“Is she the woman in the video?”
“Yes. And before you point fingers, I’d like to think she wasn’t the one who released it.”
“You seem to have a lot of faith in her.”
“Once upon a time, I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with her. And this affected her as much as it did me. Probably even more. So the best way to get it out of everyone’s mouth was for us to not talk about it.”
She was surprised by how vehemently he defended the woman in the video. And how protective he was of her. She wondered what it would be like to have a man be so safeguarding of her. And an annoying part of her speculated if he still had feelings for Holly.
“And don’t even get me started on what this has done to my company’s professional relationships.”
“I didn’t think of that,” she admitted.
“I’m sure that some of the crew would be like ‘Fuck yeah, he’s a cool dude.’ But what builder wants to get into bed with a guy whose bedtime activities are all over TMZ?”
She could only imagine how something like that would negatively impact her business. Sponsors would pull out left and right, no matter who’d leaked the video or how long ago it was taken.
“And the worst part was all the guys where high-fiving me, like I was a sex god. Like I’d want something so private and intimate out there. We were in love. Young love, sure, but at the time it felt like love to us. Now it’s just something lewd and trashy. The first thing people will see when they google Holly’s name is that tape. If she has kids someday, that’s what they’llsee. I can’t even imagine how this is affecting her. At least I’ve got a whole career in the NHL to shield me. She’s got nothing.”
Poppy was floored about how he was putting the woman’s feelings over his own. It was heroic how he spoke.
“You know, a lot of people use me for my money and fame, recently even my family, but Holly wasn’t like that. She loved me for who I am. That was special to me, a coveted part of my life and now it’s out there for people to pass judgment on.”
“I’m sorry.”
She hadn’t expected the way his jaw tightened, the way something bruised flickered behind his eyes—as if her apology had nudged open a door he kept padlocked. People had taken pieces of him for years, traded on his fame, his money, his body, until even the good memories of his ex were stained by that damn sex tape.
She couldn’t imagine what that would do to a person’s ability to trust.
“Now your turn. Tell me about your dad,” he said quietly, and her heart jumped as if he’d screamed it.
“What are people on the set saying?” she asked.
“Everything from you being estranged to having kept him a secret because he helped you launch your career from the shadows.”
“He had not one thing to do with my career. Not a single thing. That people think so little of me pisses me off.” She paused. “What do you believe?”
“That I haven’t heard the story come from your lips, so I don’t have an informed opinion. But if you need to talk, I’m a vault.”
“Thank you, but is it okay if I pass? Not forever, but for tonight?”
“Angel, it’s your story; you don’t have to tell a single person if you don’t want to. And anyone who believes you didn’t get here on your own is an idiot. I know how hard you work, andhow much your job means to you. You’d never take a shortcut. It’s not in your DNA.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, shocked at how much his words meant to her.
Layers indeed.
DIARY ROOM:
Poppy: We were most definitely not going to kiss. There was an eyelash in my eye, and he was trying to pick it out for me. End of story.
11
“Ineed you closer. Even closer. So close you can touch it,” Jack said, smooshing his hands in the opposite direction of “I once caught a fish this big.”
“I don’t know how much closer I can get without toppling over,” Poppy said, balancing on the third rung of the ladder. Her hands were blistered from gripping the sides so hard. Perspiration was building between her shoulder blades. And sheer terror was surging through her body. Even though she was only three feet off the ground it felt as if she were thirty stories up.
“Yeah, that isn’t happening,” she said.
