“Is there a problem there?”Ariella asked.
“They butt heads sometimes,” Tripp explained.“It’s their way to let off steam.When something is tense or stressful, they snipe at each other because they can’t trust to snipe at others.”
“You know…” Cam pondered, sort of amazed.“That’s exactly what it is.They’re a safe space for each other.”
“They can gripe and moan, snap and snark, but they love each other at the end of the day.”
“They’re as close as siblings who aren’t blood.”
And as the glass rose to Zairn’s lips, he hid an emerging smile with a sip.
“Who is Woo?”she asked given there was a chance to breathe.
“Beverley Woo,” Cam said, hand on her thigh.“She’s a producer who works with Karryn Keller.”
Now that was a name she knew, everyone knew.“The interviewer?I’m not doing an interview with Karryn Keller.She’s like… the heavyweight of heavyweights.”
“If you get the truth out there, it will become old news.You give them it all and there’s no room for further speculation.”
“It’s not my place—I mean, I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”
That narrowed Zairn’s keen eyes.“What did you sign?”
“What?Nothing!I—”
“If there’s paperwork, we need to see it.”Zairn retrieved his phone.“Dunlap can be here in a couple of hours.”
“Was there a prenup?”
This was happening fast.
Cam’s fingers tensed and loosened.“We can protect you,” he said.“If you want to stay in hiding, we can keep you safe and out of sight.”
What would she do?Live in a cave for the rest of her life?The guys didn’t think that was a good idea.That much was obvious from the expressions surrounding her.
“You want anyone to control the story, there’s no one better than the Colliers.”
Of course Tripp would have faith in his friends.It wasn’t that she didn’t have faith in them.This was a mindset.She didn’t think of herself as living in hiding, not exactly.Yeah, she kept her head down, but hadn’t worried about going into a coffee shop or buying a magazine.Her “story” wasn’t in the public mind right now and her appearance had matured since her teen years.
And she was more than a thousand miles from where it happened.No one was looking for her.Keeping to herself, going about her life, there would be no confrontation or pursuit.This was only a thing because of the people in this room.Cam, and by extension, Knox, Roxie, Zairn, faces in the public eye.Her face next to theirs could lead to questions.
Leaving Cam and Boston would be easier than standing her ground.So she should go.That was it.Decision made.
All she had to do was stand up and walk out.Say thank you very much and goodbye.She’d never see any of them again, their paths would never cross.
Good.Sensible choice.
Except…
What precedent did this set?Walking away now meant giving into fear.She’d done nothing wrong.Nothing illegal.No official anyone would seek her out.
Fear.It was insane but she kept looking around for Spence.Not because she trusted him more than Cam, no.It was just experience that this kind of thing was Spence’s purview, he made these decisions.He decided they should leave together, the when, the where, the how.This wasn’t usually her jam; for the first time her past was asserting itself without him.If she let fear win now, it would conquer her for life.She’d be admitting defeat, admitting the decision she made as a teenager would define the rest of her life.
What if, down the line, she met someone else with a well-known face?It didn’t have to be a celebrity like Roxie, it could be anyone in business, or the public eye, someone known in the community.If she upset or angered that person, which let’s face it, was likely, anyone could ask questions, anyone could go to the press.And if a hungry reporter came looking…?
How many times could she start over?What did that mean for marriage or children?Was she destined to live the rest of her life alone?
Fear.
