Nathan nodded. “That makes sense. So he tanks our book with some stupid tabloid rumor—”
“No one with two eyes is gonna see this as a rumor,” said Burke, pointing down at the photograph. “Like it or not, this is printed fact.”
“I guess so, yeah,” Nathan sighed. “The point is, with this photo Jay proves himself ‘right’. If the higher ups in the company were doubting him at all, this gets him back in their good graces.”
“And your father’s graces,” Chase added. “Don’t forget about that.”
Nathan nodded solemnly. The motion was followed by a very long, very awkward silence.
“So what do we do now?” Nathan eventually asked. “Look at this thing. They have our names. Not just our pen name, but our actual names.”
Burke stepped in and took the tabloid in his hand again. He arched an eyebrow.
“They got the name of the book right at least,” he said thoughtfully. He folded the magazine and read some more. “Actually, they print the title three times.”
My heart sank, thinking about my poor parents. My mother, reading about my relationship through some cheap printed rag. My father, staring down at that terrible, terrible photograph…
“Three times?” said Nathan. “Shit, that’s even worse.”
“Is it?”
“Are you kidding?” Nathan demanded. “Yes Burke, yes! Holy fuck, man. Everyone reads this thing! We’re going to be laughed at, all of us, for—”
“Stop,” Burke interrupted loudly. Then, a bit softer: “Think about what you just said.”
Nathan paused. “What?”
“Say it again. Repeat it.”
“We’re going to be laughed at—”
“No, the other part. Before that.”
Nathan paused, still confused. His eyes narrowed in recollection. “The part where everyone reads this thing?”
“Yes.” Burke’s brown eyes flared dangerously. All of a sudden, there was a strange new fire in them.
“That part.”
Fifty-One
KAYLEEN
“Come in.”
The door opened gently, and I felt Nathan enter. I was flat on my back, my head lolled over the bottom part of my bed. I knew it was him without turning my head.
Beast bounded down off the bed to greet him.
“How’s my surfer girl?”
It was his pet name for me, and it was always cute. Even now.
“I’ve had better days.”
“Agreed,” he sighed, scratching Beast behind the ears. My little corgi winced in pleasure. He even let Nathan scoop him up into his arms.
“I mean, it’s not every day you have to explain to your parents that you’re involved in a four-way relationship with three other men,” I said. “And hey, here’s the best part: have them find out through their friends pointing it out in some godforsaken tabloid…”