“A hot stone massage with lavender oil.”
“Are you relaxed?”
“Kind of.”
“Did you see the size of the bathtub in our room? What do you say we order dessert and take a bath?”
“Is Damian staying at his dad’s tonight?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. He and Cooper will figure out how to get him here tomorrow. Cooper seemed stressed.”
“He feels responsible for the loft getting photographed.”
“Well, it is his job.”
“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have been out walking the dog in Central Park. I should have let Cooper do it. I wasn’t thinking. And I’m always thinking.”
“You had been up all night worried about Brooklyn.”
“We all had been.”
“So tonight we’re in a gorgeous hotel suite. We should take advantage of it. Everything else you need to do can wait until tomorrow.”
I sigh. “Agreed. And you’re right. Why don’t you order dessert while I run the bath.”
“Perfect,” he says.
I’m half asleep in the tub when Aiden walks in, naked, carrying tiramisu and some kind of sinful-looking chocolate pudding. Both the desserts and his nakedness capture my attention.
“I don’t know which I want first. You or the dessert.”
He laughs and slides in the tub. “Let’s start with me.”
TUESDAY, JANUARY 3RD
Call me!
11:30am
I wake up to a text from Knox along with a link to an article.
Keatyn Douglas Takes Over the World.
Okay, not quite. But rumor has it that none other than our new favorite It Girl, Keatyn Douglas, has become the chairman of the board of A Breath Behind You Films in a hostile takeover from none other than movie futures golden boy, Vincent Sharpe, grandson of the late Viviane Sharpe. Below is a still shot from her video conference with the board. Looks like Keatyn took our advice about starring in the remake of her mom’s movie seriously and just bought the whole damn company.
P.S. Just how much do you inherit from an underwear model?
P.P.S. Because, seriously.
P.P.P.S. Love your suit, Keatyn. Oscar?
What do you do after you take over a multi-million-dollar production company?
An intimate celebratory lunch with your hot co-star, Knox Daniels?
Check.
Shopping at Bergdorf’s with your hottieguard—I mean, bodyguard—in tow?
Check.
Dinner with your Mom’s longtime beau, Tommy Stevens?
Check.
We love you Keatyn!
P.S. And your taste in shoes and handbags. Celine, Ala?a, Chanel, Louboutin. Yes, please.
P.P.S. Take us shopping with you!
P.P.P.S. Call me!
Me: She called you hot. That’s what you’re most excited about, right?
Knox: Ha. Just showing you that I’m a man of my word. You wanted publicity, sugar. You got it.
Me: Unfortunately, a little too much yesterday. They got a photo of my loft, so we had to move to a different location. At least until Aiden and Peyton go back to school.
Knox: Where are you?
Me: Four Seasons.
Knox: I just whistled, in case you couldn’t hear me. Can I move in too?
Me: LOL. What would you think of that?
Knox: Wait. Think of what?
Me: If I moved in with you.
Knox: I think that might cramp my style a little.
Me: Not in real life. In fake life.
Knox: You wanna go all the way and get engaged at the top of the Eiffel Tower or something too?
His text is like a blow to my heart, knocking the wind out of my fake life.
I don’t want to have a fake life.
I want to have my life.
Me: Um . . . I have to go. I’ll talk to you later. Thanks for the heads up on the article and hanging out with me yesterday.
Aiden is sleeping on his side, his back to me, so I snuggle under the covers next to him, pressing my chest tightly to his back.
“Morning, beautiful,” he says, kissing my arm.
“You have to go back to school tomorrow. I thought we could spend the day doing whatever you want to do.”
He flips over quickly, gives me a naughty grin, and trails a finger down my cleavage. “Whatever I want to do?”
“I think we did whatever quite a few times last night. But, yes, whatever you want.”
He looks toward the window. “Is it nice out?”
“It snowed a little last night, so it’s cold.”
“Perfect. I say we order room service and stay snuggled up in bed all day.”
He drags a hand through his messy hair, blinks beautiful green eyes, and then rubs at the scruff on his face. It’s something most people do when they wake up, but no one else looks like him doing it. It’s the epitome of sexy.
On a scale of one to ten, it’s off the charts. Even hotter than the pool table.
Because he’s in bed with me.
He’s naked.
And he’s beautiful.
Every single bit of Aiden is beautiful.
I hate that I have to say this and I hate that I’m hurting him.