The Playboy's Princess (13 page)

“I love you, Ariel. When I grow up, I want to be a mermaid just like you.”

Jade smiled down at the little red-haired girl. She had a smattering of freckles over her cheeks and bright blue eyes. She kind of reminded Jade of herself when she was younger.

“The ocean would be lucky to have you,” Jade said.

The flash went off, and she smiled for what felt like her thousandth photo of the day. The girl ran back to her mother, and the next child stepped up.

“Look at you!” Jade gushed.

The girl had obviously had a princess makeover at the gift shop. She wore a Snow White outfit, complete with wig. The girl curtseyed. Jade mirrored the gesture. They took their photo and then another because the girl had blinked the first time.

Jade stretched her back, hoping it looked like she was just standing taller. She wouldn’t want anyone to think she wasn’t enjoying the job. She loved her work. But standing for hours on end did leave her achy. She could use a break.

“Hello, Ariel.”

Jade glanced up. She knew that voice. Drew smirked at her.

“Are you having a photo, sir?” Kristy, her photographer, asked.

“Yes, please,” Drew said, walking up to Jade and giving her a wink.

“Hello, sir,” she said, bowing slightly. It wasn’t often she had photos with grown men, and when she did, they were usually leering and trying to peek down her dress.

“Can we do a special photo?” Drew asked the photographer.

Kristy looked to Jade for confirmation, and she nodded.

“All right, but we have to keep the line moving,” she said, balancing the large camera on her other hand. Kristy needed a break too.

Without warning, Drew dropped to his knee and looked up at her, holding onto her hand. He obviously thought it was funny to do a fake proposal. Several women in the line whispered to each other, and Jade was pretty sure he’d been made.

Kristy clicked away, enjoying having a different photo to take than the standard pose. The women pushed forward, trying to get a better look at Drew. Yep, they’d definitely identified him.

“All right, let’s move along,” Kristy said, holding the photo card out for Drew to take to the gift shop.

He stood up, grinned, and whispered, “Can I see you tonight?”

Jade felt a blush rise on her cheeks and nodded. Drew took the photo card, winked at his “princess,” and then moved on to the next room where Cinderella was waiting.

“Was that really Drew Malik?” a woman asked.

“It sure looked like him. When we get outside, we should try to find him.”

Jade wished she had her phone on her so she could text him to be careful. But she would get a break soon, and she could warn him then. Not to mention, he seemed to take the whole
son of a celebrity
thing in his stride. It never seemed to bother him.

Drew Malik proposes at Disneyland.

Jade stared at the headline and shook her head. A fuzzy photo of Drew on his knees and Jade in her princess dress was on the cover of
Fame
magazine. If anyone believed that was real, then they were so stupid they deserved to be misinformed. Seriously, it was obvious that she was a character actor.

People got dressed up to go to Disneyland, sure, but not in full princess costumes. Hats, ears, and T-shirts were the common costumes in the park. One of the ladies she’d heard whispering must have gotten phone-camera happy when Jade wasn’t looking.

The date with Drew the night before, although impromptu, had been fun. He’d hung around the park until she’d knocked off her shift, and then they did the rides together. Splash Mountain was especially funny because Drew nearly vomited.

He didn’t find it funny, of course, but Jade was thoroughly entertained. He’d been all man on the Tower of Terror, though. Didn’t even scream when the elevator dropped. Jade had been on all the rides so many times she couldn’t count them, but it was always fun to go with someone new. Drew’s reactions were especially entertaining.

The most annoying part of the evening had been when he’d insisted on taking her through The Little Mermaid ride over at the Adventure Park and asking her the whole time if it made her homesick.

“Look, it’s
you!”
he’d proclaimed when they passed the Ariel statue. “Is that my competition?” he asked when they passed Ariel and Eric almost kissing in the boat.

Jade just rolled her eyes and went along with it. She was having too good of a time to start a petty fight. He was trying to be cute and funny and she just rolled with it.

Jade’s least favorite part of the night, though, had been when he’d walked her to her apartment. She hadn’t had to catch public transportation because Drew had his car. He dropped her home and walked her upstairs.

“I had fun,” she said, feeling as if she’d been on a real date.

“Me too. You’re fun!”

“You sound surprised.”

“No, just happy.” He gave her a goofy grin.

“Do you…?” Jade bit her lip. She’d been about to ask him if he wanted to come inside.

Was that allowed? Did she even want to take their relationship to that place? It was all so confusing. She was saved having to sort her head out by Drew’s statement.

“I should be getting home. Thanks for a really fun night. I mean it—that might be the best fake date I’ve ever had. Hell, maybe the best date period.”

And there it was. He’d called it a fake date. Jade was glad she hadn’t finished her question and made a fool of herself.

