Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
CAM WAS RIGHT about how little could be done to create the illusion of a full night out.
In tow with Roxie, Ariella did a circuit of Crimson’s VIP floor.
Waved from above to the masses on the main floor.
And got through a drink and a dance, both of which, she was told, could be made to look like several.
After the whirlwind that carried her along for the ride, she was surprised, though relieved, when they got back around to the door and Roxie said they could go.
Until then, it hadn’t occurred to her how exhausting Roxie’s life must be. The woman was always on and still managed to prioritize so many others. It had to be harder when she’d just said goodbye to her husband too.
“Do you miss him?” Ariella asked as they descended the club stairs toward the exit.
“Yes.” Without questioning who she was talking about, Roxie flashed a smile over her shoulder.
Zairn had to be in her head all the time.
Now that was love. “Every minute.” They stopped at the bottom of the stairs.
Roxie looped their arms together to whisper in her ear.
“But don’t ever tell him that. He already has a problem with showing his ego.
Don’t worry, I’m on it. It’s a constant battle, but we’ll get there. ”
Security opened the exit door as Roxie stepped out.
A half dozen guys dressed in black kept the crowd in check.
Sort of. Calling out, screaming for Roxie, the fans didn’t care about the barriers.
They squashed up against the metal like determination could remove it.
If the mob rushed it, an accident, a serious catastrophe could follow.
And Roxie would be swamped. How would Zairn feel about her security then?
Let’s hope there was no chance that question would ever be answered.
The back door of the waiting limo was open and closed after she and Roxie slipped inside. Two unexpected Collier brothers sat ready to receive them.
“Is this a surprise?” she asked Cam, settling next to him.
“Did you expect me to be here?”
“No.”
“Then it’s a surprise.”
When he dipped to join their mouths, she didn’t hesitate to sink into the kiss.
“We’re going back to the hotel,” Knox said from over by Roxie.
Ariella sought an answer in Cam. “Why the hotel? What’s wrong with your place?”
Cam’s was safe. Had been safe. And she liked being there. Hotels were great, but she’d had her life’s fill of hopping from one to another.
“Interest is ramping up,” Knox said, his cellphone resting under his hand on his thigh.
Roxie opened her palm. “Can I…?”
Knox handed his phone over like it was something he did every day. They were family, without a doubt.
“Hotel is safer than Cam’s,” Knox said. “We have a suite. It’s private. Without the noise.”
“The noise?”
“When a press pack builds,” Cam said, slipping an arm around her. “They bring noise with them, mess, bad manners, and about every other antisocial behavior you can imagine. It’s not pretty.”
“We’re not going to the hotel,” Roxie declared.
Good. A relief. Though that press pack…
Another frown struck Knox. “The Grand is expecting us.”
“They won’t bar us for letting them down, I promise. I know a guy.”
The joke fell flat with Knox. “The house is harder to secure. If anyone pushes to breach—”
“We’re going to Lilya’s.”
“Lilya’s?” Knox asked. “Think LA is a good idea?”
“They’re hungrier there,” Cam said. “Mom’s still at the Grand with Mimi.”
Ravishing Roxie was just a little proud of herself. “No, she isn’t.”
“No?” Cam said. “Did you send them back to LA already? I don’t want to go all the way out there. We hole up in LA, we might not get out for months.”
That didn’t sound good.
“Months?”
“We’re not going to Lilya’s in LA,” Roxie said.
“We’re going to Lilya’s here. She brought Zay-Jay to hang with her uncle Frank.
” Roxie filled her in. “Lilya was raised here by her uncle Frank. Granted, he’s not what most people would call paternal, but no one can resist little Zay-Jay’s charm.
You should see his baby smolder. Makes his namesake proud.
If I hadn’t seen Kintyre practically doing the deed, I might be suspicious. ”
“And if he wasn’t the most stand-up guy on the planet,” Knox said.
Zay-Jay? A baby? She didn’t have a lot of experience with them. They didn’t scare her and did have a way of putting life’s worries in perspective.
Cam relaxed. “Mom and Mimi are at Frank’s?”
“We can all stay there. He has the space. And Zay-Jay does his best work with an audience, just like my man.” Roxie pondered. “Do you think it’s an exposure thing? The longer you spend around babies, the more you want one of your own? Like peer pressure or a FOMO sort of thing?”
“You’ve spent time with Zay-Jay,” Cam said. “What do you think?”
“Jane is with Zay-Jay,” Knox stated, ignoring his brother’s question and Roxie’s speculation.
Roxie’s chin rose in innocence while admiring her fingernails. “Oh, is she?”
