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I picked up my phone and leaned away from the mirror. There was something in her tone that plucked at me. I couldn’t identify it, but clearly something was up.
I sat on the edge of the mattress. “What is it, Charlie? What do you know about his past that’s making you worried about me?”
“It’s not just his past, Beth. It’s yours too. Think about the way you jump from man to man and how difficult it is for you to commit to one person. Have you ever even had a relationship last longer than six weeks?” She hurried to add, “This isn’t a negative reflection on you. Obviously, I didn’t have the healthiest few years before meeting Liam either. I’m just worried that you aren’t in the best place for a difficult relationship.”
I understood where her heart was coming from. Iwasa serial dater. I didn’t usually find a reason to stay with a guy after the second date. If I didn’t break up with them first, they would leave. It was science. But this was different. This wasRhett. “I’ll keep that in mind. But what do you know about him, Charlie?”
She hesitated. “This can’t leave your mouth, Beth. I mean it.”
“Cross my shears and hope to die,” I said.
“His dad has had trouble lately. I don’t know the particulars, but I know he’s being investigated for some sort of fraud, and it’s not going to reflect well on Rhett once it’s out.”
The great secret was that his dad committed fraud? Then why was everyone talking as if it would inevitably be leaked and reflect negatively onRhett? “Why isn’t it out yet?”
“No idea, to be honest. Something to do with legal proceedings, I’m assuming. The investigation has to be complete before anyone can reveal the nature of it, maybe? Rhett provided an entire team of lawyers to keep it under wraps as long as possible, so I’m guessing his money is the only reason it hasn’t been leaked yet.”
“What’s the nature of the fraud?”
“Some sort of charity front.” She lowered her voice. “It gets worse. He was trading on Rhett’s name to throw all these charity galas, then keeping the majority of the proceeds for himself.”
My stomach sank. “Which is why Rhett is running a charity tour and matching the proceeds from his own pocket. To try to combat the negative press that’s going to come with the reveal of his father’s wrongdoings.”
“Something like that. Though, I do wonder why they didn’t pick something else. It seems a little close, doesn’t it?”
Yeah, it did. I bet it was Bridget’s idea. It certainly made sense now why Rhett wanted ten different charities involved and why he’d been trying to make the biggest impact possible. The man was atoning for his dad’s mistakes. My stomach was sick though, all the same. Not only for the publicity that Rhett would have to fight, being connected to his dad in this way, but because of how much it already affected his life. It must have felt terrible to have someone so close to him take advantage of his name like that.
“Stealing money from charities is awful, but I have to admit I thought it was something much worse.”
“Worse than taking millions of dollars from people and pretending you’re giving it to childhood cancer foundations and food banks?” Charlie asked. “And doing it all in the name of your famous son and implicating him in the process?”
“Okay, yeah. That’s pretty terrible.”
Charlie sighed. “Just don’t say anything. I know the investigation is super under wraps. Liam only knows because Rhett called him when he found out, and Liam became sort of a confidant. They’ve gotten closer over the last few months. Liam’s foundation, Teaching United, was one of the charities affected.”
I cringed. “Well, I won’t give away that I know anything.”
“I’m trusting you.”
There was a knock at the door, and I looked up quickly. I dropped my voice to whisper. “He’s here.”
“Who’s there?” Charlie whispered back.
“You don’t have to whisper, you’re the one on the phone. It’s Rhett.”
“Have fun. Guard your heart. Remember he is a famous celebrity, and nothing is ever as it seems with them.”
“Nice pep talk, Mom.”
“Just practicing on you.”
“I need to get the door. Go eat some spinach and take care of my unborn nephew.”
“Sure thing, coach.” Charlie made a kiss sound, then hung up the phone.
I drew in a deep breath, inhaling all the secrets I couldn’t reveal and locking them deep inside. I opened the door and deflated immediately like punctured latex.
Rhett in a tux was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen in my life. The crisp black was sleek, so perfectly fitted to him. He smiled, revealing a set of million-dollar teeth, and I sank a little, thinking of how his father had taken advantage of him. No one deserved that, least of all a man who already had to question which of the relationships in his life were authentic and which were a product of his fame or their paychecks.
