by Paige Rion
Instead, she went to sleep early, counting the hours till morning, when Ford would return.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
With Ford’s arrival that morning came the media. Several paparazzi camped out at Andi’s house as well as Ford’s vacation home, hoping to get a statement or photographs, but most of all, hoping for them to see each other so they could get the coveted pictures of the two of them together.
Her father had called the local police, who had managed to keep them off their property, but they parked on the street, and after several hours of staring out her bedroom window at them, she grew tired of waiting. They already had their story. What difference would it make if she went to Ford?
She marched over to her closet, threw on an old hoodie, pulling the hood over her head to help conceal at least some of her from the cameras, then made her way outside.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to leave?”
Her mother’s voice came from behind her. Andi spun around to see her mother standing in the doorway. She flashed her a tiny smile. “I need to see him.”
Her mother nodded, her eyes softening. That was all the explanation she needed.
Turning, Andi walked to her car with her head down, her gaze fixed on the gravel driveway. She could hear the rumble of excitement from the men on the streets at the sight of her and tried not to let it spook her. Getting in, she turned the key in the ignition, and taking a deep breath, headed for the road and the waiting paparazzi.
As soon as she drew near, cameras flashed and the men closed in on her car, shouting questions at her. They brought their cameras up to the sides of her windows. She tried to sink back into her hood and the seat, but knew there was no hiding, so she pressed on the gas and shot out into the street.
When she arrived at Ford’s home, it became clear that the atmosphere was different from her own. The paparazzi must have secured the owner’s permission to camp out in the yard, because the second she got out of her car, they swarmed her. Lights flashed in her eyes, temporarily blinding her. Cameras clicked and microphones were shoved in her face as they shouted questions to her. All she could do was keep her head down and push her way through them to the house. It was completely surreal.
She hurried to the door, knocking once before Ford opened it to let her in. The photographers went wild, snapping and yelling as their flashes went off like lightning and Andi disappeared inside. He held her for a moment before letting her go and leading her into the office.
“You okay?” he asked. He gazed at her, assessing her as if the men outside carried swords and not cameras.
Andi nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. This is a lot more than I expected. I—”
“As if the article wasn’t enough, my mother seems to have re-emerged and spoke to Entertainment Tonight.”
Andi went silent, unsure of what to say. She had no idea what lies his mother may have told, she only knew how much her actions must have affected him.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured but Ford didn’t even seem to hear her.
“Candy wants to talk to us. I told her we’d both call the minute you got here.” He took a step back from her, seemingly indifferent, much the way he was in the weeks after she’d told him they needed to remain professional. His lukewarm reception left her feeling insecure, but she reassured herself. He was worried, upset, angry, mad... Why shouldn’t he be? They needed to talk to Candy, get her take, and the tension would disappear.
He went to Ms. Perry’s desk and picked up her phone, dialing, then hitting the speaker button so Andi could hear it ring. “Ms. Perry will be here later. I told her to wait to come in this morning because of this.” He waved a hand toward the front of the house.
Andi nodded, twisting her hands in front of her and wishing Ford were standing right next to her instead of several feet away.
The phone clicked and Candy’s voice came on the line. “Hello?”
“Candy, it’s Ford and Andi. We’re both here and we’ve got you on speaker. My old friends have come to pay me a visit on my lawn.”
They spoke for several minutes, going back and forth, making humorless jokes and quips about the media and his mother’s latest antics before Candy grew somber and Ford quiet.
“The reason I wanted to make this call with the both of you is because, although Andi’s book and career are independent of yours, the two of you are now intertwined in the press.”
Ford nodded, his expression solemn, twisting a knife in Andi’s chest. “And?” he asked.
“And…” Candy paused, as if needing to ponder what she wanted to say. “Andi, I put a bug in several publishers’ ears this morning to see what the air surrounding you felt like, and the feedback I got is clear. They love good press, especially prior to publication, and you being seen with Ford is big, but they’re worried about the angle the press is spinning on this. Especially after his mother’s interview last night. They think the tabloids will spin it so you look like a fame-hungry writer. Regardless of the truth, the word on the street seems to be that you broke Peter’s heart and you’ll break Ford’s next, that all you care about is yourself. The old saying, all publicity is good publicity, applies when it comes to the business side of things, but it’s not going to make you look good personally, that’s for sure.”
Andi shot a glance at Ford, whose mouth flattened into a firm line. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he listened.
“Guys, it’s simple. I think Andi will still have no problem getting a publisher with this much hype about her, but they’re going to make her look pretty bad, unless something can be done to turn this ship around. Ford, you know better than anyone that I care about my clients, which is why I made this call. Andi, I just thought you should know.”
Okay, not good. Andi’s stomach pitched at the thought of the press running such an ugly story. What would her parents think? What would everyone in Callaway Cove say? At least Candy forewarned them. Maybe something could be done to help the situation.
