CHAPTER 22 ALEXIS
I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants.
Chill, Alexis. Chill.
I don't think I've been this nervous...well, probably since I walked into the clubhouse filled with baseball players and Cooper Noah took me over to introduce me to Danny Brewer.
I lied to my father.
It's probably the first time I outright lied to him, but I can’t be stuck from now until Sunday with my dad and Brooks. I don't want to hear another word about these wedding plans for this ridiculous event that my father is forcing upon me.
I don't care about the dress, the flowers, the tuxedo, the shoes, or the jewelry. I don't want any part of it, and every time my dad brings it up, I make it very clear.
Which I'm pretty sure is why he was so amenable to the idea when I had told him my costar Leila Monroe invited me to her place for Thanksgiving, and since Leila is based out of Vegas, she wanted to show me around town during our time off.
That part isn’t a lie.
The lie is that I didn’t accept her invitation like I told my father I did.
I have other plans.
Nobody else knows I left LA. Gregory is driving me from LA to Vegas rather than booking a flight plan, and nobody followed us here since we made it look like I wasn’t in the car when he pulled out of the garage a few hours ago.
We’re somewhere in the desolate desert along Interstate fifteen when I finally open my mouth from the backseat. “Gregory?”
He grunts out a response that resembles a huh.
I lean forward so he can hear me. “I need to talk to you about something, but I need you to promise me this stays between us.”
“Yes, Ms. Bodega.”
That’s as good of a promise as I’ll get from him, and I know he’ll keep his word.
I have to trust he will because I’m out of other options.
“I’m not spending the next few days with Leila. I told my father that because what I really want to do is spend the next few days with Danny Brewer.”
“Mr. Brewer, ma’am?” he says. He doesn’t sound surprised by that, exactly—instead, he’s merely repeating my request.
The man doesn’t miss a thing. I’d be shocked if he didn’t realize something was going on with Danny and me, especially after the Hush commercial.
I sigh. “And I don’t like issuing threats, Gregory, but your job will be on the line if you tell my father.”
“I won’t tell him, but you have a problem.”
“What is it?” I ask.
“He tracks your phone.”
Oh, shit. I hadn’t thought of that. He does it for safety reasons, but also because he loves to control me.
“He’ll know if you aren’t with Ms. Monroe.”
He’s right.
I stare out the window as I think that over. The only way I escaped my own home was because I said I would be with Leila, and my father will check to ensure I made it there safely, regardless of whether I call or text him to let him know I made it.
“Then we go to Leila’s house, and…” And what? I leave my phone there?
Then what?
I have no way to get in touch with anybody.
He’s quiet in the front seat as he thinks it over.
“We have two options. A, you could power off the phone and I’ll tell him you’ve misplaced it.
It’ll show the last location tracked on your device when he checks it.
Option B, we get a burner phone, forward your calls to it, go to Leila’s house, and leave your phone there. ”
“A. We go to Leila’s address, I text him to let him know we’ve arrived, and I power down on the street without even going inside. Phone died and I lost it when I was going inside the house, can’t find it anywhere. Eventually we found it stuck between the seats of the Yukon.”
He presses his lips together and nods. “Fine.”
He doesn’t tell me not to involve him in future lies the way I think he will. Instead, I feel support from someone close to my life for the first time.
We execute the plan, and then he swings around and heads toward Danny’s place after I get the reply from my father that he’s glad I’ve arrived safely.
“We need to make a stop first,” he says.
“We do?” I ask.
“I can’t park the Yukon in front of Brewer’s house. We need a rental.”
“Oh, that’s smart, Gregory. Yes, let’s do that.”
He heads toward the airport, where we’re able to find an SUV.
I wear sunglasses and a hood so nobody recognizes me, and we transfer all our stuff into the SUV.
I follow him back as he drives the Yukon toward Leila’s place, and he chooses a local hotel where he parks the huge vehicle before he takes over and we navigate toward Danny’s place.
What a freaking crazy existence I lead.
And that’s when my nerves get the better of me.
Was this a terrible idea?
And what about Gregory? Can he join us for Thanksgiving dinner? Or should he take the next couple days off?
I didn’t think this through.
I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants again.
What am I doing? What if he doesn’t want me here? Or worse, what if he’s too busy to bother with me?
What part of my dumb brain thought it was a good idea to surprise him?
I’m still not quite sure, but as we pull onto Danny’s street, my heart thunders in my chest so loudly that I can hear it pulsing up in my head.
My mouth goes dry.
As we approach it, there aren’t any cars in the driveway, and I wonder whether his mom and sister are here already.
I wonder what I’m crashing into.
Gregory pulls into the driveway. I pull up my hood, put on my sunglasses, and draw in a deep breath as he exits the car and opens my door.
And then I follow him up the sidewalk toward the front door.