He sighed. “Actually, part of why I didn’t come right back was—” He sat up, pulling me with him, and faced me.
I folded my legs up and crossed my ankles.
“I did come back actually,” he continued. “Got as far as Butler Cove, but I didn’t stay. I couldn’t stay. I found out Audrey had paid a guy to take pictures of me when I was here.”
“Then? When you came back?” I was confused.
“No, before.” He laced his fingers through mine. “Of us.”
A thud of dread echoed in my chest.
“He got pictures of us that she threatened to make public as an excuse for why she cheated on me.”
“Us?” I racked my brain to think of where we’d been public. Jogging on the beach? On his bike? What if they’d been taken at my home? The invasion made my stomach sour.
“She was going to put it all on you, Keri Ann. She was going to say you were why she had an affair. That’s part of why I didn’t come back. I wanted you as far away as possible from me.”
“What pictures did she have?”
Jack swallowed.
“Jack?”
“They were taken here. In this room. Most were pretty grainy, you couldn’t really see anything. But there were some clear ones of you and me standing right there.” He motioned toward the French door and balcony that was now closed, although the blinds were open to the blue sky. “The morning after. I was hugging you from behind.”
I remembered the moment, perfectly. My skin prickled as my blood pooled in my gut. “The grainy pictures …?”
Jack winced and nodded. “We had the light on in here.”
I remembered him turning it on. Me wanting it off, but not because someone could have been watching. My eyes stung as tears welled.
“You really can’t tell it’s us, but that wouldn’t have mattered. And really it was lucky she paid a local P.I. and not the paparazzi. They have far better equipment to capture a moment.”
I let go of Jack’s hand, clutching my middle and straightened my legs so I could lean my head down. I needed some blood back. “Oh God, I don’t think I can do this,” I finally managed and brought my hands up to cover my face.
How could I possibly? The idea that he would be a target for salacious pictures and stories was obvious, but it was just so opposite from anything I could want for my life. I’d known this all going in, yet I’d let it get so far. I’d willingly gone down the path with him back then, pretending what he did didn’t matter because it wasn’t the real Jack Eversea. The Jack I fell for. But, the Jack I fell for was part and parcel of this crazy, voyeuristic society we lived in. And I’d walked right back in.
Jack pulled away and I heard a thud. I peeked through my fingers to see he’d slid to the ground, his back against the bed. His denim-clad legs were bent, his arms resting on his knees, cradling his head. The nape of his neck was stretched and … and I wanted to kiss it. I couldn’t reconcile any of this. How I felt about him with how I felt about who he was.
“Where are the pictures?” I whispered.
“I own them. All of them,” Jack muttered and took a deep breath, raising his face and letting his head drop back on the bed. “It was part of the deal. The deal I made with her and with my production company. She gave me the pictures, and I promised not to see you until the end of the contract term, which ran out last week.”
He’d made a deal for me. To protect me. And he’d come here as soon as the obligation was fulfilled. But Audrey? “God, why does she hate me so much? What did I ever do to her?”
“She doesn’t hate you. She hates to lose.”
“Doesn’t everyone? How do you know she’s done with this, this … vendetta?” I thought back to us on the beach earlier today and felt irritated that Jack had willingly put himself, us, at risk again.
“I don’t,” Jack admitted.
I let out a wobbly breath. “I can’t—”
“I know,” Jack interjected sharply and fisted his hands with frustration. “I know you don’t want this. But I’ve done everything I can to make sure her part in this is done. I just can’t promise about anything else. I just don’t know.” He got up and paced toward the offending window, glaring at it, his hands clutching his hair again. “Shit.”
“Well, you invited it the other night by going public at the Grill. So it’s probably just a matter of time before someone comes here to follow you around, or whatever it is they do. Stalk you,” I added bitterly. God, I hated this version of me. This bitter, fearful, miserable version of me. Jack brought out my best parts and my worst parts.
I slid my legs off the bed and reached for my heap of clothes. I pulled his boxers off under the t-shirt and got my underwear back on as modestly as possible.