Andi’s mind raced as she said, “Okay. We’ll figure something out.”
Ford shifted his gaze to her, and Andi smiled up at him. She wanted to see the slow curl of his smile, feel the warmth in his gaze, hear the soothing tone of his voice speaking words of comfort. But she got none of those things. Instead, he stared at her, his expression blank, with only the darkening of his eyes signaling any emotion.
“Good,” Candy said. “You could say that you and Peter had already broken up, but they may not buy it. Supposedly they have someone close to you corroborating Peter’s story. Or you could get back together with him and make it seem like he was just jealous and it was all a misunderstanding. Although, with the bartender’s convincing story of your little make out session at the bar, that might be a little tough to sell,” she muttered.
Andi raised a hand, shaking her head. “Wait. No. Peter and I broke up. Period. We’re not getting back together, regardless of who’s backing his story.”
“That’s true.” Candy said, and Andi could hear the clucking of her tongue.
Before she could say anything else, Ford placed a hand on her shoulder and took over. “We’ll come up with something, Candy. Don’t worry about this, and thank you for the information. I’ll take it from here,” he said.
“Okay. Good,” Candy said. “I’ll handle the publishing side of things and you figure out the personal stuff.”
“I’ll call you later,” Ford said and hung up the phone.
Andi stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Ford’s waist. She hated the thought of getting such a poor reputation, but if it didn’t hurt her chances of getting published, then maybe she could live with such temporary repercussions. As long as she had Ford by her side. That was all that mattered. And right now, all she wanted was Ford to wrap his arms around her. To know he was real and not just a figment of her imagination. To know he was going nowhere.
She leaned up on her tiptoes and brought her mouth to his, but before she could kiss him, Ford turned h
is head and cleared his throat. “Uh, I might have an idea on what will make the press go away, and I’d rather deal with it now before they go forward with the story on you.” He half smiled, but the gesture didn’t reach his eyes.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes, and she could feel the bubble of panic rise in her throat.
“No. I can just tell Candy’s concerned, and it’s better for us to figure this whole thing out sooner rather than later.” He removed Andi’s arms from his waist and took a step back.
Andi swallowed, her throat a bed of broken glass. “Ford?”
“I’ll call you as soon as I figure this mess out. It’s my fault. I’ll fix it.” He watched the floor as he backed toward the door.
“We’re okay, though, right?” she asked, even though, deep down, she knew the answer. Because each step Ford took back toward his office felt a mile wide.
“Yeah. I’ll call you later,” he said. Then he turned into his office, closing the door behind him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Andi would have been relieved when she got the call at midnight to come see Ford, but instead of hearing his voice on the end of the line, she heard Ms. Perry’s.
By the time she arrived, most of the press had gone. To where, she had no idea, but her mind was too preoccupied to care as she ran up the walkway. She and Ford would make things work. She would do whatever it took and knew Ford would, as well. The impersonal phone call was probably nothing, just as the band around her chest and the sinking feeling in her gut were mere overreactions.
She opened the door and wove her way through the hallway to the office. Ms. Perry was nowhere to be found, but as Andi approached the French doors, Rachel appeared, a stack of papers in her hands. She stopped short at the sight of Andi and hesitated, as if making up her mind whether she should say something.
Andi couldn’t budge another inch. She couldn’t talk. Something squeezed her lungs like a vice. All she could do was stand there and stare.
“You’re here already,” Rachel said. The paper in her hand shook slightly as she approached Andi, the tips of her ears turning pink against her platinum hair. “I hope there are no hard feelings between us.” She flashed a shaky smile.
Andi squeezed her eyes closed for a minute, trying to reign in her incoherent thoughts. Rachel’s presence and the things she said made little sense.
“What do you mean? What hard feelings? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She opened her eyes and squinted, as if trying to understand. But her mind just kept going back to Ford and what he might have planned in her absence.
Rachel took a step back. “Oh.” Her mouth opened and closed like a fish before she said anything else. “I just assumed … I thought you would’ve talked to Peter and… Nothing. Just forget it.”
Andi sighed and shook her head, bringing her hands up to her skull. “What does Peter have to do with you?” she asked, but the moment the words left her lips, understanding hit her. “Oh my God. You were the one corroborating his story—” A sheet of ice washed over her.
Rachel paled, raising her hands. “It was only my idea to go to the press and give them the story.”
When Andi took a step away from her, Rachel followed, pleading in her eyes. “Please understand. He came back from New York and was so upset. I just thought …you had a chance at everything. Peter was such a good guy and you broke his heart, so when he told me you’d hooked an agent, I figured you had your career and it was time to make my move.” Her voice hardened. “I need this for my family. Besides, it’s not like I convinced him to do it. He was so hurt … I just planted the seed.”
