when your girlfriend blows up your life and then makes you pull over to deliver another hit. I study him for a moment, still unable to believe he’s mine. Reaching over, I take his hand and anchor it in both of mine.
“You’ve never asked me about Darryn,” I begin quietly. “But I know you know about him. It’s been in all the articles. Everyone’s comparing the two of you, which is crazy because you couldn’t be more different. Maybe you’ve done research on your own but—”
“I haven’t.”
That doesn’t surprise me, though I’m not sure if that makes this conversation easier or harder. “Okay, well, I want to explain.”
His jaw tightens. “You don’t have to. If he’s in your past, it’s none of my business.”
“Yes, but, as you’ve seen my past never stays my past, and if you’re going to be my future, it will be part of yours too. Sam brought up a good point today. Our skeletons will be even more on display now. We can do our best to manage the narrative, but it’s still going to explode the industry, and our lives for a while. The media has warped enough of our story. I want you to hear the truth before you’re exposed to the lies this time.”
My fingers squeeze his as if pleading with him to listen. Gorgeous brown eyes rest on me, patient and waiting for whatever bomb I’m about to drop. Gosh, I wish I could be the one protecting him for once. I want to be a painkiller, not a pain-causer. Maybe my new future isn’t just about me. Maybe having confidence in myself will bring with it the strength to support those I love.
“I’ll keep this short, because it really is a simple story that got ugly. Darryn and I made sense. My mom approved of him because he was good for my career. He proposed when it was good for his. He had a new movie coming out that was getting panned by the critics, so he proposed on the red carpet to distract everyone. What was I supposed to do? Say no in front of the entire world? Secretly, I was devastated. He knew how much I valued privacy, that the last thing I’d want was a proposal like that, but it was good for him, and that’s when I realized I was just Genevieve Fox to him as well. I was a prize and a prop to the one person who was supposed to love me for me.”
His grip tightens on my hand, and I see the muscles in his arm constrict. I love how protective he is, even when I’m talking about another guy. I push my hand up and under his sleeve to soothe him. “Anyway, at least I was strong enough to fight the popular opinion and come to my senses. When I broke off the engagement, though, the media came down hard on me. It was my first major taste of a media shitstorm. I’d mostly been the darling of the industry my whole life. It’s also when I learned that dating for me has different stakes than everyone else. Not that it mattered. I couldn’t trust a guy was truly interested in me and not my name anyway... And then I found one who wanted the girl no one knew.” I gaze up at him, relaxing as his expression finally eases. “They may compare you, but there’s no comparison, Oliver. You are a perfect ten. Everyone else isn’t even on the board.”
His smile—shy and cocky at the same time. Not sure how he does it, but I just want to grip his cheeks and swallow him whole. Instead, I settle for bringing his fingers to my lips. He sighs and studies me quietly for a bit. “Thank you for telling me that, but like I said, you didn’t have to. I don’t care what they say. I don’t care about any of that bullshit. You know that.”
“Yes, but you’ve seen that stupid chart going around. I just needed you to know the story behind it and that you never, ever have to worry about any of that crap.”
His brows scrunch together. “The chart?”
Oh no. “Come on. You must have seen it. It’s everywhere.”
He shakes his head, and holy crap. He really doesn’t care about any of this stuff. Has he even read the articles about him or did he just skim them for basic information when necessary… like my hospital location.
“No, I have no