I end the call with Louise and pull up Marnie’s number, but Grayson stops me.
“What the fuck is going on?”
“I don’t know how it happened, but the press found out who you are.”
“Okay…so what does that mean?”
“They’re at your house, Grayson.”
“What do you mean they’re at my house?” he roars. “Who the fuck is at my house?”
I flinch, but refuse to be offended by his tone of voice. He’s upset and rightfully so. “The paparazzi. But you have a long lane, so they can’t get close.”
“I don’t care how long the damn lane is, if they’re sitting at the end of it, that’s a problem.” Grayson blows out a breath and looks up. “What else did my mother say?”
“That they’ve dug up everything from your past, including Lorelei. It’s all over the news.”
Just then my phone vibrates, and Marnie’s name flashes across the screen.
“I was just getting ready to call you,” I say, answering the phone.
“Turn on the news. Channel four.”
“Channel four,” I whisper to Grayson.
He grabs the remote, finds the channel, and we sit silently as a picture of Grayson and Lorelei flashes across the screen, along with all of the dirty details. Somehow, they even managed to get a photo of Jack…covered in bruises?
Grayson goes completely still, and then he lifts the remote and powers off the TV.
“Marnie, I need you to charter me a private plane. We need out of here as soon as possible.”
“Get packed, and I’ll have you out of the city within the hour.”
I hang up the phone and turn to Grayson. When I try to touch his arm, he shies away from me.
“I’m so sorry, Grayson. I knew something like this would happen; I just thought we had more time.”
He whirls around, his eyes frantic and angry. “You knew this would happen? Because I sure as hell didn’t.”
Grayson flings his legs over the edge of the bed and tugs on his pants followed by the T-shirt I tossed to the floor before we made love just a few hours ago.
I watch him, unsure of what to say.
He blows out a breath and reaches for his suitcase. “I know you’re famous, and I figured people would be curious about me and want to know who I am, but I didn’t think for a second that they would drag my family through the mud. Christ, Nora, did you see Jack’s picture on TV?”
“I—”
“Fuck.” He pushes his fingers into his hair and paces the length of the room. “How could I be so stupid? Of course they would do something like this. Isn’t this what you people live for? Drama and gossip?”
Whoa. That’ll be enough of that. “Excuse me? You people?”
Grayson grits his teeth. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I do, and I also know you’re upset and hurting, which is why I’m going to let that comment slide. I don’t know how the press got ahold of this information, but I promise you we’ll find out. I’ll call the station myself, talk to every reporter if I have to. I promise you I’ll find out how this happened.”
His jaw clenches, and he focuses on packing his bag. When all of his things are safely tucked away, he sits on the edge of the bed and stares at the wall.
“How could I let this happen? After everything she put the kids through, I promised myself I wouldn’t let her hurt them any more than she already had. Yet here it is again; the entire story plastered across the TV screen for the entire world to know.”