He laughed. “Kissing you is hardly work. In fact...” His hand wound around the back of my neck and he took possession of my mouth again.
This kiss was interrupted, eventually, by someone shouting, “Summaar!” from a passing car.
Aaron drew back and shook his head. “I prefer ‘Aarsumm’. What’s wrong with people?”
“I guess they know who’s the most important,” I said, trying to get my breath back. Aaron’s kisses made my ‘no sex until marriage’ beliefs seem insane.
“Saving the best for last,” he said, nodding. “Okay. I can get my head around that. Ready for lunch?”
“Not with you,” I said, pretending to be indignant. “But okay.”
We went into the restaurant, where the owner greeted us with a cheerful “Happy Christmas Eve” and then recognized us and asked for a picture for his wall of celebrities. We agreed, of course, and once we were eventually settled at a table and had placed our orders I said, “Wait, what was I supposed to have read?”
He picked up my hand from the table and kissed it. “Finally she remembers.”
“Hey, I was distracted,” I said, then waited until he grinned with pride before adding, “By hunger, of course. Nothing else.”
“Of course,” he said, winking at me. “Me too. And here.”
He pushed his phone across the table and I read with growing horror an article in which Kent and MC told the world that they’d turned down a million dollars for the TV rights to their wedding.
“Oh, God,” I muttered when I was finished. “Her dress won’t even get aired, and...” I shook my head. “Never mind. That doesn’t matter. Oh, this is awful.”
“I know, right? That llama farm thing wasn’t very nice, and they dissed me too.”
“What?” I stared at him. “What are you on about?”
He blinked. “What the reporter said in the article. About how you spent your money. Didn’t you just read it?”
I picked up his phone again without answering, and found the part he meant. “Kent and MC didn’t say anything mean about us,” I said when I’d read through it once more. “The reporter said they said we all reacted how they’d expected to the money they gave us, and then she said she figured that meant you said something stupid and suggestive and I probably bought a llama farm or did something else weird.” That usually would have bothered me, but I had much bigger problems.
“Okay,” he said, drawing out the two syllables to incredible length. “Fine. True. Then what are you so upset about?”
“Nothing.” I didn’t look away from the phone. I was rereading the part about the TV rights, hoping I’d somehow gotten it wrong. No luck. The reporter was crystal clear: they’d been offered the money and they had declined.
They’d turned down a million dollars to keep their wedding and its location private.
And I’d given that location to Simon and Mimi.
*****
About halfway through what should have been a fun pre-Christmas lunch with Aaron which had instead become a nightmare because I couldn’t keep myself focused on him, I excused myself and went outside with my phone to call Simon. I had to make him understand that they couldn’t photograph the wedding at all, not even from a distance.
I might have been able to. If he’d answered his phone.
“Mimi here.”
“I... um, hi. It’s Summer. Is Simon a--”
“He’s on vacation this week so I’ve got his work phone. His wife insists on him being totally offline for the holidays. What’s up?”
The smirk in her tone told me she probably knew why I was calling, but I told her anyhow. When I’d finished explaining that the article had made it clear to me that we had to leave Kent and MC alone on their wedding day, she said, “I read that this morning and thought you might call, but honestly, Summer, I thought you were smarter than this. They won’t even know! Telephoto lens, remember? They’ll have no idea we’re taking pictures. Trust me.”
I’d rather trust my family not to make me feel stupid at Christmas, but I didn’t know what else to say. “I...”
Mimi sighed. “Summer, it’s a wedding not some top-secret spy mission. A few pictures, especially from a distance, won’t make a bit of difference. You’ve got to toughen up if you want this career. Oh, and I wouldn’t try calling Simon about this later if I were you.”
“Why not?” I said defiantly, not wanting her to feel like she’d got the better of me.
She laughed. “He’ll try to convince you to give up the honeymoon location too. Those would be the best pictures. Maybe a few more big kisses like on the island, or maybe even them having sex. Or at least MC topless. The real money shots, so to speak.”
