Chapter 9
Marina
Surprisingly, acting like nothing is wrong doesn’t actually make the gossip go away.
How very disappointing.
A broken phone also doesn’t keep someone determined to get ahold of you from calling you either . . . I take the phone from Poppy, resting my case and point, and place it to my ear. “Hell—”
“What have you done, Marina?” My eldest brother has never been one to beat around the bush, but wow, I’ve never heard him so mad. He’s a lawyer, so time is money, I guess, even when it comes to family.
I brace myself for the onslaught by sitting on the couch.
“I can explain, Loch,” I start, after just finishing telling Poppy everything, and I mean everything.
From the argument in the paddock to the ride to dinner, the bathroom, and then how Cash held me like I was the only thing that mattered last night, I didn’t leave out a detail.
Closing my eyes, I touch my lips, remembering how the pressure of the connection was just right, how I not only got lost in that kiss but wished it could go on forever.
“Please explain,” Loch says, leaving the fight for the courtroom instead of with his sister. He can be a softy when he wants to be.
I reply, “It’s not as bad as it seems.”
“It may not be, but we have two sponsors on the verge of leaving, and that’s only from the implication of you two sleeping together.”
“Marina, this is Harbor.” If a call could end like a needle scratching across a record, that was it when Harbor took over for my eldest brother.
I flop back on the couch, not quite ready for the next lecture I’m doomed to receive. “I guess you’re all there.”
“We are.” His tone is relatively calm, but I know him.
He’s good at neutrality, at least acting so.
It’s a characteristic he got from my father.
Me, not so much. It’s not a trait the youngest in the family usually inherits.
“We’ve had the press hounding us since before the sun rose here in Miami.
It’s a race day, so I can’t say I was sleeping, but I wasn’t prepared for this shitstorm either. ”
I feel awful for so many reasons, but upsetting my family was never my intention. “I’m sorry.” I say the only thing I can think of, though I know it won’t make anything better. “I’ll do whatever you need me to do, whatever it takes to make this better.”
“It’s not that simple, sis.” There’s a pause, and I can only imagine he’s digging his fingers through his hair.
That’s something Cash does as well. A guy thing?
Probably just to get their temper from escaping.
I hear shuffling on his end, and he says, “I’ve taken you off speakerphone because I’d like to hear your side before I fire our driver for seducing my sister. ”
Seduce? People use that word? Guess it’s more polite than the alternative. “Cash didn’t seduce me, Harbor. He did do me a huge favor, but as you can see online, no good deed goes unpunished.”
A loud noise has me pulling my phone from my ear. Eyeing Poppy, I laugh anxiously in silence.
Poppy mouths, “What’s going on?”
I shrug, but then I hear, “Honey, it’s Mom.”
“Hi, Mom.” I put her on speakerphone. “Poppy can also hear you now.”
“Poppy? How are you, dear?”
Leaning toward the coffee table where I set the phone, she smiles at me, and replies, “I’m good, Mrs. Westcott.”
“You’re grown. Call me Delta, please.”
“Mom, this is business,” Harbor says in the background. I can only imagine he’s pinching a nerve in his forehead right now.
“I know, but since we’re all here . . .” More shuffling, then she says, “Can you hear us, Marina? I’m putting you on speaker.”
“Yes, I can hear you.”
“Dad and your brothers are here with me.”
“Hi, honey.” My dad’s voice pops in, sounding so supportive as always.
“Hi,” I reply again, unable to hide a giggle. How can I not laugh? This is a serious situation, and the whole family is involved now. At this rate, I’ll be on this call all day. “Let me just start with the facts. When my friends abandoned me, I called Noah last night—”
“I had a missed call from her when I woke up,” he says in the background, supporting my story, which I appreciate. “Sorry for not answering, Marina.”
“You were sleeping,” I reply, “I understand.”
“Marina,” my mom asks, “why did you call your brother so late?”
“Why did you go out at all?” Loch barges back onto the call with a sigh. “You’re in the spotlight now. You’re a celebrity. Anything could have happened to you, Marina.”
I thought he was angry, but beneath that emotion lies the real one—worry.
“I didn’t think it through. I just wanted to have fun.
” I hate sounding so careless or oblivious to the dangers my family sometimes faces.
But what can I really tell them? I wanted to escape my life for a night, not to think about the impending humiliation I’m facing.
I can’t. That’s a conversation I’m not ready to have with them.
Although hearing the concern straining my oldest brother’s voice has me reconsidering.
Just thinking about Corbin cheating because he didn’t love me, he didn’t want me, but worse, he wasn’t attracted to me .
. . my eyes water, but I refuse to let any tears fall over him.
Hoping this is enough for us to move on, I reply, “I’m sorry.
It was dumb. I’ll do whatever you need me to so I can make this right for you. ”
“It’s not about making it right for us,” my dad says.
“Are you okay?” Harbor asks me.
“I left the club as soon—”
“We’ll get to the play-by-play,” Noah interjects. “Are you okay, Sis?”
The collective silence on the other end has me getting up and pacing. I take a deep breath and stop to stare at the Vancouver skyline. Their concern ripples through the conversation, and I don’t want to worry them more than necessary. “I’m fine. All good.”
A shushed balk from behind me has me turning back. Poppy stands with her arms crossed over her chest and whispers, “Tell them about Corbin.”
Covering the phone, I whisper, “I’m not adding more stress to the situation.”
