But when it came right down to it, she couldn’t lie,
bald-faced, to Ashley. She knew she’d feel ridiculous saying that one of the
most famous men in America had fallen in love with her, especially when he’d
never so much as given her an appreciative glance.
She couldn’t bear lying to the rest of the people who worked
for her, either. Which meant Josh had to do it. “Josh will explain the situation
to you and everyone else.”
Josh blinked at her. “I will?”
“Yes.” Maybe it’d be more believable if everyone heard it
secondhand while she went underground, anyway. She’d take the phone off the hook
and hole up in her house for two or three days. That would go far toward
convincing everyone that her “relationship” with Simon was real. If she suddenly
went quiet instead of going on the record with an admission
or
a denial, the press would chase after the story that much harder
and break it that much bigger.
The paparazzi would be waiting for her when she emerged, of
course. She wouldn’t be able to avoid them altogether. But hiding out until
Wednesday would save her a lot of acting, which she feared wasn’t her strong
suit despite the misplaced confidence she’d exhibited at Simon’s.
Josh cleared his throat. “Right, I will. And you…”
“Will be at home for a couple of days,” she finished while
packing up her briefcase.
“Right again. Not coming in is probably a good idea. We’ll do
what we can without you.”
“Thanks.” In a moment of clarity, Gail realized she’d set a
match to a trail of gunpowder by making that agreement with Simon. But it was
too late to put out the fire.
All she could do was try to survive the explosion.
8
R
elieved to be safe in her little beach
house, Gail lowered the blinds in her bedroom, curled up on her bed and stared
at Callie’s picture and contact information on her cell phone. She’d never
purposely ducked a friend’s call before. At least not one of her friends from
Whiskey Creek.
“Oh, what the heck,” she mumbled. “Get it over with.” Once the
news that she was seeing Simon O’Neal broke, she’d have to worry about her
phones being tapped or her house being bugged—laughable considering she was no
head of state or criminal informant. Her only claim to fame would be that she
was “dating” a box office hit.
But tabloids were big business, hence the worry that someone
could stoop to such means to get inside information. She might as well use this
time to prepare her friends and family, before sightings of her and Simon began
to appear in the media.
Her father should’ve been her first call, but Gail preferred to
break into this easily. It was the weekend. She had that going for her. With so
many people out doing other things, word wouldn’t spread quite as fast as it
would on a weekday.
Callie picked up on the second ring. “Jeez, there you are. I’ve
been trying to reach you all day.”
“Sorry. Been working.”
“On a Saturday?”
Gail pictured her curvaceous bombshell of a friend. She used to
wish she looked like Callie, who resembled Marilyn Monroe. “Always.”
“You should really take a day off here and there.”
“You’ve mentioned that before. What’s up?”
“I’ve been
dying
to tell you
something.”
“What?”
“You’re not going to believe it.”
Callie wouldn’t believe what Gail had to say, either. “Try
me.”
“Matt’s moving back to town!” she announced with a “ta da”
flourish.
Sure she must’ve heard wrong, Gail gripped her chest.
“Hello?” Callie said. “Did I lose you?”
She’d forgotten to breathe. Air. She needed air. Taking a big
gulp, she sat up and forced words out as she exhaled. “No…I’m… I haven’t gone
anywhere.”
“Did you hear what I said?”
This had to be a mistake. Matt wouldn’t leave Wisconsin in the
middle of football season. “What happened? He didn’t get injured again, did
he?”
“Not a new injury, no. Just more of the same old stuff. Knee’s
acting up.”
Gail wasn’t sure how to react. She’d been in love with Matt
since she was in middle school. They’d finally gone out in July and nearly wound
up in bed together. But, to her severe disappointment, he hadn’t called since.
“So…is he out of the NFL for good?”
“I don’t think so. They had to do a second surgery, and he’s in
therapy, but he’s planning to return to Green Bay next season.”
Too agitated to remain on her bed, Gail got up and began to
pace. “How did you find out? You talked to him?”
“No. My mother heard the news while she was having her hair
done. You know what this town is like.”
Gail had been hoping Matt would come home eventually, had
dreamed of it. Given the opportunity, she thought he might ask her out again.
But she found herself cringing at the possibility that he wouldn’t be able to
continue playing football. He loved the sport like nothing else. “Do you know
how long he’ll be staying?”
“Months. Until he’s recovered.”
“Wow.” She pivoted near the French doors that opened onto her
postage stamp of a backyard. “I hope…I hope it heals well.”
