The Price of Fame: A Price Novel (The Price Novels Book 2)

by Craft, Maggi

  I put my hand on his back, hoping to calm him. “Honey, I didn’t come here to talk to you about anything. I was just going for a walk.”

  “So, you don’t agree with Dad?” I saw the need for approval in his eyes.

  I sighed. “I think he means well, Slayde. I think he truly has your best interest at heart, but I think it’s your life and your decision. Whatever you decide, we will support you.”

  “You will support me. Not ‘we,’” he retorted.

  “Oh, you know he will support you too. He just likes to be in control.”

  He was quiet and sighed before speaking. “I need to know something. Do you share his opinion?”

  “Which one?”

  “That we’re going to end up divorced?”

  I smiled. “No, I don’t.”

  The day of the wedding, Slayde was completely fine. No nerves, no jitters. I was impressed. I knew he knew what he wanted. Arden seemed fine too—until we were waiting for her to walk down the aisle. She was taking a little longer than she should have, and I could tell Slayde was about to have a meltdown standing up there, waiting for her.

  Zac leaned over and whispered to me. “Where is she? Slayde’s gonna freak out up there any minute now. You’d better go check on her.”

  He was right. When I looked up again, Slayde was staring at me, pleading with his eyes for me to go get her. I smiled at him, trying to reassure him that everything was fine. But I went to find her.

  If she’s getting cold feet now, I’m gonna kill her. When I opened the door to the dressing room, she looked up at me. She was most definitely nervous; her face was white, and she was gripping the makeup counter.

  “Is everything OK? Slayde’s on the verge of a complete meltdown out here.” I tried to smile, but I felt a little panicked. She smiled at me and assured me everything was fine, and I returned to my seat. I used my eyes to reassure Slayde that everything was OK.

  A very long moment later, she came out, and I wished I could have taken a picture of Slayde’s face when she stepped through that door. I wasn’t sure if it was relief or happiness or maybe a little bit of both, but he was smiling from ear to ear, and tears were streaming down his face. It was the sweetest thing I’d ever seen. At that moment, I believed what they said about nothing being more beautiful than someone in love.

  Chapter 3

  Slayde

  When I saw Arden step through the door, I felt a rush of relief. I was starting to think she had gotten scared and decided not to go through with it. I had never in my life seen anything more beautiful than her. She looked like an angel, and she was going to be mine for the rest of my life. I was trying not to cry, but I felt the tears spill down my cheeks. I kissed her head and squeezed her hand when she reached me. She was shaking. I could tell she was nervous, but that was OK. I wasn’t nervous. Now that she was standing by my side, I was completely fine.

  The ceremony was short and sweet. Ten minutes, tops. It was perfect. Exactly what Arden wanted. No frills or fuss, just a few close friends and family. Mostly my family, excluding Brady. We had it on the grounds of the resort on top a hill that overlooked the ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous.

  After we said our vows, the rest of the party headed out of the chapel, and we got a minute alone. I kissed Arden and told her how happy I was that she was finally my wife. She smiled at me. She looked like she felt sure about herself again.

  “For a minute, I was scared you weren’t coming out,” I said.

  “I’m sorry. It just took me a minute. You know I’m always a little behind everyone else getting things straight in my head.”

  She started to kiss me again, but I pulled back a little. “But it is straight, right?” I couldn’t say that I wasn’t a tiny bit concerned about her hesitation, even though I knew that was her style.

  “As an arrow,” she nodded, reassuring me.

  I was so relieved that we were finally married. At least now she’d know without a doubt that I was hers forever and that I wanted no one but her. If we were married, she would feel secure and wouldn’t freak out every time she got scared and then leave. At least, I didn’t think she would.

  The way she’d done that throughout our relationship had been exhausting at times, and it was definitely something I could have done without. It had killed me to watch her walk away, but I had known I had to. I loved her too much to make her do something she wasn’t ready to do. And if being insecure because of a crappy childhood was the worst thing she’d ever do to me, I could overlook it. I had been treated far worse by girls who’d meant less.

