“Colt.” I squeeze his hand hard enough that my nails are starting to dig into him, and he flinches. “You’re scaring me. What’s going on?”
He shakes his head and clears his throat again. “Nothing. It’s—I just … I never told my parents about this. I mean, they know I’m seeing someone—you, I mean. They know I’m seeing you. But I didn’t tell them about this, because then they’d want to come. And that wasn’t the deal. And it all seemed fine when it was hypothetical and not really real, but now we’re married, and it’s real, and oh my god my mom is going to kill me.”
His panic over his mother’s reaction is almost comical, except that same icy panic is wrapping its fingers around my own heart. “I know. I haven’t told my parents either. But it’ll be okay. We’ll tell them together.”
He clutches my hand in his, meeting my eyes and shaking his head. “No, you don’t get it. Delores is leaking the pictures right now. We might already be hitting the entertainment news sites. If not yet, then certainly by morning.”
“But …” Confusion wrinkles my brows. “It takes time for photographers to get pictures ready. Even if he rushes, he wouldn’t get through them before tomorrow at the earliest. That guy was taking pictures of everything. He must have hundreds of files to sort through.”
Colt shakes his head again. “Didn’t you see her? Delores was taking pictures with her phone. Those are the ones she’ll be leaking. The others are to sell the official photos later. I don’t know about your parents, but my mom’ll find out before I have the chance to tell her unless I call her right now.”
I’m frozen in place, my hand wrapped around his until he gently pries my fingers off of his with his free hand. “I have to get my phone,” he mutters, cursing as he stands and looks around.
His phone is on the table, but in his panic, he doesn’t even see it. I pick it up and hold it out to him. He gives me an appreciative glance and takes it. He opens his mouth like he wants to say something, stares at me for a long, considering moment, closes it and sighs. Hands on hips, he stares up at the ceiling, then finally looks back at me. “Would you … I mean, you can say no, and I get it, but would you, uh, would you be willing to talk to them? My parents, I mean? They’ll want to see you and talk to you and if I know my mom, she’ll insist on scheduling a dinner sometime soon. Like tomorrow, but I can probably put her off for at least a week.”
His stammering and hesitation makes him look even more like the little boy he sometimes resembles, and it makes me want to say yes to whatever he asks just to reassure him that everything will be okay. I offer him what I hope is an encouraging smile. “Of course. I’d be happy to.”
Relief fills his face, but it quickly morphs to something more like concern. “Uh, just a warning. My mom can be … protective. So if she’s less than welcoming, it’s not really about you, okay? That’s just how she is.”
That has me reconsidering a little bit. But at the same time, what mom wouldn’t be anxious about her son tying himself to me? My reputation is in tatters, after all. Hence the whole point of this charade. And telling her it’s all fake isn’t exactly reassuring either—not that that’s even an option, because this only works if no one else knows.
All I’ve thought about is the immediate effects this could have on my career. And on Colt’s career. That’s been the driving force behind our entire relationship after all. I haven’t given any thought to the extended consequences and how this will affect our relationships with our families.
Because once we’re off the phone with Colt’s parents, I need to call my own.
Chapter Seventeen
Colt
I wipe my hands on my slacks, sucking in gulps of air in an attempt to calm down before calling my mom. It’s not helping, though.
She’s gonna kill me.
I heard all about what happened when Brendan and Lauren got married in Vegas. Mom fucking freaked. And now I’ve gone and basically done the same thing.
The big difference being that Brendan was actually in love with Lauren. And I’m … well, lust is definitely in the mix, even if I can’t act on it. But at its heart, this is a business deal. A contract. Not a normal marriage.
But I can’t tell Mom that. And even if I did, I don’t think that would make her feel much better.
Although … now that I think about it, I seem to remember her encouraging Jonathan to date someone who’d boost his star status instead of Gabby. So maybe telling her the truth would actually be easiest.
I glance at Alexis and quickly nix that idea.
If word gets out that this isn’t real, the media will have a field day. We’ll both look like desperate wannabes, no matter how far we’ve come by then.
No, the only way this works is if no one else knows. Even Delores won’t directly acknowledge what’s happening in order to maintain plausible deniability.
It’s that old saying—three people can keep a secret as long as two of them are dead.
And since I’m not planning on killing anyone, I’ll have to find a way to convince my mom that this is real and that she needs to be nice to Alexis.
Feeling strangely calmer from that little internal debate and pep talk, I unlock my phone and call my mom.
She picks up on the third ring, her voice surprised. “Colt! Are you planning on being home for dinner? Or are you spending