“You mean you hope it heals
slowly,
” Callie said with a laugh. “I thought of you as soon as I heard.
He’ll be here when you come home for Thanksgiving in a few weeks.” She put some
innuendo into her voice. “With you two in the same town for a few days, you
never know what might happen.”
Nothing would happen now because Gail wasn’t going home. And
even if she did, she’d be married. She’d been waiting years for this news—and it
had to come on the day she’d made a business arrangement to marry someone else.
“He’s probably got a girlfriend,” she said. Maybe that was why he hadn’t called
her after their date last summer. Maybe there’d been someone else all
along....
“Nope. Word has it he’s as single as he’s ever been.”
So they would’ve had a chance?
Suddenly claustrophobic, Gail went out onto the patio where she
liked to read or answer email. Normally, she loved it out here, but her piece of
heaven didn’t hold the same magic for her today. Her heart had been yanked back
to the Sierra Nevada foothills, to the historic gold-mining town where she’d
grown up and so many of her friends still lived.
The sound of laughter and voices from the beach, only ten feet
or so from her fence, engulfed her. So did the cool, moist air of autumn and the
briny scent of the ocean. She closed her eyes as she considered backing out of
the deal with Simon. But the practical side of her wouldn’t allow it. What did
she think—that she and Matt would bump into each other and he’d suddenly regret
not pursuing the relationship? Why would that happen now when he’d gone back to
Wisconsin and basically forgotten about her after they’d all but had sex?
It wouldn’t. For the sake of her future and her employees, she
needed to live up to the commitment she’d made to Simon. “There’s just one
problem,” she heard herself say.
“What’s that?”
She felt she sounded wooden, mechanical, but soldiered on. “I
can’t come home next month.”
“Why not?”
“I’m…sort of involved with someone else, someone who lives
here.” She figured she’d be better off not mentioning the “M” word. She could
always justify her marriage by saying it was an impulsive act, something they’d
done while visiting Vegas. Otherwise, she’d send the whole town of Whiskey Creek
into an uproar.
There was a slight pause. “Since when?”
“It’s been a few months.”
“You’ve never mentioned anyone.”
Gail slipped past two trellises to gaze over the fence at the
inline skaters rocketing down the walkway, the athletes playing sand volleyball
beyond that and the waders at the water’s edge. “I didn’t think it would go
anywhere.”
“If you’re willing to miss seeing Matt, it must be
serious.”
The scent of damp wood and seaweed filled her nostrils. It
didn’t matter that L.A. and Whiskey Creek were in the same state. They were as
different as two places could be. No wonder she hadn’t thought of all the
complications she’d bring to her personal relationships when she’d decided to
save Simon’s image—and her business—with a temporary marriage. “More serious
than it was before.”
“Are you in love, G.?”
“I…might be.” She was waffling, but her response shocked her
friend enough that Callie didn’t seem to notice.
“Oh, my gosh! Who’s the lucky guy?”
Wincing at the reaction she’d receive when she uttered the
name, Gail made her way back toward the bedroom. “Simon O’Neal.”
Callie’s pause extended into awkward silence. No doubt she’d
expected Gail to add, “Not the Simon you’re thinking of.” When she didn’t,
Callie said it for her.
“You’re not talking about
the
Simon
O’Neal, are you? The actor? I know he was your client before you fired him. But
you said he was an asshole.”
Gail was going to get this a lot. She’d complained far too much
to her friends. “I was frustrated when I said that.”
“So it
is
Simon.”
The wind chimes on her porch tinkled softly. “Yes.”
“You’re dating him even though you told him you wouldn’t work
for him anymore?”
Her bedroom seemed far cooler and darker than before her
excursion into the afternoon sunshine. But she went inside and closed the door.
“The stress of trying to have a professional relationship while seeing each
other caused everything to blow up. You can imagine how difficult it would be to
date someone so famous. We were sneaking around, and he was…acting out because
of…you know, the divorce, and I was wondering how I could continue to represent
him if I was emotionally involved with him. I swore I’d never date one of my
clients. You’ve heard me say that. It’s just not wise.” She was talking too fast
and too much and throwing in too many justifications. She needed to be careful
but couldn’t seem to catch herself until Callie interrupted.
“Speaking of the divorce, it’s only been a few months since he
and his wife split.”
Gail kicked off her flip-flops and smoothed her bare feet
against the plush rug near her bed. “Actually, she took Ty and moved out over a
year ago. The divorce has been final for six months.”
