Waking Up to You Overexposed

chapter 12



AS OLIVER STALKED out of the hotel, needing to get away and deal with the truth, he vacillated between anger and devastation. His emotions churned one way, then the next. One minute he wanted to punch something, the next, he was tempted to go back to the hotel, haul her into his arms and ask her why in hell she was marrying a pretty boy movie star who could never make her happy.

“Married,” he muttered out loud, drawing a curious look from a passing couple, dressed for clubbing, who looked like every other couple he’d passed. Saturday night in San Fran was when all the hipsters came out, and he felt entirely out of place. Although, not as out of place as he would feel in Candace’s world, now that she was engaged to one of the sexiest men alive.

Bastard.

When he’d first walked out of the ballroom to look for her, having grown concerned when she didn’t come back right away, since she’d looked on the verge of tears when she left, he hadn’t believed his eyes. Seeing Candace there, standing in the embrace of another man, he’d had a sudden certainty that he was seeing Madison. Not Candace. Not his Candace.

But the dress was the same. The hairstyle. The pale face, trembling lips, damp eyes.

It was her. He’d known that even before she’d met his stare and silently pleaded for understanding he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to offer.

The farther away from the hotel he walked, the more he tried to understand.

That she was really engaged seemed beyond doubt. She’d let that guy slide that big ugly ring on her hand. She hadn’t laughed it off as a joke or shoved him away. In fact, the two of them looked pretty comfortable and cozy together, and he had to wonder how long they’d known each other.

Probably longer than the two weeks she’d been here. But damned if he’d let anyone tell him he didn’t love her more than anyone else could. She’d become a part of him. He couldn’t fall asleep if she wasn’t in his arms, and was edgy every day until he heard her voice. She was the one he wanted to talk to about his plans for the future—maybe going back to work in a local law office, maybe getting married and having a family. Those things had seemed impossible—and he hadn’t really wanted them—until she’d crept into his life and turned it completely upside down.

She’s marrying someone else. She always planned to, and you know it. She warned you.

Yeah, she had. That first night when he’d made love to her, she’d laid down her conditions, stated her terms. He tried to remember exactly what she’d said, though his brain had been foggy with lust and he’d had a hard time thinking of anything except how much he wanted to be inside her.

She’d made a promise to someone, he remembered that much. A commitment. One that meant she and Oliver could have no more than one week, and would have to part ways, no questions asked, not seeing each other again.

He’d sort of believed she meant it. But a part of him really hadn’t. And once they’d started sleeping together, once the physical connection had wrapped them up in such strong emotional bonds, he’d had an even harder time with the idea.

He should have pressed her when she’d offered to try to explain. Maybe then he wouldn’t have been so blindsided when she turned out to have a fiancé.

She hadn’t lied. She’d answered him truthfully when he’d laid out his three deal-breaking conditions. She’d wanted him, she was an adult and she wasn’t married.

Just engaged to a freaking movie star.

“Oliver, please wait!”

He froze, spinning around and seeing a woman hurrying after him. His heart leaped as he thought for a moment it was Candace, that she’d walked away from the crazy promise she’d made to marry a man she didn’t love, and had come after him. But he noted her clothes, and realized that was impossible.

“I’m not in the mood, Madison,” he told her, striding away before she got to within ten feet.

“Oliver, wait, it’s me.”

He stopped again. This time, when he turned around, he studied her more closely, noting the full lips so recently well kissed, the faint circles under her eyes and streaks on her cheeks that said she’d been crying.

“Candace?”

She nodded and came closer, stopping about three feet away.

He clenched his hands by his sides, not reaching out for her, though he very much wanted to.

“Can we please talk?”

He looked around, seeing a few bars, but also a small coffee shop that was still open. He gestured toward it, and she nodded in agreement, walking with him across the street.

They didn’t speak while they walked, and the tension built. Oliver wanted to ask her what had happened, what her coming after him meant and how the hell she’d gotten hooked up with Thomas Shane. But he didn’t know where to start, and she didn’t break the silence.

Not until they were sitting across from each other at a small booth, waiting for the waitress to return with their coffee did she attempt an explanation.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“Excuse me?”

