Love in the Headlines: A Star-Crossed Friends-To-Lovers Romance (Love in the Headlines Series Book 1)

by Candace Knoebel

  A ripple of red spread across her face. “This … this so-called love you feel … it won’t last. People like us, we aren’t capable of it. And I’ll prove it to you.”

  She closed the distance between us. Flicked her eyes to her left, at something I couldn’t see. Waved her hand in that direction. A second later, she pressed her lips against mine.

  I jerked away with a curse as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. A winning smile plastered on her lips.

  “That’ll be uploaded within the next … hmm … how long will it take?” She turned to a guy who stood on the other side of the sidewalk.

  He gave her a thumbs-up. “It’s being uploaded now.”

  “You see, I already gave them the headline. I just needed the picture to go with it. She won’t want a thing to do with you once she sees this, and then you’ll know how it feels.” She licked her lips. Glanced at her phone. “Ah, there it is.” She held the phone out to me. “It’s amazing how fast the internet works, isn’t it? See you around, Grayson.”

  They slipped inside the vehicle before I could get my hands around the guy’s neck. Left me standing there.

  That was all it took.

  That was the trigger pulled.

  The second I realized what had happened … what it meant … I took off for Prim. Found the first taxi I could while I dialed her number, praying I could get to her first. When her phone went to voice mail, I knew. She’d seen it, and surely, she believed it.

  ***

  Prim never answered my calls.

  I had to accept the fact that she didn’t want to see me. There wasn’t a thing I could do about it.

  I tried to see her at work, but they said she’d been out sick. I tried to get in contact with Poppy, but if she got any of my messages, she never acknowledged them.

  For days, I waited to hear from Prim. But as they slowly slipped by, the realization that she’d truly given up on me sank in. I should have never taken that assignment, especially not when things were so frail between us.

  “Dude,” Finley said, nudging me. “What are you going to do about it?”

  My shoulders fell with a hard slump. “What can I do? She won’t return my calls. She isn’t home. I have no idea where she is.”

  “Women,” he said with a shake of his head.

  “I should have never left her the way I did. I shouldn’t have walked out, angry. I love her, Fin. I was just …”

  “Being human?”

  I felt like one giant hangover.

  “Listen, man. Don’t let something that good go because of misunderstandings. If anyone can offer that advice, it’s me.”

  I glanced up at him. At the shadows that lived in his eyes.

  “If you love her and she loves you, then make it work. Find a way. You work at Stud. If anyone has a platform to stand on, it’s you.”

  His words paraded through my mind, spinning, hovering, twisting into something solid.

  I paced the floor. Looked up at him. “What if … what if I wrote a mirror of what was written about me? The version of how I came to fall in love with her?” Hope burst through my veins when I knew exactly what I needed to write. “ ‘How to Turn a Player into a Stayer: An Inside Look at How New York’s Notorious Serial Dater Came to Fall in Love.’ ” I stilled, words already forming in my head. “I’ll take back the headline and make it my own. For her. For us.”

  Fin stood back as I rushed past him, hurrying toward my room where my laptop rested.

  “You’re welcome,” he shouted after me.

  And then I shut my door.

  Lovesick

  Prim

  “HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR SOCIAL media recently?” Poppy asked as she turned from her desk to face me. She tended to me like a wounded bird, continuously finding things to ask me about to try to distract me from my reality.

  “No.” Social media was the last place I wanted to be on.

  “You have almost twenty thousand followers, Prim. And look at your Insta. It’s the same.” She was gawking, scrolling like a fiend.

  “Great.” I continued typing the story Quinn wanted on her desk by the afternoon. My mood was a giant blur of gray.

  “Prim …”

  There was that tone again. Sympathetic and worried. It was like nails being dragged across my skin. I was so sick of everyone in the office staring at me with sympathy in their eyes.

  And I was on the verge of losing it.

  A sniffle pulled our attention in Brinley’s direction.