  After the small reception, my dad came and gave me a hug. “Good luck, son.” He smiled and raised his glass to me. Watching him walk away again, I thought, I don’t need luck to be a better husband than Dad. He definitely didn’t treat my mom the way I thought a wife should be treated. From my perspective, Mom could have done better than Dad, but I could see Mom’s perspective too. She was in love with him. She would rather be missing him and still have him than ever be with anyone else. I shook my head and looked around for my wife and spotted her across the room, cornered by my mom.

  I could never leave Arden and be happy with anyone else. I had never in my life needed another human being like I needed her. I never thought anyone would be able to have control over me the way she did. She had total control over my heart, and every other part of me obeyed my heart. I couldn’t do anything about it either, even if I wanted to. We made eye contact, and she smiled and gave me a cute little wave. She was completely oblivious to her power over me, which was fine with me. Maybe I’m more like Mom than I realized.

  We were only going to have two days for a honeymoon, so we had decided to go to Barbados since it was nearby. My director had had a prior commitment for our wedding week, but I’d have to go right back to work when we got home.

  Arden would also be starting her internship. After that, who knew when we’d have any time together. I hated our crazy schedules and found myself wishing she would stay home and let me take care of her. Then she’d be able to travel with me—but that was selfish. I knew she’d never be happy like that. She had always dreamed of being a surgeon, and I would never think of asking her to give that up. No matter how much I was going to miss her.

  My parents had a bottle of Cristal waiting for us in the jet. There was a note:

  Slayde and Arden,

  Congratulations on starting your beautiful new life together.

  We love you,

  Mom and Dad

  As soon as we were in the air, I pulled Arden onto my lap and started kissing her neck. “What are you doing? What if someone comes back here and sees us?” she whispered.

  I laughed against her skin. “Scott’s the only other person on here, and I doubt he’s gonna stop flying the plane and come back here to see what we are doing.”

  She must have seen my point because she gave in.

  The resort was amazing. I had no doubt it would be. Mom had set it all up, and she paid attention to every detail. But when we got to our suite, we were both exhausted. I never dreamed I would be asleep before ten on my wedding night, but I was. We both were.

  When I opened my eyes, Arden was squinting at me.

  “So, what do you want to do today, Mrs. Price?” I smiled and kissed her forehead.

  She frowned. “I don’t know what I think about that. What about Simms-hyphen-Price?”

  I couldn’t tell if she was serious or not. “Really?” I asked.

  She burst out laughing. “I’m kidding, baby.”

  “I never know with you,” I said and tickled her.

  “Stop!” She pinched me under my arm, and I quickly let her go. “Do we have to do anything today?” she asked.

  “Nope. Sure don’t. I’m totally fine staying in this room with you for the next two days.” I grabbed her and started kissing her.

  We spent most of the day in our room, which I guessed was to be expected for newlyweds. We eventually decided to get dressed and go find so
mething to eat and explore the island. My family had traveled all over the world, but I’d never been to Barbados before, so I was excited to see what we could get into.

  We ended up on the beach at sunset, just relaxing and talking. This was exactly what I had pictured when I thought about our honeymoon. Doing absolutely nothing. We enjoyed the rest of our trip, but before I knew it, it was time to go home. I really could have stayed there with Arden forever.

  I rubbed Arden’s leg. “How about we don’t go back. We can hide out here. Would you be OK living in a hut with me on the beach?” I asked.

  “Sure, I’m not a real wilderness kind of girl, but it would have to be easier than dealing with the paparazzi.”

  “That’s the damn truth.” I chuckled.

  When we went home, I jumped right back into my work, and she settled into her internship. Amazingly, her schedule was even more strenuous than mine. I might be at work for sixteen hours on a bad day, but sometimes she was gone for up to seventy-two hours straight. Then when she got home, she slept for at least ten.

