Page 20 of Down & Dirty (Holden Cove #1)

CHAPTER 20

SKYLAR

C onsidering the way the night had imploded, unlocking a new facet to Cory Ellis—and my growing attraction to him—would have seemed far from likely. But here we were, with my son in his arms as I unlocked my suite door. The same suite I’d never even let Cory see until now, out of some sort of shame or feeling of unworthiness.

But the man had been everything I could have asked for tonight. Supportive, caring, thoughtful. Even self-sacrificing. I knew he had plans for us after that movie, and he’d ditched every one of them without a second’s hesitation. Whatever this issue was I had with letting him see how I lived, it was stupid and I let it go the instant he carried my son from that hospital room.

“Second door on the left,” I whispered, when he paused in the living room.

I kicked off my heels and tossed my bag on the kitchen table. The sparkly sequin clutch looked so out of place on the chipped Formica table, but the sight of it didn’t sting as much. Nothing like a trip to the ER to give you a renewed sense of perspective.

When I got to Micah’s room in time to see Cory on his knees, gently pulling the quilt over my son, I froze. The scene was so damn far from anything I’d ever imagined. His big hands were moving so intently, tucking the blanket in around his legs and adjusting it under his chin. He hadn’t heard me stop in the doorway, and before he rose, he brushed a curl from my son’s forehead with a sigh.

I managed to school the awe from my expression by the time he turned around to find me watching him. He startled, but then dropped his eyes to the ground with a bashful grin as he joined me in the hallway. He knew I’d seen him.

Leaving Micah’s door open a few inches, I turned to him. “I’m going to change. Give me one minute.” I slipped his suit jacket from my shoulders and held it out to him. He took it reluctantly, his expression falling a little. “Help yourself to whatever’s in the kitchen. I might have a couple of beers in the fridge.”

Even though I didn’t feel as anxious about Cory being in my home, I still found myself rushing to throw on a pair of leggings and a T-shirt. I wasn’t sure if Cory was the type to snoop. But I got my answer when I found him sitting in a kitchen chair, a pair of beers open on the table in front of him, and his eyes locked on the bottle he was spinning in his hands.

“Say yes,” he said, his voice rough and low, as he looked up at me.

There was no confusion about what he meant. My shoulders dropped at the mention of it, though. I was sort of hoping the whole, child-in-the-hospital bit might have put him off this for at least the night. Keep dreaming, Sky.

“Cory, that is a very sweet offer. Honestly, two months ago I’d have thought you were joking,” he went to interrupt me, but I held up my hand to stop him. “But I know better now. I know you better now. And I know you mean well. But I don’t need you to do that. Things are okay. Getting paid by you for all this has already helped. You don’t need to do any more.”

He shook his head, and I could see the defiance build in him like a fire catching wind. “Just think about it. Getting hitched would solve a lot of problems. And nothing would really need to change. ”

At that, I laughed. Even a fake marriage would require some adjustments to our arrangement. Living in different apartments, for one thing, would cause a few raised eyebrows, even in California, land of unconventional coupling.

I took a long pull from my beer, leaning my hip into the back of the couch. The one that was practically in the kitchen, it was so oversized for this small place. The whole premise was so far-fetched. Who gets married like this? For purely superficial, financial reasons? I was far from a romantic, or at least far from admitting just how romantic I was, but the whole arrangement felt a little sad to me.

“I just can’t imagine how that would be any better than what we have already. We can keep building the story with the press...” I faded out, remembering his plan for after the party. We’d missed out on the chance to kiss on camera. And that was a loss...strategically speaking, of course.

His brow bent into a harsh scowl. “It’s not just about that.”

“Then what? It’s about saving me?”

“Not saving you. You don’t need saving, Sky. I know that.” His eyes were locked on mine, and even in the shitty lighting of my apartment I could see the flecks of green and gold dancing in the hazel of his irises. “I know that,” he repeated, his voice dropping low.

The emotion in his eyes was too much, especially for a night that had already been emotional enough. Even if Cory wasn’t trying to play hero with my life, getting legally tied to the man in a marriage was a much bigger commitment than the six-month contract I’d signed. It hadn’t been without reservations that I’d agreed to that one, I sure as hell wasn’t going to agree to this madness the same night he offered it.

“I’ll think about it,” I stalled, looking at the shitty painting over his head as I drained the rest of my beer. I could feel his eyes on me, almost hear the argument on his lips. But thankfully, he gave it a rest.

“Okay.” He finished his beer, and got up to wash out the bottle . It was a small touch, but something about it lodged itself in the corner of my mind. The man was just so different from how I expected him to be.

“Thank you for . . . everything,” I said, walking him to the door.

He paused on the threshold, his expression thoughtful. “Don’t mention it.” He skimmed his hand lightly down my arm. Sparks of what I’d felt in the car when we’d kissed zinged through me, and a tiny part of me was hoping he was about to do it again. But then he leaned toward me, slowly and with a lopsided grin, and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

“Goodnight Skylar.”

