Page 80 of You, Me, & Après-Ski
But I still nearly fainted when I read the headline.
FORMER PLAYBOY BILLIONAIRE BACK AT IT WITH NEW PLAYMATE
A picture of Nolan and me dancing at the gala, followed by a grainy cell phone photo of me descending the lobby stairs with my hair in disarray, my makeup smeared.
There was only one person who could have taken that photo. So no, I wasn’t surprised. I was angry, upset, embarrassed, violated. And above all, heartbroken.
We are ruined.
We’re over.
Because how could I live with myself, with any of this, knowing that Nolan’s entanglement with me ruined his life, Cressida’s life, wrecked his business plans, and cost him his job?
In a daze, I was vaguely aware of Nolan ushering me outside and into the awaiting Escalade to take us back up to the resort.
Once inside the car, Nolan’s hands found my face and pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts. His earnest expression brought tears to my eyes. “Val, this changes nothing between us. Do you hear me? Nothing. I will fix this. I will take care of you. I promise.”
As the barrage of self-blame coursed through me, I could only nod.
The whole ride to his house, Nolan never let go of my hand.
After he got me settled in a fuzzy blanket on the couch, Cressida exploded into the entryway, yelling into her phone. “I’ll have your head for this, you bastard.” She hung up with a vicious jab, then turned to face us. “Editor ofStar News Nowis a fucking piece of work. I’ll do my bestto stifle this, but other outlets are already picking it up. Erica, the little snake, must have told Stefan.The Daily Gabwas the first to break the story. She was probably sitting on it to make it worse and more shocking for us. The rotten wench adores psychological warfare.”
“You can’t reel it in?” Nolan asked, pulling me against him as if he could physically shield me from the blowback.
“I can, to an extent. But the Alistairs ownThe Daily Gab, a direct competitor to my father’sSun Reporter, and they’re eating this shit up and blasting it out to other piddly little blogs. Dear old Dad has been blowing up my phone about it.”
The pit in my stomach got deeper. “I’m sorry.” My voice came out much smaller and weaker than I wanted it to. That night at the gala, I’d been silly. Selfish. Only thinking of what I wanted,and not how this would affect Cressida if it ever got out—“Cressida, oh my god. Are you in trouble? Your family’s blackmail?”
Cressida grasped my shoulder in a firm hand. When she spoke, her expression was resolute. Determined. “Crisis management was my full-time job before I became my family’s prize show pony. I have this handled.”
I nodded but didn’t feel good about it. That got the problem-solving gears of my mind turning. I couldn’t let her shoulder all of the responsibility for our mistakes. Glancing at Nolan, he looked to be of the same mind, his face as cold and hard as a statue as he flicked through the headlines on his phone.
It was late, but the resort bar would still be open, and I could use a drink—and I had some calls to make. Turning to Nolan, I said, “I might have an idea for how to help with this, but I need some time to work it out. And I…need to clear my head. I’ll be back soon.”
At the tense set of his shoulders, he looked like he wanted to cart me off to his room and keep me there forever, but he showed how well he knew me by nodding his agreement.
Pressing a soft kiss to my forehead, he said, “I’ll be waiting.”
NOLAN
I sank into the leather chair in the living room, wishing to become one with the furniture. Val had left about half an hour ago. I didn’t know when—or if—she’d be back, but I planned on being drunk and somewhere else by then. Possibly asleep, potentially on my jet back to San Francisco. Fuck if I knew.
But I knew for certain I couldn’t handle Val looking me in the face and telling me she no longer wanted me. That she couldn’t handle this. That she wanted out.
Of course, I wouldn’t blame her if she did. The tabloid leak was my fault. All of this was my fault. I should have stayed away from Val since the beginning.
Cressida blew into the kitchen, looking prim in a periwinkle sweater and designer jeans, her silky hair pulled into a sleek ponytail, her lips painted a ruby red.Dressed for battle.She grabbed a sparkling water from the fridge, then sat on the couch across from me. “You’re brooding,” she said.
“I’m drinking.”
“That goes hand in hand with brooding.” Smoothing her hair, she shook herself, then looked me square in the eyes. “You might want to pour another drink for this one—we’re breaking up, Nolan.”
My heart stopped beating. “What.”
Cressida’s gaze was unflinching. “I have a way to get us both out of this with minimal carnage.”
“You can’t—we can’t do that. If there was a way out, we would have found it already.” She hadn’t signed a contract, but we were both tied to this deal. “Cressida, if we break up, your family will plaster your mug shot and arrest record all over the internet, and I won’t be able to stop them. Not this time. You’ll be ruined.”
