Capture Me: Alpha Billionaire Romance (Hollywood Dreams) (32 page)

She shook her head. “No. I’m so sorry. I’m not. I’m not pregnant.”

“Why did you use something against me that would cause you so much pain?”

Her shoulders shook as she said, “I was afraid I was going to lose you. I needed you in my life.”

“Didn’t you realize that lying to me about that would guarantee I’d want nothing to do with you again?”

“I’m sorry.”

“So am I.”

After she had gone through half the box of tissues, Paisley finally left. She couldn’t leave soon enough, but I wanted to make it clear that we were done and to never contact me again. As soon as her painted ass was out the door I called Tessa.

Once, twice . . . five times. She still wouldn’t answer. This wasn’t something I could tell her over the phone so I called Sadie.

“Pick up. Pick up, dammit.”

“Talk to Paisley?” The question was the first thing out of her mouth. No greeting, even.

“You were right. She’s not pregnant.”

She scoffed. “Of course I’m right.”

I chuckled. Sadie’s boldness was one of my favorite things about her. “Tell me where I can find her. She’s not picking up the phone.”

“She’s at home in Greenwich with Dani.” There was a slight pause that I didn’t try to fill. “If you hurt her, I know where you live.”

“For the next few days.”

“There wouldn’t be a spot on Earth I couldn’t come find you.”

I chuckled again. “Noted.”

CHAPTER 53

Tessa

“You’re going to LA!” The words seemed to spill out of my mouth all on their own.

“I said I
might
be going to LA. There’s a key word in there.” Sadie laughed as she raided my array of suits. I’d forgotten how many I’d left here in Greenwich.

Not wanting to think of my best friend living all the way across the country, I laid back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. “Have you found a job out there already?”

“Nothing for sure. They want me to do some video interview later today. Hence the suit.”

“Which one are you going to wear?” I asked.

“I realize that you are quite intimate with my closet, but I’m more like on a first date here.” She trailed her hands across the row of jackets. “I have to get to know what we have here, really feel it out.”

“Don’t you mean, feel it
up
?” I said as I watched her peek under one of the skirts. “This is a first date with my clothes, remember? No examining the good stuff.”

“I’m just playing the field.” She held up two gray pencil skirts for me to choose from for her.

“Not sure why I have two of the same color.”

Sadie held out one, then the other. “This one is gray. This one is gunmetal.”

“Gunmetal is gray.”

“If they both look the same to you, why do you have two of them?”

“You probably convinced me to buy them.”

She shrugged. “You’re probably right. They will go with just about anything.” She hung them back up. “And, for the record, they are different colors.”

“If you’re so into them, why don’t you marry one of them?” I teased.

“First date with your closet, remember?” She looked over her shoulder at me. “Marriage on your mind?”

“No . . . okay, maybe a little.”

“You should maybe give him a chance.”

“What made you suddenly sway in his favor?” I sat up. “Wait, was that Liam on the phone earlier?”

Sadie gave me a mischievous grin. “You mean when I stepped out of here claiming that I’d set my pants on vibrate?”

I narrowed my eyes and worked to keep a straight face. “That’s not a thing.”

“But don’t you wish it was?”

“Stop changing the subject. That was Liam on the phone. What did he say?”

She held her hands up. “I’m not going to be in the middle of this, but when he does reach out to you, hear him out.”

“You said it yourself: this is a lot to take in all at once. Marriage and a baby that isn’t even mine.”

Sadie huffed and started back at the beginning of my closet. “Hear the guy out, okay?”

I huffed back at her, then frowned at something she’d said earlier. “Since when did you need a suit to model in, anyway?”

Sadie pulled out cream-colored pants and a three-quarter-length jacket to match, then looked at me for a moment before answering. “Liam didn’t only put me in touch with a modeling contact in LA. He connected me with one of the biggest talent agencies on the west coast—
Premier Agency
.” She hesitated again and I wondered what had Sadie so unsure about herself. “They also represent actors.”

“I never realized you were interested in that sort of thing.”

“I’m not sure if I am, but it’d be nice to give it a shot just to see if it’s for me.” She shrugged. “There’s not as much opportunity out here for it. I’ve thought about it before but it’s all about who you know, you know?”

“And you know Liam.”

“So do you. Hell, he wants to
marry
you. Even if things don’t work out between the two of you, I’m pretty sure you’d have your pick of connections. Anywhere you’d want to go, he’d make it happen for you.”

“I’ve only modeled a few times. It doesn’t make sense for me to stay with it.”

“You’re better at it than you think. It’s not like rocket science. Or accounting.”

“Are you making fun of my mad math skills?”

“Never.”

“I may try interning at another firm. Go back to my dad’s eventually. After talking to the partners earlier this week, I could step into the position I was about to start.”

“There you go.”

I shook my head. “It wouldn’t be the same without him, and being there would remind me too much of him. I couldn’t deal with that every day. At least, not right now.”

“I thought most internships aren’t paid.”

“They’re not, but a real estate staging company called me to purchase all the furniture for three times what I was about to sell it for.”

“Is that why everything is covered up like some horror movie?”

“There’s less of a chance that things will get damaged if it’s covered in plastic.”

“And this came out of nowhere? You mean that Liam set it up?”

I crossed my arms. “Not something he’ll ever admit. He knew I wouldn’t accept money directly from him, but I’d be out of my mind not to accept payment for the furniture. Even splitting the money with Dani, we’re both covered for at least six to eight months.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all week. Except for him wanting to marry you, of course.”

