A Hollywood Bride (Billionaires' Brides of Convenience Book 2) (17 page)

All OK
.
Thank god
.
But Bethany is being kept for observation
.
Just in case
.

My body sags in relief. I write him back:
Glad to hear that
.
Can I see her today?

A few moments later, he responds,
Sure
.

“Yes!” Pumping my fist, I hop out of bed. Bethany is going to be fine. Her baby’s undoubtedly all right as well, or Oliver would’ve said something.

I want to see her ASAP, make sure everything’s really okay. Then I’ll talk to Ryder about possibly going overseas. It might be a good idea for us to get away from the spotlight and spend some time together without any pressure. Come to think of it, we’ve never really had a chance to spend any time together alone.

After a quick shower, I throw on a bright magenta t-shirt dress that says “High on Life” in snazzy diagonal teal green letters. By the time I reach the kitchen, Elizabeth and Ryder have finished breakfast, although they’re lingering over coffee. She looks like she’s ready to model for some glossy fashion magazine. Her hair is perfectly curled and gathered into a bouncy ponytail, and the dress she has on matches the shade of red on her lips. Ryder’s more casual in a gray Avengers t-shirt and shorts.

“Good morning,” I say.

“Morning.” Ryder pulls me to his side before I can move past him and gives me a quick kiss on the mouth. He hasn’t shaved, and the hair on his jaw scrapes my skin deliciously.

Elizabeth raises an eyebrow, but a smile tugs at her mouth. “The chef saved you an omelet.”

On cue, a plate of omelet shows up along with utensils and a thick cloth napkin. I sit and start eating. It’s fluffy, with three of my favorite cheeses. The housekeeper places a glass of OJ beside the plate, for which I thank her quietly.

“I just heard from Oliver.” I turn to Elizabeth to bring her up to speed. “My sister got into a car accident yesterday.”

“Oh no! I hope she’s all right.”

“What did he say?” Ryder asks.

“She’s fine. I can go see her today.” Thankfully the weather’s nice, so I won’t have to deal with people acting like the world is coming to an end on the highways. “I was thinking about going after breakfast.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Don’t you have a meeting?”

“It can wait. This is more important.”

I smile at him. “Thank you.”

Ryder squeezes my shoulder and kisses the spot behind my earlobe. The affectionate gesture makes me flush, but I’d lying if I said I wasn’t happy.

He glances at his buzzing phone. I lean over, curious. Not ten people in the world have that number.

“Don’t be nosy,” he scolds, though his voice lacks any heat. “I gotta take this.”

He disappears upstairs.

“So,” Elizabeth says in a stage whisper. “You guys make up?”

“I guess so.”

“I’m glad.” She smiles, resting her chin in her hand. “You’re so perfect together. It’s obvious you have feelings for each other.”

“You really think so?”

“Uh-huh. Ryder obviously adores you, and way you look at him…well, I know that look.”

My jaw slackens. Since I just realized I love him, her observation about me isn’t entirely wrong, but…
Ryder?

He loves what we do for each other in bed. I guess that’s a feeling of sort, but not the kind she’s talking about. If Elizabeth thinks he adores me, it’s only because that’s what he wants her to believe.

After all, he is a very talented actor.

“Did I say something?” Elizabeth peers at me.

“No.” I force a quick smile. “I was just thinking about Bethany.”

She nods, but it’s obvious she doesn’t buy it. “Give him a chance, Paige. I know it’s hard to believe a playboy like him can be sincere, but he’s not a bad guy. Not in his heart, where it counts. And I’m not saying that just because he’s my brother.”

“I know,” I say quickly.

Her gaze remains skeptical, and I’m sure she doesn’t understand why I’m reacting like this to her observations. The thing is, I don’t want Ryder to know how I really feel about him. Countless women before me have told him they loved him, and he always responds with a rueful combination of pity and resignation. I don’t think I could stand it, to see that look on his face and know that, this time, it was directed at me.

I already know his heart is off-limits for me. The least I should be able to do is keep my pride.

* * *

Ryder

I shut the door in my office before calling the detective. Benjamin Clark is on retainer with Mom’s side of the family, and he is eminently trustworthy. I texted him yesterday to figure out what’s going on.