I was glad I hadn’t eaten much of my lunch yet because if my stomach had been full I’d have thrown up. “I can’t let you do that to them. And--” I realized too late what I should have said. “And I don’t know where the honeymoon is anyhow. So there’s nothing Simon can do.”
“Honey,” she said, her voice curling its lip at me. “There’s always something Simon can do. The guy’s a legend. Now, you need anything else?”
I mumbled a no and got off the phone, then took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. I had to hide how I felt, which wasn’t something I did well, because Aaron could not know about the impending crisis. Nobody could. I’d done a stupid thing and I had to fix it on my own or else everyone would know exactly how stupid I was and I couldn’t bear that.
Once I’d managed to relax a bit, I went back into the restaurant and walked straight up to Aaron and kissed him full on the mouth.
“What was that for, not that I’m complaining?” He winked at me. “Trust me, not complaining.”
“Just felt like it.” I settled back into my chair. “Consider it your Christmas present.”
In reality, I’d wanted to distract him from wondering why I was so distracted, and the glint in his eyes suggested I’d succeeded.
If only I’d been able to distract myself as easily.
Chapter Thirteen
Ron adjusted his goggles. “Glad to hear it went okay. Ours was... decent.”
I couldn’t see his eyes through the mirrored lenses but his face looked sad. “Decent,” I said. “That’s not really good enough for Christmas. I’m sorry.”
He gave a short nod. “Yeah. Me too. But nobody cried and nobody threw a fit or anything like that, so it could have been worse.”
I nodded, and he said, “Okay, well, let’s go burn off some of the turkey and pie. Four lengths to warm up and then we’ll talk about what we’re doing today.”
We took off, but when I reached the end and was about to turn he waved his hand in front of my face to stop me.
“What’s up?” I gripped the wall with one hand and adjusted an uncomfortable suit strap with the other. The suits I made were more for lounging than for swimming laps, so I’d bought this one during the post-Christmas sales but we weren’t getting along.
“Nothing. Just realized I forgot to ask you about Aaron.”
My strap had somehow twisted itself into a rope and was digging hard into the soft flesh by my neck. I tugged at it, only half-listening to Ron. “What about him?”
“Did you spend Christmas with him?”
“Christmas Eve. Can you fix this thing? It’s trying to cut my head off.”
Ron chuckled. “Can’t have that. Turn around.”
I did, and he straightened the strap up my back and onto my shoulder. “Thanks,” I said as I returned to facing him. “You’re a life-saver.”
He pointed at the red foam ring hanging on the pool’s wall. “No, that is.”
As I groaned, he added, “So just the twenty-fourth then?”
What he was asking finally sank in for me. “I didn’t spend it with Aaron. Not like that. We just had lunch because we hadn’t seen each other in a few days because I’ve been so busy.”
He nodded. “Gotcha.” Shaking his head, he added, “Never really thought Aaron was bo
yfriend material. But I guess you guys are making it work.”
Since we’d gone out last night and our good night kiss had turned into first a serious makeout session and then me having to explain yet again why we weren’t going any further than that, I couldn’t hold back a grim laugh.
Ron pulled off his goggles. “Ouch. It’s not working?”
I pulled mine off too. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s just...” I tried to find a way to blow off the whole thing, but the concern in his now-clearly-visible eyes made that feel wrong. “I don’t know,” I said again. “He just wants... things I’m not ready to do right now.”
Something like anger flashed in his eyes, sending a shiver through me though I didn’t know what had caused it, and he blinked and said, “Well, you haven’t been together long at all. He shouldn’t be pressuring you.”
“He’s not,” I said automatically, although he kind of was.
“Well, good,” he said quickly, and I realized he thought he’d offended me by criticizing Aaron. I was about to correct that impression when he said, “That kind of thing needs to wait until both people are sure they’re ready, I think. However long that takes.”
“It’s not a matter of time,” I said slowly, wondering why I was doing this. Did I want to tell Ron?