She was looking down at her own hands, which she kept twisting together on the table, and cleared her throat. “I’m so sorry you had to see that.”

He was about launch into a barrage of questions when he realized what he was not seeing on that hand.

The ring. That big ugly ring.

His heart flipped in his chest. Had she ended it? Broken off with the golden boy?

“I didn’t mean for that to happen. I had no idea Tommy was coming up here or I would never have put you in that position. Or myself, for that matter.” She rolled her eyes, disgusted. “He’s a publicity hound.”

“How the hell could you even think about marrying someone like that?”

She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, the waitress returned with two steaming cups of coffee. She chatted a little, offering them dessert, but they both declined, waiting for her to leave.

Once she had, they both sat silently for a minute, stirring their coffee, searching for words.

Eventually, Candace began to explain.

“I’ve known Tommy since I was a toddler. He and Mad have been my two best friends my entire life.”

He blinked in surprise, but didn’t interfere.

“Tommy and I had a lot in common. We were both artistic and emotional and very theatrical, while Mad was the calm, blunt one who evened us out and kept us steady. We made a good trio, spent our entire childhoods together. Every school year, every summer break, every birthday party, Tommy was with us.”

He didn’t doubt anything she said, having heard that the breakout star had come from Florida, just as Candace had. He had never really thought about the young lives of the rich and shameless, but it sounded like Shane’s had been pretty normal.

“So what happened when you grew up?”

“I studied design in college, he went into theater. Madison decided to move to New York to go to grad school, so we thought we’d give our starry-eyed dreams a shot and moved to L.A.”

“You lived together?”

She nodded.

He clenched his teeth so tightly his jaw flexed. He had to busy himself lifting his coffee cup to his mouth, sipping it though it remained very hot, just to avoid saying something he shouldn’t. She’d said they hadn’t been lovers, yet they’d lived together? Was it even possible for a woman as beautiful and sexy as Candace to live with a man and not tempt him into bed?

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” she insisted. “We weren’t lovers, Oliver. I never lied to you. Tommy and I have never had a physical relationship, and we never will. I think of him as a brother. Period.”

A hint of relief washed through him. It didn’t last long.

“Brothers and sisters don’t usually exchange wedding vows,” he objected, unable to keep his anger as tightly controlled as he’d like.

“There are other reasons to get married, aside from romantic passion.”

“Not any better ones,” he snapped.

She sagged back in her seat, sighing deeply. “I know.”

“Then why?” A thought occurred to him. “Is it because he’s rich and famous?”

“Yes, although not in the way you might imagine. I don’t know if I can make you understand....”

“Try.”

She nibbled her trembling bottom lip, casting her eyes away, still twisting those hands. Her anguish as she tried to figure out how to explain something he already found unfathomable made his chest tighten, and he nearly reached out and covered her hands with his, wanting to stop that desperate, heartbroken clenching.

He didn’t. She might have taken the ring off, but she still hadn’t said whether she’d broken this sham engagement.

“As you said, Tommy is a star. He’s under a microscope, his every move dissected, every part of his life spied upon and discussed.” She shook her head sadly. “He doesn’t deserve it. He’s a good guy, one of the best, and his world is coming apart because people can’t mind their own damned business.”

“If he’s such a good guy, why did he put on that ridiculous performance back there? Why did he back you into a corner and talk you into marrying him when you’re not in love with each other?”

“I was single. I hadn’t been seeing anyone in a long time.... We’re best friends. I never envisioned...never thought I would...”

“Fall for someone else?”

A stark nod.

It was the closest she’d come to admitting she had feelings for him. He waited for her to say more, but she didn’t.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” he mumbled, still unable to follow everything. “Shane is the bachelor of the damn year—he could have any woman he wants. Why the hell does he have to have you?”

“He needs me. I...I understand him.”

“What’s that mean?”

She dropped her gaze, not meeting his eye.

Oliver continued to mull it over, until a thought began to form in his brain. It was small at first, a crazy possibility. But he focused on it, developed it. And while it shocked him, given the fact that he’d caught a couple of Thomas Shane’s movies and seen him in person, he finally had to ask, “Is he gay?”