“Okay. About a year, then. He could still be on the rebound,
Gail. If he ever loved Bella to begin with. You can’t tell me his behavior
doesn’t spook you. It would have to. What about all the things he’s done?”
He spooked her, all right. But she’d never be able to do
business in L.A. again if she didn’t come through. “The divorce was an
acrimonious one. I’ll be the first to admit that. But you have to understand
it’s been really, really hard on him.”
“I don’t think it’s been any easier on his ex-wife. Last I
heard, he showed up at her house drunk and got into a fight with her brother.
You shouldn’t be dating someone who…who’s spinning out of control, G.”
Gail laughed uncomfortably. “Come on, Callie. He’ll get turned
around. It’s not easy living under a microscope.”
“I understand. But…you’re the most stable, levelheaded girl I
know. Why would you get involved with someone who needs so much therapy? He
cheated on his wife with
six
different women.”
At last count. Gail was pretty sure he’d been shooting for
Tiger’s record. “He screwed up, ah, literally.” She managed a weak chuckle at
her bad pun. “But it’s killing him to be kept from his little boy.”
“I’d like to believe you, but most people who feel bad about
losing their kids resist jumping from one bed to the next because they know it
won’t help their case.”
Gail squeezed her forehead. “He was depressed, fatalistic,
going through a rough time. That’s not who he really is.”
“The pictures in the tabloids, showing him with one woman after
another, sure don’t make him look depressed and fatalistic. He’s living the high
life.”
Gail suspected that appearing so happy in public was a
purposeful cover, a way to save face, but she couldn’t use that in her argument.
And if this was how it was going with Callie, she cringed to think of the
conversation she’d have with her father.
Suddenly Gail was glad Simon had refused to go to Whiskey
Creek. She needed to keep him away at all costs. “The tabloids make up a lot of
that stuff.”
“You once told me there’s a kernel of truth behind most of
those stories.”
She’d been so transparent about everything that she had no
wiggle room left. “It’s more complicated than it seems. He had a horrible
childhood.”
“So…you feel sorry for him? For a rich, spoiled, self-indulgent
movie star?”
“You don’t even know him. How can you judge?”
“His mistakes are public knowledge!”
“I see a different side, okay? He’s a good man.” She cringed
because she had no confidence in that statement. She’d fantasized about him as
much as anyone, but she’d known in her heart that the real Simon couldn’t live
up to the man in her dreams. “Can you give him a break? Please? For me?”
“I’m just saying…before you get too committed to Simon, maybe
you should come home and see if there’s anything between you and Matt. Matt’s a
great guy.”
Callie would know. He’d been her neighbor growing up. But Gail
had too much on the line to risk it all on the hope that Matt Stinson would
finally return her interest. Dropping onto the bed, she watched the fan rotate
overhead. “My relationship with Matt has been completely one-sided.”
“You kissed last summer.”
“He hasn’t called since.”
“Because he’s too focused on his career. He doesn’t want to
risk getting involved with someone like you, someone who’s marriage material.
He’s not ready for that kind of commitment. He’s said as much.”
“He has?”
“Not in so many words,” she hedged. “But I know he thinks
you’re amazing.”
Torn, Gail rubbed her face. “He could’ve followed up, come to
see me.”
“At the moment football is his whole life. But at least he’s
not some hotheaded philanderer who’s using his power and money to destroy
everyone around him. Where can you expect your relationship with Simon to go? If
even one-tenth of what I’ve read about him is true—”
“Have some faith in me, Callie. I don’t fall in love easily.
There’s…something inside him that’s worth fighting for.” She believed that much.
Occasionally she caught a glimpse of Simon’s good side, saw how warm and
generous he could be. If she could figure out a way to avoid his rougher edges,
they might be able to establish an equilibrium of sorts—build a friendship over
the course of their marriage. “Besides, people can change.”
That was the classic line used by every woman who’d ever dated
the wrong guy, but it couldn’t be refuted so she had to go with it. People
could
change. But they seldom did, and Callie latched
on to that immediately.
“And if he doesn’t? Why take the risk? His last wife was
heartbroken and publicly humiliated—”
“You don’t know what caused the breakup of his marriage.”
“I think six affairs would do it, don’t you?” Obviously Callie
thought being with Simon was a huge mistake. The other people who cared about
Gail would, too. But they didn’t know she already understood how the whole thing
would play out, that she wasn’t in love with Simon and never would be, because
she knew too much about him.
“You’re being really hard on him. You’d like him if you gave
him half a chance.” Simon had to be the most charismatic person on the
planet—but only if he cared enough to bother pouring on the charm.