“Benjamin,” I say. “It’s Ryder.”

“Thanks for getting back to me. Your instincts were right.”

Icy fear knots my gut. I found the circumstances of Bethany’s accident strange. She grew up in Idaho just like Paige. There was no reason for her to be driven off the road, unless the other driver was driving too fast and didn’t bother to hit the brakes.

“The victim was driving an Altima, which is registered to your fiancée. According to my source within the police, the other car didn’t slow down at all. Unless the brakes just weren’t working, it was deliberate.”

“Fuck.” I sit down, my legs unsteady.
Bethany was driving Paige’s car?
Then the target was probably Paige, not Bethany.

“Are you aware that your fiancée has quite a few …detractors? I saw at least three comments on social media about wanting to put her in her proper place, and I wasn’t even trying to find anything in particular about her.” Benjamin harrumphs. “Normally I would chalk it up to idiotic people being loud-mouthed, but given what happened to her sister…”

“Damn it. Damnit, damnit, damnit.” I shove a hand into my hair and tug until it hurts. It’s all my fault. I should’ve known she might become a target. Haven’t I been harassed by some truly deranged “fans”? What would stop them from transferring some of their obsession from me to Paige?

I let my pride, my needs, trump common sense. I wanted to show Dad I wouldn’t make myself miserable to fulfill the conditions of getting Grandpa’s portrait of me. The revenge couldn’t just be me getting the painting, but showing the world, especially Dad, I’m having a grand fucking time doing it. I told Paige I wanted the wedding of the century, all the publicity and the kind of glitzy show that would leave people breathless as they watched our fairytale marriage unfold for a year.

Why the hell didn’t I stop to think how it would impact Paige?

No, not just Paige. The people she cares about, too.

If she’d known agreeing to marry me for a year would jeopardize her stepsister and her baby, she would never have done it.

“Oh, one other thing,” Benjamin says.

“What is it?”

“My man at the police department also said there was a nurse who tried to attack you at a hospital some days ago…?”

“Yeah. Typical wack-job fan. What about her?”

“She was bailed out. The woman threatened to take you away from your fiancée using whatever means available. At that time, the authorities just assumed she was ranting, but given the circumstances, they are trying to locate her. Just in case. It’s better to dot all your
i
s and cross all your
t
s, especially when it concerns a member of a family that’s always been generous with the department.”

“They
let her out?
I told them she was a psycho, and that she was likely to come after me again. I specifically asked them to keep her in jail as long as they could until the trial…or at least notify me if she got out on bail or something.”

“Mm. About that… The DA has decided not to prosecute.”

This is starting to sound like something out of Kafka. “Why the hell not? The woman
bit
me, for god’s sake!”

“I agree it’s strange. And I can’t quite figure out what’s going on, because there are elements of the situation that don’t really add up. For example…”

Benjamin pauses, and my gut twists until I taste acid in the back of my mouth.

“…apparently, it was you who told them to drop the charges.”

Ryder

My hand tightens around my phone until my knuckles are white. “What the
fuck?
”

“I knew you would say something like that.”

“No, seriously. What the fuck?” I repeat. “Me? Let her out? There’s no way.”

“I’m inclined to agree, but my source told me it’s true, and he isn’t the type to make mistakes on things like this.”

I press my thumb against the spot between my eyebrows. There are two people in the world who can act as my representative. Mira and my lawyer.

But neither of them received any instructions about the nurse. There wasn’t any reason, since the DA was handling it.

“Did your buddy say anything else?” I ask.

“No. But I suggest you talk to your people.”

“Oh, you can count on that,” I say grimly.

I end the call and am about to dial my lawyer when Paige knocks on the door and sticks her head in. “Ryder, you ready to go?”

You go ahead
,
something came up
is on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow the words. I promised to go with her to the hospital, and I do want to see how Bethany’s doing. It’s a hundred percent obvious now that her being hurt is my fault, and I need to make sure she and her baby are all right.

I ask Paige to drive since I can’t do that and text at the same time. I send a quick question to my accountant.

