Page 49 of Me and Mr. Just Right

Jules pulled the post up on his phone a lot quicker than Haydn had. “Did you see the comments?” They were all variations of people excitedly proclaiming that it was Aurelia Halifax. Haydn’s stomach pitched, and he thought he might be sick.

“I’m going to google her,” Bennett murmured, pulling out his phone. A moment later, he frowned too. “Guys, every story is about how she’s in Petersburg. How likely is it that the media came out here to spot her?”

Haydn bent over, putting his hands on his knees, panic clawing at his chest in a way he’d never felt before. “After all the drama with Bo and Gwen—very likely.” And it was all his fault. He’d sent the picture to his editor. He hadn’t thought his editor would post it to social media. He hadn’t known that Lia was Aurelia Halifax at the time.

But she’d come here to escape, and he’d just thrust her into the heart of the dragon. She was going to think he’d used her to get ahead, just like so many people had done to her.

His hands shook as he sent off a quick message to his editor:

Take the picture down. I don’t have permission to share her image.

After that, he started running toward the cabin, and he could hear his brother’s footsteps close behind him.

“What are you going to do?” Jules called out after him, sounding more out of breath than Haydn would have expected. Maybe pure adrenaline was pushing through Haydn’s veins, but right now, he felt like he could fly.

With steely determination that made him pick up his pace, he called back, “I’m going after her.”

Chapter 23

“‘Ohno,’what?Didsomething fall out?” Rose said to Lia, a little too loudly. Could everyone hear them? Were they all looking at the dinghy, spotting her already?

“They can’t see me,” Lia said. She tugged Bennett’s hat lower over her head and zipped up Haydn’s jacket all the way to the top, before tucking her hair and chin into it.

“Why not? Who are they? Do they know you? Are you running from something?” Her voice pitched upward in a near-squeal, and she sounded entirely too excited about that last question.

Lia took a deep breath. Here was her first test in trusting someone new … and it was a softball lob. If Haydn trusted Rose, then Lia trusted Rose.

“I’m Aurelia Halifax,” she said.

A beat passed, and she could see in Rose’s eyes the minute it clicked. “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I knew I recognized you from somewhere!” The boat veered and then slowed down as she threw her hands up to her mouth and squealed into her cupped palms. “You’ve been staying with my brothers for a week. You and Haydn—” Her cheeks looked flushed. “I think I need to lie down for a minute to process this.”

“Rose. If they see me, they’re going to mob me with questions, and I’m not ready for that yet.” Panic nipped at Lia’s heels at the thought of being thrust into the midst of the bloodthirsty media. She couldn’t help but feel like they’d love nothing more than to see her fall spectacularly. She knew that wasn’t fair, and that it wasn’t true for everyone, but when it was just a mass of cameras and a blur of faces, how was she supposed to tell who was safe and who would misrepresent her without a second thought?

“Sorry. Sorry.” Rose opened her water bottle, took a drink, and then dumped the rest of it over her face and chest. Ice cubes bounced off of her and onto the bottom of the dinghy, and she took a deep, bracing breath. “I had a moment there, but I’m recovering. I’m recovered. I’m normal now. Approaching normal.” She fanned herself with both hands. The dinghy had come to a complete stop.

“Are they going to notice that we’re just sitting out here?”

“Nah. People do it all the time. But these guys have binoculars, so we need to move quick.” Her eyes narrowed with determination. “I’m going to maneuver the dinghy so that cruise ship blocks us from view. Keep your back to them in the meantime.”

She started the dinghy back up, and within a minute, they had the small cruise ship as coverage. Lia felt her shoulders relax with relief. It was going to be short-lived, and she’d probably get caught out in the end, but it was nice to not be in this alone.

The Forrester siblings were amazing people to have on your side.

“Okay, duck down and sit on the floor. It’s wet down there, sorry.”

Lia did as requested while Rose leaned over her to open a back panel of the dinghy.

She muttered under her breath as she rifled through it. “Ropes, first-aid kit, tube, preserver … TARP!” She yanked it out and shook it over the ocean while keeping one eye on the cruise ship’s trajectory. They only had seconds left. “It’s filthy, but it’s all I’ve got.”

“I don’t care,” Lia said. She folded herself into a ball, and Rose tossed the tarp over her back. It smelled like fish, and grains of sand fell like gritty rain onto her skin and hair. She’d never loved a tarp so much.

She closed her eyes and listened as Rose navigated them closer to the marina. Her heart raced as the dinghy slowed down and then puttered to a stop. This was the moment. If Rose wanted to have her minutes of fame, she’d drive straight up to where all the cameras were, and Lia would be completely vulnerable. She imagined the pictures they’d get of her covered in water and fish and sand, crouched in the bottom of the boat. She shuddered, imagining the headlines.

The boat came to a stop, and then she felt the weight shift as Rose hopped out. The side of it hit wood, and then it came to a still stop, other than the gentle rocking of water beneath her.

“The coast is clear, but be quick,” Rose said.

Lia slipped out of the tarp and realized they’d docked right beside a boat. She took Rose’s outstretched hand, and before she could even take a full breath, they were inside the boat with the door shut.

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