Andi’s mouth gaped. Words escaped her. Betrayal hit her like a hammer to the heart. How could someone who claimed to be her best friend do this to her? She should have known. Peter was selfish, but he wasn’t devious. Rachel, on the other hand…
She raised her hands and backed away, as if to defend herself from a war Rachel had already waged. Moisture pooled in her eyes, but she bit the inside of her cheek, refusing to let herself cave in front of her.
“Andi,” Ford’s voice broke the silence.
She whipped around, toward his voice. He stood in the doorway to his office, his face drawn down in concern, his sandy hair a mess.
Andi wanted to run to him, to put her arms around him and have him comfort her. But before she could, he moved back inside his office and disappeared. She went in behind him, watching Rachel scurry off from the corner of her eye. Stopping in front of his desk, her eyes widened as she glanced around the office. Ford’s computer, all his books lining the shelves, the picture of the sailboat on his desk—they were all gone.
Blood thundered in her ears. She couldn’t swallow, and her brain sent a flurry of images through her head. The way Ford wouldn’t meet her eyes. The way he’d told Candy he’d ‘take care of it.’ The way he’d turned his face away when she tried to kiss him…
“Ford…” She paused, surprised that her voice worked at all. “What’s going on? Where’s all your stuff? And why is Rachel here?”
“I’m leaving. I’m going to do the Oprah exclusive.” His eyes met hers, dark and weary.
Andi’s heart thumped painfully in her chest. “I’ll come with you.” A world without Ford was not one she wanted to be a part of.
He glanced away, running his hands through his hair. “Rachel is coming with me as my new assistant.”
“Fine. I don’t care. I’ll come as your girlfriend.”
“I need to go alone.” His tone was hard, unwavering.
“Why?” She stepped forward, her eyes pooling with tears. She grabbed his arms and forced him to look at her.
“Don’t do this,” he rasped.
“Do what?”
“Make this harder than it needs to be.” His eyes, with those golden, glowing embers of gold, held onto hers. “You heard the story the press is prepared to run on you.”
“I don’t care.” Andi shook her head. She couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe.
“I can’t do this to you. I can’t—” He grunted, as if the effort of holding his own pain inside was too much to bear. “I can’t let them hound you like they’ve done to me. I can’t let them make a mockery out of you. You’ve been nothing but good…” He paused, running a hand through his hair. “Maybe this won’t affect your career, but it will affect your personal life—you, your parents. Your family has been nothing but an example in this town, but if that story runs, everyone in Callaway Cove will remember it for years to come when they speak of you.”
“Do you think I really care about that? Enough to let you walk away? And what will that prove, anyway?” Tears slid down her face for the second time in days, but this time was different. With each one, the silvery trail down her cheek left scars in her heart. And that was when it hit her like a landslide. She would do anything to stop Ford from leaving. She would take whatever hurtful stories the press put out. She would let them sully her reputation and deal with the invasion of privacy. She would give up writing. Her dreams. She would do anything—in a heartbeat—if it meant spending her life with him. Because none of it mattered. Nothing mattered if she didn’t have him to share it with, which is a lot more than she could have said for Peter.
“I don’t care.” She fisted her hands in his shirt, grabbing it, shaking him, forcing him to look at her, to see that losing him would destroy her. “I don’t care. Do you hear me? Dammit, look at me!” she screamed when he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “This will all be for nothing if you go. Please, look at me,” she sobbed.
And he did. He looked at her with the same eyes that had captivated her that first, long ago day of her interview. The ones she knew better than her own. The ones that flared gold when angry and darkened when serious. The eyes she now knew could weep when sad.
She leaned up and kissed the moisture that trailed down his jaw. “I don’t care about my career. I don’t care about the press. They can turn me into a fame-hungry whore. I
don’t care.” He started to say something, but she put a finger to his lips. “Because I love you,” she whispered through her tears. “I love you and I’m not going to lose you. Not now. Not when I just got you.”
He grabbed her hands, loosening her grip on his shirt. “You didn’t ask for any of this. You didn’t ask for my problems, and you might be willing to let them trash you, but I’m not. You don’t deserve it … This doesn’t have to be permanent. Let’s just give the media some time to die down.”
“I don’t want to give it time. You know how I feel about this. It’s like I said the first day I met you. Being in the spotlight—bad or good—is all a part of the job.”
She watched as the wheels seemed to spin in his head, and for a moment, she thought she had him. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her and say she was right. For him to kiss her and take her to bed, leaving everything else to figure out tomorrow. But she saw the moment the wall went up. The moment he decided, and she knew nothing she said would change his mind.
He leaned back, still gripping her wrists, and stepped away from her. “One day you’ll see what I’m doing is the right thing. You’ll see I’m doing it because I love you more than you could ever love me. I love you,” he repeated. “That’s why I’m doing this.”
His words at the hotel before she left the airport came back to her with shocking clarity. “I care enough about you for the both of us.”
Andi dropped her arms. “You knew. Back in the hotel when you were packing my things. You already knew then that something like this would happen. That you’d leave.”