Chapter 11
Rosa
“Oh, God. What do we do? What do we do?” I asked once we were back upstairs in the safety of Noah’s suite.
Welp. That explained why so many rooms sold out here. The paparazzi got wind of Noah being here for his sister’s wedding and that, combined with the TMZ leak of our elopement, they seemed to put two and two together to find him.
And me.
With the help of hotel staff, we had escaped the crowd of paparazzi relatively unscathed.
But word was officially out that Noah and I were married.
And even though they didn’t know my name or identity yet, it was only a matter of time before their digging revealed the fact that I was Senator Victor Alvarez’s and film star, Francesca Reyes’ daughter.
Hell, a couple celebrities had already figured it out and had reached out to me to join my practice.
Which meant I only had a day, two tops, to call my parents and tell them myself.
Back in Noah’s room, I paced barefoot, chewing on my cuticle.
“First of all, you’ve got to relax,” Noah said, coming out of the bathroom and wiping frosting from his still-damp hair. “Go take a shower and wash the cupcake off of you.”
“Okay, but then what?”
He crossed over to me, tossing the towel around the backs of my shoulders and tugging me closer to him. “Then we’re going to do what any other couple might do on their honeymoon.”
I gasped, my heart skipping faster in my chest. “What?” I whispered, imagining all the naughty things couples usually do on their honeymoon.
“We’re going to have a nice dinner out.”
Tension tightened my chest. Somehow, that was way worse than sexy stuff. “But they’ll photograph us,” I shrieked.
“That’s kind of the point.”
Shit . One of my earliest memories was being dragged through a sea of reporters in front of my own house.
I couldn’t even reach my front door without the help of a security team as cameras flashed and microphones were shoved in my face.
And now I was being asked to do the same song and dance again.
Insecurity and anger floated to the top of my chest.
Rosa, is it true that your nanny stays the night while your mother is out of town filming?
It was true. Apa had been caught more than once with my nanny when I was younger. And every time it resulted in meeting after meeting with their damage control publicist. My father threw more money at the problem and Mama chose to turn her head to the infidelities.
Yep, quite the role models I’ve got there in my parents.
“You look pale,” Noah said gently. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, even though I didn’t feel okay. What the hell had I done marrying him? A marriage to Noah was everything I had sworn to myself I would stay away from in my adult life.
I blinked, looking up into his crystal blue eyes through the moisture filling in my own.
Even if being around him gives me butterflies .
He cupped my jaw, his thumb circling my cheekbone. “Breathe, Rosa. It’s going to be okay. And if you don’t want to go out to eat tonight, that’s fine. We can order room service here and watch movies.”
Room service. Alone. Here with Noah.
My eyes wandered over to the bed behind him and I gulped.
Holy hell, talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
A very hard place.
In so many ways, we were safer outside of these walls. I was less likely to be swept away by him out there. With cameras and TikToks and people with their thumbs hovering over the post button on their Instagram, I would no doubt be on my best behavior.
“How long until they get a hold of my name?”
Noah drew back and even though it was only a couple of centimeters, I could see the tension in his face with my question.
“You want to keep your name a secret?”
I shrugged, trying to keep my voice nonchalant. “Just until I tell my parents. If they don't hear it from me, I’m pretty sure they’ll disown me.”
He nodded, slowly. “Why don’t we just facetime them tonight?”
“Because…” Because the second we did that, it would become about them. They would have their publicists and team all over us and working to help manage the rollout of our announcements. “... they’re pretty controlling.”
I wasn’t sure why I didn’t just explain to Noah how well known my parents were. Noah of all people would understand everything I went through as a kid. Then again, this lifestyle was a choice he made. Whereas I was born into it.
“Controlling?” he repeated. “Even now? You’ve graduated?—”
“I know. It doesn’t matter. They have their own careers which are very public. Somehow, that’s always mattered more than me.”
His brows furrowed. “Their careers are public? Are they actors?”
“My mother is,” I admitted. But saying that aloud, even to someone I trusted like Noah still made anxiety clamp in my throat. “Well… was. And my father is a politician.”
“Oh right. You did mention that a couple times. Would I know either of them?”
I shrugged nonchalantly as I crossed into the bathroom. “How should I know who you know and don’t know?”
It was the exact same answer I’d given people my whole life. Most people who watch the news would recognize my father’s name. And my mother, though she wasn’t acting much anymore, was still legendary.
I turned the faucet on, then started washing the frosting off my face.
Noah followed me, leaning against the door frame casually. “Well, I’m going to know them eventually. One way or another, since they’re my in-laws and all. So whenever you’re ready to talk to me, I’m here, ready to listen.”
With that, he gently shut the bathroom door, leaving me to shower in peace.
After my shower, I gave myself a pep-talk and managed to pull myself together enough to have a very public dinner date with Noah. I put on powder blue linen pants, a silk tank top… and my big girl panties… both figuratively and literally. They were lace. And a thong.
Noah smiled at me as we finished eating in the lovely, but small Italian restaurant. He scribbled his signature at the bottom of the check, leaving a generous tip. “There,” he said, flashing me that boyish grin of his. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
I don’t know how, but that already dazzling smile widened, deepening his dimple.
