Page 54

EIGHTEEN
Day two of the press junket dragged on and on. Adelia was still feeling the sting of Oliver’s rejection, and it had put her in a foul mood. She tried to understand where he was coming from, but it felt like he was finding every possible excuse not to be with her. They weren’t the first people from different backgrounds to date. Both Sebastian and Gus’s wives had come from humble beginnings as Oliver had. Gus and Merritt worked across the country from each other, and they made it work. She kept thinking about all of these arguments to support her case that she wished she’d thought of last night.
It was difficult to stay focused on the reporter’s questions. Thankfully, Layton couldn’t make it that day because he’d injured himself in a freak home improvement accident. That was the story he was going with anyway. He’d probably paid the studio assistant a hefty sum to keep quiet. But Adelia didn’t care if he lied about what happened. She knew the truth, and that was satisfaction enough.
Between interviews, her mind wandered. She really thought Oliver was going to kiss her. The way he’d held her face, touched her with his strong hands, and pulled her into his lap had felt like he was claiming her as his own. But it hadn’t turned out how she hoped.
“Adelia?” Iris broke through her thoughts. “The last interviewer is here.”
Adelia shook herself out of the fog to see a smarmy-looking man seated across from her. His name tag said he was with Behind the Celebs Magazine, and she groaned inwardly. That particular magazine always seemed to know everything about celebrities’ lives and had long been the bane of many an actors’ existence. She was annoyed that he had gotten a press badge to this event.
“Nice to be here, Miss Allen,” he said. “I’m Preston Wright.”
She immediately pictured the name Wright as write and wondered if it was his real name. “Is that a pen name?”
“Excuse me?” he asked.
“Nothing. Ask away.”
He started with the typical questions about the movie, how it was working with Layton, despite their rocky relationship. She answered as honestly as she could without giving away her true feelings.
“I was disappointed to learn he wasn’t going to be here for the interview with you today. My sources say he left here yesterday with a bloody nose. Care to comment on that?”
She pressed her lips together to keep from laughing and shrugged her shoulders. “No comment.”
“Very well. Maybe you’d prefer to comment on this.” He retrieved a photograph from his bag and held it up so she could see, and her stomach bottomed out. “You were spotted last night at Point Mugu Beach with a mystery man. Is he your new boyfriend?” The photograph was of her and Oliver on the beach, she on her knees, leaning close to him.
Crap!She didn’t think anyone was paying attention to them, but obviously, someone was. Someone always was. And it only served to prove what Oliver had said. Her life was very public, and his privacy would be sacrificed if they were together.
“He’s … a friend.”
The man raised an eyebrow as he showed her another picture of her sitting on Oliver’s lap. “Just a friend?”
“Yes. A friend.”
Iris suddenly stepped over to the man. “Please restrict your questions to the movie or this interview will be over.”
“Of course.” He said with a nod as he put the photographs away.
The rest of the interview went as it should, which was a relief. But Adelia was beyond flustered over the pictures of Oliver.
When Preston finished his questions, he thanked her and gathered his things.
“You’re going to post those pictures, aren’t you?” Adelia asked as he walked toward the door.
He stopped and looked back at her over his shoulder. “That’s my job.”
“I wish you wouldn’t.”
“Unless you can give me a good reason not to, they’re posting in an hour.”
“A good reason … as in money.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You could tell me who he is and save us from trying to figure it out on our own.”
“Please don’t go digging. There’s no story there. He’s just a friend. A regular, everyday guy, who doesn’t deserve to have his picture plastered all over the internet.”
“I’ll tell you what.” Preston turned back to face her. “Give me an exclusive interview about your parents and we’ll lose the pictures of you and your friend.”