“That’s nice,” Paige said. “I’m sure Connie will like that.”
Setting the phone down, Tina turned her attention back to Paige. “Done. So, what are you going to do about Andrew?”
Shrugging, Paige said, “I don’t know. What should I do?”
“Babe, Andrew’s a good guy. He cares so much about you. But are you sure you’re ready to date someone?”
“I haven’t really thought about dating,” she admitted.
“Oh, so it’s a sex thing,” Tina chirped. “In that case, I say go for it.”
Paige’s mouth fell open. “Mom, really?”
“What?” Tina batted her eyelashes. “No sense in being celibate forever.”
“But don’t you think we should talk about this before we take another step?”
Things had been hot and heavy between them the last time she’d seen Andrew. But she hoped they could come together and actually have a conversation about everything. She would hate to start something they couldn’t finish and then negatively impact their working relationship. His friendship was important to her, yes, but so was his role as her agent.
“I mean, sex always complicates things,” Paige continued. “What if we have sex and it’s bad. How am I supposed to look at him?” Although, she doubted it would be terrible after the way he’d kissed her. Shit, she’d dreamed about his talented mouth.
“You’ll never know until you try him.” Tina sipped her wine. “But you two have chemistry in spades. I doubt you’ll have that problem.”
“You think we have chemistry?”
“Baby, please. Of course you do. You’ve been working together for years. That counts for something. Plus, I’ve seen the way he looks at you. You forget, he came to my house asking me to help him find you. And I’ve noticed the way you look at him.”
“What about Julius?”
“What about that asshole?” Tina murmured, with a hard roll of her eyes. “He doesn’t deserve any more of your time and energy. Leave him where he is—with that nasty-ass Catherine Davis.”
Paige laughed. “Mom, you’re too much.”
“That’s what they tell me. Listen, if you like Andrew—and you’re ready to date again—go for it. If you just want to have sex, go for that, too. As long as you have a conversation about expectations first. That’s the most important thing.”
Tina stood and walked over to the refrigerator. “I’m hungry. Let’s eat something before I leave.”
Paige and her mother spent the afternoon together. They made lunch, chatted more about Andrew, and Tina’s next show. Tina had encouraged Paige to follow her heart, but don’t ignore her mind. Even though her mother had dropped in unannounced, Paige was happy she’d come. In her own way, Tina had provided much needed clarity. Paige couldn’t wait to see Andrew again so they could talk—or do more than talk.
Chapter Ten
PAIGE MILLS’S SECRET LIFE—
DRINKING, PARTYING, AND MEN.
WHAT THE STAR DOESN’T WANT YOU TO KNOW.
Paige muttered a curse as she read the headline a second time. It was the second trash story about her she’d come across today. The first one was all about her plastic surgery nightmare. The world had seemingly jumped on the “Where is Paige?” bandwagon. People were speculating on her whereabouts, posting about potential baes and hideaways.
Reading bogus headlines had been a part of her life forever it seemed, partly because of her mother. There was always a “friend” or “close acquaintance” who leaked information on the condition of anonymity. The rise of social media had made it exponentially worse, because vloggers and bloggers made a lot of money to go on YouTube and pretend they had “reliable” sources. She’d watched one lady lie to her viewers about knowing the secretary of the doctor who’d performed the botched surgery on Paige’s ass. That same vlogger swore Paige was hiding out because she had to have her butt implants removed.
Normally, it wouldn’t bother Paige. It was the nature of the job. But this headline, the secret life one, hit differently. Because it felt like a personal attack. It felt like something Julius would do.
Paige wasn’t an alcoholic and she rarely partied. She could count on one hand the amount of random flings she’d had in her thirty-six years. She’d tried to keep her romantic relationships private because she’d seen how the media could destroy them. Watching her mother deal with the reality of marriage in the public eye had shied Paige away from dating publicly—until Julius.Worse.Mistake.Ever.
Grabbing her phone, Paige placed a long overdue call. When Skye answered, Paige said, “Hey.”
“Oh my God, it’s about time you called me,” Skye said. “Where are you?”
