Tony finally noticed Scott’s silence. “Hey,” he said, his laughter fading slightly. “You okay?”
Scott forced another smile. “Yeah, of course. Just tired.”
It was a terrible lie, and Tony looked unconvinced, but he let it go.
Scott made his excuses ten minutes later and left the premiere far earlier than planned.
The moment he got into the backseat of the car, he pulled out his phone.
His notifications were a disaster.
Messages from friends.Messages from acquaintances.Messages from people he hadn’t spoken to in years.Most of them were teasing.
holy shit, you and richter??
scotty/world champion wasn’t on my bingo card
bro your taste improved dramatically
The good news was that nobody seemed to actually believe it.Most people were treating it like ridiculous tabloid nonsense.
Scott exhaled shakily for the first time all evening.
By the time he got home, he’d already read the article three times.
Curled into the corner of his sofa with his tie loosened, Scott read every line carefully, forcing himself to think rationally. It could have been much worse. TheDaily Maildidn’t have the photos.Without the photos, it was just gossip.Cam’s career wouldn’t be destroyed by this.
Not unless the photographs surfaced later.
Scott pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.
The solution came to him slowly.Cam’s PR team had already planted the idea publicly: Scott supposedly had a boyfriend who looked like Cam.
Scott could give the world one.
His stomach twisted unpleasantly at the thought. God, he hated this,hated that Cam’s career depended on lies and careful staging and plausible deniability, hated that the easiest way to protect Cam’s career was to publicly imply he was sleeping with someone else.
But if it kept Cam safe…
Scott swallowed and grabbed his phone again. After a moment’s hesitation, he scrolled through his contacts until he found an old friend from university.
Nico Laurent. He was handsome, dark-haired, and his build was similar to Cam’s.From a distance, especially in blurry paparazzi photos, the resemblance was close enough.
Scott stared at the contact for several long seconds before pressing call.
The line rang twice.
“Scott?” Nico sounded startled. “Holy shit, it’s been forever.”
Scott leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes briefly.
“Hey, man,” he said quietly. “I need a favor. How do you feel about being my plus one at the Las Vegas Grand Prix?”
Chapter 24
Las Vegas Grand Prix
@f1wagsandfamilywatchScott Palmer seen arriving at the paddock for the first time in weeks![picture 1 of 7]
