Curiosity flashes behind those beautiful, cool eyes. ‘Tell me, you’re always so reticent, but you don’t need to be with me…’
‘I can’t help it. I don’t know how to be any other way.’
The shrill ring of his phone interrupts us before he can probe further. He tuts as he glances at the screen.
‘It’s Ryan.’
Sometimes, when I’m with Jayden, I forget there are other people on the planet. Other people we’re obliged to act normally around. He rejects the call and slips the phone back into the pocket of his shorts.
Steely irises glint with devilment and his fingers trace my inner thigh. ‘Where were we?’
His phone rings again and he tuts, shaking his head. ‘Once is okay. Twice means we have a problem.’
My own phone rings in my beachbag, and I scratch around to silence it. A quick glance at the screen shows it’s Sasha. Shit. Maybe we’ve been busted?
I hold the phone up to show Jayden the caller ID. He presses the red button and flicks it onto vibrate. Pressing his index finger to my lips, he answers his own phone with the other hand.
‘Hello?’
‘Where are you?’ Ryan’s distressed tone carries over the speakerphone on the balmy breeze.
‘On the beach.’ Jayden shoots a tentative gaze around to see if we’ve been busted.
Would it really be so bad if we have? The urge to confide in my sister is growing by the day. Even Ethan saying I’d only got the contract because of who I was sleeping with didn’t bother me nearly as much as I thought it would. Is there any need for all this secrecy at all?
‘We have a problem. The stories out. All of it.’ Ryan’s voice cracks with emotion.
‘What story?’ Jayden shoves his hand through his hair and leaps off his lounger.
I know exactly what story.
It’s the one we’ve been trying to keep out of the papers for months. The one that necessitated everyone involved to sign a non-disclosure agreement at Christmas. The one that’s going to force us all to face the enormity of the past again. The one we’ve been trying to protect our little sister from reliving during her final exams.
The one where the world discovers Ryan’s father killed his fiancée’s parents.
ChapterTwenty-Six
JAYDEN
My heart plummets.
I promised Sofia I’d take care of Lula. It looks like I’ve fucked up on the final hurdle.
‘Who is doing this to us?’ My voice is so low it’s a fucking growl.
‘I don’t know, but the timing couldn’t be any worse.’ Ryan’s tone is weighted with despair. ‘Victoria’s in the middle of her final exams. Sasha is devastated, obviously. The girls have to relive the entire thing again. I’m royally fucked off that someone broke not only the NDA but our personal trust. What does anyone have to gain by dragging Dad through the media now?’
‘Dad?’ Realisation dawns, along with sweet relief. He’s talking about Dad’s crash, not my relationship with Chloe, the one thing that could jeopardise everything for Lula.
Dad can’t be saved. He doesn’t want to be. But it’s not too late for Lula.
‘Yes, Dad. What did you think I was talking about?’
‘Never mind.’ As terrible as it is on the Sexton sisters, the publicity will draw even more attention to Ryan’s farewell tour. Scandal sells.
‘It has to be someone on the inside. How else would they know?’ My little brother’s frustrated sigh echoes down the phone line. The urge to swoop in and sweep this under the carpet is primal, but realistically, this story was always going to break one day.
‘It’s all over every single news channel. Sasha is beside herself. She can’t believe it. Of course, she’s worried about the impact on Victoria. She’s asked Megan to keep her away from her phone, the TV and radio until we get back tonight, and you can imagine how hard that’s going to be.’
