“Told me what?” I asked, downing another gulp.
“It’s a brilliant idea, actually. Hear her out before you say no, okay?” Ryson’s tone had turned serious, which worried me. “Let’s go sit down first, though.”
I followed them through the kitchen, loving how the natural light filtered in from every angle. A glimpse outside at their backyard and view nearly took my breath away. It was spectacular, the kind of thing that dreams were made of, and I was convinced only existed in LA for the rich and famous.
When we reached the dining room, Quinn and Ryson sat down next to each other, so I picked a seat across from them. It felt like a business meeting, not that I’d ever really been in one before.
“First of all, I need to ask you a couple of questions,” Quinn said, her hands folded on top of the table.
I shrugged my shoulders in response and waited, so she went on.
“I heard how Paige talked about you while she was in Hanford. She likes you, really likes you.”
My insides warmed with that revelation, even if I had already hoped for it to be true. “Good, because I’m in love with her and I want to be with her. That’s why I’m here.”
Quinn’s eyebrows practically shot up to her hairline. “You’re in love with her? Well, that will help things. And we already know how you feel about Colin, which is another point for you.”
The mere mention of that douche’s name soured my mood. “I want to kick the living shit out of that guy. He’s lucky I only hit him once.”
“I call dibs on the next Colin beat down,” Ryson said seriously as he turned toward Quinn and jerked his head my way. “I like this guy.”
“Me too. Maybe,” Quinn said to him before glaring back at me. “You really hurt her. She’s my best friend and you hurt her. Worse than jerk-off Colin did, I think.”
“I know,” I admitted honestly because I knew it was the truth. Something inside me knew that things with Paige and me were vastly different than they had been with her and Colin.
“So, what do you plan on doing about it?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
She slammed her hands on top of the table, making me jump. “Did you really come out here without any sort of plan at all? Nothing? Just thought you’d show up and be all hot looking,” she waved a hand in my general direction, “and she’d take you back?”
“So, your girlfriend thinks I’m hot?” I directed the question toward a now-smirking Ryson.
“Apparently.”
“Will you two stop the bromance already,” Quinn said with a frown. “Your plan?”
“I didn’t come here with a plan at first. I just wanted to apologize and get her to give me another chance.”
“How’d that work out for you?” she asked, cocking her head to one side.
“Not great,” I admitted. “I know that I need a gesture, something that will prove to Paige that I can handle being here for her and that I won’t run. I know what she’s afraid of, and I deserve it. But I need to prove her wrong. I need to show her that this lifestyle doesn’t scare me, and that I’d go through all of it to be with her.”
“So you do have a plan, you just don’t know how to execute it. Fortunately for you, I do.” She rubbed her hands together as Ryson raised his eyebrows and took another sip of beer.
Quinn outlined the details of her idea, excitedly going through each point one by one.
When she finished, I looked over at Ryson, feeling a brotherly bond with him already. “You think this is a good idea?”
“I do, actually. It’s sort of brilliant, if you’re up for it.”
“I think I could pull it off.” Taking another swig of beer, I added, “I hope.”
“You can do it,” he reassured me as I internally freaked out. This was something completely out of my comfort zone, but I was willing to do it.
“And you think it will work?”
“Hell yes, it’ll work. Paige is a romantic at heart, and she’d never expect this from you. She knows that this will be a totally uncharacteristic thing for you to do, so she’ll fucking melt over it,” he added.
I nodded in agreement, praying this would be enough, then directed my gaze toward Quinn. “Why are you helping me?”
Her expression finally softened. “Because I love my best friend, and I know she wants to be with you, even if she doesn’t. She’s going through a lot of stuff right now, and she’s trying so hard to be strong in every aspect. I’m really proud of her, but this thing with you…I think she would regret it eventually if she let you walk away.”
I met her eyes and sighed. “I know that feeling all too well.”
Forgiveness
Paige
After seeing Tatum, I’d driven straight to my parents’ house. I was dying to tell my mom how he’d shown up unannounced, then ask for her advice.
My heart hurt and my head was confused. I didn’t know what the right thing to do was when it came to Tatum. I wanted to take him back into my life the second I saw him, but I knew I needed to stand up for myself when it came to him. It was hard as hell, but I had managed to survive it. Barely.
“I wish you hadn’t sent him away,” Mom said, practically pouting in her disappointment.
“Mom!”
She shrugged. “I’m just saying that it would have been nice to meet him.”
“You’re supposed to be on my side,” I complained as she wrapped her arms around me.
“Oh, honey, I am on your side. You can’t blame me for wanting to meet him.”
I let out a dramatic sigh and rolled my eyes. “Fine. I don’t blame you for wanting to meet Tatum, but I want you to tell me that I did the right thing.”
My phone started to ring with Quinn’s ringtone and I reached for it, my mom currently saved by my best friend.
“Hello?”
“Turn on Channel Seven right now.”
“What?” Nerves coursed through my body as what I assumed was more bad news about me being spread. “I can’t take any more bad press, Quinn.”
“Paige Lagertha Lockwood, turn on Channel Seven this instant before I hunt you down and hurt you!” she screamed into the phone before hanging up on me.
“Apparently we need to turn on Channel Seven,” I told Mom before looking around the living room for the remote. Pressing the power button, I switched the cable box to the right channel and felt the color drain my face immediately.
“Oh good Lord, is that him?” my mom asked as I all but fell back onto the couch.
Tatum looked stupid hot in his charcoal-gray suit as he sat across from Wendy Wong, a well-known entertainment reporter with golden skin and long dark hair.
“What is he doing?” I breathed out to no one in particular, knowing how uncomfortable he had to be.
I clicked the volume button up on the remote until I could hear him loud and clear, the drawl in his voice pinching my heart. I recognized the candles adorning the wall behind him, along with the other artwork that barely showed in the television frame. He was at Quinn’s house. Reaching for one of the couch pillows, I pulled it to my stomach and squeezed it against me.
Wendy: Would you care to clear up the rumors about you and Paige cheating long before Colin ever did?
Tatum: I didn’t even meet Paige until after she and Colin had broken up. He cheated on her, and not the other way around. Paige isn’t the type of person to do that, and I think you all know that. Colin, on the other hand, every time I see him, he gives me a new reason to dislike him.
Wendy: Is that why you hit him?
What? Tatum hit Colin? When had they even seen each other?
My mom turned to look at me, her mind clearly filled with the same questions as mine.
Tatum: I hit him because he said something horrible about Paige. He said things a guy should never say about a girl.
Wendy: So you admit to assaulting him, which is what Colin is claiming.
Tatum: No, I admit to punching him. Once. In the jaw.