Page 66 of Love on the Line

Chapter 22

Anne gapedat the images on her phone. Her chest hitched, and a wave of nausea rose from her stomach. Why? Why would anyone post those?

Two pictures, side by side, filled the screen. One of Wyatt with a supermodel draped over his arm, and the other of him and Anne, coming out of the souvenir shop on the boardwalk. The caption below the pictures read, “From supermodels and super-pro, to high school coach and plain Jane Doe.”

“What is it?” Alarm in his voice, Wyatt parked in her apartment complex lot and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She shook her head hard, hot tears burning her eyes, and thrust the phone at him for him to see. Emily said the images had gone viral. Anne’s phone dinged with a text, then another, then another.

“What the fuck?” Wyatt squeezed her shoulder. “This is messed up. People are always taking pictures and splashing them over the tabloids and media. Don’t pay attention to it.”

“Not of me, Wyatt.” She covered her face with her hands. Plain Jane Doe. They were right. She was a no-name school teacher. Wyatt had told her the publicity would all calm down. Now he was thinking about playing again. Nothing would calm down.

Is this what her life would be if they stayed together? Public humiliation and constant judgement? She’d worked hard to build a solid reputation, and if she wanted to be a principal, she couldn’t have pictures of her with demeaning captions blowing up on social media.

“I’m sorry. This is so wrong. So untrue.” He placed a hand on her thigh and rubbed her shoulder. “You’re beautiful, and real, and the only woman I want to be with. Please, don’t let this get in your head.”

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

More texts. Wyatt’s words floated around in her mind, but the pictures had burned into her brain. Feeling nauseous, she needed air and space.

She opened the car door and stepped out. Wyatt was at her side in a second.

“I’ll bring your bag up and stay with you tonight.” He grabbed her suitcase.

She drew in a long breath and exhaled. The air cooled her lungs and helped clear her head. She needed some time to process and think. The last twenty-four hours had been a whirlwind. From the realization that she loved Wyatt, to the shock of the Ravens’ call, to the social media nightmare, she’d had enough

Publicly red-penned, she just wanted to tuck herself away, safe in her apartment, where no cameras would snap secret photos, and she had her privacy back.

She inhaled another breath of the cool air. “Thanks, and I’m sorry, but not tonight. It’s been too much.”

He gazed down at her with concern in his eyes, jaw set. “I don’t want to leave you like this.”

“I appreciate that, but I need some time alone.” She touched her hand to his, and he squeezed hers, like he’d been waiting for a sign of hope.

“I wanted this weekend to be so special. I don’t know how to fix this.”

The honest emotion in his face softened her heart. Their connection was real, and he didn’t seem the least bit worried what anyone thought about him dating a plain Jane Doe. That said something.

More dings on her phone.

She toggled it to vibrate. “The photos aren’t your fault. I get that, but I need some time to deal with everything going on right now.”

Wyatt frowned and glanced at her cell. “Don’t engage. Ignore the gossip. The less you say, the quicker it’s forgotten.”

She didn’t doubt him, but it was a lesson she’d rather not have to learn. “Okay.”

He stroked a finger down the side of her face and slowly leaned in for a kiss. Her insides quaked with emotion as their lips touched.

He drew back, not pressing. “I’ll call you tomorrow?”

“Okay.”

After she entered her apartment, the number of texts overwhelmed her. Friends, coworkers, Maddie, Sarah…the list went on. She shot a quick response to her sisters and Emily, telling them that she was okay. Everyone else would have to wait.

Her stomach flip-flopped, and sweat chilled her body. She wasn’t cut out for this kind of “attention.”

But then where did that leave her with Wyatt?

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