Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 85135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
I glance around to find Beau grinning like this is some kind of escape room and we’re beating all the other teams.
We get to the exit and Jim makes us wait while he checks that the car’s there—and paparazzi are not.
A couple of seconds after he disappears, he’s back and encourages us out. I keep my head down as I head into the open door of the sedan. Beau jumps in behind me and slams the door.
“We did it,” he says as if he’s just landed from a skydive, or got to the summit of a mountain. “See that guy?” He nods at a photographer standing on the corner of the alley we’re in. “I could see him skulking around, but he didn’t see either of us.” He grabs my hand and his pulse is hammering against my wrist as the car pulls out.
I can’t help but wonder if trying to outwit the paparazzi is a bit like mushing huskies or navigating the Amazon for Beau.
If it is, I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. There’s a ton of evidence that Beau is exactly who he says he is—exactly who I feel him to be in my gut. A guy who’s into me because he likes me, not the fame, not the money. Not the accoutrements that come with both. The way he is with his family, the way he’s thoughtful and never signed the contract… That’s the Beau I know.
But maybe it’s part of some elaborate ruse to trick me. Maybe my gut has the instincts of a toenail.
Could it be that Beau’s here, next to me, because he enjoys the adrenaline high of the attention from the press? Or the novelty of being with someone famous?
Am I just a means to an end for him?
I’m probably just being paranoid because I haven’t been in front of cameras and journalists for so long. But will the doubt ever go completely? Will I ever be able to trust anyone fully ever again? Even if I am paranoid, and even if Beau’s heart is true and pure, would being with me, with all the corresponding fame and attention, change him like it seemed to change Matt?
Will being with Beau inevitably turn him into someone I can’t be with at all?
TWENTY-EIGHT
Beau
Nathan, Jacob, Dax and I are gathered around Nathan’s desk. It’s not even seven, but somehow we’re all available on a Saturday morning and have decided to do something together without leaving the city. Vivian is in the studio. Her producers only have a short window, so she’s having to make the most of it. Madison’s mum is coming over, Sutton is working and Dax is…single as ever.
“I’ve booked everything so we can decide.” Nathan’s two computer screens are each split into two, and an activity is pictured on each screen.
“That’s walking over the O2 Arena?” Jacob asks, pointing at one of the screens. “Why would we do that?”
“Nice view?” Nathan suggests.
“The experience, I suppose,” I reply.
“It looks tame,” Dax says.
“It will suit you then,” Nathan says.
Dax just rolls his eyes. Things rarely bother him. I guess growing up with four older brothers and an older cousin means he’s endured worse most of the time.
“What do you think?” Nathan asks, looking at me. “You’ve not walked across the O2 Arena.”
“That’s true. But it doesn’t mean I want to.”
Dax sniggers.
“I thought you might like it,” Nathan says, and I feel bad because I think he genuinely thought it was a good idea. Maybe if I was in a different mood, I’d enjoy it.
“What about the ropes course in Alexandra Palace?” Jacobs asks. “Sutton said it’s terrifying so…that sounds fun.”
I pull my mouth into a grin because I want them to think I think all the options are a good idea. But I can’t seem to muster any enthusiasm for them. It’s kind of my brothers to try to find an adventure we can take together. It’s not often four of us are off work and not in Norfolk, and I like the idea of spending time hanging out. I don’t know if it’s because the activities are on my doorstep, or because they all seem a little…well, to quote Dax, tame. Or maybe I’m just not in the mood. I’d rather have a game of tennis or just go for a walk on the heath.
“Climbing the rigging of the Cutty Sark. I’ve never even heard of that. Are you sure that’s even a thing?” Dax asks.
“You’re looking at the website publicizing it,” Nathan says. “Of course it’s a thing.”
“Play that video,” Dax says. He presses on the screen and the video comes to life. “Yes, I knew it.” The screen shows images of fresh, smiling faces, harnessed with helmets, climbing up toward views of London. “Bloody kids,” he says. “That kid is no older than twelve. If he can do it, where’s the challenge for Beau? What about abseiling down the Orbit helter-skelter thing? It’s two hundred and sixty-five feet. There’s got to be some challenge in this for Beau. He’s climbed Kilimanjaro for goodness sake.”