Chapter 26 Mia
MIA
“Where are you, darling?” Char’s voice is clipped, matter-of-fact.
“I-I’m in the car, Kasia sent someone to pick us up.”
“I know, we’ve been talking all morning.” She says something to someone else, and the voice that replies sounds like Jordan. “The car’s bringing you here.”
“To your place?” I look at Dominic, whose face is like thunder as he talks to someone on his phone.
“Yes, the press has swamped your house, and Dom’s. Ezra and Troy went to check.” Char sighs. “I’m so sorry, Mia. This is all so unfair.”
“Archie, does he know?”
“We’ll talk when you get here,” Char interjects. “It’s going to be alright, I promise you.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you soon.” I hang up, and my head falls back against the leather headrest. I watch Dominic as he nods, says Yeah a few times, then hangs up. He glances over at me, and I give him a smile. “Fine mess we’ve got ourselves into, ey?”
Dominic takes my hand and shakes his head. “It’s… it’s going to be alright.”
“How did he even get those photos?”
“Should have fucking clobbered him harder,” Dom mutters. “If he still had the energy to go skulking around your bloody garden at night.”
“Archie knows, doesn’t he?”
Dom sighs, and squeezes my hand. “I had some messages from him, I didn’t have the heart to check them.”
I look out the window at the falling rain, watching the streets fly past us. How different the streets look from the ones we just traversed in Paris when we still thought our little tryst was a secret.
We were stupid to think we’d be able to keep this quiet. I always hated the thought that I was a celebrity - even the word made me cringe - but that was the reality of it. Two famous people foolishly taking risks, thinking we could hide from the lights constantly shone on our lives.
And now the spotlights have been turned on everything we’ve been trying to hide.
The car pulls up outside Char’s place in Chelsea, and the security detail that was tailing us springs from their vehicle and rushes to ours.
Two of them keep an eye on the street as the other two usher us inside the building.
There are no reporters here, no flashing lights or yelling, just regular Saturday morning traffic and people going for brunch.
Dom places a firm arm around my shoulders, guiding me through the double doors of Char’s building.
I don’t want to feel small and helpless right now, I really don’t. But it’s nice having him shielding me like this all the same.
Inside, Char and Jordan are waiting for us. They both look tired, and I feel ridiculous all over again, as well as guilty.
Char rushes over to me and pulls me into a hug.
“Oh babes,” she murmurs. “Let’s get you inside.”
“You can all stop acting like someone died,” I say with a half-hearted laugh. “I think the war was worse, wasn’t it?”
Jordan throws me a smile, which makes me feel a little better.
In Char’s kitchen, she pours us all a coffee, and I collapse into one of her leather armchairs.
“What the bloody hell happened?” Dom asks, perching on the armchair beside me but not looking anywhere near relaxed. “Gordon said that Archie broke the news?”
Jordan shrugs and looks at Char. “It all happened kind of fast. Late last night, Troy rang me and asked if I’d been on Archie’s instagram lately, and I said no.
When I went to check, his last post was of Mia’s kitchen window, and the caption was something creepy like, Wait til you see what happened here. ”
Char rolls her eyes. “Tosser.”
“So Archie knew.” I look over at Dom. “Hardcastle went to him with the photos.”
Dom says nothing, just shakes his head, his jaw set in such a hard line, I half expect teeth to come flying out of his mouth.
“Then the club chat exploded,” Jordan goes on, rubbing the back of his neck, and casting a brief, wary glance in Dom’s direction.
“Ricky saw someone share an article with… the picture.” His eyes flicker to mine for a second, and he clears his throat.
“He sent it to me, and then everyone seemed to have seen it. Barry was-” He stops himself quickly. “I, uh, I mean-”
“Furious?” Dom offers, his voice gravelly. “That tracks. His moral compass points due bloody North and never wavers.” He slumps back into the chair and runs a hand over his face. “Shit.”
“No one’s been able to get a hold of Archie,” Char says, her eyes landing on me. “Troy’s gone over to yours and sent Trish home. He’s got Tank with him, he’ll bring him by later.”
“Great, thanks.” I take a sip of my coffee without really tasting it. “So, what do we do now? Do we make a statement, or?”
“Kasia’s on her way over,” Char says quickly. “She has it all worked out.”