“So you’re suddenly on his side now?”

“He’s a billionaire. He’s crazy about you. Things aren’t as screwed up as we thought.”

I threw my pillow at her. Tossing it with my left hand was not the best idea. It brushed against a group of shirts, knocking them down. I gave her a long look to gauge exactly where she sat on the whole matter. “So he’s off your jerk list then?”

She picked up the clothes from the floor. “You could say that.”

“Then tell me what he told you.”

“Not going to happen.” Sadie sighed and turned to me. With such a serious look, I stopped myself from throwing my other pillow just in time. “Like I said, hear him out. Decide for yourself. I don’t want to sway your decision on this.”

I fell sideways on the quilted bedspread, letting the foam mattress cushion my shoulder. “All I’ve had for the last few weeks are decisions.”

“I know it’s been hard.”

“
Hard
? Hard is the understatement of the year. In the last couple of weeks, I lost my parents, lost my job and a position in a company I’ve been prepping for since I can remember. I started modeling, and maybe I could keep doing it, but every time I do, I’ll think of Liam.” I flung the pillow around with every statement. “I can’t keep doing things and being places that remind me of what I’ve lost. Not exactly what I’d planned for, you know?” It wasn’t really a question and Sadie knew that. Though I knew she had things to say, she let me go on with my rant without butting in. “Then there’s Liam, with a pretending-to-be-pregnant ex, assuming she’s an ex, and he wants to marry me to stay in the country. Now, if that doesn’t say
happily ever after
, I don’t know what does.” Sadie opened her mouth and I held out my hand. “I know, just see what he has to say.”

Dani stepped into the room. “Hey Sadie.”

I held out my hand. “And then there’s Dani to take care of as well. Don’t take that in a bad way, I’m happy to, but—”

“Don’t worry about me. Grams and Pops are picking me up.” She turned on her heel and walked right back out my door.

“Whoa there.” I slid off the bed and followed her out. “You can’t just tell me something like that and expect zero conversation.” Sadie followed us from the room, the cream suit draped over her arm. I was glad to have her in that moment and I borrowed some of her strength. “Our grandparents are dead. Please don’t tell me you did some weird summoning voodoo.”

Dani swiped at the plastic covering draped over the hallway reading chair.

“Not
those
grandparents.” She said it like I’d lost my mind. “From Mom’s side.”

Her words clicked into my head and I was pretty sure she was the one who’d lost her mind. “Here? They’re coming
here
?”

Dani spun back to me, jabbing her finger in my direction. “You’re the one who said we couldn’t stay in this house any longer. That we had to sell it.” She yanked off one of the plastic coverings protecting a mirror and shook it at me. “Talk about voodoo. Thanks to you, this place looks more like a haunted mansion than our home.”

“Will you just stop for a minute?” She kept walking as though Sadie and I didn’t exist. “Dani, wait.”

She finally stopped at her room where I could see she’d packed most everything into overnight bags and suitcases. Half of which were mine. I wanted to tell her that I had to leave, too, that I had to pack my own stuff up and now I didn’t even have anything to put it in. But I let it go.

Sadie stepped up before I could stop her. “I know you’re hurting, but don’t take it out on Tessa. Do you think she wanted to make these decisions?”

“I—”

“No, listen to me.” Sadie shook my pantsuit at Dani in about the same way that Dani had waved the plastic at me. “Tessa lost just as much as you, if not more. You left all this on her shoulders and she made the best decisions she could. And if you ask me—”

“I didn’t,” Dani snipped.

Sadie pressed her lips together. “She made the right decisions, always with you in mind.”

“I—” Tears began to run down her face.

“Well, damn. Now I went and did it.”

I looked from Sadie to Dani and sighed. “We’ve been through more than we ever thought possible in such a short amount of time. Taking it out on each other might not be the best form of release.” We waited for Dani to catch her breath.

“You know you’re like my little sister, too, right?” Sadie said as she gave Dani a hug. “I’m supposed to be hard on you.”

“I’ve already got one bossy, big sister. I don’t need two.”

Sadie elbowed her. “Oh, stop grouching.”

“Stop bossing,” Dani laughed back just as the doorbell rang.

I could feel all the blood rushing from my face. “Don’t tell me that’s him.”

Sadie shrugged. “Maybe if he took a jet. I only talked to him twenty minutes ago.”

We all walked to the front door. “I wouldn’t put it past him.” I slowed when I saw our grandparents standing on the other side of the front door’s stained glass. A new kind of shock took over and I lowered my voice. “You didn’t say they were coming
now
.”

“I just told you they were picking me up.”

“Again, you didn’t—”

Sadie stepped to the side and gave me a small smile. “This seems to be more of a family thing. I think I’ll just head out. Thanks again for the suit, Tessa.”

“I owed you.”

“You owe me at least ten.”

I nodded, unable to give her any more of my energy at the moment. “Call you later.” I opened the front door and Sadie nodded to the older couple waiting on the other side of the door.

I wished I could slip out just as easily.

CHAPTER 54

Tessa

“Hello, Dears.”

“Hi Jean,” I said as she kissed both my cheeks—a ritual that Mom’s side of the family did without fail every time they saw someone they knew. Sometimes I wondered how the postman handled them every day, or maybe he just hoarded their letters until they weren’t home.

“Call me Grams.” Her eyes didn’t crinkle like they should. Her eyebrows didn’t bob as she spoke. She had two expressions: semi-smiling and sleeping. The only thing about her face that moved were the drops hanging from her ears, emerald to match her dress.