Chapter 25 Stevie
Stevie
There’s a pounding on my door the next morning, and I forget where I am.
I startle awake, my hair caked in hair spray, my skin still reeking of candy-misted perfume.
Disoriented, I glance around the room, taking in the vintage photographs on the walls, the glittering surfaces, and the sun streaming in through the high-rise window.
Then I remember the rest.
My awful interview. The lie I spun. The six-foot hole I might as well have dug for myself to sleep in last night.
Shit, shit, shit.
The pounding continues, and I jump out of bed, flipping off the covers and climbing to my feet. I’m presentable enough. I forgot to remove my makeup, so I’m sure I resemble a Picasso painting—smudged, chaotic, and slightly unsettling.
I glance at the wall mirror before rushing to the door.
Yep.
A Picasso painting of an unhinged raccoon.
So many shits .
Threading my fingers through my cement block of hair, I pull at the door handle, expecting to see one of Lex’s people: Adrian, Castle, maybe Rudy.
But it’s Lex.
Looking like a Norman Rockwell painting.
He stands before me in a navy polo and khaki pants, his hair immune to ordinary things like bedhead and slight breezes.
I find his eyes across the threshold, suddenly feeling small. Regret nips at me, leaving holes. “What are you doing here?”
“Picking you up.”
I look behind me out the window, as if the sun’s placement in the sky might give me the time. “Where’s Adrian?”
“Outside. You need to pack.”
My jaw sets as I glance back at him. I guess that’s it then. I was only here for thirty-six hours, and I managed to screw everything up. Lex can’t wait to hip bump me into that limo and wash his hands of me. “Okay. Sorry I slept in.”
“You didn’t.” He waltzes into the room, glancing around at the mess of spilled clothing, scattered hair products, and my half-open suitcase. “It’s only eight a.m.”
“My flight is at noon. The airport isn’t far.” I’m pretty sure I still have an hour or two to kill, and I was looking forward to popping by the local café for a coffee and scones.
“Well, you’re not going to the airport, Nicks. You’re coming with me.” He avoids my eyes, talking like his words aren’t entirely nonsensical. “To my place.”
I blink at him as he slides his hands into his pockets. “Excuse me? English is my native language, thank you.”
Sighing, Lex finally looks over at me and pops his shoulders. A shrug. A measly shrug. “We have a story to tell now, thanks to you.”
“What? No. There is no story. There is no going to your place.” My heart kicks up speed. “What are you even talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that we’re dating and madly in love.”
“We are not either of those things.”
“According to the entire world, we are.”
“Oh my God. No. We’re not actually doing this. That was just…”
A mistake. A horrible, messy, counterintuitive mistake.
And I set it all in motion. All I had to do was smile for the cameras and hold Lex’s hand, but I failed.
I just had to prove to Lex and his mother that I’m worthy, talented, and capable, and now I’m stuck picking up the pieces of this catastrophic explosion.
Because I’m not. I’m not any of those things.
I’m a dumbass.
I peer down at the shiny wood flooring, attempting to bulldoze through the ebbing catatonia.
“Listen,” Lex states, steepling his hands at his chin. “We’ll break up. People break up all the time. But we have to wait it out.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead,” he says. “A couple of months. Maybe three.”
My eyebrows launch skyward. “You want me to live with you for three months? I have a job, Lex. An apartment.”
“I’ve got it covered.”
“What does that mean?”
“I talked to Hamlin this morning. Your job will be waiting for you when you get back.”
“And my portion of the rent?”
“It’s covered, Stevie.”
“No.” I stab both hands through my hair, whipping my head back and forth. “No, I can’t. I can’t do this. I won’t let you pay my bills like I’m some kind of charity case.”
“It’s not charity. It’s business.”
“But what about when I get back? I can’t afford to be out of work for months. I’ll be destitute—”
“You won’t.” Lex moves in closer, waiting for my wide eyes to lock on his. “You won’t be destitute. I’m going to pay you. Ten thousand dollars a week until this is over. You’re looking at a six-figure paycheck, which I assume will more than cover your rent and bills.”
My heart stops.
My breath catches in a web of shock.
I feel my legs shaking, my right knee panging like his words melted the metal inside to liquid goop. He can’t be serious. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m dead serious. Like I said, this is a business arrangement. You’ll have your own room, so we won’t be sleeping together.” His eyes flare, throat clearing. “In any capacity.”