She bit her lip even harder, refusing to say a word.

Oh, Christ. Now everything made sense.

He leaned his head back against the booth, looking up at the ceiling, wondering how things had ever gotten this screwed up.

Her lifelong best friend had asked her to help him hide his sexuality from the press and the public who would rip him apart over it.

That’s why she’d said yes. That’s why she’d told Oliver they could have only one week and he could never try to contact her afterward. That’s why she wouldn’t explain what her secret commitment was all about.

She was displaying all the character traits he most admired in a person—the ones he’d seen so little of during his years as a prosecutor. Loyalty, compassion, integrity.

Yet, right now, with his heart pounding over the fact that he really might lose her to a guy who could never make her body sing—and didn’t even want to—he wanted her to give up all those things. Break her promise, betray her friend, come away with him.

If she loves you, that’s exactly what she should do.

Maybe. But the choice had to be hers. He couldn’t ask it of her, couldn’t make things any more difficult than they already were.

He only owed her one thing: honesty about his feelings.

“What are you thinking?” she whispered.

He wrapped his hands around his coffee cup, realizing they were shaking when a little of the lukewarm liquid sloshed out.

“Tell me. Please.”

Unable to resist, knowing it might not matter, knowing it might even hurt her, he still went ahead and told her the only thing he could. The truth.

“I love you, Candace.”

She sucked in an audible breath.

“I don’t mean to hurt you, or make this any worse than it already is. But I love you.” He reached for one of her hands, catching it in his and holding tight, knowing he would soon have to let it go for good.

“Oliver, I...”

“You don’t have to say anything. I just thought you should know. Believe me, I want to fight for you, keep you, but I know I can’t. You’ve got to do what your heart tells you is right, and I can’t be the one who makes you betray a friend or go back on your word.” One more tight squeeze, then he released her fingers. “So I have to let you go.”

Tears were spilling from her eyes and running down her cheeks, and he wanted more than anything to take her in his arms and comfort her, kiss the tears away, assure her everything would be all right.

He didn’t, though. Everything wouldn’t be all right. He didn’t know if things would ever be all right for either of them again.

Knowing he needed to go now before he changed his mind and kissed her until she admitted she could never really leave him, he slid out of the booth and stood.

“Goodbye, Candace,” he said.

Stiffening his resolve, he headed for the door. But right before he exited, he heard her murmur his name.

“Oliver?”

He turned back and looked at her.

“I love you, too.”

Their stares met and locked, a thousand more words hung in the silence, questions asked and answered, promises offered and lost. All the might-have-beens held in that one long, steady stare.

Until he looked away, opened the door and walked out into the night.

* * *

CANDACE SAT AT the table at the all-night café until her coffee was cold and her tears had dried. The kindly waitress had brought her some tissues, patted her on her shoulder and then left her alone. She spent the next hour sitting there, going over everything that had happened, marveling at how her life had changed so very much in just a few short weeks.

And wondering what she was going to do about it.

Finally, seeing it was almost midnight and knowing her sister would be worried, she pulled her phone out of her purse and texted Madison, telling her where she was.

Her sister wrote back immediately. On my way.

She hadn’t asked her twin to come, but of course she’d known she would.

She just hadn’t known she wouldn’t be coming alone. When Madison walked into the café, with Tommy hot on her heels, Candace threw herself back in the booth and groaned. She just wasn’t up for a dramatic scene.

“Oh, honey, are you okay?” Mad asked, sitting beside her and pulling her in for a hug.

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

“Jeez, Candy, why the hell didn’t you tell me what was going on?” Tommy took the seat across from her, frowning. “You know I never would have showed up here tonight and made that scene if I’d had any idea you were with some dude.”

“He’s not some dude,” she retorted.

“You really are in love with him,” Tommy said, sounding stunned.

She couldn’t speak; she could only nod.

“Madison said you were, but I didn’t believe her.”

“I can hardly believe it myself,” she admitted. “But it’s true. I’m crazy about him. He’s brilliant and fun and wonderful.” Sniffling, she added, “So wonderful that after he told me he loved me, he gave me up rather than ask me to break my promise to you!”

