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“Thank you. Whatever you do, don’t let him find me.”
Audrey nodded. “We’ll do everything in our power to protect your anonymity, but you have to face the truth, Nicole, your face and name have been linked to a high-profile actor. You’re going to be on the mind of every housewife in America for some time.”
She grimaced. “Don’t remind me.”
Audrey checked her watch. “I need to go. I was at the office all night doing damage control. I’m exhausted.
Nicole felt awful. “I’m sorry to put you through this.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get a few hours rest and head back to work. Have a safe flight. Call me when you’ve gotten settled. Get some rest.”
Nicole stood with her, hugging her editor goodbye. “I will. I’ll start jotting down some ideas for a new story. We’ll go over them when you call.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Audrey waved farewell, disappearing down the terminal.
Nicole straightened her spine, focusing on her computer. She typed another five pages, looking up and off into space occasionally as a thought disappeared or when she had to rethink a way to write a specific sentence.
She glanced at her watch. It was nearly time for her flight. She finished her cold coffee, packing her laptop away and securing it over her shoulder. She passed through the security checkpoint, walking to the assigned gate. As she sat down, she glanced around. No one was watching her.
She noticed the TV was turned to a news program. The subject was Reece Collins and his sexcapades. She felt like slinking down in her seat to hide.
Why couldn’t the press be respectful, allowing people, famous or not, to live their lives? Why did every little thing a celebrity did have to be scrutinized under a microscope? She and Reece hadn’t done anything wrong. They were expressing, in the most intimate way possible, their feelings for each other. At least she had been.
She stared at the monitor, a look of determination crossing her face. She wasn’t going to feel ashamed for what happened anymore. She was going to own it. Make it hers. She straightened her shoulders. She wasn’t going to allow this to be the end for her. If the press found out where she lived and hounded her for an interview, she was going to stand in front of the cameras and proudly claim her sexuality. She had nothing to be ashamed of. She owed explanations to no one.
The attendant called the flight number. Nicole stood up and held her head high as she boarded the plane. She found her assigned seat, pulling her laptop out of its case and getting to work. She had a novel to wri
te. She wasn’t going to let anything get in her way of doing that.
Someone sat in the seat beside her, murmuring a hello. Nicole turned to smile at the person, introducing herself. She waited for an exclamation, but there wasn’t one. She turned back to her computer.
“My name is Amanda,” the girl in the seat beside her said. “I know who you are. You’re that girl in the pictures with Reece Collins.”
Nicole glanced over—her new outlook shaken a bit. “Yeah, that’s me. Crazy, huh?”
“You’re a lucky girl. Do you know he went on the news today to blast the press for invading his privacy?”
She shrugged. “Well, those Hollywood types can push their weight around, voicing their opinions.”
“He also said you were innocent of any wrong doing and should be left alone to live your life in peace. He said you’d suffered enough because of him.
Should have thought of that before you screwed me, Reece Collins. “That was nice of him, but it probably did little good.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right, but it was nice of him to try to keep your name out of it.” Nicole didn’t respond. The girl leaned close. “He also said he was truly sorry for hurting you.”
She grimaced in derision. “Yeah, well, words are cheap. Actions on the other hand are worth their weight in gold.”
Amanda’s voice was quiet, commiserative. “He looked really sad, as if his heart was breaking.”
Nicole’s fingers paused over the keys. “It wasn’t sincere. He’s an actor and a con artist. You can’t take anything they say seriously.”
“You looked like you believed him, at least for a while.”
She studied the girl. She couldn’t be more than eighteen or nineteen—her sister Lindsey’s age. “Yeah, I did believe him. For that small bit of time, it was amazing. I was happy, but the movie ended.”
“I think your heart is broken too.”
She shook her head, blinking back tears. “There’s no heart in me left to break.”
