Page 194 of My Real Love Affair

“But thereissomething wrong with being a little shit who doesn’t care when his behavior backfires on his family. Andyou’ve done that, Austin. Countless times. The scandals, the headlines, the drunk call to the reporter—every time you act out, it doesn’t just affect you. It affects all of us.”

“I never asked to be a Bancroft,” I shot back.

“No, but you are one. And eventually, you have to grow up and accept what that means. Take some responsibility. You’ve enjoyed all the perks. You have to accept all of it—not just the good stuff.”

The words stung because they were true. I’d spent years running from the expectations and the weight of the family name. But in doing so, I had made everything harder for everyone else.

“I knew the right thing to do was warn you,” Cash said. “Because when Summer goes public, she’s going to spin this. She’ll paint you as the villain, paint all of us as villains. She’ll say we used her, discarded her, that we’re manipulative and cruel. And the media will eat it up because a story about Bancrofts behaving badly always sells.”

My chest tightened. “Melody.”

“What?”

“Melody will be collateral damage in this. Summer will drag her into it, make her look like another woman I used and tossed aside. Shit, what if she already reached out?”

The last was more of me thinking out loud.

Cash frowned. “What makes you say that?”

“Because Melody was acting weird this morning. Really weird. Something was wrong, and she wouldn’t tell me what.” I ran a hand through my hair. “We have to fix this. Now. Before it explodes.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do,” Cash said. “I’ve already got our legal team looking into it. We can probably get an injunction, stop her from publishing anything defamatory. But it’s going to be messy, and it’s going to be public.”

Summer had poisoned the well.

“I need to talk to Melody,” I said.

“Maybe give her some space. If Summer’s already gotten to her, it’s just going to make the situation worse.”

“Then I need to fix it.”

“Austin—”

“Cash.” I looked at my brother and saw genuine concern in his eyes. He wasn’t trying to control me. He was trying to protect me. Protect all of us. “Thank you. For warning me. For… everything. I know I haven’t made it easy.”

“No, you haven’t. But you’re still my brother.”

“How bad is this going to be?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

I had to get to her. She already knew about my arrangement with Summer. That wasn’t the surprise. But the scandal would inevitably drag her into drama. She didn’t need it. People would assume that our relationship was another setup to save me, and technically they would be correct.

It had started that way, but it wasn’t that. But the public never cared about the details. Once again, she was going to be facing another scandal.

CHAPTER 60

MELODY

It was probably a mistake to meet her, but I wasn’t going to allow the woman to continue to harass me. I was going to face her head on. I felt torn. I knew what I felt for Austin. And I was pretty sure his feelings for me were real.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still playing me. I wasn’t sure how I was going to deal with real proof, if she had it.

Summer was jealous. Angry she didn’t get the guy. I had to talk to her and find out exactly what her game was. If she was going to blow things up, I needed to brace myself for the fallout of whatever the woman was going to do.

The tapas bar was dim, almost grungy. It was all exposed brick and Edison bulbs casting soft light across small wooden tables. I had chosen it specifically because it was quiet and tucked away on a side street in the West Village where I was unlikely to run into anyone I knew. My romance with Austin had raised my public profile. People recognized me more than they did a month ago. I had to be careful. I didn’t want to be photographed with a woman that was about to create a scandal that rocked the Bancroft world.

I sat in a corner booth, a glass of water I hadn’t touched sitting in front of me. I watched the door. Would she show up?Maybe she just enjoyed screwing with me. She knew I was with Austin and wanted to punish him and me. Me for getting him. Austin for dumping her.