Tommy’s mouth fell open. “Seriously?”

She nodded.

“Oh, Candace, he really is a keeper,” her sister said, gently smoothing her hair back from her tear-streaked face.

“Yeah.” A humorless laugh spilled from her mouth. “And I just threw him back.”

“I’m so sorry,” Tommy said.

She looked at him, her dear friend, seeing in that handsome face the funny little boy who’d liked to do puzzles with her for hours every day. She would do just about anything for him.

Anything but rip her heart out of her chest and let it be completely shredded.

She couldn’t lose Oliver. She just couldn’t.

It was on her lips, a plea for Tommy to understand and let her change her mind. She loved him...he was family, but if she didn’t give her relationship with Oliver a chance, she knew she would regret it until the end of her days.

“Tommy, I...”

“Oh, hell, I’ll do it,” her sister said, cutting her off midsentence.

They both stared at Madison, who was rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest, which looked a bit more impressive than Candace’s had in the glittery red dress.

“You’ll do what?” Candace asked.

“I’ll take your place with Tommy.”

Her heart thumped. “What did you say?”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

“I said I’ll be this big jerk’s fiancée. I’ll move in with him and play the part to the hilt.”

“You can’t be serious,” Candace said. “What about your job? Your new apartment?”

Her sister shrugged. “Actually, I’ve been shifting gears a little. I thought I’d try my hand at screen writing. What better place to be than at all the best parties with all the right people?”

Stunned, Candace tried to wrap her mind around the whole thing. “But who will believe it?”

Waving her left hand, still weighted down by that ring Tommy had slipped on Candace’s hand earlier, Madison said, “He never did introduce me—or you—by name, right? Nobody will know any different. Heck, since I’ve known him just as long as you have, we could say we were childhood sweethearts or something.” Then she stared at her potential bridegroom. “By the way, this is an engagement. Not a marriage. I’ll wear your ring for a year and play adoring wife-to-be. That should take the heat off until you straighten your shit out.”

Tommy’s sparkling eyes said he was seriously considering the offer. Then he confirmed it, saying, “Two years.”

She pursed her lips. Mad was nothing if not a negotiator.

“Eighteen months. We break up Christmas of next year.”

He grinned. “The tabloids will love it. I’ll be all heartbroken and tragic. The Academy will ask me to present.”

“If they do, we’re getting back together,” Madison warned. “And you’re so buying me a Vera Wang gown.”

“Done!”

Tommy stuck his hand out toward Mad. She took it, they shook and sealed the deal.

Candace’s thoughts were reeling. Had that really just happened? Had her sister truly just agreed to take her place in Tommy’s life, leaving Candace free to pursue the man of her dreams? Had the offer really come in the nick of time, so she hadn’t been forced to hurt Tommy by telling him she wanted out of the deal?

She looked at her sister. Mad looked back, a sweet, tender expression replacing her usual blunt, take-no-prisoners one.

“Thank you,” she whispered as the truth of it finally sank in. More excited by the second, she threw her arms around her sister, then reached across the table and dragged Tommy into a group hug. “Thank you both!”

They squeezed for a moment, until Tommy said, “Okay, now get out of here and let me make googly eyes at my wife-to-be. I’ll bet some paparazzi a*shole followed us from the hotel and is taking pictures from across the street.”

Madison concurred. Tossing her a set of keys, she said, “My rental car’s at the curb. Mr. Hollywood will get me back to the hotel safely.” She reached up and touched Candace’s cheek. “Go claim your man.”

That was the best suggestion Candace had heard all night. And she immediately stood up and strode out of the restaurant, determined to do just that.

She didn’t waste time going back to the hotel, knowing Oliver wouldn’t have gone there. She would bet money he had called a cab and paid a fortune for it to take him back to Sonoma. That’s where she headed, hoping her instincts were right.

During the entire forty-minute drive, she clutched the steering wheel, tense and anxious, trying to find the words to make things right, wondering how he would react when he saw her. She had so much she wanted to tell him, so many things to explain, secrets to share, wishes and dreams to whisper. She just hoped he didn’t slam the door in her face when she showed up at his cottage.

