Hollywood & Vine (56 page)

“I call bullshit. She would’ve kicked your ass, or at least cussed you out loud enough to wake me.” Josie’s expression morphed. Her laughter faded and her lips twisted into silent amusement. “Wait a second. Were you…were you nice to her?”

Anders rolled his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. You know better. I think she was embarrassed by her reaction to me opening the door shirtless. It was easy to make her leave. I mean, how awkward would it have been if you’d come out here and caught her gawking at me?”

Josie leaned against the counter and accepted the cup of coffee from Anders, all the while shaking her head. “How in the world did I convince myself I missed you?”

Anders’ face twisted with disgust when the taste of bitter coffee hit his tongue. “Probably because you’ve poisoned your brain with this shitty coffee. Jesus, Ivy. What the fuck is this?”

“It’s regular coffee! What did you do, pour half the bag in there?”

“Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? Fuck, I don’t know. I have that single serving thing at my house. If it’s any more complicated than that, I go out for it.”

Josie pulled the cup from his hand and set it on the counter next to hers. “We’re hopeless. You know that, right?”

Stepping forward, Anders clutched her waist and tugged her forward. “Yeah, basically.”

Slipping her hands around his waist, she scratched her nails over his back. “Why don’t I run out and grab us breakfast. When I get back you can tell me what you really said to Madison.”

“I can come with you.”

Josie stiffened. “Do you think that’s such a good idea? Someone could see you.”

The tightness in Anders’ throat was unexpected as was the feeling of weightlessness when his stomach dropped. This must have been what it had felt like to be in Josie’s place when they were dating, and it sucked. He wanted to go with her. He wanted to do something normal like grab breakfast.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, bending his knees until his lips brushed against her temple.

“For what?”

“For being such an asshole. For hiding you before.”

“You know this isn’t like that, right? I’m not doing this as some kind of punishment. I know there are no guarantees with anything, but I don’t think either of us is ready to deal with going public. The speculation will be bad enough. I just need time with you before everyone tries to come between us.”

“Ivy, that’s not going to happen. I’m not going to let anyone fuck with us. Not again.”

“Can we talk about this later? Let me get us food. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Okay?”

Anders nodded and released his hold. “Okay.”

After a few minutes of going back and forth, they decided Josie would walk the two blocks to Anders’ rental car in case the tree was still blocking the road and use it to go pick up breakfast. Popping up on her toes, Josie gave Anders a quick kiss and smacked his ass before spinning around and darting for the door. Anders chuckled when the door slammed shut moments later, the sound of Josie’s giggles trailing behind her.

He scratched at the scruff on his jaw and looked around the room. Everything looked the same, but it felt different. He wasn’t in any hurry to leave. He wasn’t worried about motives or plagued by suspicions. The doubt was still there, though. A lingering feeling of distrust that had followed him for years, waiting for everything to come crashing down.

It wasn’t that he doubted Josie. It had nothing to do with her. She might have changed him in a lot of ways, but like the bubble she wanted to keep them in, his walls had only fallen for her. He didn’t trust other people any more today than he had yesterday. He wasn’t sure if that would ever change.

After pouring out the coffee and washing the cups, Anders decided to jump in the shower. He started down the hall, but stopped when there was a knock at the door. With a grin on his face, he jogged to the front door and pulled it open. “Did you change your mind about me coming with you?” Anders’ hand tightened around the edge of the door when his gaze locked with piercing brown eyes.

“What the fuck?”

Anders cleared his throat and lifted his chin with a small nod. “Hey. It’s Holden, right?”

Holden’s eyes swept over the room before returning to a still shirtless Anders. Dragging a hand through his hair, Holden let out a humorless chuckle. “She’s lost her damn mind,” he muttered.

Anders’ face twisted with annoyance. He’d already had a run-in with Madison. The last thing he wanted to do was go a couple of rounds with Josie’s brother. “Josie’s not here. I can tell her you stopped by…” Anders let his voice trail off, but his implication was clear.

Holden’s stony glare slipped, his face morphing into confused concern. “What do you mean she isn’t here? Her car is here. Where is she?”

