Chapter Sixteen
Icould’ve run after her, barged into their room, and demanded we talk it out, but I can understand why she is upset, and she deserves the time to work through those emotions.
I’ve barely taken a breath since stepping into my room when Mack’s ringtone blares, and I roll my eyes before answering. “Mack, I know,” I mutter while running a hand through my hair.
“You’re lucky I was able to figure out a quick solution before things got out of control,” he mutters. “You went there to lie low, Brent. That picture? It’s not lying low.”
It would be smart to tell him to get the image taken down, but do I truly want that? “Wait,” I say while shaking my head. “You were the one who shared it on my account, weren’t you?” ”
“Well, of course., You were just involved with a scandal, that was the best thing to do to keep you out of hot water. When the time comes, we can figure out a way to shine light on a break-up or whatever.”
“We’re dating,” I blurt. It’s not something I should’ve mentioned, but if I didn’t say that, I’ve got no doubt he would have it taken down.
He clears his throat. “I’m sorry, did you just say dating?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve barely been there a week, there’s no possible way you’re already dating her. She’s not even your usual type, so what the hell is this?”
“She’s my sister’s best friend,” I say honestly. “It just happened.”
“For shit’s sake,” he mutters before sighing heavily. “Well, what do you want me to do, Brent?”
“Leave it alone.”
“For the record,” he states. “I think this is a terrible idea.”
“Well, I don’t pay you to approve my love life,” I snap, then sink onto the edge of my bed and take a deep breath. “Sorry, didn’t mean to snap at you. She’s upset and thinks I used her as a PR stunt.”
“And that’s my cue to end the conversation. I’m pretty sure my three marriages make me the worst person to give advice on this kind of thing. Talk to you later, and please,” he says roughly, “Keep scandals to a minimum.”
“See ya, Mack.”
I sigh heavily and fling myself back, my gaze fixed on the ceiling fan shaped like palm tree leaves, with my mind focused on Julia’s reaction. Why did it make her so upset? Maybe she’s not one to like being in the spotlight, which would be a good reason to shut down everything we are doing since that’s what my career is all about, but wouldn’t she have mentioned that to me? It’s not like we would’ve gone this entire time without someone knowing who I am, so that can’t possibly be it.
What I’d really love is to have been able to talk to her about it and assure her I wasn’t the one who planned the picture, but she’s not talking to me at the moment – if my three unanswered texts since I made my way back to my suite are any indication and the way she ran off.
The loud knock on my door makes me jump up, hopeful that it’s Julia, but I’m surprised to find my sister standing outside of it with a frown on her face. “Mallory, what are you doing here?”
“It’s barely been an hour, Brent. What the hell did you do?”
“Why do you automatically assume I did something?” She doesn’t even wait for me to invite her in and instead pushes past me with her nostrils flaring.
“Because trouble seems to follow you,” she snaps. “So, what happened?”
“I’m tired.” The last person I want to talk to is my sister, who already looks like she’s about ready to punch me in the face. “Can we not do this right now?”
She scoffs in response and shakes her head, not bothering to make a move out of my suite. “I’m your sister, Brent. I know what you look like when you’re tired.” She flops onto the small couch and leans into it. “Might as well sit because I’m not leaving until we talk.”
“I don’t know why it’s so important,” I mutter.
“Because she likes you, you idiot!” My sister points toward the leather chair in front of her and raises an eyebrow in a silent challenge. “Sit.” When I finally sink into the chair, she glares at me. “Is this just a game to you? A way to pass the time until you leave and head back to your luxurious lifestyle?”
I run a hand through my hair and sigh. “I don’t know what it is, Mal.” I’m being honest enough, except I refuse to tell her that it goes much deeper than that.
“Talk to me, Brent, because you can’t just string her along. She may not be admitting it, but her feelings are much deeper than what you guys agreed to for this vacation, and I don’t want her getting hurt.”
“She knew what she was getting into from the start, Mallory. If she developed feelings, I can’t be at fault for that.”
A frown pulls at her lips, and she asks, “And you’re telling me that you can’t tell she looks at you a certain way?” She chuckles at that. “I mean, I could tell when you guys were around each other, but I thought it was because of the whole rockstar thing you’ve got going on.”
That changes things a little bit, but how much?