“But don’t worry, alright?” Jordan gives me a smile. “This is going to be news for a day and then the next scandal will happen and everything will be forgotten.”
Char snaps a scowl in his direction and Jordan looks at me with alarm.
“I mean, not that this is scandalous, I didn’t mean-”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s alright.” Dom gets to his feet with a sigh. “It is a bloody scandal, isn’t it.”
We all fall silent, and Char and Jordan glance at each other before they quickly excuse themselves to go to the other room.
I don’t look up at Dom, feeling like he’s about to run off or something.
He just called our relationship scandalous.
I know he’s not entirely wrong, but it stings all the same.
He crouches down in front of me, and notches his fingers under my chin.
“I didn’t mean that,” he says softly, and presses a kiss to my lips. “I’m being an arsehole. I’m sorry.”
“I guess we’re both struggling with having that picture bandied around online.”
Dom huffs out a breath through gritted teeth. “It’s my bloody fault. If I hadn’t gone to clobber Hardcastle, he’d have had no reason to go stalking you.”
“He’s been stalking me for years.” I put my coffee down and take Dom’s face in my hands. “I don’t regret this either. I don’t. So we get ourselves a bit of a name for a few weeks, so what? It’ll be fine, right?”
“Of course it will.” Dom gathers me in his arms and presses a kiss to my hair. “It’ll all be OK.”
The doorbell rings, and Char rushes out of her hiding place to let Kasia into the flat. She strides in, looking impeccable in a light pink pencil skirt and cream silk blouse, not a hair out of place.
“Coffee?” Char offers, and Kasia shakes her head.
“Thank you, no.” She fishes a binder that perfectly matches the dusty pink of her skirt out of her handbag, and lays it out on the counter. Her gaze lands on Dom and I, and she raises her eyebrows. “Good morning. Have fun in Paris?”
My cheeks burn, and I drop my eyes to my lap. I’ve always liked Kasia, but she has such a stern demeanour that having her look at me like this right now feels like being told off by my mum.
“Kasia, I want you to know-” Dom begins, but Kasia holds up a hand and cuts him off.
“First of all,” she begins, “this is none of my business. What happens between two adults? Not my business. I like and respect you both. That has not changed.”
“Thank you,” I reply softly, and her lips twitch into a brief smile.
“Now. The damage control.” Kasia looks down at the open binder. “Obviously we cannot stop the spread of rumours and the picture, it is the internet and it is a hellscape. So put that out of your minds. What people will say is out of our hands.”
“Do we make a statement?” Dom asks.
“A statement?” Kasia shrugs. “A statement about what? This?” A French manicured fingernail zigzags through the air as she gestures between us. “What good would that do? You can’t deny it, because it’s in the papers, and the way you’re holding her hand tells me you wouldn’t want to anyway.”
Dom and I both glance down at our joined hands, and I blush even more.
“You just went to Paris together, we have pictures of you there too, so people are going to start putting two and two together on their own.” Kasia inhales deeply through her nose and exhales in a sigh.
“No, a statement is what guilty people do when they have done something wrong. You two have done nothing wrong. Something a little rash, perhaps. Even a little taboo? But not wrong.”
Dom squeezes my hand, and I squeeze back.
I take a deep breath, and look up at Kasia. “So what do we do?”
Kasia lifts a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Nothing, darling. Maybe not go home for a while, maybe stay here?” She looks askance at Char, who eagerly nods.
“Other than that, nothing. You are not the first couple who have been revealed publicly in this way, and you won’t be the last. Until there are further developments, there is no point in saying anything. ”
“And what about Archie?” Dom asks, his jaw setting back into that hard line.
“The lads and I’ll keep an eye on him,” Jordan says quickly. “He’s not going to bother anyone.”
“I have a shoot in the morning.” I sigh heavily. “We can’t put our lives completely on hold.”
“I’ve organised for security to accompany you for the next weeks,” Kasia says, checking over the binder in front of her. “Your PA has shared your calendar with me, and we will assure you are all safe.”
I regard Kasia with quiet awe. “You know, I think you could rule the world if you wanted to.”
Kasia smiles as she continues to write something in the binder. “I know my powers must be contained, so I content myself with the club.”