He picked her up, laughing at her surprised yelp. “Definitely.”
* * *
Paige awoke to a loud knock at the door. She glanced over at Andrew, who was still sleeping. Grumbling a curse, she slid out of the bed and put on a robe. She jogged down the stairs and paused. She recognized the person on the other side of the door. And she wasn’t ready.
Clearing her throat, she walked to the door and opened it. “Skye, what are you doing here?”
“My job.” Skye brushed past her, walking into the house.
“Come in,” Paige muttered sarcastically, slamming the door.
Skye breezed through the house like she owned it. “We need to talk.”
“How did you know I was here?” Paige glanced up the stairs, hoping Andrew didn’t come down naked and ready for another round. “Did my mother tell you?”
“Yes.” Skye folded her arms across her chest. “Because she knows you need me.”
“I already know about the article. You didn’t have to come here. I was going to call you today.”
“Well, it’s good that I’m here then.” Skye pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing her legs. “What were you going to call me about?”
Paige leaned against the counter. “You already know the answer to that.”
“But I wantyouto tell me why you completely ignored my advice to keep things quiet between you and Andrew.”
I need coffee. Sighing heavily, Paige went to the sink and filled the Keurig up with water and popped a K-Cup inside. She pulled a mug out of the cabinet, placed it on the drip tray, and pushed the button.
Turning to face Skye again, Paige rested her elbows on the island countertop. “I thought it would be okay to go to Detroit with him to see his mother.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because! We’re friends.”
Skye arched a brow. “Are you really going to stand there and tell me you’re just friends with Andrew?”
“No. You already know we’re notjustfriends. But wearefriends, nonetheless. There’s nothing wrong with going to see myfriend’smother after she had surgery.”
“Except that’s not exactly what happened.”
“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Paige argued. “We were walking down the street—talking. For goodness’ sake, he was giving me a tour of his old neighborhood. We weren’t ‘getting it on’ in the middle of the street. We barely touched each other.”
“It doesn’t matter, Paige. You know this. It’s all about perception.”
“There’s nothing to perceive. Even if we were hugged up, kissing, fondling, or whatever, we’re both single. Am I supposed to never date anyone?”
Paige knew the photo leak wasn’t a good thing, but it wasn’t a bad thing either. The thing that had bothered her the most about the article is that Julius had weighed in on it, insinuating that she’d been having an affair with Drew for years.
Skye stood and approached her. She pulled out her phone, tapped the screen a few times, and showed it to her.
Paige’s mouth fell open. “Where did you get this?” She eyed the picture of Julius’s latest cover article—all abouthisheartbreak, abouthisfailed marriage.
“A friend of mine gave me a heads-up. The article is scheduled to publish next week. There’s something else.” Skye showed her another screenshot—it was a motion to reopen the divorce. Julius had accused Paige of hiding assets and wanted alimony. “He filed it yesterday after the pictures leaked. A blogger got ahold of this and did a video about it.”
Paige didn’t have it in her to react. Court motions were public record. There was nothing she could do about it being posted. Until she talked to Demi, who was out of the country on vacation, she couldn’t worry about it. She had to prioritize her issues, and her main concern right now was dealing with Andrew.
The Keurig beeped, and Paige pulled her mug off the tray. She poured a small shot of hazelnut creamer into the mug and dumped a tablespoon of sugar inside.
“Coffee?” Paige asked.
