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“Good. Good,” he said. “I want everything with you, Josephine Reynolds.”
I narrowed my eyes. He was repeating those words to himself, like he did on set when he was remembering memorized lines. Was this whole thing just an act for him? What the hell?
But before I could ask what was going on, Martin slid off of the cushion and dropped to one knee before me.
My mouth popped open in shock. “Martin!”
He withdrew a red box with a Cartier diamond inside. My hand flew to my mouth. Oh my fucking God, he was proposing. This couldn’t be real. We had never discussed the future. I couldn’t believe he was doing this. Had this even been his idea?
“Josephine, would you make me the happiest man in the entire universe and marry me?”
I wanted to make a scene. I wanted to storm off, caught in this riptide of confusion. Truly, I had no idea how any of this was happening. What had made Martin decide to take this step? We’d been seeing each other for almost a year, but I’d never had the inclination that he wanted to settle down. That we were serious enough for this.
But I could do none of what I wanted. There were cameras everywhere. He’d picked this very public display to get the best angle on his proposal. It was why he wouldn’t listen to me asking to meet before we had this big, fancy dinner. He’d planned this.
“Josie,” he said softly when I stared down at him in shock.
And in those eyes, there was real emotion. Martin hadn’t been talking relentlessly tonight because he wanted to hear himself speak. He’d been nervous. He’d been preparing himself, and he wanted this. It might look like a stunt, but I could see the sincerity in his eyes.
“I’ve never met anyone else like you. I’ll never know anyone who is so much like me. I love you. Marry me.”
Tears came to my eyes. As they always did when I called them forth. I’d gotten the job for Academy with these tears, and, Jesus, they should give me an Academy Award for the ones that sprang up right now.
“Yes,” I gasped because there was nothing else I could say.
I threw my arms around him, and then his mouth was on mine, pressing a firm, hopeful kiss on my lips. He withdrew long enough to slide the enormous haloed ring on my finger. It glittered and shimmered as brightly as the sunset over the California coast.
I smiled for the cameras as if this were the best moment of my life. All the while, my stomach twisted in fear. All I knew was that I needed to talk to Maddox before this got back to him.
It was hours later before I was alone again in the safety of the bedroom at the Beverly Wilshire. Martin had booked us the penthouse to celebrate our engagement. But first, we’d met up with the cast of Academy at a private party he’d planned. Everyone had known but me.
I’d told Martin that I needed a moment to process and skipped upstairs to the hotel room. I had no idea how long I had before he would be up here, but I dialed Maddox before the door even closed behind me.
“Pick up. Pick up. Pick up,” I pleaded on the line.
“You’ve reached the voicemail of Maddox Nelson. Leave a message at the tone.”
I cursed violently and then dialed his number again. I had a dozen messages from everyone else in my life—Marley, Lila, my mother, and my dad—congratulating me and asking me so many excited questions about wedding plans. But I couldn’t reply to any of them. If they knew … that meant it had gotten back to Maddox. Shit.
I dialed again. I dialed until he picked up.
“Maddox,” I said.
The line was silent on the other end.
“So, you heard?”
Still nothing.
I sank into a chair and brought my hair to my mouth. Old habit that my hairdresser absolutely hated. But I was too anxious to do anything else.
“Please say something.”
“You lied to me,” he said hoarsely.
“I didn’t!”
“You’re engaged.”
I cringed at the words. “I am, but Maddox, I had no idea it was going to happen.”
“You could have said no.”
“I wish that were true.”
He snorted. I could practically see him sitting in the dark, shaking his head at the absurdity of me.
“I told you it was our last photographed event. I was going to break up with him when I got home and out of the spotlight.”
“You’ll never be out of the spotlight.”
He wasn’t wrong. I’d chosen this life, but I’d had every intention of ending it.
“It’s not what it looks like. I couldn’t end it when he was down on one knee in front of the entire paparazzi. Can you imagine what that would have done to me? Can you understand what it would have done to my career?”