“Lex…no…” Just like that, a wave of guilt surges, tripping over my disbelief. “I can’t accept that. I won’t. It’ll be a hell of a lot easier if I just make a statement, tell the public I had too much to drink, got carried away, and—”
He closes his eyes, shakes his head. “It’s too late for that, Nicks. I went along with it on camera. We’ll both look like fools. I promise you, this is the best way to handle it.”
“But…my sister,” I try, clinging to a shred of hope. “She needs me at home, in Chicago. We’re a team…”
“Joplin is on board.”
“I—” My words cut off. “What? What do you mean?”
Lex studies me for a beat before plucking his phone from his pocket and making a quick call. He places it to his ear. “Yeah. Send her in.”
Everything is a blur. A different reality. “Send who in?”
Returning the phone to his pocket, Lex steps back, leans against the wall, and folds his arms. He doesn’t respond.
But he doesn’t need to, because a moment later, my sister is bounding through the open doorway. “Stevie!”
I gape at her like she’s a circus clown dressed in neon feathers and moon boots. “Jop?”
“Hey! Oh my God, look at this room. Is this what mine looks like?” She spins toward Lex with big eyes, then swivels back to me, her grin never wavering. “This is unreal. Were you pampered? Treated like royalty?”
I can’t fathom words, let alone how to use them.
Lex lifts up from the wall. “I’ll give you two a minute.”
When he disappears from the room, I glance back at my sister, my eyes watering with emotion. With every emotion. “What are you doing here?”
She skips over to the bed and flops down, the mattress heaving with her added weight. “Lex’s agent called me late last night and said I’m ‘Operation: Damage Control.’ He’s kind of cute. Quirky but cute. Have you noticed?”
“Joplin.”
“I took a red-eye out here. Got in around six and grabbed breakfast with some of his entourage. They booked a room for me for two nights, so it’s like a mini vacation.
How could I say no?” She pulls up on her elbows, sends me a soft look.
“Besides, I have a job to do. I need to convince my stubborn sister to accept ten thousand dollars a week to shack up with the hottest guy in Hollywood, a guy who I know you were secretly in love with back in high school—”
“I was not in love with—”
“—which, honestly, I’m not even sure why any of this needs convincing.
Hell, Stevie, you’ve just been offered the deal of the century on a silver platter.
No—a gold platter. With diamond-encrusted diamonds.
This is a no-brainer.” She jumps to her feet and strolls toward me, her brown ponytail swishing behind her.
“I saw that interview. It’s everywhere. You both sold it.
It was freakin’ adorable the way he was looking at you. ”
“Plotting murder in your mind is not adorable.”
“Not what it looked like to me. Not to anybody.”
I press the heel of my palm to my forehead, trying to relieve the incoming migraine. “Joplin, this is madness. This is…”
“A dream come true.”
“It’s not. He broke my heart.”
There. I said it. I confessed the underlying reason why this is so hard to give in to. Lex broke my heart. It was four years ago, and I feel ridiculous even thinking it, but it’s true. He left my soft heart in pulpy pieces, and he won’t even tell me why.
I lied for him because I was scared he’d get hurt. That his father would unleash his rage on him and put him in the ground. I couldn’t bear it. My heart couldn’t bear it.
Tears blot my vision as I turn away, embarrassed that I’m still holding on to this after all these years. After it was so easy for him to leave me behind and never look back.
“Oh, Stevie…” Joplin pulls me into her arms, stroking her hands down my back. “A heart can only break if it cares enough to. You cared about him, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s beautiful.”
“Pathetic pitifulness is not beautiful.” I sniffle, untangling myself from her embrace. “I’m scared to get close to him again. I’m scared that the pretending will start to feel real.”
“So what if it does? Feelings aren’t a bad thing, even when they hurt.”
“You sound like Mom.”
“Good.”
I force a weak smile, swiping at my eyes. “You really think this is a good idea? It sounds absurd. I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“Do what you do best, Stevie. Perform. Give it your all. Who knows? Maybe you’ll make some connections while you’re out here. I’m sure Lex will introduce you to producers.”
My pulse flutters at the thought. “I guess that’s a silver lining.”
“Sis, this entire opportunity is a silver lining. You’re going to live in a giant condo in the heart of Hollywood, go to fancy dinners and events, swim in the ocean, eat caviar—”
“Gross.”
She sighs. “This is going to be life-changing. I promise.”
I flick my eyes to hers. “Mom and Dad are okay with this? They aren’t losing their minds?”
“They’re already planning the wedding.”
“Oh God. That’s not helpful.”
“Kidding. But they support you, no matter what. They know what this could mean for you and your future.”
I imagine it.
My future.