Page 41 of Pucking Fake

"She's met Lauren?" Alice says, unable to hide her surprise.

I cut my eyes at her. "Did you think I was joking when I said I was going to tell her everything?"

"I…" Alice shakes her head, her expression bemused. But I see the glimmer in her eye as she glances between me and Peyton again, as if she's wising up to the fact that I'm not fucking around about her. I'm dead serious about this girl. I have no secrets from her.

"News broke about us this morning, angel," I murmur to Peyton. "And they already know your name."

"Lovely," she sighs. "I'm guessing they're already running through my whole life story too?"

I glance at Alice who hesitates before nodding reluctantly.

Peyton stands quietly for a minute and then nods. "Fake dating you better be worth it, Logan."

"This isn't fake, Peyton," I growl. "We're dating."

She sniffs at me, lifting that pert little nose in the air. And Christ Almighty, I want to back her up against the bus and fuck her until she's screaming to everyone who will listen that she's mine. But I can't do that. Not yet. She needs to work out for herself that she's in love with me. I can bide my time until then because I already know that's where this is headed.

She wouldn't let me kiss her or touch her if she didn't feel it. She may be trying like hell to pretend she doesn't feel it, but she wouldn't be here now if she didn't. And we both know she wouldn't have offered herself up to the press in Lauren's place if she wasn't in love with me.

As much as she'd like to think she did it for my sister's sake, we both know she did it for me too. Just like we both know I told Montaque she's my girlfriend because I want the whole goddamn world to know that she belongs to me.

I wish like hell that I'd known who her prick of a father was before I opened my mouth, though. I wouldn't have done it. Not because I don't want everyone to know that she's mine, but because I'm worried as fuck. She's been through every bit as much as Lauren has. Putting her in front of my sister like a shield knowing the truth doesn't sit well with me. I want to protect her too. She fuckingdeservesfor someone in her life to protect her. It's pretty goddamn obvious that no one else ever has.

She's terrified to trust because she's never been able to do that. She's been let down and hurt over and over again. Letting me in is probably the most terrifying thing she's ever done. And yet, she still offered herself up anyway. She's still here anyway.

I can't fail her. I fuckingwon'tfail her.

"Okay, so I'm going to need someone to fill me in on whatever the two of you have going on here," Alice says, waggling a finger between us. "Because I can't sell a story if I don't even know what it is or why I'm pushing it."

"We told Charles Montaque that we're dating to give Logan time to figure out how to protect Lauren," Peyton says. "Since he's never had a girlfriend before now, that should keep them occupied for a while." She grimaces. "If they already know who I am and have gone digging into my life, I'm guessing it'll keep them occupied for a while."

I wrap an arm around her waist, squeezing.

Alice worries her bottom lip between her teeth and then shoots me a look that tells me we need to speak privately. Fucking wonderful.

"Why don't you go finish your book, baby?" I murmur to Peyton. "I'll finish filling Alice in."

Peyton shrugs before strolling back to the truck. I keep one eye on her, making sure she's safely in the bed of it before I turn back to Alice.

"How much do you know about her past, Logan?" Alice asks, keeping her voice pitched low so it doesn't carry. "Because I'm having a hard time believing you know the full story and still set this in motion."

"I didn't know when I set it in motion," I mutter.

"Logan," Alice groans.

"I know. I fucked up, okay?" I pinch the bridge of my nose. "But I had my reasons, none of which really matter at the moment. What matters right now is making sure that she doesn't become a target. I don't want them thrusting cameras in her face, asking about her prick of a father."

"You know we can't stop them," Alice says. "He's a United States Senator, for God's sake. They're going to ask. We can hire security for her and refuse any interview requests, but we've never been able to stop the paparazzi. And we'll never be able to control what reporters do or don't ask. It doesn't work that way. It's a symbiotic relationship, Logan. We get as much from their coverage as they do."

"She isn't part of the game, Alice," I growl. "Our families shouldn't be on the table. Doesn't matter how much the team or the league gets out of their coverage if it causes more harm than good to actual people with actual fucking feelings."

"I'm not condoning the way they do things," she says softly. "I'm on your side. I'm just saying…there are ways to do things and there are ways not to do things. Starting a war with the press isn't going to get you what you want. You can't silence them just because you don't like what they do."

"I'm not trying to silence them. I don't give a flying fuck what they publish about me, the team, the league, or anyone except Peyton and Lauren. Neither of them signed up to play this sport. They didn't sign contracts agreeing to have their lives put on display or to have cameras shoved in their faces. After everything they've already been through, they shouldn't have to suffer because I'm in their lives."

Alice glances at me sharply, her gaze assessing and then she sighs. "I'll do what I can to mitigate the damage, Logan. But you need to prepare her for the probability that her father is going to be brought up. Her mother's death will be too. The sooner the two of you address it, the sooner they'll move on. If you want to protect her, you really need to sell the fact that you're crazy about her. Logan Moreno in love is big news. It's new. But her past is old news. Keep the focus on your relationship and they'll lose interest in her past."

I jerk my chin in a nod, hopping she's right.

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