ONE - HARPER
“He’s not answering.” I threw my phone down on my bed, next to where Elijah was lying face down with his head buried in a pillow. He gripped onto it as he appeared to be lost in thought. “What are you thinking? You’re being too quiet. I don’t like that.”
I’d called Elijah the second my mom left that morning. I couldn’t handle the impending shit storm by myself.
“Just thinking about your next move,” he sighed. “I mean, Sharon Bliss is pissed, which is never good. And he bolted out of here and won’t talk to you know, which also isn’t good. I’m just trying to figure out where you go from here.”
“I hope you figure something out, because I’m at a loss.” I crossed my arms as I paced the floor of my bedroom.
I dialed him again. Still no answer.
“Should I text him?”
“No, no,” he said. “He’ll see that you called.”
“Maybe he’s dealing with the wrath of Conrad right now,” I smirked. Conrad was such a kind, gentle soul…until he was angry. And then it was bad. Very, very bad. My phone buzzed in my hand, senting a shock of excitement through my core for a quick second until I saw who it was. “It’s Jenny. Hi, Jenny, what’s up?”
“I have been fielding calls left and right since last night,” she said in her soft, Brooklyn accent. “So, I think it’s time we make a quote. You’ve been spotted out together twice now. We need to acknowledge it to kind of stir up a little more buzz for you. The choice is yours – you can either continue to deny it or you can make a statement about how close you are and how your parents separation has forced you to realize you love each other. I don’t know. I can come up with something. Just tell me what you want me to do.”
My mouth hung open as the words ceased to find their way out. I didn’t know what to tell her. I needed to talk to Xavier and he wouldn’t answer.
“Can I get back to you on that?” I asked.
“I need an answer soon, Harper.” She sounded frustrated with me, but I couldn’t blame her. It was a Sunday morning. I was sure she’d have much rather been sleeping or laying out on the beach or lunching with friends.
“I’m working on it,” I said, not wanting to tell her that the little plan we’d concocted was possibly crumbling to ashes.
“If you ask me, I think you should continue denying it, but keep in mind that might ignite an even bigger feeding frenzy. After the photos last night, no one’s going to believe you.”
“What photos?”
“You haven’t heard?”
“No, what?!”
“Someone’s shopping around some pictures they took of you two getting out of your limo and going into your house. Together. Alone. Your hair is all messed up and you’re tugging on your dress. Xavier’s hands are all over you. That’s about all I’ll say.” Jenny cleared her throat. It was officially painfully clear that Xavier and I weren’t entirely pretending. “I thought this was supposed to be fake?”
“It is,” I lied. Or maybe it wasn’t a lie. I didn’t know what was real and what was fake anymore. All I knew was that his dick inside me several times the night before? That was real. “Just give me a few hours okay? I need to catch up with Xavier and see what he wants to do.”
“Fine. Let me know as soon as possible. In the meantime, I’m staging another appearance for you two. I was thinking something a little less formal and a little more like a trip to the farmer’s market or a fro-yo outing?”
“Yes, sure. Whatever. I’ll get back to you on everything, okay?” I hung up with Jenny, my mind racing. I needed to talk to Xavier and figure out what the hell was going on. He was in this just as much as me.
TWO – XAVIER
One week later…
A pounding at my door at seven in the morning brought me out of an Ambien-induced sleeping fog. I hadn’t slept much in the week that had passed since I last saw Harper, and the
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