I did. But why?
He tipped his head to one side. “Then...”
I swished my goggles in the water, watching them so I didn’t have to look at him. I still didn’t know why I wanted to tell him but I knew I did so I said, “It’s a matter of being married. I don’t want to do those things without it.”
“I... oh. So, Kent was...”
“First and only,” I said, trying to sound light-hearted and knowing I didn’t manage it. “I thought he’d be last too but I’m a little too young to want to give up the whole thing forever.” Hoping he wasn’t thinking I was being stupid not to have sex whenever I wanted, I made myself look at him, and my heart skipped a beat at the dawning understanding in his eyes.
“So, not until you’re married again. And Aaron, by his own admission, isn’t the marrying kind. That’s... complicated.”
I gave a single nod. “And that’s why I can’t quite agree with your ‘we’re making it work’ comment. Because I can’t see how we will.”
“But you do like him?”
I nodded, feeling surprisingly weird. “I do. But...” I shrugged. “But who knows what’ll happen in the new year?”
He nodded, then smiled and said, “We’ll still be right here, if we don’t get swimming now.”
I smiled back, glad to be moving on. “Well, we can’t have that. I’m going out with Liv and my friends tonight, and tomorrow I’m off to Toronto for New Year’s.”
Putting his goggles back on, he said, “Aaron going too? Either place?”
“Nope,” I said, getting myself ready to swim too. “Tonight’s just all girls, and New Year’s is all work no fun.”
He took his goggles off again. “You spend a lot of time with Liv? I didn’t know that.”
I tipped my head from side to side. “A bit. MC’s been busy at work so Liv and I have been working on her dress. I like her, though. We have fun together even when we’re working. So when my friend Kia got everyone organized to go out tonight I asked Liv to come along. MC didn’t want to, said it wasn’t her kind of thing, but I did ask her too.”
Ron gave my shoulder a squeeze. “I know, you’re trying to be MC’s friend. You guys couldn’t be more different so it’s tough, but it’s good of you. And I know Kent appreciates it too.”
My cheeks warmed, and I played with my goggles in the water because I didn’t know what to say. “I’m glad,” I mumbled. “I want them to be happy. I really do.”
He put his goggles on again, clearing his throat as he did. Once they were on, he said, “Well, I hope it all comes together. Work and... everything. You know.”
I smiled at him, again unable to see his eyes but picking up on the awkward sincerity in his voice and knowing he meant Aaron. “Thanks, man. Ready to rock?”
“You got it.”
He pushed off and I swam after him, wondering two things: why I had wanted to make sure he knew I wasn’t sleeping with Aaron and why he had been so interested in our relationship.
Chapter Fourteen
“Happy New Year,” Simon said, holding out his arms for a hug. I didn’t want to, but since I was about to ask him for a huge favor I made myself go in anyhow and give him a quick squeeze.
At least, that was my plan. His plan was apparently to lock on like a bear trap and refuse to let me go.
I suffered being crushed against his body and suffocated by his overuse of cologne for as long as I could then tried to wriggle away, managing to giggle and say, “Come on, boss, if Mimi walks in you’ll make her jealous.”
He didn’t release me right away, but as I scrambled to come up with another idea he laughed and ran his hand over my back then did drop his arms. “I doubt it, but anything’s possible.”
I took a step back, trying to make it look like I’d stumbled instead of like I was frantically trying to get away from him, and he laughed again and said, “Which you proved on New Year’s Eve, Red. Amazing work. How on earth did you get Courtney to give you another scoop? And that stuff from Misty?”
By lots of searching through past articles about Courtney and Misty, I’d found out where the celebs always went for manicures before big events and I’d made sure I was there despite my hangover from the night before. I didn’t usually get hangovers, but then I didn’t usually party as hard as I had with Liv and Kia and the others. I’d had a fantastic time, with lots of drinking and dancing and flirting with guys who recognized me from the show and lots of laughing with my friends.
