel all of those things. Everything seemed to have happened so naturally, but now she found herself afraid of all three of those cherished feelings. What would she do, she wondered, if they couldn’t convince the media that their marriage was real? What would happen if they learned that Ben didn’t feel the same way about her as she felt about him?
Before she could pursue that thought, they arrived, and Ben escorted her up a short flight of stairs and into the jewelry store. Thirty minutes later, she had a narrow wedding band on her finger that beautifully complemented the cut of her emerald ring.
Ben had narrowed his choices down to three. He held up a plain platinum band that was a thicker version of her own. “What do you think of this one?”
“All of these will work,” Maya reminded him gently. “Do you like it?”
He looked down at it for a moment, then pushed it onto his ring finger. “This is the one. It’s almost a perfect match to yours.”
Chances Are Page 23