“Next, we have a shot sent in by a regular viewer who believes she spotted none other than The Rule Breaker himself, Jackson Marsh. But he’s not in Hollywood. The viewer tells us he was seen at a house in a secluded gated community for the uber wealthy in Florida known as Hideaway Bay.”
Harper almost fell off the elliptical. She shut the machine down and jumped off, taking the remote with her. She turned up the volume as a picture appeared on the screen. It was Jack, standing poolside, thankfully after he’d wrapped himself in his towel.
Harper felt a little sick to her stomach.
“We did a little research,” the anchor continued. “And it appears that his father, Arlington Marsh, once owned a house in Hideaway Bay. That house, however, has since been bequeathed to Harper Calhoun. If that name seems familiar, it’s because she’s the woman most recently linked to Ford Keating.”
Harper put her hand to her mouth as they showed the old photo of her leaving Ford’s house.Oh, crap. Not this again.
Willa came down the steps with Archie on his leash. “What’s the matter? Did someone die?” She looked up at the screen, where the picture of Harper was replaced by the picture of Jack again.
The anchor added, “What does it mean that Jackson Marsh is now shacking up with Harper Calhoun? Is she just an old family friend or is there more to the story? If there is, you’ll find it here first.”
The show cut away to a commercial.
“Yikes,” Willa said.
Harper nodded. “Yeah, yikes is right.”
“You aren’t, uh, shacking up with him, are you, Aunt Harper? I mean, I know a lot of older women think he’s hot and all but—”
“No, Willa. I’m not. Jack and I are just friends. Always have been. And that’s all we’ll ever be. That’s just a stupid show looking for ratings.”
“But someone got that picture of him. Suzanne, you think?”
“No, you could tell by the angle that the photo was taken by a passing boat. Could have been anyone. Jack’s pretty recognizable. They figured out who he was and probably sold that photo for enough money to make it worth their while.”
Willa made a face. “Ew. Tacky.”
“Exactly. And they mentioned Hideaway Bay by name, which means there will be more people on boats with cameras any minute. Keep your eyes open when you’re outside. I bet you spot some.”
“Can I flip them the bird?”
Harper laughed, despite her mood. “Better just to ignore them, honestly.”
Her workout was over. She had to tell Jack. She should probably tell Mitch, too. This was not how she’d imagined the rest of her day going.
She stormed up the steps, took a quick shower, then went to the guest house to see Jack.
He gave her an odd look as he opened the door. “What’s with the angry face, man?”
She shook her head and came in. “I take it you haven’t been on social media?”
“Nah, man. That’s not my jam.”
He had people for that. Not to be him online, but to run a Facebook page, Twitter account, and a website for him. She didn’t think he had anything else. “Well, someone got a picture of you at the pool.”
“What pool?”
“My pool. And they’ve connected you to me. They gave the name of the community and hinted that there might be something going on between you and me.”
His expression didn’t change, but he filled his lungs with air, then slowly let it out again. “Monica will know I’m not in Cali.”
Harper nodded. “She will. But so will the paparazzi. They won’t be able to get into the neighborhood, but there’s nothing stopping them from going through the channel from the river to the ocean. I doubt they can anchor out there. Maybe. I don’t know but Mitch might. He’s a boat guy. But you need to prepare yourself for more media coverage.”
“I came here to avoid that.”
“I know. Just be glad they didn’t get a picture of you sans trunks.”