“They already think the worst because they don’t know the truth.”
The betrayal I feel streams through my veins as I stare at her in disbelief. Apparently, this is the line in the sand for her, my dating life, where she’s taking a stand against me but on my behalf. Go figure.
I hate that Cash has been put in this fishbowl because of me, but now is not the time to drag Corbin’s sins into this. I sit by the phone again and say, “The paparazzi were waiting for me like vultures who found their dinner.”
“They got paid anyway,” Poppy adds.
I cringe, glancing up at her. I think this might go smoother without the added commentary. I know she means well, so I just continue, “I hid in the bathroom and called you, but when you didn’t answer, I didn’t know what to do.”
“How did Cash get involved?” Harbor asks.
“I called Liv, but she couldn’t leave because the kids were sleeping.”
“So you asked for our driver’s number? There was no one else?
” he says with a heavy sigh. “No one else you could have called to help you? Like me, for instance, your parents, Loch, and not the driver of a fifteen-million-dollar car with millions more than that on the line depending on how he performs today?”
“Well . . .” My throat dries, but I try to swallow. “When you put it like that. I had just enough drinks to think it was a good idea at the time.” Shamefully, I look down and close my eyes. “I know it wasn’t. I’m sorry for getting him involved.”
Do I tell them that I was planning to only text him?
That when I asked for the number, it wasn’t my intention to plead for help?
Time was a ticking bomb in that bathroom when panic set in as if having me under fire would be a victory for Corbin’s team.
I called the number because I knew Cash would help me.
Lauren should have never planted that seed. Nothing good has come of a plan I had no business being a part of. It’s not like her to make missteps like this, but it’s not like me either. And me repeatedly saying I wasn’t thinking is just no excuse.
“She was right for helping you,” Noah says of his wife. “We were just blindsided by the news this morning. I have more fires to put out, so I need to go. We’ve all been hit hard with this story today.”
“I’m sorry.” I’m out of justifications because I never had a good one to begin with. Maybe it wasn’t a fear of being asked about the cheating. Maybe subconsciously I sabotaged myself as well as Cash.
Cash . . .
I feel awful for the damage I’ve caused him.
Harbor says, “Don’t talk to the press. Have you spoken with Cash today?”
“No.” I’m not sure if I should ask or if it will make things worse, but I do worry. “Is he okay?”
I’m met with silence before someone clears their throat. “He was . . .” Loch. “Upset this morning. But he’s also a professional who performs under pressure every time he’s on the track. Today will be no different. He needs to stay out of his head and focus. That easy.”
“That easy,” I reply more for myself. “You didn’t ask, but we never . . .” Why is this so hard to say to them?
“We understand, Marina.” Harbor saves me the pain of having to spell it out in front of my parents.
I slide forward in the chair and pick the phone up again. Taking it off speaker, I hold it to my ear. “I’m sorry about the sponsors.”
“Sponsors are like skittish kittens. They thrive on threatening to pull out their money. It’s their way of feeling like they have control of the situation,” Harbor says with conviction set in his tone.
“Unfortunately, I need to go and deal with this mess.” He pauses, and for some reason, it concerns me.
“Hello?” I say, making sure they’re still there.
“Marina,” he says, “you need to keep your distance from Cash and the races in general until this settles down.”
I’m being grounded? Well, this is humiliating. I dip my head and rub my temple that’s starting to throb. I gather the strength anyway and ask on an exhale, “Are you asking me?”
“No.” The answer is blunt, though I know it wasn’t said maliciously.
Why does it feel like I just had the rug pulled out from under me? “Oh . . .Okay,” I whisper, “if that will help.”
“Yeah,” Harbor says, “it’s for the best, Sis.”
I hate this, the pressure they’re under, the tension between us, the mess I caused. My heart has sunk deeper into the pit of my stomach with this news than initially getting in trouble. “I understand.”
Loch says, “We’ll have you out again, but let’s just put a pin in any visits until we can get ahead of this story or it fades. Just for now.”
“I understand. I didn’t mean to—”
“We know,” he adds. “We need time to get things under control.”
“Of course.”
Goodbyes are heard from the other end as I hang up and give the phone back to Poppy. I feel better that they know the truth but sick about how much trouble I’ve caused them.
As much as I’d love for this all to be swept away with the tide tonight, I know it won’t be. I look at her, still slumped in the chair. “What do I do? How do I make it better?”
“I’m not sure you can without risking more bad publicity.”
A knock has us both looking toward the door. She asks, “Did you order something?”
“No.”
“Hm.” She pushes up and goes to answer it. Signing for a package, she waits to say anything until the door is closed and locked again. “A hand-delivered package.” Showing off the purple ribbon wrapped around it, she lets it fall over the side again. “Fancy.”
We stare at the white box and silky bow when she sets it on the table. It’s not big, but big enough to be dangerous. “Is it safe? Should we call the police?”
She laughs. “I’ll open it.” Taking it, she tugs the ribbon first and then lifts the side flap. A sealed box with an image of a rose gold phone slides out. “Ooh, this is nice. Who’s it from?”
I grin, taking it from her. Biting my lip, I’m not sure if I’ll make it worse by telling her or if I should keep my mouth shut. There’s no way she’s going to let this slide, though. I know Poppy too well. For what it’s worth, if I were her, I wouldn’t let it go without knowing who sent it either.