It was a total creep shot that someone had gotten paid to take through a hedge, zoomed in just enough to catch my hand cupping her ass, like I’d been showing her off instead of just trying to keep her close.
And just like that, I felt that old version of me—the reckless idiot the tabloids loved—rising like a ghost I couldn’t kill.
Her face dropped. “Oh God…”
My jaw tightened. “Course they’d run with that. Makes a better story than ‘guy takes his girl to dinner.’”
Her eyes flicked up, uncertain. “It’s not…a big deal, right?”
Not to me. But to her? Yeah, it was. She was already pulling into herself, bracing for impact. The photo had confirmed everyworst-case scenario she’d ever tucked away. In the eyes of the world, she was just another faceless brunette in the long, messy line of Tyler Reed’s mistakes.
“Not to me,” I said quickly. “But your friends are sending it for a reason.”
The reason was loud and clear. To them, I was still the red flag. The ego with a forehand. The guy who was eventually going to break her heart and leave a grainy photo behind as the only evidence.
She rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. “This is exactly what I didn’t want. To look unprofessional. Like I’m here for you instead of doing my job.”
Guilt bubbled up in my chest. I pushed up on an elbow, brushed her soft hair back so I could see her whole face. “You’re not just some headline, O. They don’t get to write whatever and make it true. Not about you.”
Her mouth pulled into a small, tired smile. But her eyes told the truth. She’d seen what they said about me before. Knew at least some of it wasn’t lies. Knew exactly what kind of reputation she’d stepped into bed with.
I pulled her close anyway, hand sliding over her bare hip like I could shield her from the whole damn internet. “Let ‘em look. I don’t care. As long as you’re here when the door closes, they can print whatever the fuck they want.”
I could feel her putting on a smile against my chest, but I could sense how tense she was in my arms, calculating the damage to her reputation, and it was killing me. So I tried to lighten the air before it choked us both. “Could’ve been worse.”
She pulled back just enough to arch an eyebrow at me. “How?”
“Could’ve been a photo of me railing you on the balcony, topless.”
Her eyes went comically wide, mouth parting but before she could scold me, I kissed her until she melted, just for a second, proving to her that I could see the hurt even if she didn’t want me to see it.
I held her close, my chin resting on the top of her head, willing her to believe in me. But under my hand, her spine was still taut as a bowstring.
Fucking vultures. Just when I was finally getting somewhere with her, they’d gone and reminded her exactly who the world thought I was.
Usually, I didn't give a shit about the press. I played my game, I cashed my checks, and I let them speculate. But this was different. Now, I had to prove myself to more than just her. I had to show the world, and the people lighting up her phone, that she wasn't just another headline.
Chapter 36
Orla
It had beentwenty-four hours since that bloody photo dropped into my inbox, and I won’t lie, it was a stab straight to the chest. I’d been in a blissful Tyler bubble since that first night in DC, stupidly forgetting the real world existed outside of us, forgetting the sharks were always circling. It was exactly what I’d tried to protect myself from, the whole reason I’d built walls with Tyler in the first place. I didn’t want to be just another headline. His latest fling.
Deep down I knew this wasn’t that, not really, but it still stung. Still pulled old memories to the surface. It reminded me of every article I’d ever read about him, every grainy shot of a girl leaving a club or a hotel in his wake. The person he was... or still could be, if I wasn’t careful.
I hated that I was even thinking about it. That a grainy photo had the power to make me doubt him. He hadn’t given me a single reason to; he’d never lied to me, he’d been an absolute dream—attentive, sweet and utterly romantic. A fucking god in bed. He’d even told me he could see kids in his future. My heart ached at the thought.
Please don’t let that be a line. Please don’t let it just be a ruse to keep me in his bed until he finds something shinier.
I shook the thought away just as he knocked on the physio room door.
“Hey, baby.” Tyler stepped in, closing the distance instantly to plant a firm, lingering kiss on my lips. “All ready for you to feel me up again.”
A reluctant smile tugged at my lips.
“Up,” I said, patting the treatment bed.
He leaned down, stealing one more quick kiss before climbing on.