“I had a great time. I don’t tend to hang out at the Park much anymore. Working there has taken some of the magic of it away, but I’m really glad we stayed tonight. Thanks.”

He kissed her on the cheek and then disappeared. He didn’t look back over his shoulder to see if she was safely inside. After she showered and climbed into bed, she placed her phone on the nightstand in case it rang. But he didn’t text or call that night.

Chapter Eight

Intervention

S
WEAT
C
OATED
E
VERY
I
NCH
of Drew’s body. When he’d agreed to be a basketball coach, he hadn’t realized how much running around he would do. His vision of coaching was to just stand on the sidelines, yelling orders and blowing his whistle. The reality was that he worked just as hard, if not harder, than the players. But as tired as he was, he actually loved the work. His individual sessions with Alex were going great, and he could see real potential in that boy.

Once he got home, all he wanted to do was have a long, hot shower.

“Did you have a good day at training?” Caroline asked when Drew walked through the foyer to head upstairs.

“It was great. What time are my parents expecting me for dinner?”

“The reservation is for eight.”

“I’ll be ready,” Drew promised.

Caroline laughed. “I’ll take that bet.”

Drew gave Caroline the finger and then took the stairs two at a time, Caroline’s laughter echoing after him.

He showered, washing the sweat from his body and thinking about maybe calling Tully after dinner. She would be up for going out for a drink. As annoying as she could be, she knew how to have fun.

When he was dressed, Drew pulled the bottle of vodka out from under his bed and downed two shots, getting himself ready for the night. He stowed the bottle again, rolling it into the shadows so Caroline wouldn’t find it.

“Told you I’d be on time,” he called, but there was no response.

He went through into the dining room and paused. His mother and father were seated together, with Caroline next to his mother. They all wore stern expressions.

“I’m not late,” Drew said, checking his watch to be sure.

“Drew, have a seat,” his father said.

“O…kay,” he said, elongating the word.

Laura leaned forward and grasped his hand tightly across the table.

“You know we love you,” she said.

“Oh God, what’s going on?” Drew really wanted to run upstairs and have another shot. He eyed his father’s well-stocked bar on the buffet behind the table.

Caroline whimpered and dabbed her face with a scrunched-up tissue. Drew did not like the atmosphere in the room, and he pulled his hand free from his mother’s.

Aaron cleared his throat. “Drew, son, this is hard for us, but you know it’s been coming for a while.”

Drew stared at them with a blank face. His father’s words didn’t make any sense. Now he
really
wanted a drink. The two shots he’d had upstairs hadn’t given him nearly as much of a buzz as he’d hoped.

“The way you live your life…what you’re doing to your body,” his mother said.

“What’s this about? I thought we were having a family dinner.” Drew shot Caroline a dirty look, and she cowered in her seat. “Are we eating or not?”

Aaron leaned forward. “Drew, we need to talk to you about your drinking.”

“Oh, give me a break,” Drew yelled, finally understanding what was going on. There was no dinner. He should have known something was up as soon as he came downstairs.

“Drew, please listen. Don’t let anger stop you from hearing our concern.” Laura reached for her son’s hand again, but he’d pulled it out of her reach. “We love you, and we’re concerned about your health. The amount you drink isn’t healthy.”

“Mom, I know you think you know what you’re talking about, but you don’t. I’m fine. I can handle a few fucking drinks.”

“Be respectful when you talk to your mother,” Aaron scolded.

“Sorry, Mom,” he mumbled as if he were a small child.

Drew’s head started to pound. The last thing he felt like doing was sitting at the table, being lectured by his parents about alcohol.

“Doctor, why don’t you come in?” Aaron said.

A middle-aged man entered the room from the living room and sat at the table.

“A doctor?” Drew asked.

“Hello, Drew. My name is Peter. I’m a general surgeon. Your parents asked me to come and speak with you about what alcohol does to your body.”

Drew rolled his eyes and scrubbed his hands through his hair.

“This is a joke, right? Someone set me up.” He started to laugh and looked around the room, expecting his friends to come busting in with drinks for everyone.

“Drew, this isn’t funny. We’d like you to listen to the doctor.” Laura watched her son with an emotional stare.

Knowing the only way to escape this torture would be to let them get this out of their system, Drew slouched back in his chair, hanging his right arm over the back and stretching his legs out. “Okay, Doc, let’s get this over with.” He let out a bored sigh.

Peter looked at Aaron, who nodded his head for the doctor to continue. Drew tried his best to pay attention as the doctor explained about the damage alcohol did to the liver, heart, and brain, but it was all so pointless. He didn’t have a drinking problem.

Drew held his hand up for the doctor to stop speaking. When he was silent, Drew sat up straight and leaned his elbows on the table.