A STELLAR AFFAIR (A Hollywood Bad Boy Romance) (22 page)

“It’s quite touching, actually.”

“Darko, I didn’t know you were such a romantic. Ugh!” she teased him.

“You have no idea how romantic I can be, Empress.”

“Have you ever been married?” The question escaped her lips and she wished she hadn’t asked. Even if they’d been sleeping together, it was a kind of information that must be volunteered, not pried out. “Sorry, you don’t need to answer that.”

“No, I haven’t. Never. You?”

“No…”

“Your view on marriage?”

He was actually asking her about this? “I’m a conservative. My parents are still together. I want that kind of marriage.”

He felt his hand squeezing hers tighter. “Me, too.”

“You what? Conservative?”

“Uh-huh,
 
and my folks are still together, too. Thirty-nine years. They’d be celebrating their silver wedding anniversary this Christmas.”

She swallowed, as her throat had suddenly gone dry. This was the first time they were sharing personal information that involved their respective families. “Wow. That’s like a miracle.”

“We take marriage seriously in the family,” he said quietly, sounding serious. There was no trace of anything in his voice that told her otherwise.

How the conversation turned to this, she had no idea. It was so easy to talk to Wes when he wasn’t being obnoxious.
 

The couple finally let go of each other and walked happily out of the chapel, giving them a quick wave and a happy, “Good luck!”

“Next!”

They both jumped at the sound of the guy in tux. He beckoned for them to come forward.

“Uhm…” she began to say.

“You guys alone?” the man asked.

“Yeah,” Wes replied.

“Well, come on then. Let’s get you hitched.”

“Uh, actually, we’re not…we’re just passing by,” she said. “We’re going. Thanks!”

She pulled at Wes’ hand to leave.

“Wait!” The man said. He went to get something from a table and walked over to them. He opened a little box he was holding and took out two golden rings. “Here, courtesy of Gangsta Chapel. I was watching you two. You came in here looking like you’re gonna be together forever.
 
You have the real deal. True love. You must be married here in the future.”

They both just stared at the man, stupefied.

“Come on, dude, put the ring on her.”

“Uh…” Wes didn’t move.

“Put the ring on her or I will.”

Wes stupidly followed the man’s order and slipped the ring on her left ring finger. Then she stupidly slipped the other ring on his finger, too.

The man seemed very pleased. “When you have decided to make it official, come back here. It’s on the house.”

They still could’t find their voices. The man took out his phone from his pocket and before they could react, he snapped a selfie with them.

Just then, a group of people came into the chapel.

“Alright, I’ll see you two maybe in a few months?”

He winked at them and then greeted the people. “Hello, welcome to Gangstah Chapel! Who’s the unfortunate couple getting shackled?”

She looked at Wes, covering her mouth as she was about to erupt in a fit of giggles.

Shaking his head in amusement, he dragged her out of the chapel. They stumbled out into the street laughing like silly teenagers.

“Jesus, that was bizarre!”
 

He lifted his hand, shaking his head. “I’m married.”

“Yeah.” She lifted her hand too, surveying the fancy wedding band. It looked perfect on her finger.

He pulled her in his arms. “Shall we seal it with a kiss?”

“Wes…” Her knees turned to jelly.

He bent his head and kissed her, right there on the Vegas Strip full of tourists.

In that moment, she knew, this was the man who had the power to truly break her heart without hope for recovery.

C
hapter
F
ifteen

“Must you go today?”

Ava didn’t want to go but she had commitments in L.A. she needed to fulfill.

“Yes.”

He spooned her closer, wrapping his powerful arms around her tighter.

“Stay.” He nuzzled her neck.

They just made love and she could barely move from utter exhaustion and yet her nerve endings tingled in response. Wes was a sex machine. If they kept with his appetite, she’d be losing weight from all the physical activities he’d subjected her body to. Not that she was complaining.

And she could get pregnant. She closed her eyes tighter. That was one area where she’d totally lost control. Protection seemed to have become a non-issue for him after their little chat yesterday. She hadn’t exactly raised any firm objection either.
 

“Can’t you cancel your TV appearance this afternoon?”

“I’m afraid not. It’s live. Erin will kill me. She’s a dear friend.”

“Will you be talking about us?”

“Maybe.”

“What will you say?”

“I haven’t really discussed it with Reena yet. She sent a list of limitations to Erin’s staff. Things they can and can’t ask me.”

“But Stoneryder has to crop up somewhere in the conversation, right?”

“I guess…”

“So, what will you say?”

“I’ll think of something…”

“I want to know.”

His persistence on the subject was starting to bother her. “Why is it so important to you what I’d say? I’m sure Reena has a statement prepared for that.”

“I want you to answer it with no script.”

She moved to sit up, pulling the comforter to her chest. She turned to face him. “What are you driving at, Wes?”

He sat up, too. He looked serious. “Do we still need a script at this point, Av?”

“What are you trying to say?” she asked him softly.

He saw the vulnerability in his eyes. A rare sight. “Us, Av. Are we still pretending?”

She swallowed. Moment of truth. He didn’t waste time. “Are you?”

He shook his head. “I told you, I haven’t been pretending since we started doing this.”

“Never?”

“Couldn’t you see?”

She was at a loss for words.

He smiled and took her hands in his, bringing them to his lips, kissing her knuckles.

“You know what I want?”

