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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Ashlyn
The escalation of our real-life relationship coupled with the threat of being publicly outed hanging over our head meant I decided it was time to go public. First, I posted a few of our photos on my personal page and, after taking a long breath, quickly tagged Liam in all of them.
I even put a heart next to his username. Gag me. But also, aww. We did look ridiculously cute in our pictures together. Liam was all smirking good looks, and I looked completely the part, my adoration shining over him like a glow.
It took all of twenty seconds to see the comments come rolling in.
“Who is this chick?”
“Liam Macklen has a girlfriend. Ladies of San Fran, someone spill the tea.”
“Photoshopped for sure.”
“Attention whore.”
“Too bad he was with me Friday night…”
I rolled my eyes at most of them, but the last one made me laugh the most. Only because I actually did know where he was that night. My skin flushed at the white-hot memory. Determined to not dwell on our announcement, I plugged my phone in across the apartment and turned on the subdued voices of court television.
Over the next few hours, my follower counts rose steadily as people tried to connect with Liam and me in some way. The comment, “I’m happy for you, Liam” suddenly took control over the top rating, garnering hundreds of additional likes before I had a chance to respond. KatSwanny11. The name sounded familiar for some reason. I swiped to the profile.
Katherine Swanson, of course. I had dug up a few details about her after Sam mentioned her yesterday. Sam had been correct. Liam and Katherine had been an item for years, their combined beauty creating a literal tear in time and space whenever they were together. She, like Liam, was the daughter of a Hollywood starlet. They had grown up together, and when they had broken up in their early twenties, they’d set half the local tabloids on fire with the will they, won’t they get back together.
I hated that I felt a surge of jealousy as I scrolled through Katherine’s photos. This woman had been Liam’s last real relationship. I groaned, tempted to hurl my phone back across the room. Jealousy was not a cute look on me. Forcing myself off her social media, I tumbled back into the black hole that was my email.
As expected, my inbox was exploding. A quick scroll told me that the texts were coming in waves, but I held steady, ignoring most. We were sticking to the plan. It was only a matter of days before we would be out in the limelight again, and I wanted to have a good grip on things before we stepped that far. I blew out a sharp breath. Liam had been right about one thing. Dating him was no easy feat.
My phone vibrated in my hand. I grinned at the familiar sender.
Liam: I saw your posts. You doing okay?
I bit my lip. I’d warned him that this was coming his way, but it would actually affect me far more than him. At least at this stage.
Ashlyn: Yeah I’m good.
Liam: No death threats yet?
Ashlyn: Not yet. I’ll let you know.
Liam: Send them straight to Ian. His team is already combing through the especially crazy ones.
Ashlyn: Oh, great. Thank you?
Liam: I’m not messing around with this, Ashlyn. I don’t want you stressing.
I blushed, looking around my little apartment again, as if expecting something to pop out and point out how badly I was crushing on my cl…boyfriend. But obviously, I was still alone.
Liam: Why don’t I come over there? We can grab some food.
Ashlyn: Thanks, but I need to focus on this for now. And we both know what’ll happen if you come over here.
Liam: What are you saying?
Ashlyn: I don’t trust myself around you.
Liam: Fine. But call me if you need anything. I mean it.