Knox didn’t buy the innocence. She couldn’t say she did either.
“RK?”
“What?” Roxie asked. “I’ve done nothing. I’m sitting. Right here. Doing nothing.”
“Are you saying my wife is in town and no one told me?”
“I’m not saying anything.” Roxie shrugged. “Though if that was true, wouldn’t it be a good surprise? One that doesn’t involve you shouting at my BFF?”
“I don’t shout at Jane.”
And that inspired such joy in Roxie. “Because one look and you remember why you fell in love with her?”
“Because I know you corrupt her.”
“Good surprise,” Roxie encouraged. “A good surprise. You don’t want to be away from her, do you? Now you don’t have to—”
The phone still in Roxie’s hand chirped. The brunette didn’t hand it over to its owner, she checked whatever came up on the screen. Why would Knox have Roxie’s phone?
“It up?”
“Oh, I’d say so,” Roxie replied and handed the phone to Knox before sliding to the edge of her seat. “Are you ready for this?”
“They figured out who I am?”
“Yeah.”
Cam’s fingers curled around the back of her neck. “Frank Kearns has some land. Enough that the press won’t get anywhere close to you.”
“I’m not afraid.” She trusted the people in the car to keep her safe. Physically anyway. “I’m not looking forward to reading the things they’ll say. I thought the viciousness was out of my life.”
“Don’t read any of it,” Knox said. “You don’t need to read a word.”
“Isn’t it better to know?” she asked.
“If it’s something big, we can tell you.
” Roxie reached over for her hand. “Knox is right. Don’t read any of it.
You don’t have to answer for your relationship.
You’ve done your interview. Honey’s at Frank’s too.
You can talk more to her or not. Everything is on your terms. It’s a big house with space to breathe. You deserve an indefinite vacation.”
“I’d have to speak to my boss about that.”
“Your boss says it’s fine.” Cam squeezed. “Screw Brooker, we look after our own. Nothing will collapse because you take a little time. Roxie’s right, you deserve it.”
No more than anyone else.
“If you’re working,” she said. “I’m working.”
“The guys will take care of everything.” Cam blasted her objection to smithereens. “They’ll keep the wheels moving. Our private life is more important than bricks and steel.”
The set of Knox’s intent brow didn’t encourage hope. Whatever he was reading on that screen enhanced her caution. Did she want her potential boyfriend’s brother, his mother and grandmother, learning salacious secrets from her past, which may or may not be correct?
“I’m the only one who knows,” she said. “What’s true and what’s not. If they’re printing lies—”
“If you jump at every falsehood, you give the lies credence,” Cam said. “Ignore them and they’ll fizzle out.”
“Don’t worry.” Roxie’s smile was meant to soothe. “We won’t let anyone get away with blatant slander.”
“And the Raiths?” she asked. “Should I speak to them? Let them know…”
What? That the world was looking at them all over again because of the relationship they’d disavowed from day one.
Her relationship with Cam wasn’t disavowed. Not to her knowledge. Did the Raiths have a problem with him? It shouldn’t matter. Not yet. People weren’t supposed to know they were anything to each other.
Roxie was her friend.
Roxiverse.
Honey’s book.
The Stream Queen.
This was nothing to do with Cam. She wasn’t embarrassed to be with him but was happy he might be saved some scrutiny.
And when the Raiths found out about their relationship…?
Out there, in the world, lies were being printed about her, except… What if they weren’t lies? She’d convinced herself anything negative had to be false, but that wasn’t entirely true. The world found certain things scandalous. Things she was guilty of doing. Anything illegal? Not to her knowledge…
Dot, dot, dot.
“Spence kept things from me,” she said. “I didn’t ask, I didn’t always know, but some things were… He protected me.”
“You’re worried you’ll learn something that’ll change how you feel about him?”
Roxie was better suited to talk about her previous relationship. Girl talk, that the guys might be best hearing when she didn’t have to look them in the eye.
“I knew about other women… if any of them choose to speak out.”
“We’re tracking down who we can.” Knox surprised her. He’d known? “They’ve been easy to corral so far.”
Yeah, because she’d bet anyone showing up in the name of the Colliers would be pretty insistent.
“This could be rough,” she whispered to herself.
What a world she’d been left in all alone. As her gaze drifted to the window, her hand sought Cam’s. Pulling him into this wasn’t fair. He deserved better. He’d put his romantic life on hold to wait for his future to arrive. Now he was saying that future was her.
Would this blow over? Could they really embrace their potential in peace? If they got that chance, she had to be ready for it. For the future. For forever.