Page 50 of Catalyst

“I don’t have clothes for work tomorrow.”

“We could easily remedy that.”

“If you don’t mind driving to my house and then all the way back to yours, then I’ll gladly stay with you another night.”

I’d rather you stay forever.I have to grit my teeth to keep those words from spilling out of my mouth. “I don’t mind at all.”

She squeezes my hand in response, her smile lighting up those sapphire blue eyes.

When we get to her house, we head straight for her bedroom, and Ellie grabs a suitcase from under her bed. I don’t miss the number of outfits she packs in her bag, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep my smile from growing. There’s at least a week’s worth of clothes in there, along with toiletries to last her a good long while. It seems I’m not the only one wishing she’d stay a little longer each time I have her with me.

Once she zips it closed, I grab the handle and move to carry it downstairs. “I’ll take this to the car while you finish packing your electronics.” I don’t give her a chance to respond before I leave the room.

I get her suitcase into the trunk of my car right as she emerges, holding her computer bag. In minutes, we’re headed to my house, and I can feel my muscles ease the minute we pull into the driveway. There aren’t many things I enjoy more than the feeling I get when I walk into my house. It’s the one place I don’t have to pretend to be anyone other than myself. I don’t have to guard every move I make because there’s no one watching me here. No one is waiting in the dark for me to make a mistake. It’s freeing. And having Ellie in this space with me only makes it that much better. She adds to the peace that encompasses me when I step through the door.

I wish I could find the words to tell her exactly how she makes me feel. Over the past couple of months, I’ve done my best to at least show her how much she’s come to mean to me. And while the sayingactions speak louder than wordsis true, I know she’s going to want to hear the words from me eventually.

But every time I think it’s the right moment, my throat closes, as if the second I utter the words, this bubble we’ve been living in will burst, and it will all come crashing down around me. The fact that she hasn’t said anything either makes me wonder if she doesn’t think the same thing.

Regardless, I’m going to need to find my backbone and tell her soon. Because the longer I hold back, the more likely it is she’ll get tired of waiting.

We settle onto the couch, picking out a movie we’ve both seen a thousand times. I grab my phone and start scanning through my work email. Ellie shakes her head at me, but she knows by now there’s nothing she can do to stop me. I cannot end my weekend without having an idea of what I’ll be walking into on Monday. Keeps the surprises to a minimum.

As I scan, I see one titledURGENTfrom Jessica. I open the email, and my stomach sinks.

Call me as soon as you get this.

That’s all she wrote in the email, which means whatever she has to tell me is going to be bad.

“Adam? What’s going on?” Ellie sits up from where she was leaning against my chest, her face lined with concern.

“Jessica sent me an email this morning asking me to call her.”

“She’s your PR person, right?”

“Yeah,” I murmur as I navigate to Jess’s contact info. I click on her number and put it on speaker when it begins to ring.

“Adam! Thank God,” Jessica answers.

“What’s going on?”

“I did my best to stop it, but they have too many sources. They’re pushing it through.”

“Who is? And what are they pushing?”

“Sorry,Celebrity Weekly. They’re posting an article tomorrow morning.”

“Okay, this isn’t abnormal. They post unfounded shit all the time.”

“This one’s different. They’ve got photos, Adam.”

“Of what?” I growl. My patience for this conversation is drying up faster than the Sahara.

“Of you and a prostitute.”

CHAPTER24

Ellie

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