Chapter 30
brEAKING: MAN JUMPS TO CONCLUSIONS, RUINS EVERYTHING Experts confirm: listening was an option
Tanner
“Hey, gorgeous.” I kiss Alaia’s cheek in greeting when she opens her apartment door. “You ready to go?”
She smiles at me and my heart squeezes. I want to see her smiling up at me every day for the rest of my life.
I need to tell her I love her. And I will. Tonight is the night. I reserved a table at the resort. I asked for a quiet, romantic spot and champagne to start us off. I want Alaia to have a fond memory of the first time I tell her I love her. A memory she can share with our children someday.
“The ghost tour is going to be a blast. Did you wear a diaper?”
“I’m not wearing a diaper,” I grumble.
She pats my arm. “I hope you brought extra underwear then.”
“I am not going to piss my pants in fright.”
“That’s what all the mainlanders say,” she sings.
“Gorgeous, I have four-hundred-pound men trying to crush me every day on the field. I’m not afraid of a ghost.”
She frowns. “Don’t remind me of men trying to crush you. You scared the shit out of me last week.”
I palm her neck and squeeze. “I promise to stay safe.”
She chews on her bottom lip. “I didn’t realize how risky football is.”
“I don’t take risks on the field. Promise.”
“And off the field?”
“Risks are fun.” I waggle my eyebrows.
She groans. “Please don’t try to lock yourself in the vault.”
“Why would I lock myself in the vault?”
“Legend has it, the person who locks themselves in the vault and manages to stay there all night will have good luck for the rest of their life.”
“Good thing I don’t need good luck.” I wink.
She studies my face and I feign innocence. “You’re going to lock yourself in the vault, aren’t you?”
Normally, I’d be tempted. I don’t need good luck, but I do love a challenge. But not tonight. We have a very important dinner reservation after our tour.
“Not tonight.”
“Phew.” She checks the time. “We need to get going. The tour starts in fifteen minutes. I don’t want to be the last to arrive. The last to arrive has to bring up the rear of the tour. The ghost loves the people at the back.”
I chuckle. She seriously believes a ghost haunts the bank. “Let’s go.” I usher her toward the door but stop when I realize she isn’t wearing shoes. “Did you forget something?”
She wags her phone at me. “I don’t need a purse. I have my phone.”
I nod to her feet. “You probably shouldn’t go barefoot when being chased by a ghost.”
She glances down and giggles. “This is your fault.”
“My fault?”
“Yep. My brain goes offline when you’re around.”
I puff out my chest. “You’re welcome.”
“Charmer. I’ll be right back.” She slaps her phone into my hand.
Her phone dings. “You got a message!” I holler after her.
“Who’s it from?”
I glance at the display. “Sam. Who’s Sam?”
She returns to the living room with her sandals in her hand. “Found them.”
“Alaia, who’s Sam?”
She scowls. “Your agent.”
My breath catches in my throat. “Why are you in touch with my agent?”
“Because your agent is an asshole.”
I growl. “Don’t avoid the question. Why are you in touch with Sam?”
She blows out a breath. “He contacted me.”
My eyes narrow. “He contacted you? Why the hell would my agent contact you?”
“I told you. Because he’s an asshole.”
“I cannot believe you.”
Her brow wrinkles. “What do you mean? Sam is an asshole.”
I know Sam’s an asshole. I also know she’s avoiding answering me. Which can only mean one thing.
“You couldn’t handle not knowing, could you?”
“Not knowing what?”
I grit my teeth. “I should have known better. I should have known you’d reach out to Sam to find out my secret. You can’t handle not knowing everyone’s secrets. Fucking journalists.”
“Hey! Hold on a second. I didn’t contact Sam. He contacted me.”
I snort. “Sure, he did.”
“I’m serious, Tanner. Sam reached out to me. Not the other way around.”
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. I knew I couldn’t trust you.”
I march toward the door but she grasps my hand to stop me. “What are you talking about? You can trust me.”
“You’ve been in touch with Sam and didn’t tell me.”
“I was planning to tell you Sam reached out and sent me the video but I didn’t know how.”
I yank my hand away from hers. “You have the video.”
“Only because Sam sent it to me. I didn’t ask him to send it. In fact, I told him not to.”
I fist my hands on my hips. “You, the nosiest person on the planet, told my agent not to send you a video? I don’t believe you.”
Hurt flashes in her blue eyes but I ignore it. She doesn’t have a reason to be hurt. She’s the one who broke my trust. Not the other way around.
“It’s true. He contacted me and told me to break up with you. When I told him I wouldn’t, he said he knew our relationship was fake. I explained it wasn’t fake anymore. He told me you’re a playboy and would never change his ways. Then, he sent me the video.”
I shake my head. “Sam would never tell you to break up with me. He’s the one who hired Belinda to help repair the damage to my reputation. He’s the one who was all in on the idea of me dating someone.”
“Which is exactly what I told him.”
Sam would never go behind my back and contact my girlfriend. He’s been my agent for six years. He’s earned a shit ton of money because of me. Why would he risk losing me as a client?
He wouldn’t. Which means Alaia is lying.
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying. It’s me, Alaia. I care about you. You can trust me.”
Cares about me? Yeah, right. My parents use the ‘care about me’ excuse to try and control me all the time. I know better. It’s a trap.
“I don’t trust you. The second I walk out of this apartment, you’re going to share the video with the entire world. You probably have the entire article ready to go. Congratulations. You finally got your big break. I hope it was worth it.”
“What?” Her head rears back. “I’m not sharing the video with anyone.”
“Yeah, right. This is your big break.”
The pieces fall into place. “This is why you agreed to fake date me. To get the scoop.”
She flinches.
“I knew it.”
“Hold on. Let me explain. I might have originally thought I could find out what happened by fake dating you. But things changed. We changed. This isn’t fake anymore.”
I want to believe her, but how can I? She has the video. A video Sam would never have sent her. “How much did you pay Sam for the video?”
“Are you deaf? I didn’t pay Sam for the video. I didn’t ask Sam for the video. I wish Sam had never phoned me.”
“You’re going to stick to your story?”
“It’s not a story.” Her nostrils flare, and she fists her hands. “It’s the truth.”
Wow. I never realized how good an actress Alaia is. If I didn’t know she was lying, I’d believe she was angry.
But she is lying. There’s no way my agent would send her the video. He’s spent the entire summer trying to suppress it. Why would he contact her? Why would he tell her the truth?
“You disgust me. I can’t believe I actually thought I loved you.”
I march toward the door. This time, she doesn’t try to stop me.
“I thought I loved you, too, Tanner, but I guess we didn’t know each other after all. You’re exactly the same as every man in my life. Trying to manipulate me, and when it doesn’t work, you can’t handle it.”
Loved me? Not hardly. Love doesn’t exist. I’ve always known it, but Alaia fooled me. She showed me the person I wanted to see. Not the person who she really is.
I nearly fell into her trap. Good thing I found out who she really was before I did.