Page 31 of Stuck with the Billionaire Celebrity

I squeeze my eyes shut, regret filling my chest. When it was over, when the fog lifted and reality slapped me in the face, when I told her it shouldn’t have happened, I saw the look on her face.

Confusion. Uncertainty. And then I panicked. Threw a damn towel at her like a coward because I didn’t know what else to do. Didn’t know how to undo the mess I’d created.

I was harsh. I know I was. But it was better that way, wasn’t it? Better to push her away, to make her angry at me, than to let her think for one second that this was okay.

It wasn’t. It never should’ve happened.

What if she tells someone?

I feel sick at the thought. Grace isn’t like Alexia, I don’t think, but if she is and she makes something up just to ruin me. No one will care about my side.

They won’t care that it wasn’t malicious, that I wasn’t trying to hurt her. All they’ll see is the headlines. The scandal. The fall from grace—no pun intended.

I’ve spent too long rebuilding everything, clawing my way back to a place where people trust me again, where my name doesn’t automatically come with a raised eyebrow and a whisper of scandal.

And all it takes is one wrong move to destroy it all. One moment of weakness.

My fists tighten at the memory of Alexia’s smug smile, the way she manipulated every word, every gesture, turning me into the villain of her story.

She knew what she was doing, and she didn’t care who she hurt in the process.

I’ve spent so long pushing people away and keeping them out. I knew I should have told Devon no.

I should apologize for being a dick afterward.

But then what? What if she doesn’t accept my apology?

What if she decides that she didn’t want sex, and I took it too far?

I take a deep breath, trying to calm the storm raging in my chest. But it’s no use.

I pick up my phone and call Devon.

“Is something wrong?” he asks immediately.

“Grace needs to go.”

“For Christ’s sake, what did she do this time?”

“She…didn’t do anything. I crossed the line with her and…”

He’s quiet on the other end for a full minute before I hear him blow out a long breath. “What do you mean you crossed the line with her?”

“We…had sex.”

He’s quiet again before I hear him snicker quietly.

“You’re freaking out because the two of you had sex? Bro, you’re a grown man she’s a grown woman, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. After Alexia…”

“Shit,” he interjects. “I guess I didn’t realize how all of that stuff with Alexia had royally fucked you up.”

“She lied about me to the world and continues to do it to anyone who will listen because I turned her down. I can’t…I can’t risk that and…”

“Listen, Grace is nothing like Alexia. She isn’t a woman who sleeps around. She’s very picky about who she sleeps with. She didn’t do anything with you that she didn’t want to do.”

She didn’t do anything with you that she didn’t want to do.

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