He rolled her on top of him to save her from his weight and cushioned her head against his chest. They just lay that way. It was different than any time with her before or with anyone, for that matter. It felt permanent. Right.
“I can hear your heartbeat,” she said.
He hitched his brows and his mouth curved into a half-smile. “Good thing. I’d hate to be dead.”
She traced a line down his chest with her finger. “Thank you, I needed that.”
And just like that the spell was broken. He rolled to the other side of the bed, angry. “Glad I could oblige.” Maybe next time he could get her a blowup doll.
He hung his legs off the bed, crossed the room to the bathroom, got rid of the condom, and took a quick shower. Afterward, he found Gina in the kitchen, stirring her short ribs.
His phone rang and he was thankful for the distraction, because he had been about to say something to Gina that he probably would’ve regretted. Something to the tune of “I’m not your fuck buddy.”
Chapter 19
Conflicteddidn’t even begin to describe the way Sawyer twisted Gina into knots. She was falling so deep for him, she was drowning. With everything else going on in her life, she couldn’t deal with any more noise.
Then why the hell did you sleep with him?
Because he made her feel things she’d never felt before. Like she was more than her fictional TV persona. More than someone who was constantly trying to prove herself to the universe. More than the loser deep down inside she’d always feared she was.
But she couldn’t let herself fall in love with him. When the time came to give her heart to someone, she would have to be back on top. Not needy and in a position of weakness.
Sawyer turned off the music, took his call into the bedroom, and shut the door. The only sounds in the house were the hum of the air-conditioner and the gurgle of the short rib juices in the Dutch oven.
She couldn’t hear Sawyer’s telephone conversation and assumed it had something to do with his work or the ranch. Alone with her thoughts, she thought about what he’d said.
“There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself.”
She rolled the quote around in her head. She’d never heard it before, but glommed onto it like an anthem.
It would be tough to win back an audience with the rumors still swirling, especially while the beloved Candace played the victim. But eventually, people would realize that she hadn’t run off into the sunset with Danny Clay and that the man was conspicuously absent from her life.
Little by little they’d forget. By then, Gina would have her house in order. A new pilot to sell to the networks and new brands to represent. This time, she wanted her names on the products and licensing rights.
Lord knew she had the money to make all these things happen. She just had to work hard and have patience. But she couldn’t do that from the ranch, even if the idea of leaving hollowed out her insides.
Tomorrow, she planned to talk to Wendy about getting the paparazzi off her back. She’d even be willing to hold a press conference if it meant she could be rid of the hacks and live in peace.
Sawyer returned to the kitchen, breaking into her thoughts.
“That was Paolo Renato fromEater.” He waited to see if she recognized the name. When she nodded—everyone in her world knew Paolo Renato—he continued, “There’s a rumor that Danny Clay set the whole thing up when he found out his wife was divorcing him. Apparently, she’d always been jealous of your success and Danny wanted to stick the knife in. Humiliate her in public. But it backfired, because he’s out of a job and it’s a PR nightmare. FoodFlicks wants nothing to do with him. Paolo says he can’t corroborate the story, but it’s spreading through the food industry faster than a California wildfire.
“It explains the texts and the dick pic. How easy. He uses one of those fake-message apps to make it look like you two are having a text conversation, then, through one of his minions, leaks it to the press.”
“Danny?” She couldn’t believe it. He’d seemed as surprised as her when the story had first broken. “Is Paolo working on nailing it down?”
“Everyone is, according to Renato. For the tabloids this new revelation would give the story a second news cycle. For the mainstream media this is legitimate news. A celebrity capsizing an innocent person’s career is no joke. I’d like to help Paolo get it first.Eateris reputable.”
“Are you kidding? It’s one of the few food publications that’s read by both the general public and the industry. It would go a long way to absolving me. But how? Unless Danny confesses, I don’t see any way of verifying that it was him.”
“I sent Renato the duplicate photo of Candace and Danny,” Sawyer said. “Made him promise our conversation was off the record. You need to call my mom. Tell her that I talked to Paolo and that he wants the story.”
“I will. But Sawyer, do you think it’s strange that Danny would put himself at such risk like that? Why would he make himself look like a cheater? How would that buy him anything?”
“Revenge against Candace for divorcing him. You’re younger, more successful. He wanted to mortify her in the public eye.” Sawyer hitched his shoulders. “Hell, cops say marriage alone is a motive for murder. Twenty-five to life has never been much of a career starter. Yet, people kill their spouses all the time. He was probably so blinded by rage he didn’t think about the consequences.”
She supposed he was right but what an awful extreme to go to. And to take Gina with him. That was the part that angered her the most.