  Finally, something to focus on other than my mess.

  We stood and tiptoed toward her. Her desk was a battlefield of tissues.

  “Brin?” I asked.

  She busted into another round of tears, her face splotchy and red. “He broke up with me,” she sobbed.

  Shit.

  “Luke?” I asked, feeling a quake in my stomach. An echo of something I refused to acknowledge pushing toward the surface.

  Her head dropped in affirmation.

  “But … you were so happy.”

  Her shoulders lifted a fraction before falling.

  “Men,” Poppy said. “If only we could give them a good swat. On the head. Preferably with something hard and debilitating.”

  That warranted a small grin from Brinley.

  “Listen, I know I give you a hard time, Brin, but Mr. Right will come along one day. He’s probably holed up in his room, writing some lonely boy poetry that will melt your panties off. You’ll see.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  Poppy’s gaze cut to mine, her smile wavering.

  “Love doesn’t fit in here. You were right,” I said, feeling the hole widen in my chest. “Not for you. Not for Quinn. Not for me. And now … not for Brinley. This place is cursed.”

  “Prim, no. I was just—”

  “What, talking crap?” I felt it then, the hot sting rushing up the base of my throat and pressing behind my eyes. “Well, guess what. You were right, and I want to feel like shit because that’s what I deserve. He trusted me. Me, Poppy, and all that was tossed down the drain the moment Quinn—”

  “Quinn, what?” Quinn said, her voice trailing past the top of my cubicle. “Boosted your career into stardom? Published a truly remarkable piece that not only aided you in your career, but our blog as well?”

  My mouth clamped shut. I returned to my computer, trying to remember what it was I had been typing.

  “Look, Prim. I’m sorry he didn’t take it well, but you’ve got to pull your head out of the tissue box and see what all you’ve accomplished in such a brief period of time. People are hearing you. You can’t tell me you wanted to be a journalist just to sit in the back of the room.”

  I caught Poppy giving Quinn the kill sign from the corner of my eye.

  Quinn’s sigh was heavy. She shifted her stance, pivoting away, but then turned back to me. “I know … I know what I did was harsh, but when you care for someone who can’t see past themselves, sometimes, harshness is required. I have to protect our brand. Protect what we stand for. And, believe it or not, I want to see you happy. All of you,” she said, looking past me to Poppy and Brinley. “You’re my girls. It might not always seem like I’m looking out for you, but I am.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  She let out a sigh. Grabbed the edge of my cubicle, her head hanging a little. “I only came over here to tell you to check your social media. I think there’s something on it you’ll want to see.”

  And with that, she strode away.

  I didn’t want to follow her advice. To fall into another one of her traps. Was it another photo of him with some other woman? Another piece of evidence for her to use against all men in this world?

  “Prim, she’s right,” Poppy excitedly said a second later. “Come here. Look.”

  On her screen was an article published by Grayson. An article about him. About us. About me. His version of how we had come to meet and how he had fallen for me. It took everything Virago had written about him and expa
nded on it. Tackled some of the facts Quinn had managed to overembellish. Gave himself entirely to the world in an exposing way.

  And also exposed Monica for the she-devil she was.

  I swiped at the tears spilling down my cheeks. A bubbling, freeing laugh pressed out from my chest when Poppy put her arm around me.

  He still loves me.

  “Man, you guys kill me with that gushy kind of love,” Poppy said, closing the article. She turned, her gaze going serious. “You going to go to him? Or are you going to do that serendipity thing again?”

  I grinned. “I can’t let serendipity have all the fun, now can I?” Standing, I reached for my purse, the chains around my heart finally breaking away.

  “Want me to say you were sick?” Poppy called as I started for the door.

  “Yeah. Lovesick,” I shouted over my shoulder as I went to reclaim my forever.

  Serendipity

  Grayson

  THE MOMENT I HIT PUBLISH on the article, I felt the many years I’d been carrying on my back fall away. The lies. The truths. They were all out there in the open now.