My sister isn’t wrong. I’ve noticed a change in the way Julia looks at me now, and the only reason I haven’t worried about it is because I’m starting to look at her the same way. There’s this light that shines brighter in her eyes when she’s watching me, especially when we were at the botanical garden and the way she was on the verge of crying after thinking I could be using her. It’s not a reaction she should’ve had if this thing between us isn’t becoming real. When she’s got her hands on me, it’s as though she’s aiming to explore every inch of me and savor it.
I get the same way with her.
I’d love to tell Mallory some bullshit lie and act like I don’t know what she’s talking about, but the way she’s looking at me leaves me no option but to tell the truth. I blow out a rough breath and give her my most serious expression as I say, “I’m getting feelings for her, okay?”
Her eyes widen, mouth parting, and she shakes her head. “No, you don’t catch feelings.”
I throw my hands in the air and chuckle. “Yeah, well, I guess that’s not the case anymore.”
“You’re joking,” she snaps. “You’re just messing with her, Brent.”
“I wish I could say that I am, but I’m not, Mallory. If I had known spending all this time with her would provoke these feelings, I wouldn’t have offered to help her.”
“I don’t believe you.”
This is what I expected when I told her, which is why I need to prove that everything I say is true. “Fine,” I say. “A few nights from now there’s going to be a concert outside the resort, I want all three of us to go.”
After spending the day with Julia at the botanical garden, I went on my phone and looked up other things couples could do around St. Croix. As it turns out, there’s going to be a smaller band performing along the beach a few miles away from the resort. It was going to be another one of the fake dates – if I could even call it that anymore – I took Julia on, but this seems like as good a time as any to go.
I would’ve talked to Julia about everything first, I wanted to tonight when she came back to my room, but I get the sense that she’s not speaking to me for the remainder of the night.
“Uh, why?”
“I’m going to show you I’m serious about my feelings. If you don’t believe my words, maybe you’ll trust my actions.”
She blinks and leans back, contemplating the plans. “You aren’t lying.” Her gaze penetrates mine, trying to find the lie hidden somewhere inside of it, and I can tell she comes up empty because she perks up after a few seconds. “Well, now I can work my magic, I guess.”
I shake my head and frown. “No, wait… maybe. Maybe I shouldn’t.”
“What do you mean you shouldn’t? You just said you have feelings for her.”
“Yeah, but what if this is all for the best? A sign? Like I shouldn’t let myself get caught up in someone again, not after all the other shit I’ve been through with my exes.”” Even if she doesn’t keep tabs on me, that doesn’t mean she has no clue what I’ve been through, and I see the hurt flash across her eyes. I was a mess through it all, hence the reason I’ve refused to let another woman pass the wall I’ve built.
Until Julia.
“Wow, you guys are on a roll tonight,” she mutters, leaving me confused for a moment, before asking, “Is that what you think Julia would do, Brent? Use you?”
“I’m not sure what I think, Mal.” I take a deep breath, silently cursing at myself for getting emotional with my sister, and then look at her with sad eyes. “But what I do know is that I can’t get enough of her.”
“I still don’t understand why she’s upset,” Mallory says.
“She thinks I hired someone to take that picture of us.”
“Did you?”
“No,” I say softly. “I wouldn’t use her like that, Mal.” Can I say I’m not happy it got put on there for everyone to see? No, but I wasn’t the one who arranged it.
“Looks like we’ve got work to do, and that starts with the concert tomorrow night. What time?”
“Meet me out front around five. We’ll get there a little early.”
Mallory lifts from the couch and walks over to me with a smile full of hope and I hate that it’s possible I’ll snuff all that hope out before the vacation is over with. Although my feelings might be getting deeper for Julia, I’m not so sure I’ll be able to handle the commitment. “Talk to her and make sure she knows you aren’t in on the photograph thing, then go from there.” She pulls away and points a finger at me with narrowed eyes. “If you hurt her, though, I’ll hurt you. She’s fragile, even if she doesn’t think so.”
With that, Mallory walks out of the suite and heads back to whatever she’s doing with Julia while I stand alone in the small living space. It feels empty without Julia here, and I hate that. I hate that I’ve gotten to the point where I need her presence to not feel alone when it’s something I didn’t need before.
This isn’t me.
Or is it?
I’m sure if I called Ryker, he would convince me not to continue things with her and explain how fun the single life will always be, and that’s exactly why I don’t call him. Maybe after the concert, when I’ve had some time to sort through my feelings and determine how deep they are, I’ll give him a call.
Tonight, though, I need to figure out how to get both Julia and Mallory to believe my intentions are true—that I didn’t arrange that photo—and that my feelings are deeper and more real than I ever imagined they could be.