“We’re pretty sure it’s someone in my office. This is going to be my ass. Monroe is livid. One of the magazines has exclusive photos of the agreement, Jared. It’s bad. Especially because by now, I’m sure the two of you broke the clause. And if that’s the case, this marriage is void anyway.” The bomb that Harvey just dropped rendered Jared completely still. “Call Walsh and get to practice. But be prepared. I’m sure the paparazzi is swarming there, waiting for you.”
Jared ended the call, stared morosely out the window. The sky was gray, as was the ocean, the water swirling and turbulent. Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply, trying to process what they should do next. What Harvey said to him.
Was Harvey just assuming they’d had sex? Or did he somehow know it for a fact?
“Jared.” She rested her delicate hand between his shoulder blades. “What’s going on?”
Slowly he turned to face her. She’d slipped on his oversized T-shirt, her face pale, her eyes wide, and her hair a wild mess tumbling down past her shoulders. She was so beautiful his heart ached at having to tell her.
“I can’t do this without clothes on.” Shaking his head, he went and grabbed his jeans off the floor, pulling them on. Then he returned to the bed and took Sheridan’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “We’ve been found out,” he said solemnly, trying his best to keep his composure. “The marriage agreement. It’s been leaked.”
“What?” She tugged her hand out of his grip, her eyes going wild. “Leaked? How?”
“Last night, that shitty gossip site TMZ splashed a picture of you in front of the gallery without your wedding ring on and an article speculating that we were already in trouble. Looks like someone did a little research, greased a few hands, and now there are stories all over the web saying our marriage is a sham.” Jared leaned down, trying to look into her eyes but she bent her head, her hair falling all around her face.
“So the agreement is mentioned then.” He could hardly hear her. Wished he could see her. “Who could’ve done this?”
“I don’t know.” He cleared his throat, hating that he even thought it, let alone had to ask it. “You didn’t tell anyone did you, Sheridan? Like your friends? Willow?”
She lifted her head, her eyes blazing with anger. “So you think it’s my fault.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” He reached for her hand again but she batted him away. “I know how close you are to Willow. What if she slipped?”
“She couldn’t have slipped because I didn’t tell her,” she bit out, her lips so tight he wondered how she could even talk. “I kept this from everyone to help you. My friends, my mom, everyone. I’ve changed my entire life to accommodate you and improve your image.”
“This wasn’t all about me. You’ve benefited from this agreement too,” he pointed out.
“Oh sure, of course I have.” She stood and started to pace, momentarily distracting him with those long, bare legs strutting indignantly. “My life has been crazy since the momen
t I met you. I have Mr. Slick dictating to me what I can and cannot do, my picture appears in magazines and online and they try their hardest to make me look terrible. Business has increased, I can’t deny that and for it, I’m thankful. But it all came at what price?”
“What do you mean, what price? You have everything you could ever want. You’re set, money-wise. You live in this big fucking house. You’ve got me…” He stopped, knowing he sounded like an ass. His chest ached. His wife was furious. And all of her anger seemed to be directed right at him.
“All of this”—she waved her hand around—“doesn’t matter to me. Before this, I was just trying to follow my dream and support my mother and me. I was trying to be the woman my grandma always wished I could be. You and Harvey came along at a time when I was feeling really vulnerable and ready to sell the one thing that meant the most to me. Like a knight in shining armor, you promised you would help me and you got me. Now I feel like I’ve been had.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What are you saying?”
“I’m wondering if this wasn’t an accident. Maybe there wasn’t a leak. Maybe you were trying to get out of this so-called marriage. Or Harvey wasn’t pleased with the way things were going so he thought he’d do something drastic to end it between us.”
Her suggestions were so ridiculous he could hardly see straight. “You really think I’d make myself look like a complete asshole and let everyone know I had to pay you to pretend to be my wife?”
“I don’t know what to think.” She stopped pacing, her shoulders slumped, her expression full of defeat. “People in this community know me, Jared. I work with them all the time. And now they’re going to find out my marriage to you wasn’t real. It’s humiliating.”
She was feeling humiliated. He could get it—after all, he wasn’t too thrilled at the idea of everyone thinking he couldn’t get a wife on his own, that he had to go out and buy one. The entire situation sucked.
But she thought he might’ve done it. She’d completely forgotten what he said to her earlier. Holy hell, he’d come way too close to admitting he was in love with her. In freaking love with her.
Because he was. And now their entire relationship was shot to hell.
“Harvey said they’re playing up the no-sex clause the most. He also mentioned that he knew we broke the clause,” he said quietly. “How would he know?”
She stood at the dresser, her head bent as she scrolled through her phone. “I left my phone on silent,” she murmured. “God, everyone’s been trying to reach me.”
“Sheridan.” He went to her, stood directly in front of her until she lifted her head and met his gaze. “How did Harvey know we broke the clause? Did you tell him?”
The troubled flicker in her gaze was telling. “Like I would confess to Harvey Price we’ve had sex.”
“Then how did he know?”