The sudden non-confrontational tone of Holden’s voice caused Anders’ shoulders to drop. He was much more willing to answer Holden’s questions if he wasn’t feeling interrogated. “She went to grab breakfast. She took my rental car.”

Holden hesitated before nodding and stepping past Anders into the living room. Anders’ jaw ticked as he shut the door with a little more force than necessary. He knew what was coming.

“Well.” Anders shrugged and pushed his hands in his short’s pockets. “Let’s hear it.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m here because of Josie.”

“But why?” Holden asked, his body tense.

“That’s between Josie and me.”

Holden scoffed. “Like Aubrey was between you and Josie?”

It was the wrong thing to say. The betrayal was too fresh, the repercussions too painful. It didn’t matter that Holden had every right to be concerned for his sister’s well-being. Anders never was one to use rational thought when his back was against the wall.

“You have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about. I told myself I wouldn’t tell you to go fuck yourself, but I’m beginning to reconsider.”

“Good. If you prepared for an argument, then you acknowledge I might take issue with you being in my sister’s life. You know, since it worked out so well the first time.”

“That was different,” Anders said through gritted teeth.

Holden shook his head and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Look, man. I know what you did yesterday. It’s everywhere. But it doesn’t change the fact that you fucked with Josie’s head. I don’t think you’re good for her. Lucky for you, when it comes to her personal life, my opinion means shit to Josie.”

“I’m sure you have a list of people you think would be better suited for her. People like Levi.”

Holden shrugged. “I know you two have a past, but he’s never hurt Josie.”

Anders’ eyes glimmered with anger, a condescending smirk twisting his lips. “How blissful your ignorance must be.” A part of him wanted to tell Holden how his good friend Levi had hurt Josie, but that would prolong their conversation and Anders had no interest in that scenario.

“What?”

Before Anders could answer, the front door opened behind him. “You’re not going to believe what I just saw,” Josie began, her words trailing off when her eyes landed on her brother. “Holden? What are you doing here?”

Holden blew out a breath and crossed the room until he stood in front of her. “I was looking for Maddie. She said she was going for a run this morning, which is code for ‘I’m going to Josie’s, but I don’t want you to know.’”

A sly grin turned up the corners of Josie’s mouth. “You figured that out, huh?”

“You girls aren’t as stealthy as you like to think.” Holden turned his gaze to Anders, his brows pulling together in annoyance. “Well, at least about most things.”

“Holden
―
”

“Don’t,” he interrupted. “We can talk later. I just want you to be careful, okay?”

“Okay,” Josie whispered.

Holden moved into the doorway as Josie stepped beside Anders, their arms wrapping around each other and pulling them together like magnets. The message was clear. They were together. Holden looked between the two of them, his shoulders slumping in defeat when he saw the same defensive determination in their eyes.

Without a word he stepped over the threshold onto the front porch, stopping when the sound of Anders’ voice broke the silence.

“I hope the next time we see each other you’ll be better informed.”

“With your track record I doubt there will be a next time. I’ll call you later, Josie.”

Josie’s eyes stung with unshed tears as Holden closed the door and disappeared down the stairs. “What happened?”

“Fuck,” Anders groaned, dragging a hand through his hair. “Can we talk about it while we eat? I’m fucking starving and I need coffee.”

Nodding, Josie untangled herself from Anders and walked into the kitchen. She moved around the room methodically, pulling out plates and silverware and setting them on the table, her thoughts consumed with unease. Once seated, Josie wasted no time with her interrogation.

Anders recounted his conversations with Madison and Holden. He surprised them both with his honesty. He didn’t paint himself as the good guy or hide his annoyance with either confrontation. He was done lying.

“For what it’s worth,” Josie said, her hands tightening around her cup. “I appreciate you not telling Holden to go fuck himself.”

Anders dropped his chin to his chest and chuckled. “It wasn’t easy.”

“Nothing ever is with you.”

Anders grimaced. “I know. I’m trying. I promise. But as a general rule, I hate people. Apart from you, of course.”

“Of course.” Josie grinned. While she hated Holden finding out about Anders like he had, she couldn’t deny her relief in knowing she wouldn’t have to tell him.

