Page 51 of Work It Out
“I’m done.” The proclamation came out small and tired, but that was how she felt: done with this conversation, done with his cute nicknames and lying dimples, done with him. As she walked through the gym, shooing people out the door and picturing Chad waiting in her office with that insufferably smug expression of his, she swallowed the disappointing reality that she was probably done altogether.
Chapter Seventeen
September 19
Hollywood Tattler
“Has Tinseltown lost its shine? If the exodus of the cast ofAll About Aliceis any indication, it has. Only days after Jake Newman fled L.A., co-star Victoria Miller is mysteriously absent as well, and we’re left wondering if they’ve disappeared together.”
After Rayah left, Jake pinned Shawn with a glare. “Are you trying to ruin my career?” He jerked back as if Jake had punched him, rather than simply daydreaming about the sound of his knuckles cracking against Shawn’s jaw. “Why would you bring up my condition?”
“Why didn’t you tell her?” Shawn countered. “If you trust these rejects so much, why keep it secret?”
“Speaking of rejects,” Jared said as he sauntered into the room. “Time for you to go.”
Shawn’s lip curled, but Jake had heard enough. “Go, Shawn. And don’t bother coming back. I’m not leaving. And you’re on thin fucking ice. You ever humiliate me like that again, you ever threaten people I care about again, if I even hear that you’ve been talking shit, I swear, I will fire you.”
Shawn’s eyes tightened for a second, then the tension leached out of his face and he adjusted his cuffs nonchalantly. “Let me know when you’re done being stubborn. I’ll get you out of this hellhole and back to civilization.”
“Goodbye, Shawn.” Jake was done wasting time. He had a lot of begging to do. But first, he had to take care of Vicky.
Most of the media had been banished before they snuck out the back door to Pierce’s Jeep. Settling Vicky in the cabin took much longer than getting rid of Shawn. The second they were alone he sat on the couch and opened his arms. She curled up against his side and utterly shattered. The sobs shook them both and broke his heart. Emotions had run sky-high since Vicky’s arrival. Now, in the quiet aftermath, everything felt…bruised. His head, his chest, his soul.
No matter what a useless waste of air that asshole had been, Vicky loved him.
Jake held her until she cried herself out. If women kept weeping all over him, he might develop a complex. The experiences were vastly different, however. Sure, they’d both been crying over men who weren’t him (thank God), but the way they felt in his arms, the way they fit against his heart, were worlds apart. With Vicky, he wanted to tuck her into bed and let her sleep it off. Rayah, he wanted to kiss and hold and caress until she couldn’t remember any name but his.
Of course, Rayah might never let him hold her again, crying or otherwise. If Chad suspended—or worse, canceled—Explosions policy, it would shut them down at least temporarily, which would cost her.
She’ll never forgive me.He couldn’t bear the thought, even in the hypothetical. He’d find a way to make this right, whatever he had to sign, whatever he had to do; even if it meant leaving, he had to make it right. He’d already hurt her enough.
That was a problem for later, though. As Vicky’s thunderous sobs ebbed to a rumble of pitiful hiccups, he refocused on helping mend the other heart he’d had a hand in breaking lately. Brushing the hair from her temple, he said, “Rayah’s right. You should stay here for a couple months.”
She sniffled, dabbing at her nose with a tissue. “How long are you staying?”
As long as she’ll let me. He couldn’t say that, either, however. So he shrugged, intentionally jostling her head, teasing her. “I don’t have to be back in L.A. until sometime around Christmas, maybe first of the year. You’re done until after the holidays, too, right?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“So it’s settled. You’ll stay here with me and Rayah and—”
Her brows snapped down. “You’re really living with her? Didn’t you meet her like a minute and a half ago?”
“Pierce says she’s good peeps, and I haven’t seen any evidence to the contrary.” Truth was, Pierce hadn’t done her fierce heart justice. “Besides, it’s not like we’reliving together. We’re roommates.”
“Uh-huh.” Vicky sat up, glancing around the cabin. “It’s pretty small. You’re sure I won’t be intruding?”
She’d already intruded, but he wouldn’t change it. She was family, and she needed him, and he was so damn tired of failing people. He kissed her forehead. “It’ll be fine, kiddo. You’ll see. This place… These people… There’s no way to describe them. Maybe the mountains are magic.”
“You really love it here, don’t you?”
“It’s home.” He hadn’t thought of Bigbone that way in years. It seemed like he’d lived in California forever, but it had been exactly that: a place to live. Bigbone would always be his home.
“I’ll stay,” she said in a rush. “If you really don’t mind, I’ll stay.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He picked up the TV remote and launched the necessary streaming app. For years now, when bad shit happened, they’d cue up season one, episode one ofGilmore Girlsand comfort watch until they felt better, ran out of episodes, or fell asleep—whichever came first. Rory had barely made it to the golf course with Richard before Vicky issued the tiniest of snores. But even listening to mother and daughter chatter at lightspeed hadn’t eased his mind. Nothing would until he’d made peace with his cupcake, one way or another.