Arriving at the estate, which was dark and silent, she drove up the long, windy driveway, glad Madison’s rental car was a hybrid with a very quiet engine. She didn’t want to give Oliver too much warning so that he could put his defenses too firmly in place.

She parked in front of the house, slipped from the car and hurried to the cottage. Reaching for the knob, she thought twice, knowing if this was the beginning of the rest of their lives, she needed to start on the right foot.

She knocked.

This wouldn’t be about coercion, letting herself in, seducing him—although she hoped she’d get that chance later. She wanted him to let her in, to give her a chance.

Just one chance to win him.

A light flipped on and she released the breath she’d been holding. She’d guessed correctly.

The door slowly opened, and he saw her there. His eyes widened a tiny bit, but his mouth remained set in a firm line. No smile tugged at it, no welcoming glimmer of happiness. He merely waited. Watching, assessing. But she’d bet the wheels were churning away in his mind as he tried to figure out what she was doing at his door.

“May I come in?”

Stepping out of the way, he gestured for her to enter, still not speaking.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

He finally spoke. “Why did you come?”

“To claim you.”

That surprised a flinch out of him. “Huh?”

Though she desperately wanted to slide her arms around his neck and pull him down for a warm kiss that would do a better job of explaining why she was here, she knew she had to give him the gift he’d given her earlier—utter and complete honesty.

“I love you, Oliver.”

He nodded slowly. “You said that earlier.”

“Yes. But I didn’t say that I want to be with you, for as long as you’ll have me. I want to stay here and build a life with you. To help you figure out what you want to do with your life.”

He looked stunned.

“Maybe you’ll want to go back into law, or maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll want to stay here and help Grandpa turn this into a premiere winery. You can grow grapes, I can draw costumes and we’ll drink wine and live.”

He stepped closer, not reaching for her, but looking more hopeful by the second. “What about your engagement?”

“It’s over.”

His relief was visible. Because she’d known he hadn’t wanted her doing anything purely for his sake, she explained the whole story, telling him about her sister’s plans to stay in L.A., which, frankly, made her very happy on many levels.

“But you didn’t ask her to?”

“No, I swear. I was just about to tell Tommy we needed to find another solution because I couldn’t give you up. But before I said anything, Madison jumped in and offered to be the phony fiancée for a while.”

She wasn’t entirely sure Madison had been serious about the screenplay-writing thing. It was possible, though. Her sister had recently hinted that she wasn’t happy with her job, despite how hard she’d worked toward a career in journalism. Mad had always loved to write, and had thought hard-hitting news articles would be her forte. She’d also been great at creative writing, so perhaps this idea of hers hadn’t been just a throwaway offer meant to make Candace not feel so guilty. Maybe she really wanted this shot at a new career. Candace certainly hoped so anyway.

“So she’s not giving up her dreams so you can have yours?”

“No, I really don’t think she was.”

They fell silent, staring at one another. She saw him processing everything, that keen mind evaluating all that had happened...what she’d said, what she’d done, what it meant.

“I love you,” she repeated, holding nothing back, her voice thick with emotion.

He took a step closer. Then another, until he stood a foot away, close enough for her to feel the warmth of his body. Far enough away for her to miss it.

“Say something,” she said.

His perfect mouth widened little by little, until that sexy grin appeared, stopping her heart and chasing away all her misgivings.

“Something.”

Laughter spilled from her mouth. “Jerk.”

He didn’t torment her anymore, didn’t hesitate. He reached for her, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her hard against his body. His mouth covered hers, lips parting, in a kiss that seemed like a very long time coming, though they’d only been apart for a few hours. With that kiss, she told him again and again how she felt, and knew he was saying the same thing.

Eventually, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the steps. Carrying her up them, he began to whisper the sweetest things—promises, dreams, hopes for the future.

All she’d ever hoped for. All she’d ever wanted.

“I love you, Candace. I want you with me always. I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up with you every morning. And I promise I’ll do everything I can to make you happy.”

This time the wetness in her eyes was brought on by pure joy. She knew he meant what he said, knew she could trust him with everything—her heart, her body, her life.

He was her present and her future.

Her everything.

And she was his.