  I had known going into it that she was going to be busy. She’d warned me more times than I could count. I just hadn’t realized how busy that would be. But it wouldn’t be like this forever, she assured me. So I was looking forward to the future, and I was going to make the most of all the time we were together, which was usually no more than three nights a week.

  Arden had just gotten home and showered. “A, you want to go see a movie tonight?” I asked when she lay next to me on the couch. I knew she probably wouldn’t last through a movie.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, snuggling closer into me before answering. “Sure. If you want to.”

  “Are you tired?”

  “Little,” she whispered.

  It was only seven thirty. “If you go to sleep now, you may not sleep tonight.”

  “I’m not going to sleep. I want to love on you for a few minutes while you finish watching your show.”

  “Mmm-hmmm.” I knew better. I knew if she closed her eyes, she was going to be out, but she looked so peaceful and comfortable that I didn’t have the heart to make her get up. And I was watching a good show, and she was lying on my chest, so this was much better than how I spent many evenings.

  At eleven I decided to move her to our bed. I thought she’d end up with a crick in her neck if I left her on the couch. I kissed her forehead and whispered, “Babe, get up.” She didn’t move at first, and I thought I might have to carry her. I was about to when she stirred. “A, get up.”

  When her eyes fluttered, I smiled and pointed at the wet spot on my T-shirt. “You were drooling.”

  Looking shocked, she sat up, wiping her face and saying, “No, I wasn’t,” at the same time.

  I laughed. “Yes, you were.” I pointed again.

  She smiled a little and put her hand on my chest. “I’m sorry. I guess I was really tired. Rain check on that movie?”

  I nodded and guided her to her feet and into our room, and she went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I turned out the lights.

  When she crawled into bed, she resumed her position on my chest. “I love you. I’m sorry I’m no fun,” she mumbled.

  “That’s OK. You can make it up to me in the morning.”

  She was asleep again in minutes.

  The next morning I woke up before her and went to Starbucks for her favorite coffee and muffin. I was glad to see she was awake when I got home.

  She was sitting on the counter in the bathroom, drying her hair upside down like she always did. She must have seen my reflection in the mirror when I came in because she switched the hair dryer off and flipped her head up, so her hair was no longer in her eyes.

  She smiled when she saw the coffee and Starbucks bag in my hand. I held them up, and she slipped down off the counter. I held them up where she couldn’t reach them, and she stood on her tiptoes to try anyway. Smiling down at her, I kissed the tip of her nose. “Magic words?”

  “Please?” I shook my head, never breaking her gaze. “I love you?” I shook my head again. “Now?” I was about to step back, but she gently caught my face in her hands and whispered, “I want you?” Bingo!

  I nodded, and she smiled as she slipped one hand under my shirt and the other around my neck and began kissing me.

  I set her coffee and muffin down on the counter and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head. After throwing mine on the floor with hers, I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist.

  I carried her to our room and lay her down on our bed. I tried to stand up to slip my shorts off, but she tightened her grip around my waist with her legs, so I couldn’t. Fine by me.

  I grazed her chin with my nose, exposing the sensitive part of her neck, and kissed my way to her ear. Her breath caught, and her legs tightened around my waist, pulling me closer to her. I continued kissing her, and before long, she was pushing me away while pulling on the button of my shorts.

  Afterward I said, “I told you that you could make it up to me.” She smiled and closed her eyes. “No, you aren’t going back to sleep.”

  She opened them again. “Will you get my coffee?”

  “I bet it’s cold now.”

  She shrugged. “Even better.”

  Once she had gotten enough coffee in her to become human, I told her I wanted to go see that movie she’d rain-checked on.

  That evening, not asking any questions, she slid into my vehicle with me. “It’s so pretty today,” she said, gazing out the window at the sunset.

  “And just think, if it hadn’t been for me, you’d have slept the day away and missed all of this gorgeous weather.”