“I’m not sure…”

“I want the whole world to know that you’re mine. You’re my woman. And I’m your man. That we are real. Stoneryder is real. I’m bursting with it.” He put her hands on his chest, over his heart. “Feel.”

Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest, so overwhelmed she was by his admission.

“I want that, too.”

“So what will you say?”

She smiled, her eyes going wet. “To the doubting Dorothys, haters gonna hate but Stoneryder is real and getting stronger. Watch us harder.”

His smile widened, lighting up his face into breathtaking gorgeousness.

“That’s my Empress.”

She looped her arms around his neck.

“Now, about watching something hard…”

She laughed. “Wes Stoner, you are…!”

“I am..?”

“You are such a bad bad boy,” she purred. “My bad boy.”

“Hmmm, show me.”

She did.
 

They had lunch with Reena and Tim.
Ava felt like a new person today. It was as if something had been freed between her and Wes. She felt more comfortable around him in public now. Real comfortable, not pretending to be comfortable.

Yes, she hadn’t realized how hard it was to pretend she was just pretending. In truth, like Wes, she hadn’t been pretending since day one. The first time she’d seen him at the AVMAs, she’d wanted him, too. It was the only justification she could use why she gave up her virginity to him so easily that night.

“So, how long will you stay here, Wes?” Reena asked him.

“A few more days. Four at the most.”

“That’s good. That’s enough waiting time for another Stoneryder sighting in L.A. So far, the spacing for the sightings have been effective. Just enough to keep them all craving for the next juicy pics. Meanwhile, we’ll work on both your social media exchanges.”

Ava was irked. It wasn’t good at all that it would still be four days before she could be with Wes again. She glanced at him and saw the irritation on his face, too. She groped for his hand under the table.

They exchanged a meaningful look.
 

“You guys have been busy being naughty since yesterday. Gangsta Chapel. Really?” Reena showed them her tablet with their pictures getting inside the little chapel and their little kiss afterward.

Ava giggled. “But we look cute in that pic. I love it!”

Reena scanned her tablet and showed them another picture. “In the freaking elevator? This was uploaded at Youtube by a Ryder.”

Wes grinned. “Did it break the internet again?”

Reena harrumphed then turned serious.

“By the way, just to let you guys know, Kerry Burton, you know her, the dirt scavenger, has run a fifteen-minute profile on Stoneryder last night on her TV show. She followed it up on print too, at
In Hollywood
and it’s the trending topic everywhere now.”

Ava felt her stomach go queasy. Kerry Burton was the most aggressive purveyor of gossip this side of the globe. Her show was a thirty-minute gossip-fest lapped up by thirty million subscribed viewers worldwide. The woman was powerful in a sense that she could make or break careers in Hollywood.

“What did she say?” She’d been too preoccupied with Wes she failed to check the internet the past two days, and Reena seemed to have deliberately missed telling her either.

“Well…” Reena shrugged.

“Reena, tell us. I don’t wanna go into Erin blind. The woman is known for her ambush questions despite the list of limitations we gave her, so I wanna be prepared.”

Reena pulled out a magazine from her tote bag. It was In Hollywood. She was front page with Wes, their picture, locked in a passionate embrace at the beach, dominating the cover. She scanned the pages. The entire magazine seemed to be a Stoneryder exclusive issue!

“Page 7,” Reena supplied.

Ava jumped to page 7. The title of the article was Dark Designs. It had a picture of Wes as Darko.
 

“It seems that Wesley Stoner is finally going to be starring in his own superhero movie as the lead, thanks to Stoneryder, his most probable hotter-than-hot ticket to the bank. That’s saying it metaphorically because Ava Ryder’s bank seems to be his ultimate target. 275 million dollars is not bad for a goal and we all know the Hollywood bad boy can kick it like Becks. Ava Ryder had better draw up an airtight prenup because judging from that kiss at the front, we reckon the Empress’ new clothes may be a goner. She looked totally Stoned and Westernized!

“Fuck!”

Wes’ explosive voice near her face made Ava jump. The stormy look on his face told her he’d read what she’d read. “Wes…”

“THAT…is a fucking lie!” he expelled in disgust. He looked so red in the face in his fury she was afraid he would smash something. She’d never seen him this mad.

“Wes, calm down. Of course the contents of this magazine are lies. Well, some aren’t, but most are,” Reena piped in placatingly.

“I’ll sue that fucking magazine!”

Reena raised her palm. “Whoa, relax, honey. We’re not suing anybody. That will be an exercise in futility. This is a glossy magazine but it is a tabloid, Wes. Notice the use of “it seems” and “most probable”. They’re not claiming that what they’re saying are facts. They’ll only claim that they were merely speculating and they could be wrong. Classic defense from any lawsuit.”

“But…!” Wes sighed harshly, his fist clenching on the table.

Ava saw the frustration and hurt in his eyes and it broke her heart.
 

He stared at her. “I don’t want anything from you. You know that, right, Av?”

Her heart turned over. That magazine insulted him in the most disgusting manner. “I know, Wes. It’s a tabloid. They write lies everyday.”

“You don’t believe any of that, right?”

She shook her head vehemently. “No. No.”

In that moment, she couldn’t contain her feelings anymore. She hugged him in front of Reena, uncaring if their staff and crew sitting at a nearby table saw her actions without the cameras rolling. “I don’t believe any of it. I’ll only believe in you,” she whispered in his ear.