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Thankfully, her mom was distracted enough by the show to let this line of questioning go. “You took him to Bleaker’s Bend,” she noted, pointing at the screen.
“Just before it poured.” That was absolutely all the information her mother needed to hear about that particular day. “He helped me find sea glass.”
As if on cue, the camera lowered toward the sand, following Logan’s hand as he reached for a speck of green. At the same time, the tide washed in and soaked his Vans. Like some sort of found footage movie, you could hear the unfiltered rush of the sea and see splatters of ocean water on the lens, and, in the background, Logan half mumbling curses as he tried to shake the wetness off. A second later, Everly’s laughter camethrough clear as a bell. The scene cut out right after he retaliated with a gigantic splash of water that darkened the hem of her dress.
“You two are really cute together.” Becca squeezed Everly’s arm. “It comes across so different on camera than the stuff they added with James.”
Everly smiled. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this calm, this relaxed, this ready for whatever came next.
She was days from showing her boss that she could be a designer. With her tattoo, Everly had fulfilled one of her biggest dreams. And next year she would get to pursue another one when she started working with Goro. It was slow going, and painful at times, but she and her mother were working on things. She had a hot, sweet lumberjack of a boyfriend. And for the first time in years, she was comfortable in herself, inside and out.
Maybe Everly was too much. But for her, and the people who loved her, she wasjustenough.
Typically, she and Becca avoided promos for futureOTPSepisodes, as they were both very anti-spoiler, but no one had turned the TV off, and after the credits rolled, the familiar dressing room of Kisses and Hugs caught Everly’s eye.
The grin faded from her face.
Her back was to the camera. It captured her and Logan from a high angle as he kissed her, his hands visibly roaming her body both in the shot and the reflection from the room’s mirror.
There was no sound, but Everly knew exactly what was coming.
Though she dove for the remote, she wasn’t fast enough. Before she could hit the Power button, she was on the screen, pointing to the lace at her neck.
A second later, the fabric fell from her skin, revealing her bare back to the world.
CHAPTER 32
Voicemail.
Voicemail.
Voicemail.
Every time Everly dialed Logan’s number, the call went straight to voicemail. She didn’t leave a message. She couldn’t. Her thoughts were too wild to articulate.
Sady had filmed them. Everly didn’t know how. But it was the only explanation that made sense. Joe had gone to lunch with everyone. Logan had left his camera in the showroom.
He’dswornthey could trustOn the Plus Side’s showrunner, and look what she’d done. She was trying to turn them into porn stars. She’d betrayed them both.
And for what? Her precious ratings? A bigger paycheck?
When Everly dialed Logan’s number again, only to hear his voicemail message immediately kick in, the tears that had been clinging to her lashes finally broke free.
She barely felt comfortable kissing on camera. How could Sady ever thinkthiswas okay?
“You can sue for this, right?” Becca waved a hand at the TV even though it was off. “This has to break some kind of indecency laws.” She knelt on the couch, watching Everly pace behind it.
Everly’s mother shook her head. “They’ve humiliated you.” Her eyes were wet when she looked at her daughter. “I was afraid something like this would happen.”
Everly raked her hands through her hair. “I could lose my job. At the very least, they’ll never consider promoting me now. I can only imagine how this will look to them.”
How was it that a one-minute video clip was about to topple her whole world? Destroy everything she’d built?
Though she knew it was useless, she dialed Logan’s number again.
Voicemail.
Everly squeezed her eyes shut and tossed her phone on the couch. Panic pushed in, clouding her mind with doubt. Had Logan seen this promo? Would it be enough to get him to understand why Everly had never trusted Sady? Or what if he wasn’t picking up her callsbecauseof the promos?