  She knew I was right. Smiling, she reached and grabbed my hand. “Thank you.”

  I squeezed her hand, feeling excited.

  We pulled into the old drive-in that we’d gone to on our first date in the States. She looked at me. “Is this where we are seeing the movie?”

  I nodded and stepped out, walked around to the back of the Range Rover, and pulled out chairs and a picnic that I’d made earlier. She was smiling from ear to ear when she got out. “What are we watching?”

  Placing my hands on my hips, I pulled her in for a soft kiss. “I guess you’ll find out.”

  Once we got settled, the movie started. Arden grabbed my arm. “I love you. Have I told you that today?”

  I pulled her over onto my lap. “Maybe.”

  “I can’t believe you did this. I know you’ve seen this movie.”

  “But you haven’t.”

  She made herself comfortable on my lap, and we watched Mockingjay. She had been dying to see it, but she had been so busy that she’d missed it at the theater, and it hadn’t made it to DVD yet. I had used my resources and gotten it for her.

  Chapter 4

  Arden

  Being an intern is exhausting. You’re expected to be ready to go at any moment, even if you’ve been awake for thirty-six hours and coffee is the only thing that you’ve had time to put in your system, but the adrenaline rush makes it all worth it.

  The first few weeks were extremely intimidating. I wouldn’t go as far as to say your colleagues haze you. But you’re definitely the grunt. And they most definitely look for your weaknesses.

  Good thing for me I was pretty good at hiding all my emotions. “Ice Princess, you’re with me today,” Dr. Greene shouted when we were starting rounds. “The rest of you check the board.”

  He smiled at me. Dr. Adam Greene was a womanizing jerk, but he was an amazing surgeon and the attending on duty. I could learn from him if I could ignore his flirtatious behavior—which I had to do because his reference was key to my advancement in this program.

  “Are you ready to do this?” He winked at me.

  I nodded, but I was scared. I’d only assisted in one surgery as an intern, and it was a routine appendectomy. They had only let me hold a clamp. Today Dr. Greene was removing a malignant tumor from a seventeen-year-old girl. This wa
s life or death. No routine here.

  “Good. Get scrubbed.”

  When I entered the OR, it was already buzzing. The crisp paper gown around my scrubs made me feel powerful, invincible, like a rock star or superhero.

  The anesthesiologist looked up at me and rolled his eyes.

  I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it didn’t feel good. Dr. Greene leaned over and whispered, “He’s jealous. He really wanted to cut but didn’t make it.”

  I wasn’t sure that this guy’s failed life plan was what his passive-aggression was really about, but I decided I didn’t care. I was here to learn, and I had a front-row seat today.

  “Dr. Simms,” Dr. Greene called.

  “Price,” I corrected him.

  He smirked, shaking his head. That was another thing. I would have preferred to leave my professional name Simms. And it was extremely difficult to change, since I had already graduated from med school. But it would have hurt Slayde’s feelings if I had kept my maiden name. And I understood that, but now I felt like no one took me seriously anymore. I would never have told anyone what my husband’s profession was, but you can’t hide it when your faces are on every magazine cover for weeks. “Oh yeah. Dr. Price. You’re going to be opening for me today.”

  What? I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not, but I knew he was waiting for my reaction. Trying to look confident, I only nodded, and he continued. “It’s really easy. There’s already a little line drawn for you. You can connect the dots, can’t you?”

  I nodded again, staring at the purple dots on the freshly shaved scalp. I can do this. I was pretty sure Dr. Greene expected me to choke, so I would do my damnedest to prove him wrong.

  “Here ya go,” he said, handing me the scalpel.

  I took a deep breath, then began cutting, and it was awesome. Of course, once I had her open, Dr. Greene took over with the saw, but he didn’t make me move back. He let me see everything and talked me through the whole thing. It was the coolest thing ever. I was so pumped when it was over. I couldn’t wait to tell Slayde.