Especially with Liv. She had admitted to me that MC’s grudge-holding aggravated her, then had sighed and added, “I do love her, but sometimes I wish she were more easy-going, more fun. Easier to be friends with. Like... well...” She hadn’t finished the sentence, but she’d smiled shyly and nudged me and I’d been so happy I’d hugged her hard. She’d hugged me back and we’d gone on with our night, but fortunately I hadn’t been so drunk that I’d forgotten what she’d said. I never wanted to forget it. I thought Liv was awesome, and someone so smart actually liked me too? Amazing.
That moment was almost, but not quite, equalled by how happy I felt when Courtney lit up when she saw me, which had touched me more than I’d ever have been able to explain to Simon. After giving me an unexpected but sweet hug, Courtney had cheerfully told me that she was going on an as-yet-unannounced tour in the new year. Misty, older and clearly wiser to the ways of journalists, had shushed her, but Courtney’s delight in how I’d noticed her itchy arm, which she raved about as proof I was paying attention to her rather than just running through my next question in my head while she was talking the way most reporters did, had eventually won Misty over.
The “stuff” Simon liked had been Misty pouring her heart out about how gorgeous and wonderful her teenage fans were and how much she wished they didn’t feel like they were inadequate because they didn’t measure up to the impossible standards of the “professionally beautiful” women they saw in the media. I’d asked if I could quote her, and she’d been doubtful at first but had then given me permission, saying, “I think you get us, so okay.”
I wouldn’t tell Simon how it had all happened, though, because that would be betraying the girls’ trust and I felt like I’d been doing far too much of that sort of thing lately, so I just gave him a sassy smile and said, “Hey, I’m good at what I do. Told you I would be.”
He winked. “You sure did. And I should never have doubted you. Now, why are you here? Not that I’m complaining, of course, but I didn’t think you were planning to be.”
Something in his voice told me he had a good idea of why I’d come to see him, so I pretended to be innocent because I wanted to see what he knew. “Mimi didn’t tell you? Huh. I thought she would. I was talking to her bef
ore Christmas about the Kent and MC wedding stuff.”
He shook his head. “You mean McKent. Haven’t you seen that online? Gotta use the term people like.”
I didn’t want to, because it felt awful to have my ex-husband paired so dramatically with another woman and I also didn’t like how the public had mangled MC’s initials, but I smiled because I had to. “Okay, will do. Anyhow, we really need to talk about that. They turned down a million dollars for--”
“Who did?” He leaned forward. “Say it.”
I didn’t want to, and not just because I didn’t want to see Simon win, but he was going to win and we both knew it so I sighed and said, “McKent.”
His smile made me feel sick. “Oh, right, them,” he said. “What about them?”
“They refused a million dollars for their wedding rights,” I said, feeling even sicker as I realized this wasn’t going to work. “And so I think we shouldn’t be filming them.”
His expression of fake shock made me want to roll my eyes but I managed to resist as he said, “Oh, you think that, do you? You think we shouldn’t film two public figures getting married.”
“They’re not really public figures.” I could hear the desperation in my voice and tried to tone it down. “Nobody even cares any more and--”
“Nobody cares?” He slapped at a few keys on his laptop then spun the computer around to face me. The article interviewing Kent and MC was on the screen, scrolled down to the point where I could see how many people had commented.
1,473.
“And that’s just here,” he said as he turned the laptop back to its usual place. “Twitter’s all lit up too. Nobody can believe anyone would turn down that kind of money.”
“But they did. And... and we could make ourselves look really good by saying that we were going to go there, shoot their wedding, and then chose not to. We could be... the only ones with... integrity...”
I was slowing down because his eyes were making it clear I didn’t have a prayer. “Summer, come on,” he said, tapping the corner of his laptop. “With this kind of interest? They’re hotter than Angel Dove right now, and that’s not easy given how much she likes partying with movie stars. There’s nothing you can give me to change my mind.”
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