I exhaled in time to whisper, “Goodnight.”

And then he was gone.

Considering I’d only had one beer the night before, the headache I woke up with was truly unfair. But emotional hangovers are like that, and all the stress from the last twenty-four hours was pounding through my skull when my phone started to vibrate. I reached for it with a groan, glancing quickly down the hall to see Micah’s door still in the almost-closed position I’d put it in last night. My boy was a good sleeper.

The circus music kicked off again and I almost hit decline, but that only felt like delaying the inevitable, so I answered.

“Tommy.” It was seven-something in the morning, the man better not have expected a warmer greeting than that at this hour.

“What the hell is going on?”

I stared up at the ceiling, my mind barely online. The broadness of his question would have been laughable, if not for the accusation in his tone. “What are you talking about?”

“You and Ellis? What the fuck is this?”

A shiver of nerves went through me. Cory and I had been “out” in the world for months, but I’d assumed Tommy either hadn ’t seen the photos the other day or he hadn’t cared. Last night might have changed all that, but we didn’t get the chance to seal the deal, so to speak.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, both because I wanted to know how he’d figured it out, and to buy some time. His reaction was stronger than I’d anticipated.

“You’re fucking the guy, Skylar!”

I bolted upright. “What?”

We never got to the kissing part. I’d even felt badly about missing the opportunity, knowing it had been the main reason we’d gone to that damn movie in the first place. The red carpet photos were nice, but nothing says “currently dating” like a good public display of grossness.

But we hadn’t done that.

“I’m looking at the damn photos, don’t try to deny it.”

“What photos?” I scrambled for my laptop on the corner of my bed, shoving a week’s worth of clothes out of my way and hearing the thud of the water bottle I’d been looking for as it hit the floor.

“Don’t fucking talk to me like I’m stupid. This is where you were last night? When our son had an attack, this is what you were doing? Fucking around with this asshole?”

I took a long slow breath, fighting for composure, because there were so many things wrong with what he’d just said. But in the end, I let Tommy sit in silence as my eyes pored over the google results for Cory’s name.

It was me. And him. Me and him, in the truck , making out.

Holy shit.

Holy fucking shit.

“Sky!”

I screwed my eyes shut, the pain wrapped around my skull beating in time with my racing heart.

“Tommy, I’ve been seeing Cory for two months now. Its none of your damn business who I date, and last night Elle was with our son, and he was perfectly safe. Get the hell off whatever high horse you’re trying to ride around on. You don’t get to tell me how to live my life or who I can spend time with. Go play house with Geena and leave me alone.”

I hung up. Putting the phone on do not disturb, I tossed it onto the bed beside me, rubbing my temples as I tried to catch my breath.

How had this happened?

It occurred to me that these photos could have been taken by a photographer Cory hired, a plant meant to make it look real again. But last time he’d made sure I was okay with the shots before they went public. A twinge of pain in my heart told me just how little I liked the idea that he wouldn’t have offered me the same courtesy this time. Especially with photos like these. The prospect that he’d have gone behind my back to set this up stung more than I wanted to admit.

But I was the one who’d asked for “practice” in the truck. He was halfway out the door. So, unless the goal was to photograph us holding hands as we walked to the red carpet—where we were already planning to be photographed holding hands—it seemed unlikely this was a pre-planned thing.

And maybe I was refusing to think he’d have done that because I trusted him. He’d given me reason to, and I didn’t want to throw that away so quickly.

I opened my eyes again, scrolling down the gossip blog that had posted the photos. There were several from the red carpet, too. We looked nice. We even looked good together. Him with his curly hair and scruff jaw all fancied up by his suit and tie, towering over me in my sleek black dress and red lips.

In every photo his hands were on me; holding me to him like he wanted the whole world to know exactly what was going on between us. The way his fingers dripped off my hip bone, they were in the perfect spot to skim the top of my ass.

The fact that I would not have been mad if he had told me all I needed to know about how far my feelings for Cory Ellis had evolved in the last two months .

But what stopped me short, stealing my breath, were the photos at the bottom of the post. The photographer had captured us kissing, but he’d also snapped the moments before that. And in every one Cory was looking at me...No, he was gazing at me with such affection it made my heart twist.

Because it was real.

These photos hadn’t been taken in a moment of show. We had no idea they were being taken at all. So, the way he was smiling at me, the sweet caress of his knuckles across the blush on my cheeks. The sparkle in his eye, and the slight flush I could see now on his own face— all of this was real.

I scrolled up and down the page, my pulse starting to race. No man had ever looked at me like that. And even if they had, I’d certainly never liked it as much as I did now.

Cory cared about me.

It was right there. You could see it all over his face.

And I knew just how much I liked it by the thumping of my heart.

Elle’s encouragement from the other night came back to me. It was ridiculous to imagine that something lasting could come out of this crazy contract we had, but I couldn’t hold onto the lie any more that I didn’t—maybe—want it to. Or at the very least, I wanted to consider the possibility.

