“You can’t do shit. Who is she, Justice? Which one is it? Maybe there’s still a way to salvage this mess. If I know who she is, we know how much to offer for her silence.”
I stay quiet. Partly because I won’t betray Ally like that, and partly because I’m too much of a coward to tell her that I don’t want to fix this. Now that the secret is out, I can breathe. I don’t have to hide who I am anymore. I don’t have to hide how I feel.
“Name, Justice. Now.”
I look up at Heidi, feeling like this is the beginning of the end. As much as I try to fight it, I know it’s over. I know that the sun has set on Ally and me.
“We can’t pay her off. She’s not for sale.”
Heidi raises a meticulously arched brow. “Everyone is for sale, Justice. You should know that better than anyone.”
“Well, she’s not. Not Ally.”
“Ally? As in Allison Elliot-Carr? The Allison Elliot-Carr? For f*ck
’s sake, Justice, why did you have to diddle the richest bitch here? You’re right; there’s nothing you can offer her that she doesn’t already have probably stashed in her coin purse.”
“Like I said, it’s not like that. She wouldn’t take it anyway.”
“And how would you know? Are you two supposed to be in love or something? Do you think, even for one second, that she would leave her life of excess and luxury for one with you? She has Evan, Mr. Sexiest Man Alive according to People magazine. Even Oprah would hit that. No offense, Justice, but what would she want with you?”
I don’t answer, because I don’t have one. Heidi is right. Compared to Evan, I’m a pauper on paper. And that’s never really bothered me…until now.
The television screen flashes with the words “Breaking News” scrolling at the bottom. Heidi turns up the volume just as Giuliana Rancic begins her diatribe.
“The media is buzzing after it has been revealed that an unidentified man, known as Justice Drake, is actually the sex therapist to the starlets. And apparently, he has some high profile clients. It’s been confirmed that earlier reports placing Allison Elliot-Carr, wife of Evan Carr, at an exclusive spa were indeed false, and that she has been at an undisclosed location with this celeb sexpert. When we reached out to the Carr camp for questioning, they replied, “No Comment.” The question now is, did Evan Carr actually hire a man to sleep with his wife in order to make her a better lover? Stay tuned for more on this story…”
I switch off the TV. I don’t need to hear anymore.
“You see?” Heidi says, gesturing towards the blank screen. “Bits and pieces are falling into place. And now they have the Carrs involved? This is bad, Justice. Even you have to admit that.”
“I know.” My head is in my hands, rubbing my temples.
“Let them go. You can start over somewhere else, get a new alias, new staff. It’s best to get out now before you’re forced to.”
I look at Heidi, but all I can see is Ally. All I can see are those sad eyes smiling at me for the last time. She’d go to her corner of the world, and I’d stay safely tucked away in mine.
“I can’t,” I whisper, and I know in that moment, that I will. I can’t keep her. The mirage is just that—something so beautiful and desired, it can’t possibly be real.
Light knocking at the door lifts my heavy head and has me sprinting for the door. I open it without checking who’s there.
“Ally.” It’s like I’ve just breathed after being underwater for hours.
“I’m sorry to interrupt...” She peers around my frame, and when her eyes grow wide, I know what she sees: A tall, leggy blonde with a killer body, heels and a pencil skirt that looks like it was painted on. “Um, uh, I can come back.”
I grab her arm before she can even escape me an inch. “No. Stay.” Stay. If she only she could feel the weight of that tiny, miniscule word. “Heidi was just leaving.”
“You’ve got to be f*ck
ing kidding me,” the sex-on-legs publicist mumbles behind me. She makes her way to the door, stopping to press her red, glossed lips to my cheek. “You’ve got 24 hours, Drake. Make a decision,” she whispers before turning her icy grey gaze on Ally with a tip of her head. “Mrs. Carr.”
We watch as Heidi struts away, hips swaying to the rhythm of her spiked heels. When Ally turns back to me, she looks pensive.
“What?” I ask her, pulling her into my home and into my arms.
“She’s…”
“Tall? Cold? A little scary?”
“Gorgeous. And yes, a little scary. She’s like the female version of you.”
I shake my head. “You think I’m scary?”
“You were.” She wipes the glossy imprint of Heidi’s lips from my cheek and replaces it with her own. “But I believe in facing your fears. Now you’re about as frightening as a kitten. Who was that, anyway?”
“Publicist.”
“Everything ok?” she frowns with concern.
“Of course. Just some paperwork that needed to be signed in person,” I lie seamlessly.
“Oh, I hope I didn’t interrupt.” She looks back at the door and frowns. “She doesn’t suspect anything with us, does she?”