Trouble in Paradise (Romantic Suspense, Completed)

Chapter 22

Suddenly it all made sense. Those girls who thought they recognised him. His discomfort while shopping in town. His incredibly white teeth.

"But baby, I don't lust after them. Only you. You're the first woman in years who's seen me as a real person. To all the others, I'm just a bunch of dollar signs and a ticket to fame."

But baby. He sounded sincere, but he was a freaking actor. How could I believe a word that came out of his mouth? Inside, I was shaking. Outside too.

"I can't do this."

"Sweetheart, Callie, I love you. I can't lose you."

It wasn't his decision. He knew how badly I'd been hurt by Bryce, and now he'd shredded me again. How much of our "relationship" had been genuine? Any of it? I'd slept with him, for crying out loud. Had all the sweet talk been a pretence so he could get his kicks?

"You just did."

With that, I turned on my heel and locked myself in the bathroom, on purpose this time. It was either that or run outside, and I suspected the hotel staff would have smartphones at the ready. One wrong move and they'd be emailing either my mother or possibly Captain Ibrahim.

I sat down on the edge of the bath and dragged a hand across my face. It came away wet with tears. The old saying sprang to mind: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

That was me.

The fool.

Maybe it was genetic. When my mum met my dad, he told her he worked in a bank in the city. He'd show up in a suit and wine her and dine her, take her out to the poshest restaurants. It was only a couple of months later, when she showed up one day to surprise him at the office, that she'd found out his actual job was cleaning floors four through six. She'd given him the benefit of the doubt and married him anyway, and look how that had turned out.

Sure, with Adam it was the other way around, but he'd still misrepresented himself. As with my parents, it was hardly the basis for a lasting relationship.

Outside the door, I heard the sharp lash of Kat's tongue as she fought my corner, and guilt needled at me. For the second time in recent weeks, I'd put her in a horrible position. She was supposed to be focusing on Mo, and instead, she was dealing with my mess.

I was the worst friend in the world. So what did I do? I reached for the toilet paper.

Half an hour later, Kat tapped on the door. "It's me. Can I come in?"

I cracked the door open, and she slipped through.

"You shouldn't be up," I said.

"It helps to move around. Otherwise I'll get stiff."

She took a seat on the closed toilet and stretched out her legs.

"Is he still out there?" I asked.

"Yes. He's calling half of Hollywood. #NightmareInFiddaHilal is already trending on Twitter."

"I can't believe he didn't tell me the truth."

"I can't believe you were dating Scott Lowes and you didn't even realise."

"Why would I? I've only ever watched those types of films with you. I'd be more likely to recognise some obscure Romanian actor with a penchant for Shakespeare."

"But still..." She shook her head in disbelief.

"I'm sheltered Kat, live with it."

I rolled my eyes, then realised she couldn't see.

"Wait, wait... Did you do it?"

Even in the throes of a crisis, Kat couldn't resist a good bit of gossip.

"Just once."

She squealed in delight. "Ooh, I want all the details. Was he big? Did he know how to use it?"

"Kat, I'm not rehashing every sordid thing. But yes, and most definitely yes."

"I knew it! Damn girl, you're lucky."

Really? Right now, I didn't feel as if fate was on my side.

"What should I do, Kat?"

"Besides the obvious answer of march right out there and screw him senseless?"

"Kat, be serious for a minute. Please?"

"Sorry, sorry. What should you do? I don't honestly know. I mean, Scott seems like a genuinely nice guy. He's not at all how I imagined he'd be."

"But he wasn't truthful. He had so many chances to tell me who he really was, and he didn't take any of them. When I asked what he did for a living, he said he was between jobs."

"Well, he kind of is. His next movie doesn't start filming until early next year. He's going to play a detective investigating a murder in a tropical paradise." She snapped her fingers. "Hey, I bet that's why he needed to learn to dive."

I recalled his initial lack of enthusiasm over the course. Kat was probably right.

"Well, he got a little more than he bargained for in Fidda Hilal, didn't he?" I laughed hollowly. "Probably he can chalk this whole trip up to research and get a tax write off."

"He really cares about you, Callie."

"If you care about someone, you don't hide your freaking identity from them."

"He wanted to tell you who he was, but he was so happy being Adam the average bloke rather than Scott the megastar, he was scared to spoil it."

"Scared? Yeah, right. Kat, I fell in love with a man, and now he's turned into somebody completely different."

"Maybe they're actually the same?"

My brain was a jumble of emotions. Anger, hurt, and disappointment were doing battle within, and I wasn't sure which was winning.

"I need some time."

"If you can't face Scott, will you be okay on your own for a while? I really need his help with Mo."

"Of course, but I should be helping too."

"Callie, you're my best friend and I love you dearly, but Scott knows, like, three million people and you don't." That was Kat, blunt as always. "We're doing okay if you need some time to think."

"Call me if you need anything?"

"I will. And I'll be here for you whatever you decide with Scott."

"Good luck out there."

"Thanks," she mumbled into my hair. "And thank you for rescuing me. If you hadn't gone psycho on the captain, I'd still be in jail. At least this way, Mo stands a chance."

At first, I tried to stifle the sobs that clawed their way up my throat as Kat went back to Adam. But it was a hopeless task.

In the end, I surrendered and let them come.