“Are you all right?” Paige asks. “If it’s something I can do, just let me know and I’ll deal with it.” She gives me a small sideways smile. “Probably be faster that way.”

Pain knots behind the spot where my forehead meets my eyebrows. This is one thing I can’t delegate to Paige. If she finds out, she’ll rip up our prenup and tell me to go to hell.

“Nah, it’s nothing,” I say, flashing her Reassuring Look Number Four. “Don’t worry about it.”

* * *

Paige

Now I know something is wrong. Ryder’s insouciantly confident glance is one I recognize from his movies, but have never seen him use in real life. It’s too practiced, too…perfect.

However, I also recognize the stubborn set of his jaw. He’s not going to tell me anything right now.

So I keep my eyes on the road and think. I’ve never seen him not delegate tasks. If he could, he’d delegate eating and sleeping.

His phone rests next to his thigh. Who was he texting? And about what?

Anthony
.

The name slips into my mind. I scowl. What could he and Ryder possibly have to say to each other now? He knows what my leaving his condo for Ryder means, and he told me that hurting me didn’t give him the satisfaction he wanted.

But he also said that didn’t mean he was going to stop
.

Okay, true enough. But he seems too sensible to pursue something that won’t give him anything in return. At least, I hope so.

I breathe deeply. I shouldn’t drive myself crazy with whatever private business Ryder has. It won’t do me any good, and right now, my priority needs to be making sure Bethany and her baby are all right. Once that’s done, I can take the time to talk to Ryder about going overseas and…anything else.

Even with so little time before the wedding, it’s probably a good idea to go somewhere away from the paparazzi and media circus. Try to unplug and pretend that none of the craziness is happening.

The hospital looks brighter and nicer on a sunny day. I park the car, and Ryder, cap and sunglasses in place, comes around to open my door and help me climb out.

We reach Bethany’s room and peek around the corner. It’s private, and large enough that it has a couch that can be used to sleep on. Oliver is seated on it, thumbing through a magazine. I take a quick glance at Ryder and mouth,
thank you
. The hospital wouldn’t normally have given her this level of treatment.

Bethany’s asleep, her face toward the window, away from the door. I make sure to be as quiet as possible so we don’t wake her up.

Oliver notices us and gets up. He hugs me, then shakes hands with Ryder. My brother-in-law’s shoulders look even narrower than normal, his usually round face slackened into a gaunt oval. Dark circles show under his eyes.

“Did you get any sleep?” I whisper.

He gives me a smile. “Some.” He nods at Ryder. “Thank you for the upgrade.”

Ryder shrugs, shuffling a little. “It’s nothing. The hospital people here like me.”

Wrapping my arm around his waist, I give him a quick squeeze. It’s so sweet to see him uncomfortable about his generosity. If it had been a strip show, he’d be relaxed and bragging about how he paid top dollar for the girls with the best assets.

Bethany murmurs something, then turns to face us. I can’t help it; I actually gasp at the sight.

She looks like she’s been in a boxing match…and lost. Red gashes run across her swollen forehead, cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Ugly yellowish-purple blotches discolor her left temple and jaw.

“Should’ve seen me yesterday,” she jokes, her voice raspy. “I’m actually looking pretty hot this morning.”

“Oh my god…” My hands shake.

“Don’t. I’m feeling okay.” She looks over my shoulder at Ryder standing behind me. “Hey, Ryder.” She gives him a quick smile like he’s just some guy, rather than one of the most famous actors in the world, which is of course what makes her so awesome.

“Bethany,” he says, his gaze somber. “How are you, really?”

“I’m going to be rich if I get a dollar every time somebody asks me that. I’m doing fine.” She sits up, and Oliver jumps to rearrange the pillows so they support her back. “I had another exam this morning. Everything’s okay, nothing’s broken, and the baby”—her hand rests over her belly—“is doing great. We heard its heartbeat. Strong, loud and fast.”

Oliver kisses the crown of her head. “The doctors think we’re okay, but they said to let them know immediately if we notice anything even remotely abnormal about her condition. Just to be on the safe side.”

“My worry right now is my comic schedule—”

“
Bethany!
” I can’t believe she’s thinking about work!