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“Yeah.” He said softly. “I’m still puzzled by some of it. Like why would she make up stuff about me when she knew things that were actually true and far more damaging? She could’ve had the story of the year, yet she made up that stuff with Ryder and Talia. Something about that seems off to me.”
I swallowed the rest of my whisky in one gulp. “Grey, is it possible she was telling you the truth? That someone else published the article with her name on it?”
“If they had access to Remi’s files, maybe. It seems preposterous, but why would she bother to deny that she wrote it after the fact?” He stared into space for a few moments. Finally, he released a frustrated sigh and said, “Frankly, I’m still struggling with it. I’m around actors all day — if she was lying about loving me, she’s one of the greatest actresses of all time.”
My mind was racing with my own thoughts about Remi, but what I asked Greyson next surprised me. “What secret did Remi know about you that she didn’t use?”
I held my breath as I waited for his reply. His eyes narrowed with suspicion as he tapped his fingers on his glass and then ran a hand through his hair. After a long silence, he sighed and shifted in his seat, his eyes meeting mine with a mix of fear and uncertainty. “Okay,” he said quietly. “I’ll tell you.”
Exhaling the breath I’d been holding, I gripped the arms of the chair, waiting for his confession.
“Jonas Steel.” His posture was tense, as if bracing himself, waiting for my response. “He was my longtime lover and Remi knew that.”
Holy fuck! It was a bombshell. Jonas Steel was a major movie actor. A-list. Greyson and Jonas. My mind spun with the implications. “So, the article was right? You’re gay?”
Greyson chuckled bitterly. “I consider myself bisexual. You didn’t know? Apparently, it was Hollywood’s worst kept secret.”
My head sunk into my hands as I rubbed my temples. “No ... Maybe. I don’t know.”
Greyson had had relationships with men. Had I sensed that? Was that why I was always so nervous around him? Snippets of memory — of me being abused — flashed through my mind. I grimaced. Fuck, I was spiraling into a bad place.
His voice was strained. “You’re disgusted.”
I looked up and saw the pain in his eyes. “No. I just didn’t know.”
The color drained from his face.“You’re worried that we slept with Remi together and now you think that makes you gay.”
“No,” I denied. “Stop putting words in my mouth.”
He stood up, his shoulders slumped, and his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. Without looking at me, he spoke in a flat, emotionless voice. “You should just leave. It’s safer for you that way.”
I didn’t feel like I’d gotten what I came for, and yet I wasn’t quite sure what it was I was chasing. Greyson was right; it was safer for me to walk away right now. But, I was sick of running from everything. Maggie had shown me I was strong enough to face reality.
“Do you want me to go?” I asked.
He fixed his curious gaze on me for a few moments before replying in a measured voice. “The press would have a field day if they found out you were here.”
My jaw clenched. “I don’t care.”
Why did I want him to tell me to stay so badly? I was still so fucking confused.
He turned away from me to face the fire. “They would speculate that we were together. It would ruin your reputation.”
I stood up and threw up my hands in disgust. “Who the fuck cares? Nobody cares about that kind of shit anymore. Your fans don’t. Mine don’t. They can print whatever the fuck they want. I don’t care. The media is all smoke and mirrors nowadays. Fake bullshit. Everyone knows that.”
He flinched as if I’d struck him, eyes closing in pain. “I might as well tell you everything.”
My stomach churned with anticipation as I waited for him to break the silence. Every muscle in my body tensed up as if warning me of what was about to come.
“You were the person Remi and I broke up about. Remi didn’t know it was you until I told her in Boston, but you were the other person I had feelings for.”
“What?” I inhaled sharply, my heart pounding like a wild drum in my chest as I stared at him with incredulity. Shock and confusion raced through me, leaving me frozen in place and unable to move. Questions that had been lurking on the edges of my consciousness for weeks now bubbled up to the surface, but I couldn’t form even one into words.
Greyson’s face twisted in agony, his eyes full of emotion. “It’s always been you. I felt it from the moment we met. Even while you couldn’t stand to be in my presence, I’ve always felt ... something, a deep connection to you.”
I stood there, staring at Greyson as he spoke those words. His eyes bore into mine with a fierce intensity that left me feeling exposed and vulnerable. Every fiber of my being wanted to deny what he was saying, to push him away and run as far from him as I could. But there was a part of me that couldn’t deny the truth in his words, a part of me that had always been drawn to him despite my best efforts to resist.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