Anders shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. He didn’t know what thoughts were running through Josie’s head and it made him antsy. As he played the events from earlier over in his mind, he remembered Josie’s words when she walked through the door.

“What were you going to tell me earlier? Before you realized Holden was here.”

Josie’s eyes flashed with a mix of excitement and fear. Reaching across the table, she grabbed Anders’ hand and pulled him into the living room. “Did you turn on the television or look up anything on your phone while I was gone?”

Settling on the couch beside her, Anders shook his head. “No. Holden showed up not long after you left. How did you get back here so fast?”

“The place where I got our breakfast is right outside my neighborhood. I usually walk there, but I was in a bit of a hurry this morning.” She winked.

Anders smirked and rubbed his hand over her thigh. “Oh? Did you have someone you couldn’t wait to get back to?”

“Hell, no. I was freaking starving.” She laughed.

“That’s what happens when you’re thoroughly fucked,” Anders retorted, ignoring her attempt to tease him.

“Is that why you ate all of your breakfast and half of mine as well? I didn’t mean to wear you out. I’ll go easier on you next time, champ.”

“You’re not ever going to let me have the last word are you?”

“Not in a million years.”

“I didn’t think so.” He chuckled. “Well, if you weren’t rushing back here for round two, what happened while you were out?”

Josie’s smile never faltered, but her eyes gave her away. Anders could tell she felt conflicted by whatever she had to tell him and that in turn made him nervous.

“Well, the good news is your car was fine, and I didn’t run into any paps.”

“And the bad news?”

“I doubt I’ll be so lucky next time.”

“Care to explain?” The forced restraint in Anders’ voice was evident.

“Here.” Josie grabbed her bag and pulled out a magazine. “See for yourself.”

Taking the magazine, Anders scanned the cover. A picture of him and Aubrey covered the front. “It would be my fucking luck that I expose Aubrey the day before
Variety
magazine goes to print. I hope those assholes were up all night doing the reprints.” With his expression twisted with disgust, he thumbed through the pages and settled back on the couch.

“Hollywood lies exposed,” Anders said, his tone mocking. “In a Lifetime movie-esque turn of events during a fan panel yesterday, Anders Ellis exposed one of the many ugly truths about the deception among celebrities. In a move to promote their upcoming movie,
The Double Cross
, and fatten their already padded pockets, Anders Ellis and costar Aubrey Nash plotted to fool us all.

“Pretending their onscreen romance had become their off-screen romance as well, Anders’ and Aubrey’s names were on the lips of every gossip columnist in the world. The news that once-unattainable playboy Anders Ellis was off the market had the media buzzing. Fans of their upcoming flick spent countless hours surfing the Internet searching for pictures of the duo.

“The attention garnered from their faux relationship guaranteed their film would be a success. But in a tangled web of lies, it turned out Anders was indeed off the market, just not because of Aubrey. Unhappy about the turn of events, Aubrey acted as any woman scorned. She exposed Anders’ secret lover and played the victim. At least that’s what they wanted us to believe. Did Anders really have a secret girlfriend? Was she in on the lie? Or was everything a hoax that went too far?

“Lies run deep through the veins of Hollywood. The public only sees what celebrities allow. One thing is certain, however. Anders outing Aubrey as a double-crossing costar will undoubtedly mark the end of her career.”

With a groan, Anders tossed the magazine on the coffee table and dropped his head back. “What a fucking mess.”

“It could be worse. They hardly mentioned me.”

Anders lifted his head and locked eyes with Josie. “In this magazine, but not the others. They’ll each take an angle and sell their version as exclusive insider information. It’s how they stay in business. Everything’s connected. We’ll all have our turn in the hot seat.”

The memory of Josie’s run-in with the paparazzi caused Anders to stiffen. “They’re going to start following you again, asking questions, watching where you go and who you’re with.”

Josie bit the inside of her cheek and curled her fingers under the hem of her shorts. She wanted to tell him she could handle it, but the truth was the thought terrified her. Anders noticed. Wrapping his arms around her middle, he pulled her onto his lap.