Chapter Eight

Avery returned to her room, sated, to a cell phone that buzzed and vibrated. Something must be seriously wrong for Alexandria to phone over and over again. This was too much. Even for her.

The phone immediately hummed in Avery’s palm as she checked missed calls. “Hello?” she answered.

Alexandria didn’t skip a beat. “The news is everywhere about you and Ryker Li. I can’t believe it.” Her voice boomed with excitement.

“What news?” Me and Ryker? OhmyGod. Had someone photographed them in the middle of...? Suddenly the walls closed in, and Avery felt claustrophobic.

“Great thinking to make sure you made press, though. That’s my girl.”

“What exactly are you talking about? What photos?” This was a compliment coming from Alexandria, so why did that comment sting so much? “I promise you I don’t have the first idea what you’re referring to.”

“My daughter. On the front page of every magazine that counts. That’s what I’m talking about.”

Me? Alexandria had to be mistaken. Avery did nothing newsworthy unless she considered having sex with a billionaire news.

But it was too fast to be news...surely news couldn’t be printed and on the stands overnight? Alexandria must be confused. Or drinking.

Avery checked the clock, trying to mentally calculate the time difference and stop herself from hyperventilating.

Either that, or Alexandria must be thinking of her other daughter. Please, God, let her be talking about Bits. “Did you mean—”

“I’m talking about you. Who else would be with Ryker Li?”

“Tell me exactly what you’re talking about. Slowly.” Avery needed every detail so she listened intently.

“You. And the most powerful businessman of the twenty-first century. Together. On his private island. And in that embrace.”

A cold chill ran up Avery’s spine. “But—”

“Your photo is everywhere. My phone has been ringing off the hook.” Alexandria paused, no doubt expecting Avery to squeal with excitement.

Avery didn’t.

Alexandria picked up her conversation thread on the next beat. “You could’ve told your own mother, you know. I would’ve kept your secret.”

“I don’t have one. Ryker and I are working together.”

Alexandria didn’t even try to hide her laugh. “That’s rich, Avery.”

So everyone on the planet would now know Avery and Ryker were together. They worked together and had had mind-numbing sex. It was just an urban fairy tale that there could be more. She’d had blissful sex with him, but it was wrong to expect more. And right then she told herself she didn’t care that he couldn’t give it. Of course, having their affair spread across the tabloids while placing her front and center in the spotlight felt a bit harsh.

Avery froze. She remembered the flash. The storm that never followed. She realized how compromising this all would look to an outsider.

But she wouldn’t admit to anything. Fact was, they were not a couple.

She forced cheer into her voice. “Oh, you know how those photographers are. They catch you in the most conspicuous place and exploit you. Surely you know a thing or two about that.”

“Avery, darling, this is your mother you’re speaking to. You don’t have to lie or cover up. I couldn’t be more pleased.”

Why did the compliment, finally words of approval, burn through her so much? Hadn’t she always wanted her mother’s approval? “It’s not what you think.”

“We’ll see about that...”

A beep sounded.

“That’s my other line, dear, I have to go.”

Before Avery could warn her mother not to spread the gossip, the phone line was dead.

And so was Avery.

How embarrassing could it be that she and Ryker had made the cover of every tabloid? And what people must be saying about a pair like them. Every insecurity she possessed raged up and made her throat close. The gorgeous and the plain. Ryker with the homely girl. Well, it was Beauty and The Beast in reverse is what it was.

Her cheeks heated, and her heart palpitated. Knowing what everyone would be thinking from now on—how on earth could she ever hold her head high again? Especially during the party...in...six...days.

She took in a breath meant to fortify herself but only brought attention to how shaky she truly was. Ryker would move on to another woman by then. And everyone would know how he’d crossed the tracks and gone slumming, only to come right back.

I only have to get through six more days. She sure as hell didn’t plan to stick around for the after party.

Thankfully, Ryker wasn’t going to be anywhere around. That would certainly make Avery less jumpy and give her time to regroup. And less newsworthy as well. With any luck, he wouldn’t be back until the party, either. He hadn’t exactly said when he planned to return. It certainly would make her life a lot easier if he disappeared for a few days, or more. Her heart gave a traitorous flip at the thought.

Damn undependable heart.

Maybe Avery could keep her head low until he was photographed with some newsworthy supermodel. Then her headline would be crumpled up and used as tinder in the fireplaces that warmed the northern United States. He might be news, but she’d be forgotten as soon as he moved on to another woman.

A stab of pain shot through her.

She wanted Ryker to be hers, not some other woman’s.

Forget it. Be realistic.