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Lydia DeLancey turned in her seat, staring at her oldest daughter. “I told her to go pound sand. What my daughter does or doesn’t do is no concern of hers.”
“You’re not mad at me?” Her mother was a stickler for propriety.
Lydia’s eyes narrowed. “Of course I am, but I’m not going to allow someone to tell me I’m a bad mother or you’re a bad girl. You did something incredibly stupid and got caught. There’s going to be hell to pay, but we’ll all get through this.”
Thad hugged her close. “I’ve had to defend your honor a few times at the store, but who cares what a stupid bunch of rednecks believe.”
Lindsey leaned over with an impish smile on her face. “On the good side, I’ve never been so popular. You need to be scandalous more often.” She giggled but stopped when her mother shot her an angry stare.
r /> Nicole’s eyes burned as she looked at the back of her father’s head. “What about you, Daddy?”
Nicholas glanced at her in the rearview mirror, shaking his head. “It rocked me to the bottom of my bones to see those pictures, Nicole. I know you’re a grown woman and can take care of yourself, but I still see you as my little girl playing with her dollies on the front porch. I wanted to cover you from prying eyes and smack that man’s hands away.” He flipped on his blinker, moving to the left lane, pressing on the accelerator, and trying to put some distance between them and the reporters.
He sighed. “But on a bright note, it looks like you won’t be cold in the sack.”
Nicole’s mouth fell open in shock while her sister and brother laughed aloud. Her mother smacked her father in the arm.
“Nicholas, that was uncalled for.”
He chuckled. “I’m just sayin’.”
Nicole bit her lip, leaning her head back against the seat. “I can’t believe you just said that.” Her father was the most uptight person she knew, but sometimes he’d say or do something completely out of character, blowing her away.
He kept his eyes forward. “I figure he must have rocked your world. The only other time I’ve seen that look of ecstasy on your face is when you’re eating your Peanut Butter Cup Perfection sundae from Coldstone.”
Lydia moaned. “Nicholas, please. This is a completely inappropriate conversation to be having in the car.”
He glanced over at the passenger seat. “When should we have it, Lydia? Should I bring it up in the middle of church services Sunday morning?”
“I choose not having it at all.” She glared back at Nicole. “Why were you having sex in public?”
“We weren’t in public, Mama.”
Her mother’s head tilted, staring pointedly from beneath her brows. “That beach was public.”
Nicole exhaled loudly. “Okay, you have me there, but we thought we were alone. We had no idea someone was on the cliffs watching us. Reece thought he was safe from the paparazzi on his father’s property.”
“What do you mean? The paparazzi follow him everywhere.”
Nicole pressed her lips together; the wound was still so fresh. “He thought he took enough precautions to hide us from them.”
“Is Reece Collins his real name?” her father asked.
“Reece Collins is an alias. No one in the industry knows what his real name is or where he hails from. He wanted to protect his family’s anonymity.” She wished he had protected hers.
Thad snorted. “Well, that’s out the window now.”
“Do you know his real name, his family name?” Lindsey asked, picking up Nicole’s phone from the seat.
“Yes, but I’m not going to say anything. You’re right, Thad. His secret is probably out, but I’m not going to compound the problem for him. I’ve got my own fish to fry.”
Lindsey had turned to the side, skimming through the photos on the camera. When she came to the pic of her sister and Reece Collins on the beach, she gasped.
Nicole glanced over to see what she was doing. “Give me that,” she said, snatching her phone from her sister and shutting it down.
“Wow, Coley,” she whispered in awe, “that picture just about says it all.”
Nicole closed her eyes, choosing to remain silent for the rest of the drive home. She didn’t want to think about that moment in the sand when he snapped the picture. She’d thought so many wonderful things and felt so much adoration for him, it was clear in her eyes. She couldn’t think of that time when the world was perfect, or she’d lose her mind.
