“You never answered my calls,” Colin said from behind the screen. “Or my texts or e-mails.”
I straightened my back and sucked in a breath. “I didn’t want to talk to you.”
Emotion tinged my words, and Colin’s face softened as he stepped through the screen door uninvited, clearly mistaking the meaning of my tone. Tatum must have misunderstood too because he dropped my hand and stepped away from me.
Surprised, I glanced at Tatum, wanting to tell him that he had it all wrong. I didn’t want Colin; my tone only reflected my surprise at seeing him here, nothing else.
“Don’t be like that, babe,” Colin said in a cajoling voice.
“Don’t call me babe, and don’t tell me what to do. Why are you even here?” I said harshly.
“Because I miss you. I wanted to see you. We belong together, Paige.”
When Colin took a step toward me, I edged back. I fumbled for Tatum’s hand and linked my fingers with his. “I don’t want you. And we don’t belong together. You’re delusional.”
“Don’t say that.” Colin practically growled at me, and Tatum sucked in a deep breath.
The air crackled in the emotionally charged room as Tatum stood a little taller and flexed his muscles as he boomed at Colin, “Your ears busted or something, man?”
Colin shifted his weight from foot to foot as Tatum leaned forward slightly and bit out, “Did you hear the lady or not?”
“I heard her,” Colin said, sounding more like a punk kid trying to talk back to his parents. “But we have history. And what—you think she’s going to stay here forever with you? What are you, a farmer?” He laughed, and Jayson followed suit.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Mrs. Montgomery’s hands ball into fists at her side, and I felt my own anger rise.
“You’re a good-looking guy, I’ll give you that.” Jayson smirked at Tatum, then said smugly, “But there’s no way that this thing you two have going on would ever last in California. I’m sure it was a nice little fling, but it’s over now. Do you need me to write you a check to make you feel better?”
“Jayson!” I shouted as Tatum once again tensed beside me. I knew Jayson’s words were embarrassing him, and it killed me. This was the type of game they played in Hollywood, but Tatum wasn’t from there. He’d never had to deal with this kind of thing before.
“Don’t listen to them,” I whispered at him. “They’re just trying to get inside your head. Please don’t let them. They don’t know me at all. You know me. Don’t forget that.”
Jayson wiped the smile off his face and softened his tone, obviously changing tactics. “I’m sure you’re a reasonable guy. You can certainly understand that Paige has been off the radar for weeks now and, well, that’s not good for business or her reputation.”
It was my turn to be shocked as I flinched at his words, wondering how much of what he was saying was true.
“She left town during a pretty chaotic time, as I’m sure you both know.” Jayson glanced between Tatum and his mom. “And the rumor mill won’t stop churning out the stories. Paige, did you know that you’re in rehab? That’s why no one’s seen you. You’ve been in rehab for depression over what happened with Colin.”
My stomach churned. That couldn’t possibly be true, or Quinn would have told me. Wouldn’t she?
“I don’t believe you,” I said, and crossed my arms over my chest as I narrowed my eyes at my agent and my ex.
Jayson pulled out his phone and swiped at the screen before turning it to me. A tabloid headline read:
Paige Lockwood Attempts Suicide Over Colin’s Mistresses. Details Inside!
“Oh my God! Why didn’t you put a stop to this?” I asked as the horror of it all came crashing down around me. I sucked in a quick breath, my head shaking as tears filled my eyes. “Because bad publicity is still publicity, right? And as long as people are talking about you, you’re still relevant. It doesn’t matter what they’re saying as long as they’re saying something. You taught me that.”
Jayson’s features settled into what looked like pity and disapproval. “Honestly, Paige, Corryn’s working on putting out that fire, releasing statements nonstop, but they’re very hard to corroborate when no one can find you or talk to you. Everyone believes these stories because no one’s seen you for weeks. This little stunt you pulled backfired. Big time.”
What had I done? What the hell had I just done to my career?
Tatum dropped my hand and turned to me. “Go talk to them. Figure this out.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’ll be right back.” I leaned up on my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his mouth. His lips barely moved to kiss me back.
“Let’s talk outside.” I motioned to both Colin and Jayson.
My heart broke a little as I walked away from Tatum and out the front door. When Colin held the screen door open for me, I edged away from him, not wanting to chance touching him in any way.
“You gotta come home, Paige. It’s bad,” Colin said, sounding sincere as he reached for my hand.
I pulled away quickly. “Don’t. Don’t touch me.”
“Sorry.” He bowed his head as Jayson reached for my arm and pulled me aside.
“Pack your things, we’re leaving right now. There’s no time to waste, and you’ve already wasted plenty.”
“I don’t want to go,” I said, practically whining. It was pathetic.
“I’m sure you don’t. He’s a pretty distraction. But, Paige, you want to talk about career suicide? That’s what is happening to yours right now, and you don’t even know it’s happening. You’ve spent the last month out here in Bumfuck, Egypt, doing who knows what while your reputation is being flushed down the toilet.”
“I’m sure you’re trying really hard to stop it all. You’re probably calling in the tips,” I shouted, and Jayson’s face reddened.
“Like I told you inside, Paige, no one believes that you’re not in rehab because no one can find you! Listen to me!” he yelled, and I noticed Tatum heading for the door before his mom stopped him. “You’ve been off the radar for weeks, and they’re asking everyone who’s close to you where you are. They’re all saying the same thing.”
“Which is what?”
“That they don’t know! And you and I both know that’s code for ‘She’s in rehab,’” Jayson shouted, his hands emphatically slashing the air around him.
“So when I get back, I’ll put out a statement or something. I’ll tell them all that I wasn’t in rehab, that I just—”
Jayson cut me off. “That you just what? Spent the last month in some small-time, off-the-map town? They won’t believe that either.”
“I don’t care what they believe. It’s the truth!” Completely frustrated, I turned to pace back and forth on the wood porch.
“You’ve been in this business long enough to know that reporters don’t want the truth, Paige. They want what sells.”
“Then we’ll give them something else to talk about instead. This is your area, think of something!” I shouted, emotions running wild through my body. There had to be something I could do to stop all the lies.
“Fine. But first things first, you have to come home.” Jayson pointed toward the house. “Go get your things.”
Knew It Wouldn’t Last
Tatum
The second Colin appeared on our doorstep, I wanted to burst through the screen and rip his head off. Paige looked horrified, and I had to fight my instincts to protect her.
Instead, I stood there silently and let her deal with this, since it was way out of my league. A helpless feeling consumed me while she talked to both Colin and her agent out of my earshot. I looked over at my mother, who was absentmindedly stirring her latest batch of tea.
“Mama?” I said, breaking her concentration.