Jack had no idea. All he knew was that the reporters were dragging Penny further into the dirt with every sentence — and they had better shut up if they didn’t want to end up on the ground. Red-hot anger blasted through his veins in lava flows and his jaw was so tense that it threatened to crack.
“Pull yourself together,” Penny hissed, looking at him warningly. “They’re just fishing.”
He wasn’t sure they were just fishing. Fox was right: The piece of paper in their hands was an article with the headlineSaint Not So Saintly…He didn’t recognize the picture underneath, but apparently, it had been taken in front of the hotel where he and Penny had spent last night together.
“Why are they so upset?” Leon asked loudly and snorted. “You’re hugging in the picture! Totally harmless. Jack hugs everyone. He’s a total hug whore. As if you really had something going on.” He snorted. “We would have noticed.”
Penny pressed her lips together and said nothing. Jack, however, had to agree with Leon. The picture was harmless. It was not that bad.
“For God’s sake, we were hugging!” he shouted at the crowd of reporters. “Last week, you had a picture of me hugging Leon, so am I having an affair with him too?”
“Dude!” Leon replied, horrified. “That’s how rumors start!”
“Oh, the article also says that you kissed. The photographer just missed it.”
Penny still couldn’t speak, and her face was white as an egg. Jack would have liked to wrap his arm around her shoulders, kiss her cheek, and reassure her that everything would be fine, but that might have been a bit counterproductive at the moment. Instead, he stated, “Yes, and the internet says that aliens landed in Texas last week. Do you believeeverythingyou read?”
Naturally, the journalists weren’t really interested in what he had to say. A false headline was still better than no headline at all. They continued shouting at them, and with every disrespectful word directed at Penny, Jack clenched his jaw tighter. Yes, his self-control was good, but he also had his limits.
“God, we have to get out of here,” he whispered. “Otherwise, something very bad is going to happen.”
He didn’t know if Penny had heard him. She remained so rigid next to him that he was seriously worried. Fox, however, seemed to have heard his words, because he pushed in front of her and said, “That’s enough. Guys, help me! Block the bastards so Ms. Clark can get to her car in peace.”
The others reacted immediately, crowding around Penny using brute force to push the crowd of reporters back, forming a corridor toward the parking lot.
“Get out of here,” Fox muttered. “Quickly andnottogether. I don’t care if they’re right but don’t give them any more fuel. Where the hell is Lucy when you need her? God, she’s probably still making out with Dax at the baggage carousels. Seriously, if I ever go crazy like that over a woman, have me committed! Lucy!” he yelled.
While Jack stopped to look around for their PR angel, Penny was moving down the path the players had created for them. She disappeared into the underground parking garage. It was private property, so no one could follow her there.
Jack’s stomach clenched before he slowly started in the same direction, but not in a way that made it look like he was running after her. No, he relaxed his shoulders, put a small smile on his face, and gave the impression he was completely relaxed — even though his insides were a mess. Penny had not looked good. Quite the opposite. She had looked like a damn deer caught in the headlights. She’d been unable to say anything, and he knew why. He knew she felt like she was only making things worse, not better, when it came to her family’s reputation. Shehatedbeing judged. Hated the media attention. Hated everything about other people talking about her. And he hated that he hadn’t been able to protect her from it.
“Fuck,” he whispered, striding toward his car.
She had said she needed a few hours to go grocery shopping. Well, he would give her that, but no more. He had the feeling she was all wrapped up in her own head…and he’d be damned if he’d leave her alone with her misery.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Penny was going a little crazy.
This was a disaster of only medium proportions. The picture of her and Jack was more ambiguous than the reporters wanted everyone to believe. It had been taken outside the hotel that night she’d fallen into Jack’s arms for being the only one listening to her. The hug was clearly intimate, but not necessarily suggestive of anything more. Still, it was grounds for the press to suspect that the two had more than a business relationship — and that was bad enough.
Her cell phone hadn’t stopped ringing for an hour. Her mother called. Lucy called. Gareth called. She didn’t know what to say to them, though, so she ignored all the calls before finally turning the phone off completely.
She stood under the shower, letting the hot spray rain down on her body, hoping it would give her some peace. Instead, she felt like she couldn’t breathe properly with all the steam, so she cut it short.
God, she was instantly thrown back five years into the past. The idea that her family would need to make excuses for her again—well, it was the final nail in the coffin that Los Angeleshad become for her. Beyond that, she didn’t care if strangers insulted her. She didn’t care what reporters thought of her.
She did care that her parents would see the headline and say:We knew it. Penny can’t help it. She hasn’t changed. She needs scandal. She’s smart and a good person, but a little out of her mind!
Nausea surged. It had been stupid to start something with Jack. She knew that. And even more stupid to fall in love with him. But you couldn’t choose who you liked!
As if she had conjured him up with her thoughts, there was a knock at the door and Jack called from outside, “Penny! Are you there? Could you let me in? I called a hundred times, but you didn’t answer.”
Her heart skipped a beat as she hurried down the hall. Was hesuicidal? He shouldn’t be here! What if the reporters had followed him and were at that moment posting more visual evidence on the Internet?
In disbelief, she tore the door open. “What are youdoinghere?” she asked, shaking her head. “And how did you get through the security door?”
“Security doors aren’t that safe if you leave them open,” he replied tersely, entering and closing the door.