No doubt that smile had probably gotten him nearly everything and everyone he’d ever wanted. One dashing smile and boom… panties gone. One dashing smile and boom… the leading part is his.
“Dinner with you was never the problem,” I said in response as he reached across the table and took my hand. “It’s dinner with them that’s the issue.” I tilted my head toward the small group of five or so reporters that were lingering outside the window of the restaurant.
They weren’t even trying to be discreet. It was damn unnerving. The kind of behavior you might expect on the red carpet or in LA. But not in a quaint, sleepy lake town like Maple Grove.
Noah shrugged and finished off what was left in his wine glass. “You get used to them.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. Not in my case. “Really?” I challenged.
I found that hard to believe. I grew up with photographers hanging around outside our gated Malibu home. And never once had I gotten used to it. Then again, maybe my parents had.
“Really,” he said. “I don’t always like or appreciate them.
But I’ve gotten used to life with paparazzi.
And I’ve found ways to escape them when I need to.
Truly, they usually leave me alone. It’s only because of you they’re even here tonight.
Within a couple of days, they won’t care about us anymore. ”
Yeah, right. I’d heard that before.
I shivered as a cool breeze brushed over my skin from the air conditioner humming in the corner. Rubbing my palms over my gooseflesh, Noah wasted no time standing and bringing his blazer over, draping it across my shoulders.
Even without the jacket, his gaze lingering at the curve of my neck would have heated me right up.
“I have a confession,” I said, my voice cracking.
Noah’s brows lifted. “Confession? Is this like an, ‘I leave the lights on in the house’ confession? Or an ‘I used to be a glue sniffer’ sort of confession?”
I snorted a laugh that completely crept up and took me by surprise. “Glue sniffer?”
He shrugged. “Just trying to gauge if I need to order us another round of drinks.”
A soft hm buzzed between my lips. “Let’s just say it’s somewhere in between the two.”
“Okay…”
“I’m not exactly a stranger to the paparazzi,” I admitted, twisting my fingers around each other beneath the table.
“You’re not?”
“No. Not at all, actually. As I mentioned, my father’s a politician… Senator Alvarez. And my mother is Francesca Reyes.”
Most people went bug-eyed when I told them this fact. Even Hazel lost her shit on me for all of five minutes.
But not Noah. Noah just sat there quietly, running his index finger across his top lip.
After the longest minute of my life, I finally said, “Please say something. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner?—”
“You think I’m mad at you?”
“I… well… yeah. Aren’t you?”
His thoughtful expression shifted to concern as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Of course not. I’m just absorbing the new information.” Slowly, he shook his head. “What kind of asshole would be mad at you for that?”
“A lot of people, actually. Even Hazel was hurt that I hadn’t told her sooner.”
He chuckled at the mention of our mutual friend.
“I guess I’m not surprised at that. Hazel is pretty sensitive.
And with her history, she understandably gets upset when people withhold information.
But trust me, I get it. Making friends, dating, meeting people is so hard if you’re famous or, in your case, come from Hollywood royalty.
You never know if someone is truly into you or your fame. ”
My eyes widened and I leaned into Noah, too.
“Exactly,” I whispered. “My whole life I was the senator’s daughter or the infamous Oscar-winning Francesca Reyes’ daughter.
No one really cared to get to know me. It’s why I moved to New York.
And why I never talk about them. I want to make it on my own.
I want to start my therapy practice without their connections. ”
“Mmmm. That makes sense. You want to be known for your skill. Not for the family you were born into.” Noah’s thumb moved in circles over mine, stroking and making my brain short-circuit.
“ Does it make sense?” I slid my hands out from under Noah’s.
If I didn’t escape his touch, I wasn’t sure I was ever going to be able to think straight.
“I’m basically doing the same thing now…
using you and this ‘marriage’ to get clients.
How’s that any different? I mean, in the two hours we’ve been here, I’ve gotten three different calls from actors wanting to book sessions with me. ”
“First of all, don’t use air quotes around the word marriage.
Especially in public,” he whispered and finished the thought with a wink at me.
“Secondly, I don’t think it’s the same thing.
You told me that the manager who called said that your name was already at the top of their referral list. Being married to me only pushed you that extra one percent into being the first person they called from that list. I could have just as easily just said you’re my friend and I recommend you, and they probably would have booked with you.
As for everyone else? Our marriage is simply putting your name on their radar. Which is where you belong.”
“But how are they even finding my name? None of the tabloids have outed my identity yet.”
“Oh, we all have our ways in my world. I’m sure it didn’t take more than a couple phone calls for their publicists to figure out who you were, between your association with me, Hazel, and Reid.
And trust me, the tabloids are going to publish your name, too.
And soon. So you’d better call your parents. ”
I nodded. “I am. I will.”
“Tonight,” Noah said, firmer. “Chances are they already know your name now and it’s going to be public tomorrow morning… if it isn’t already.”
I hadn’t realized I was chewing my cuticle until Noah reached over and gently pulled my hand down from my lips. “It’s going to be okay,” he added reassuringly.
“Easy for you to say. You don’t know my parents.”