Page 46

Paige

I reread Easton’s text and feel nauseous. He’s not a vulnerable guy. Ever. And he’s reaching out for me while I’m here, fucking up his life.

I hover on his name, ready to call him when my phone starts ringing, giving me an excuse to wait. Though, I’m not sure what I’m waiting for because I have no idea how to fix this.

“Dad?” The second I answer, emotion wells in my throat. Covering the speaker, I move the phone away from my mouth as I sniff, but it’s no use. The pain is obvious in my voice.

“Are you crying?”

“No,” I lie, wiping my eyes, thankful he can’t see me.

“What happened?”

“Nothing, I’m—”

“ Paige ,” he warns and I finally give in.

“They know about Easton and Isaac.”

“Who? The Mikklesons?”

“ Everyone . It was in a goddamn gossip column.”

“What was? What did it say?”

“They know we're together, which is fine; that was bound to come out. But then it mentioned Easton’s issues with Macy, probably thanks to that goddamn TV show, and that I’m not a good role model for Isaac. I don’t know what to do, Dad.”

“Have you spoken to Easton?”

“No. Not yet. This is going to kill him. This is why I held back. Why… God, why didn’t I stay away? They have photos and—”

“What photos?”

Shit . I never specifically mentioned the photos because until now they’d never been released. But…this is bad. “The Mikklesons have been threatening me with photos of me and Christian, but I never expected them to release any because it would hurt him too much. Only now they have photos of me and Easton and… I messed up.”

“No, you didn’t. I’m going to handle this. Just—”

“You can’t. You need to stick to the plan.”

“Paige—” Someone knocks on my door and I ask Dad to wait before falling silent, not wanting to talk to anyone else. The knock comes again, louder this time, and I hold my breath until…

“Sweetie, it’s Mom. Are you there?”

Mom?

“It’s Mom,” I whisper to Dad, almost crumbling with relief.

“I know.”

“You know?”

“Yeah, she called me before she booked her flight, asking if I thought it was a good idea. We’ve been talking ever since then. I was calling to let you know she was on her way up.”

Mom knocks again and I jump up. “I’ve got to go, Dad. I’ll call you soon.”

“Please let me help. I need to.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“At least call Easton. Don’t cut him off like you did with me.”

Jesus . I can’t deal with that guilt right now. I hang up and rush to the door, my heart seizing as I call out.

“Mom?” I open the door, barely holding myself together. “You’re here?”

She takes one look at me and springs forward, grabbing my face to wipe the tears from my cheeks. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“No.” I shake my head as more tears threaten to fall. “I’m not okay. I messed up.”

“I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think.”

“I—”

My phone buzzes with a message, and when I see that it’s Christian’s mom, I freeze, a tension knotting my stomach. I can’t look at it, but I also can’t let it go.

“Paige, what’s going on?”

I open the message and gasp. It’s a photo of me and Isaac playing in the park. It’s innocent enough—you can barely see Isaac’s face—but the words accompanying it are anything but.

Jill Mikkleson: Drop your little investigation and the images go away

She knows.

Another image comes through and I struggle to breathe. This one’s not at all grainy like the rest and shows Easton and me fucking during my dad’s fundraiser speech.

They’ve been following me.

And I’ve been so goddamn stupid.

“I’ve really messed up,” I cry, letting my phone drop to the floor. The photos may not show Easton’s face, but it wouldn’t take much to figure out that it’s him. There are plenty of photos from the official photographer during the night. “I’ve ruined Easton’s life.”

“Oh, Paige. Come here.” Mom links our fingers and walks me through the apartment until she finds the couch, sitting down to pull me into her lap, like she did when I was a kid. After wiping more tears from my face and brushing the hair behind my ears, she strokes my back while I fall apart, finally letting years of bottled-up emotion flood me.

“It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. I promise.”

“How? I’ve ruined everything for him. He’s going to lose his son. His ex is going to use this—”

“You don’t know that. Whatever it is, I’m sure we can fix it. Tell me what’s going on. We want to help.”

“Who?” I hold my breath, half expecting her to mention Christian’s dad.

“Your dad and me.”

I release a sigh and shake my head. “I don’t think this is fixable.” My words come out in a whisper as I think about what Dad said. Don’t cut him out like you did with me.

I don’t want to do that. I love him. But that might be why I have to.

“Please, tell me what happened. Let us try.”

Spinning around, I sit up straight and stare at my mom. And I mean, really stare at her, focusing on the warmth and sincerity in her eyes as she whispers, “Please, Paige.”

“Okay.”

With a shaky breath, I fill her in on everything that happened with Christian and the Mikklesons, including my complicated sex life and the photos they have of me and Easton. I tell her about Macy and Isaac. And while she smiles at the obvious love I have for them both, for the most part, she doesn’t give her feelings away.

When I’m done, I jump up, unsure if I can handle her response. “I need to call Easton,” I say to change the subject, wiping my eyes as I go in search of my phone. “He needs to hear it from me before the other images hit the media.”

“Why don’t you go and see him? I can wait. You said he lives in the building.”

“He’s not here,” I cry out. And he needs me.

My chest aches as I grab my phone and bring up his number, a pit of dread forming deep in my stomach. I’m just about to call him when Mom appears beside me.

“I’m going to give you some privacy, but I won’t be far away. Call me when you’re done. I’m here for you, Paige.”

“Where will you go?”

“I might pay a visit to your father. I need to make sure he’s treating you right.” Mom’s lips thin into a wicked smile and I actually laugh.

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll call you soon.”

After squeezing my arm, she lets herself out, and I call Easton as soon as the door clicks shut, needing to hear his voice just like he needed to hear mine.

“God, Paige,” he answers, dejected, and I hate that I’m about to break him.

“I’m so sorry, Easton.” I choke on his name, trying to swallow the emotion clogging my throat.

“Paige? What’s going on? Why haven’t you been answering my calls?”

Sucking in a breath, I stand tall and own my mistake. I did this. I need to make it right. “I messed up, Easton,” I say calmly, my voice clear. “I said I’d never bring you into my chaos and I did.”

“Where are you? I’m at Mom’s. Why don’t you come here and we can talk about it? We’re in this together, remember?”

“You don’t even know what it is.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter. It matters more than anything ever mattered in my life.”

“Paige—”

“I pushed them too far. I should have gone to the police sooner.”

“Paige—”

“They’ve got photos of me and Isaac, Easton. They’ve got photos of me and you .”

“Then we go public. We tell the world we’re together. No big deal.”

My heart shatters at the absolute certainty in his voice. He loves me. Truly loves me. But he doesn’t get it.

“They’re intimate photos, East. Photos no one would ever want leaked. Photos from our moment together at the Storm charity event. And I don’t think they’re going away.”