  Immediately, my phone went crazy. Interviews were sought. I told Harrison I’d be taking the rest of the day to sort through the mess I’d made. There was no doubt in my mind that Prim would see the article.

  I only hoped she’d read it.

  Once home, I plopped onto my couch, staring at the wall. I screened every call, every message, that came through my cell, hoping it would be Prim. As the hours wore on, doubt wrapped its grimy hands around my throat. Maybe she had read it. Maybe she didn’t care.

  I couldn’t sit still.

  I had to move.

  After locking up, I shoved my hands in my pockets and headed down the sidewalk. I needed to breathe. To do something other than watch time tick by.

  It was a breezy day, the heat taking the backseat to the possibility of rain. I moved with the flow of traffic, staring at my phone, reading through some of the comments on my article when someone jarred into the side of my shoulder.

  “I’m sorry—” I started to say, reaching out to try to save the phone that had catapulted out of my hand.

  “No, I’m—”

  We froze as the phone fell with a clatter against the concrete.

  It was Prim.

  She was there, a hairbreadth away.

  For a moment, all we did was stare, and then a smile spread wide across her beautiful lips.

  “Oh crap,” she said as she bent to grab my phone. A splintering crack had spread across the screen. “Double crap.” She paused, her head tilting as she peered down at my phone.

  “Honestly, you did me a favor,” I said with a weak chuckle. “I need a break from Harrison.”

  She gently placed the phone in my palm. “I … I read what you wrote.” Her glasses slipped forward, and she reached up to push them back with the tip of her finger. “And I wish I could go back and fix it all before it got this out of hand. I’m so sorry, Grayson. I should have—”

  I couldn’t wait another moment. I pulled her to me and took the kiss we’d both been craving. She didn’t resist. No, she fell into my arms as I squeezed her tight, vowing never to let her go again.

  Her head twisted in the crook of my neck as I whispered apologies in her ear. And when her lips curved up to mine, I closed the gap, tasting the salt coursing down her cheeks. Tasting the longing and the pain and the need.

  “I never want to lose you, Prim,” I said when the kiss broke. When I pulled her against me, my hand slid along the base of her head.

  “We really made a mess of things, didn’t we?” Her laughter was brittle as she wiped under her eyes.

  “A beautiful, crazy, insightful mess,” I corrected. “A mess that brought you back to me.”

  Her brows pulled adorably together when I chuckled.

  “What?” she asked when I shook my head.

  “Serendipity.”

  Slowly, light spread across her lips, turning them up with my favorite curve on her body. “Serendipity.”

  Laughter, deep and rich and full of amusement, barreled past my lips.

  Taking her hand in mine, moved us to the side of an alleyway. Boxed her in as I placed a slow, yearning kiss to her neck.

  “I shouldn’t have ever believed that photo, Grayson. I’m so … I’m so sorry.”

  My kisses moved to her collarbone and then returned to her mouth where our lips reacquainted themselves.

  “I was so scared.” Her words tried to fit between our dancing lips. “I thought … I thought maybe you’d decided you didn’t want to be with me anymore. I should have had more faith in us. In you.”

  I cupped the sides of her face, meeting her gaze. “There were so many things we should have done differently. I should have never left you that night. I should have called. I was on my way to you that morning, Prim.” Placing her hand against the center of my chest, I held it there. “You’re branded here now. Forever. I meant every word I wrote. I love you. Don’t ever doubt that.” Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, I added, “And I’m never going to let you go again.”

  And I sealed that promise with a kiss.

  A few minutes later, I asked Prim for her phone and then waved down a girl briskly walking past.

  “Hey,” I said, halting her. “Would you mind taking a couple of pictures of us?”

  She side-eyed me when I held Prim’s phone out to her. Taking it, still wearing a look of disagreement, she backed up and waited for my signal.

  “Ready?” I called out to her.

