Abbi cracked a watery smile. “That would be so great. I haven’t lived here long, and now . . . ” she bit her bottom lip, “I’m in a whole new world.”
Alex gave her hand a squeeze. “I know. Promise me you won’t believe what people say online. They will make up the ugliest stories to try and break you apart.”
“Why?” Abbi asked. The sincerity in her voice shocked me. It was as if she really cared what they said about us.
“That, I can’t answer. When I first started seeing Luke, I didn’t really understand why he wanted to keep us a secret, but once our relationship was out to the public, I knew why. He wanted us to have a foundation before everyone tried to tear us apart.” She looked down at Mason, who was finishing up his milk. “There was this one person who stalked Luke. She took pictures in the background, saying they were together, and he was cheating on her with me.”
“Wait. What? Did you ever believe her?”
“Not once. Seriously, though, the paparazzi will take a picture of you in the worst situations, and the gossip magazines will make up any story to go along. I know there are a lot of people in Hollywood who let fame get to them and do stupid things.” Her eyes flitted to me. “And while Jenner has made some mistakes, know he would never cheat on you.”
Alex’s faith in me was unwavering, and it meant the world to me. Clearing my throat, I stood and made my way around the table to her before I pulled her into a crushing hug and whispered into her hair. “Thank you for believing in me.”
Leaning back, she cupped my cheek. “I’ll always believe in you. You were there for me when Matthew fucked me over. Hell, you drove me all the way back to Missouri so I could get back to Mason. You’ve watched out for me and been a great friend. Let me do the same for you.”
Drawing her back to me, I kissed her on the forehead. “You’re the best of friends. What do you say we get that little monster in the pool so we can talk?”
Nodding, she grabbed some sunscreen out of the huge bag she brought with her and waved it in the air. Mason jumped up and shed his shirt in one second, ready to hit the water. That boy loved to swim. It was a good thing Luke and Alex had a pool at both their houses.
Turning to Abbi, I prayed she didn’t take me up on my offer. “We’re going to hit the pool if you want to join us.”
She looked at the pool and then at each of us before standing up. “For now, I’m going to decline. There are still a few things I still need to do and put away.” She held up the sandwich. “Thank you again for the food.”
I watched her ass sway as she walked away. When I turned back to the pool, Alex’s head was cocked to the side with her brows scrunched up. She definitely knew something wasn’t right between us.
Pulling out a flamingo raft for Alex and a couple of rings for Mason and me to use, I threw them in the water. Alex had barely finished putting the sunscreen on Mason before he was jumping into the water and swimming toward the deep end.
“Have you thought about putting him on a swim team? He might be an Olympic swimmer someday.”
“I’m looking into it. There are a couple of teams in Riverside, but they only have them during the summer. I’ve thought about having him join one here in the summer, but since he’s gone every other weekend, I’m not sure how a team would feel about that.” She let out a defeated sigh.
Slipping into the water, I dunked myself before I slid onto the ring and let my feet dangle in the water. “Are things not better with Decker?”
“I would say they are as good as they can be. He’s happy he doesn’t have to pay child support, but if he can do something to make my life harder, he does it. Summers are . . . ” she tilted her head from side to side, “difficult is the nice way to say it. It’s stressful not knowing how he’s going to try and 'f’ us. We either have to take a late Sunday night flight or one on Monday because he knows we’re flying back and is unreliable as to when he’ll drop Mason off.”
“I hate that for you. At least you get to come here with Luke, and you’re not apart like you were before you got married.”
Jumping into the water, Alex grabbed my ring and pulled me to the other end of the pool away from Mason. Hanging her arms over the edge, she gave me a pointed look. “Stop stalling.”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I looked inside the house. “Promise you won’t say anything to anybody.”
“I would never betray you. I’ll make sure Luke knows not to say anything as well.”
“In all honesty, neither of us remember that night,” I let that sink in before I dropped the bomb, “or even meeting each other.”
Her head whipped up, and I swear if she wasn’t holding onto my raft, she would have drowned from shock. “You didn’t know her before two days ago?” Her voice was high and squeaky. When I started to answer, she continued. “Why don’t you get an annulment?”
Staring down into the water, I answered her. I couldn’t look her in the face. If I saw her disappointment, it would kill me. “You don’t know what all went down after Poppy. You know some of it, but I pretty much tanked my career. No one wanted to hire me, so when I was approached to do a Netflix show, Catherine said I needed to take it and prove that I had changed. That I was the old Reeves Jenner, so I took it.”
Tears brimmed in her eyes. “Jenner, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I’m ashamed that I let what happened with Poppy turn me into the man I had become. I arrived in Vegas with Levi and had one drink up in my room. I wasn’t going to drink in public and let someone get a photo.”
“Why were you even drinking to begin with?”
“It may seem like I have a problem with drinking, but I don’t. I know the public perceives that I do, so I don’t want to be caught out drinking. I had non-alcoholic drinks downstairs, and then I don’t remember. All I know is there were champagne bottles all over my suite, and I woke up married to Abbi. Catherine thinks maybe we were drugged because what’s the possibility of the both of us not remembering?”
Resting her head on the tube, Alex closed her eyes. “I hate to say it, but it’s possible someone drugged you. I’m sure they didn’t mean for you to marry some random girl, though.” Turning her head to the side, her eyes were full of sadness. “So, all this is an arrangement?”
Lifting my left hand, I flashed her my wedding band. “For a year, and I can’t take this fucking thing off the entire time. Yesterday, after Catherine dropped off the rings and said once we put it on we couldn’t take it off, it brought up a lot of shit. I ended up sleeping all day and night, and now we’re here.”
“If you had a choice, what would you want to do?”
“I’d keep my job, get a blockbuster movie, and keep making movies for as long as I could,” I answered truthfully.
“What about Abbi?”
“I wouldn’t be married. I don’t even know her. Hell, for all I know, she might have a man.”
“Is that what bothers you? That she might have a boyfriend? Because everyone has seen the video, and if she had a man, they’re no longer together.”