I was chewing on what all this meant when another blast of circus music erupted, making me nearly jump off the bed. Damn Tommy for knowing he could just keep calling and my phone would let him through.

“What?” I answered, too wrung out to try and be civil like I always did.

“Hello to you, too, Skylar,” he said, as if he was the bigger person.

“If you want to be a jerk again, I’m hanging up.”

“I wanted to try and talk about this calmly.”

“My relationships are not up for discussion.” I sighed, flopping back into my pillows .

“Not that. I think it’s fucking bullshit, but you can go fuck that crusty has-been, if that’s what you want.”

I bit my tongue, knowing Cory would laugh off Tommy’s insults if he’d heard them himself. But I took offense for him. He was far from crusty, and Tommy knew that if he’d taken one look at those photos.

“Then what?”

He cleared his throat and I braced myself. I knew what was coming. “You said last night you’d pay for that ER visit. Did you mean that?”

I let my eyes drift closed. “Yes. I’ll take care of it.” Not that I had any idea how much that was going to cost. But with what Cory was paying me, I should be okay to manage it on my own.

“Okay, good,” he sighed, ease filling his tone. “I just wanted to check before we sign anything with this wedding planner.”

Ah, right. The real reason we were all in this mess. The wedding.

A flash of Cory waiting for me at the end of a long aisle, flanked by family and friends, and strewn with bright white dahlias, a smile on his face as I made my way toward him on my dad’s arm, tears glistening in his eyes...

“If you’re good with picking up that bill, then I think I’m good.”

Shaking my head, I snapped back to the moment. “Yeah, all set.”

“Cool. I’ll pick Micah up tomorrow morning for the weekend.”

“Yep, okay.”

“And then don’t forget I’m taking him to New Jersey with me for Thanksgiving at Geena’s folks’ place.”

I rubbed at the line forming between my eyebrows. “I haven’t forgotten.”

It would be the first Thanksgiving I’d spend without him since he was born. I was still working out how I felt about that.

There was a moment of silence, and I was about to say goodbye, when Tommy couldn’t help himself .

“I hope you know what you’re doing with Ellis. You haven’t always made the best choices, but he’s a fucking mistake, even for you.”

My pulse was hammering in my temples, and I closed my eyes again as I let out a slow breath. It was something else to have one of your biggest mistakes be the one telling you your judgment was flawed. Tommy probably didn’t even see the irony in that. But I did. And it pissed me off.

“You don’t know anything about him. Or me, for that matter. You never did.”

Somewhere in him, I knew Tommy still thought of himself as a good guy, a guy I could rely on because we both loved the hell out of Micah. But we’d been all sizzle and no heat. What little connection we did have faded the minute he started screwing other women behind my back. So even if the pressures of a new baby hadn’t come along to point out every crack in our relationship, we still would have crumbled. Because he never got me. He didn’t even try.

“See you tomorrow,” he finally said before hanging up.

I sat in bed for a minute, enjoying the quiet. Something Cory said last night after he “proposed” was running in the background of my thoughts, like a loop to a song you can’t get unstuck.

You can finally figure out what the hell it is you actually want to do with your life. ‘Cause being Ronnie’s manager isn’t going to cut it.

I barely let myself daydream about what I’d rather be doing. I sure as hell didn’t think I was revealing it to anyone else. My own family never asked me if I was happy— they just assumed I was. And without the means to change anything, I let them believe I was.

But somehow Cory had seen something else.

Hearing the echo of Tommy’s voice in my head, I replayed all the moments I’d had with Cory since this whole crazy idea had been put in motion. Not once had he spoken to me like Tommy did; like I was smaller than him, and that he wanted me that way. Cory w as passionate and determined, but he had no need to take up all the space in the room like Tommy. Or even my brother sometimes. If I wanted air to breathe around either of them, I had to fight for it. But not with Cory. Around him, I had a chance to exhale, knowing that the next breath was a given. He held space for me, and in his own insane way, that’s exactly what this offer was too.

All I had to do was take it.

I picked up my phone, my hand shaking.

It seemed as unromantic as his proposal last night to accept it via text. But that’s what I was about to do.

Sky: Yes.

That was all I sent, knowing that arrogant son of a bitch would know exactly what I meant. Sure enough, his reply was swift and ridiculous.

Cory: ‘Bout time you let me make an honest woman out of you.

I shook my head, failing to keep from laughing. This idea was madness. It was taking our whole arrangement to a new level, and I still wasn’t even convinced we needed to make the extra effort. But the uncertainty I felt wasn’t strong enough to beat back the feeling that had suddenly taken root inside my chest.

It was a seed of hope.

Hope that with some more of this mutual assistance I really could set myself on a new path. That things could change—not in a way that hurt me, like what Geena wanted. A change for the better. I might not know exactly how that looked, or what came next. But I was willing to take this chance to find out.

Besides, it was just one year of fake marriage, to an extremely hot man who had, so far, done nothing but prove me wrong about himself while making my insides warm and tingly.

What could go wrong?