  When she held up the phone, I spun Prim in my arms, kissing her as I bent her over. Kissing her as if we were the only two people on the street. And I didn’t stop kissing her until the sound of whistling and clapping broke through the moment.

  Prim’s cheeks were patched in the most brilliant scarlet when I took her hand in mine and then went to reclaim her phone. The girl smirked at us as she handed it over and then left without a word.

  “What was that about?” Prim asked as I waved to the surrounding gawkers.

  “You’ll see.”

  With a gentle tug to her hand, I moved us away, making it about a block before I pulled her to a stop and brought up Prim’s Instagram account. I chose one of the photos where I was holding her close. Her hand was buried in my hair, both of us smiling against each other’s lips.

  Prim giggled when I typed #serendipity and then tagged myself in the post before hitting Share.

  “I guess that’s one way to tell the world that all is right in our own,” Prim said.

  “It’ll be the only thing they get, so they’d damn well better enjoy it.” I handed her phone back. “You might want to shut that off for a bit though because I plan on taking up the rest of your day.”

  She powered it down without pause and then laced her fingers with mine. “What now?”

  “Now, I get to take you home and make up for all the days we were apart. Afterward, you get to take me home and introduce me to your parents.”

  She laughed. “I suppose you’ve earned it.”

  “I suppose I have.” I let go of her hand, pressing her against my side as we continued walking. “Do you think they’ll like me?”

  “No … I think they’ll love you,” she answered, putting her arm around my waist.

  My heart expanded. Whole and complete for the first time in a very long time. All because of the woman beside me. All because of a crazy thing called serendipity.

  Epilogue

  Prim

  “I CALLED THIS MEETING TODAY because I have some news,” Quinn said from the head of the table in the conference room.

  “Don’t tell me… you went to the doctor and they diagnosed you with a touch of humanitis?” Poppy asked from beside me.

  Quinn’s lips fell into a flat line. “Haha. Very funny.”

  “What? Don’t think it slipped past anyone here that it was you who sent those flowers to Grayson and Prim, congratulating them on moving in together. And you said
you didn’t like sappy shit…”

  Quinn’s arms folded across her chest. “Yes. I sent the lovebirds flowers. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I feel sort of responsible for them. I was the one who aided in their coming together, wasn’t I?”

  My smile rose. “Yes, Quinn, you were.”

  I left out all the other things she was responsible for because, in some sort of weird, twisted way, she was the reason we had come together. The reason our careers had taken off. The reason we’d gotten to go on a small media tour to share our story with the world.

  Her chin rose a little. “You two are like my little relationship baby. Now, I get to watch you grow up.” She paused, smiling to herself. “I can’t help but feel like cupid. Maybe I should become a matchmaker.”

  “No!” Poppy and I said at the same time.

  Poppy turned to me. “You should probably run now. I’d be scared if she were my mother,” she said with a snort.

  Quinn pinned her with a gaze that sucked the lingering laughter straight from the air. “Anyway … I called you in here because I’ve chosen to do something innovative. Putting a fresh spin on a favorite television series. I know you’ve heard the whispers about the bachelor piece. I’ve selected two of my best bloggers to help with the content of the story. One to follow the bachelor on his journey to finding love. And one to follow the contestants.

  “Now, since this will be written in episodes spanning over the course of two months, I’ll need a promise of full commitment to this story.” Her gaze turned to me. “Prim, I’d like for you to follow the contestants. You have a trusting face. A sweet demeanor. Surely, you’ll have no issue getting them to open up to you.”

  “Of course,” I said immediately. Ideas were already rolling through my head. This would be perfect for coming down off the Grayson story. I wanted a break from the limelight. Wanted to dive into something different.

  “And you,” Quinn said, eyeing Poppy. “I think it’s your time to shine, don’t you?”

  Poppy all but leaped out of her seat. “Yes, please! Whatever it is, I’m ready.”