Page 77 of Dreaming About Forever

ALICIA

“I’m sending you the photos,” Lillian said.

Alicia scrambled for her laptop on the coffee table and flipped it open. The notification number on her email icon struck her first. She got hundreds of emails a day, but that number was ridiculous.

Scrolling down to the bottom, Alicia said, “You’re normally chill about these things.”

The last time Lillian had shown even a hint of panic was while the news about her mother and Ashton was breaking during the Star Awards.

Alicia knew how to move with the ebbs and flows of media love and hate, but the headlines that were true or involved her personal life really struck a nerve.

“It’s about you and Jordan,” Lillian said.

Great. They’d been official for less than forty-eight hours, and the media was already sinking their claws in.

“Some of the articles are from people excited to see you moving on after Ashton. Some are less than friendly. Don’t worry. I’ve been preparing for this since you told me the news, so I’ll have it cleared up quickly.”

Jordan scooted closer to Alicia on the couch as she scanned the articles. The photos of her and Jordan were mostly from before they’d made things official. Walking into church, walking down the sidewalk, walking into shops in downtown Redemption. It was all mundane.

Except they didn’t look like a high-profile musician and her security agent. No, the looks they were giving each other looked like the adoring looks of a couple in love.

Had they been so obvious? Jordan was even smiling in most of the photos, all while looking at her like she was the object of his affection.

Wow. Anyone who saw these would know their relationship wasn’t professional. They’d denied it for weeks, but the feelings were obvious to anyone.

“Some of the photos are from a week after the breakup. Some people thought you moved on too quickly,” Lillian said.

Alicia continued to scan the articles and photos. There were so many already, all posted within the last few hours.

“You need to give Jordan a heads-up. People are going to want to know anything and everything about him,” Lillian said.

“He’s here with me.” The warmth beside her was the anchor she didn’t know she needed.

“Hi, Lillian. Thanks for the heads-up,” Jordan said. “I’m not very interesting, so they might get bored. Plus, Field Inc. has everything I own pretty well secured.”

Alicia had only dated men who were accustomed to the high-profile lifestyle. After seeing the comfort and privacy of Jordan’s life, it was jarring to think of the invasion that was headed his way.

Jordan leaned close and whispered, “We’ll handle this. It’s nothing.”

She shook her head. He was making light of the slander. She’d never minded having most of her life picked apart and studied by the media, but the onslaught to their new relationship made her want to hide. She’d been doing just that for over a month, and the quiet town she’d come to love was no longer a safe haven.

“I thought we’d have at least a little time before the news broke,” Alicia whispered.

Jordan rubbed a hand over her back. “It’s okay. I don’t have anything to hide, and I don’t really care if someone thinks I’m a rebound.”

Alicia flinched as he read the bolded word on the headline she’d just passed.

“Hold on a second,” Lillian said. “Here’s another one that says Ashton revealed in a closed interview that the two of you were trying to work things out, and he’s devastated about the news of you and another man.”

Alicia rolled her eyes. “He’s such a good actor. He hasn’t reached out to meonce. His manager canceled all of our shared events with you. That’s it. Oh, and he stole my security agents. Yeah, we are so over.”

Lillian let out a hearty laugh. “Your fans are screaming not to take him back.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea either. Just for the record,” Jordan said.

Alicia rested her head on his shoulder. “You’re the best.”

“Okay, some of these have a negative vibe to them that I’m going to get the PR team on. Overall, you have the best fans, so I’m not too worried about it,” Lillian said.

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