“Coffee, if you have it.”
“I do, yeah. It’s, uh… two sugars and creamer, right?”
Jessie appeared both surprised and impressed that after nearly a decade of representation, he knew how she took her coffee. “It is.”
When he started to head to the kitchen to barista it up, her phone rang. She pulled it out of her Birkin bag, which he was sure cost more than his first car. Jessie was the epitome of style, class, and grace. He’d always assumed that she was born and raised in Manhattan or some other large metropolis, but once he got to know her, he discovered she was from a small town not unlike Hope Falls called Harper’s Crossing. It surprised him. She didn’t give small-town-girl vibes.
“I need to take this,” she told him, inferring she needed privacy.
“You can use the sunroom.”
He motioned to the large glassed-in room off the back of the house, and a yawn claimed him as he continued into the kitchen to make their coffees, which would be his fifth of the day. Typically, he stayed away from caffeine in the afternoon, buthe’d had zero sleep. He’d lain in bed all night, with Tiana in his arms, just looking at her.
As creepy as he knew that sounded, it wasn’t like that. He just hadn’t wanted to miss one second of being back in her bed or of her being back in his arms. The past week and a half, living in the house with her but her being a million miles away felt like ten times that amount of time. Miserable hadn’t begun to describe the way he’d felt. For the first time since she got sick, he could finally breathe because he could hold the most precious thing in the world again.
He couldn’t stop staring at her. He felt like an artist studying a masterpiece, each perfectly crafted feature a brushstroke that created the most beautiful portrait. He memorized every detail, from the upturned nose to the jawline that framed her sweetheart face to the gentle curve of her closed almond-shaped eyes. And then there were her thick, dark lashes that rested softly against her cheeks, her pouty lips that whispered his name in her sleep, her neck that he traced the curve of with his lips and hands countless times before, and the tiny curls of hair that framed her face like a halo. Each part of her, he treasured and seared into his memory, knowing that he never wanted to forget a single inch of her.
With the coffees made, he told himself to put Tiana in the back of his mind. He needed to get into work mode. Jessie didn’t do impromptu drop-ins, so he needed to be on his A-game.
Niko approached Jessie, getting close enough to tell that she was no longer on the phone and was now working on drafting an email seated in the couch area.
He set her drink down and took the seat catty-corner to her so he could look out over the backyard. It took a couple minutes for her to finish up, and Niko enjoyed the view. He scrolled back through his memories of the week he and Tiana had played house. They would come out to the sunroom and drink wine,have sex and play Uno. It was the best week of his life. It was so natural, so perfect. At least from his end.
Once Jessie finished, she looked up and thanked Niko for the coffee before diving right in. “I’m glad to hear you haven’t put roots down because you will not be here much longer. The narrative changed in a much shorter time than I thought possible. It seems that your good looks and charming personality combined with fans’ dislike for Bartlett have gained you a fast pass into the good graces of not only public opinion but the corporate world as well. I have offers for brand deals and a bidding war for correspondent jobs if you want to do live broadcasts or panel shows if live is not in your comfort zone. Also, I have several high-profile media outlets offering you contracts for podcasts, which I know is not your thing, but they are on the table. But you basically have your pick.”
She was scanning through her iPad. “I have to say, what really tipped the scales and moved the needle of your reputation rehab was yourrelationshipwith Tiana.” She emphasized the word relationship. “When you told me what you were doing, I honestly never thought you’d be able to change people’s minds, that people would never believe you cleaned up your act and settled down. But I underestimated the general public’s insatiable thirst for a redemption arc and the bad boy meeting the one woman who changes his ways. They love that you have given up your womanizing and ate up that it’s Tiana, your enemy’s ex. They really believe you are a couple.”
We are, he thought.At least on his part. Now he wished he would’ve never told anyone that it was fake, because it never was to him.
“I think all the paparazzi photos were what really sold it. I think without those, no one would have bought it. So way to take the initiative. I can’t believe I didn’t think of hiring a pap.”
Niko hadn’t slept, so he felt like his brain was buffering. Jessie kept talking, but Niko’s mind froze on something she said, he had to replay it back several times before he finally interrupted her, “Wait, what paparazzi photos?”
Jessie stared at him and blinked. “All of them.”
Niko had no clue what she was talking about. He never went online though, so there was that. When he first got some success and stories were coming out left and right, he read everything—all the comments, articles, blogs—and it got to him. He was visiting his grandparents, and Papou picked up on what was going on and told him, “Other people’s opinions of you, good or bad, are none of your business.” He’d heard that saying before, but the way Papou said it made it really sink in. Right after that he hired Jessie and knew she would tell him if he needed to see and/or address something. Since then, he didn’t read comments or headlines or go online ever really. Because his grandpa was right, it didn’t actually matter what people thought of him, good or bad. Letting that information affect him, on either end of the spectrum, could be very detrimental to him.
“I don’t know what photos you’re talking about.”
Jessie tapped on the screen of her iPad and then handed it to Niko. He began scrolling through photo after photo after photo of him and Tiana at JT’s, at the studio, at the Airbnb, walking, driving, them waiting for the valet at The Cove, and him picking up Pops at the hospital. There was even one of their first kiss in front of Brewed Awakenings.
His brows furrowed. “What the fuck?”
“You didn’t hire the pap,” Jessie surmised from his reaction.
“No.”
“Okay. Well, I don’t know who did, but it has worked in your favor so?—”
“It’s not fake.” Niko handed Jessie’s device back to her.
“What?” She looked down at the screen, as if that’s what he was referring to.
“Me and Tiana, it’s not fake. I love her, and I’m not leaving after Christmas. I’m staying in Hope Falls.” Niko didn’t know what that meant for his and Jessie’s partnership. He would understand if she didn’t feel like she could represent him since he wasn’t willing to move for a correspondent or panel job.
She just stared at him for several beats before a smile curled at the edges of her mouth, and then, unless he was crazy, he saw her eyes gettingverywatery. She straightened her shoulders and took in a shaky breath. “Good, okay, good.”
He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. “Sunshine, are you tearing up?”
