Chapter Seven
Apparently, she hadn't lost the paparazzi as she had thought. They captured pictures of Jace kissing and hugging her, and these were plastered all over the internet the next day. Now the headlines on the tabloids declared that she was trying to steal him back, or Jace was cheating on Clarissa, or that it all was an attention-seeking sham because clearly, he knew about Logan the whole time.
Amanda wanted to scream when she saw the 'news'. With all that was happening in the world, why did they have to dedicate so much attention to harassing her?
She kept the blinds closed, and didn't even order room service for breakfast. Who knew, there could be some crazed photographer waiting to pretend to be a hotel employee and burst into her room snapping pictures of their supposed 'love nest' or something. So when there was a knock on her door, she tensed.
"Amanda, it's Clarissa."
Clarissa? What was she doing here? Had she seen the pictures and decided to come fight for her man? Amanda growled. If that was the case, she would lose.
"We're going to lunch," Clarissa said firmly when the Wolf opened the door. "I don't want the media to turn this into some sort of catfight. The best way to put these stupid 'Cheater Jace' headlines to rest is by showing the world that we're BFFs."
Amanda was floored. She floundered, trying to come up with something to say in reply. "Oh. But I don't really—"
"My treat." Clarissa stepped into the hotel room. "I'll wait while you get ready."
Amanda hesitated, but asking to be alone didn't really seem like it would work. She couldn't help but smile, relieved that the human was taking it in stride. "Thanks. It's probably good for me to leave the room."
"Jace told me about what you two talked about last night," Clarissa continued as Amanda grabbed a brush and some nice clothing and stepped into the bathroom. "Are you going to be okay with him building you a house? He doesn't always realize that he might be pushing himself into people's lives a little too much."
"No, the house is great. Actually, I didn't tell him, but I was thinking maybe it would work if it was a house for the two of you with a separate suite for Logan and I. Or maybe a guesthouse." Amanda bit her lip. Would Clarissa think she was muscling her way back into Jace's life? "It would make it easier for Jace to see Logan. But it was only an idea. I'm not sure I could live that close to Jace…"
There. Clarissa wouldn't think Amanda was trying to steal him back now, would she?
Amanda stepped out of the bathroom, ready to go. Clarissa was eyeing her now, and a blush rose to her cheeks. She shouldn't have mentioned it. Ducking her head, she grabbed her purse and shoved her key card into it.
"Shall we go?"
"In a minute. Why do you think you couldn't live that close to Jace?"
"No specific reason," Amanda muttered, avoiding her eyes. "Just that, like you said, he can be a little pushy. He's already trying to replace my grandmother's car. I think if we saw each other every day he might end up buying something like a rowboat if I casually mentioned it."
Clarissa hummed. "Jace does like to buy people things. But are you sure it's that, and not that you're still in love with him?"
Amanda's head jerked up. Her eyes widened. "It's over between him and me."
"That's not what I asked." Clarissa's expression wasn't angry or judgmental. In fact, she looked sympathetic. "I'd have to be blind to not see that you still have feelings for him. I'm not an insecure girlfriend, Amanda. I don't feel threatened by you coming back into his life."
"I don't…" She sighed "I don't want to love him. But he was my first boyfriend, and I'm afraid nobody has ever matched him."
"He has big shoes to fill," Clarissa agreed, nodding. "But just so you know, I don't believe the tabloids and the junk they're spewing. People like Jace always have to deal with the press, and if I believed half of the 'possibilities' that they printed, I'd go crazy from the contradictions."
"But I do still love him."
"But you're not trying to steal him back. That's good enough for me. You have a child together, and I’m Jace's girlfriend. The three of us are connected, and I want it to be a good connection. You understand?"
Amanda let out a relieved sigh and nodded. "You are going to make a wonderful Alpha female."
Clarissa shrugged. "Well. We'll see. In the meantime, you and Logan will be moving in with Jace and I."
"Um…" Amanda was sure she had heard it wrong.
"The place we're in right now is gated. That will keep the paparazzi off your tail, so you and Logan can go about your lives as before. It's not fair to have you two separated because of those leeches. Besides, Jace has started the process of filing a lawsuit against the tabloids that published Logan's picture and the photographer that took it. This will all be over soon enough." Clarissa smiled brightly.
"Oh. Okay, I suppose that will work… Jace deserves to spend time with his son, anyway. But maybe it would be better if I—"
"You're going to stay with us, too, and that's final," Clarissa said, putting her hands on her hips. "Now, where do you want to go for lunch?"
***
The conversation turned to Clarissa's work as they headed out together, and by the time they got to the café where they would have lunch, Amanda learned that she wanted to continue her studies and research belugas in their natural habitat. How would that fit with being an Alpha's mate?
Amanda didn't ask. It was none of her business.
There were some photographers that were openly taking pictures of the two of them, but for the most part, lunch was quiet. They had a nice, isolated corner booth, and there was nobody around that could eavesdrop on them.
"So, I asked Jace this and he wouldn't answer. I hope you'll give me some insight." Clarissa daintily wiped a crumb from her lips. "Why didn't it work out between the two of you? I know you broke up right before he went to Harvard, but he never told me the full story."
"Oh."
Clarissa watched her closely. Amanda hoped that she would take back the question, but it seemed that the human wasn't going to. The Wolf almost wanted to tell her it was none of her business and to butt out, but what good would that go? She let out a pent-up sigh and shrugged.
"We were just graduating from high school. Jace needed to concentrate on his future. There wasn't room for me. I don't blame him or anything, it's just a fact. He could go to Harvard, and he needed his space and time to concentrate on his schoolwork without worrying about me. It was for the best."
"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself."
Tears pricked Amanda's eyes. This wasn't something she should be talking about with her ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend, was it? "I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about this anymore. The past is the past. It was for the best that we weren't together. He would have had to give up all his dreams and he wouldn’t be where he is now if I had been in his life."
"I'm sorry. I was being pushy."
"It's fine. I just want this to settle, and reliving the past won't help that." Amanda pushed her plate away. "It won't help anything."