Page 4 of The One I Love

“Pops—” Eve began, but stopped when Nyla gave her head a shake.

“Pops will be like Dad. Upset and a little embarrassed, though he’ll never admit it. You may have to endure a few minutes of the old ‘what were you thinking?’ But no one stands up for family like Pops. Once that is out of the way, he’ll be right there behind you.”

Her sister’s logic and the way she’d laid it out made it difficult to contradict. “The thing is, I don’t mind being alone right now. I can easily go up and see Gran and Pops or JR and Britt if I want some family time.”

A slight frown furrowed Nyla’s brow. “Do you worry that other, nonfamily residents could let reporters inside so they could come to your door?”

“You actually think people here would do that?”

“I don’t know. I’m simply trying to think of all possibilities.”

“I don’t know, Ny. I can’t imagine any of our neighbors in the building wanting sleezy journalists inside, but then, I couldn’t imagine Jason being such a creep either. I think I just need to be in my own home, at least for right now.”

“If that’s how you feel—”

“I hate it, Nyla.” Eve flung out her hands. “I don’t like the idea of hiding out. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I understand, but sometimes… Sometimes you need the quiet to consider your next steps.” Nyla’s gaze searched hers. “And don’t forget Britt’s background is in PR. I believe she’s become somewhat of an expert in crisis PR. I’m sure she’ll be happy to help in any way she can.”

Eve let out a long breath. “Thanks for reminding me. I’ll keep her in mind.”

“We’re all here for you, Eve.”

“I know, and I appreciate that. I wonder if Anson would consider coming here.” Eve chewed on the thought. “Maybe he could stay with me for a few days.”

Nyla hesitated for a heartbeat before responding. “Are you sure you want to draw him into this while you’re still figuring out how best to handle the fallout? Fallout that will affect not only you, but him as well.”

Eve’s head spun. She was having difficulty concentrating. “Anson isn’t the guy in the video.”

“No, but he is your boyfriend.” Nyla tapped a finger against her leg. “Having him stay here with you would pull him into this in a big way. He’s from a prominent family. He’s running for elected office. He’s gorgeous. Sometimes that’s all it takes for the haters to come out.”

Eve’s heart sank. She’d been so busy focusing on how this would affect her that she hadn’t given a thought to how it could hurt Anson.

“Voters could very well turn on him,” Nyla continued. “At the very least, questions that should be focused on issues the city faces will instead be focused on his relationship with you.”

Eve wanted to dispute that, but couldn’t. She didn’t have to think very hard to come up with examples of one social media blunder tanking a promising career. She closed her eyes as a headache began to form.

“It’ll be okay.” Nyla’s reassuring, warm tone wrapped around Eve’s heart.

“I was always so careful.” Eve’s voice cracked for a second before she brought it under control. “I’ve seen how easy it is for someone to seem one way but be another.”

“I understand.”

“How can you? You’ve always been so, so smart about everything.”

“You were away at college during the time I dated Kendall. I don’t know that I ever told you why we broke up. I discovered he only wanted to get close to me in the hopes our family would use his company’s financial services.”

Eve reached over and squeezed her sister’s hand. “I’m sorry.”

“Old news.” Nyla waved a dismissive hand. “Right now, we need to figure out how best to handle your situation.”

Eve arched a brow. “We?”

“You go after one Driskill, you’d better be prepared to deal with the entire family.”

CHAPTERTWO

“The sex tape of your girlfriend is all over social media.” Jerome Strong, Anson’s campaign manager, got right to the point.

---