CHAPTER TWELVE
After the ugly scene with Max, Carrie had managed to lose herself in her work so it was a shock when she received a text from Paige. She wanted to talk to Carrie as soon as possible.
It was a dreary evening outside, cold and rainy but the gas fireplace in the living room was warm and cheery and Carrie sat down on the overstuffed chair, her legs curled under her as she brought up Skype on her laptop. In less than a minute she was seeing Paige’s glowing face. Marriage agreed with her.
“Where’s Nate?” Carrie asked, blowing on her hot chocolate. “Did he have to work today?”
It was still afternoon in Los Angeles.
“No, but he had a meeting with the director and producer but he should be home any time now. What I want is for you to tell me what’s going on in London. According to the tabloids I’m going to be an auntie. I have to say I’m kind of surprised you’re carrying Max’s baby. You two didn’t waste any time.”
Rolling her eyes, Carrie sipped her cocoa. She had told Paige about her broken engagement a few days ago, albeit a sanitized version designed to not upset her newlywed friend. She and Max had planned to tell Nate and Paige together about their relationship, but the moment was upon her and she didn’t think she could pretend with her best friend in the whole world.
“There’s something I need to tell you about me and Max.”
“Are you going to tell me that you and Max are fake?”
Almost dropping her mug, Carrie carefully set it on the table next to the chair. “How on earth did you know?”
Paige nodded. “I didn’t know for sure until you just confirmed it but I know you. You don’t hop from being engaged to one man to dating another without a care in the world. You’re more deliberate than that. You’d think it through, although if you agreed to a fake romance with him I’d say you might not have thought that through either. Want to tell me what happened? And don’t leave out any details.”
It was then that Carrie began to explain the real truth – about Mark, his ex-wife, seeing Max outside when he went for a cigarette that he shouldn’t have been smoking, and then lastly how crappy the last few days had been. She and Max at each other’s throats, his ex-wife, and Tyler Gaylord. By the time she finished, Carrie needed a tissue to wipe the tears from her eyes and blow her nose.
“That sniveling little rat-faced git,” Paige fumed, her lips tight. “I’ll punch him right where it counts just for being a jerk. He should have known if he was getting involved with you that meant he was getting involved with me too. Asshole.”
Carrie waved her tissue. “There’s no need. It’s over. He called it off and I’m okay with it.”
Paige scowled at her friend. “I’m going to put my foot up his ass.”
She didn’t need that kind of help. Max had been a jerk but not enough to warrant corporal punishment. “It’s not a big deal. He and I just don’t get on well. He’s got…issues. And then there’s what I said.”
“What did you say?”
“I kind of said that I could see why he didn’t win an Oscar.”
Paige hissed as she exhaled slowly. “Ouch, that had to hurt. But still, so what? Doesn’t give him permission to be a jerk.”
It did, though. But all the other times? That was on him.
“Um…didn’t Nate act a little arrogant when you first met him? I think it’s this movie star thing. People fawn over them and they start to believe their own press.”
“Max is tough to get to know. He doesn’t open up easily but when he does he’s a nice man. Very protective too.”
“I’m not sure I have that kind of time.”
She was in her thirties now. How old would she be when he warmed up to her?
“You’ve been photographed with him, my friend. Plus, that wicked witch of an ex-wife has seen you together. Running away may not be a valid option anymore. Besides, you’d have to face everyone at home. You agreed to this for a reason and my guess is that reason hasn’t suddenly vanished.”
Wrapping her cold hands around the warm mug, Carrie contemplated her less than stellar options. “They haven’t but I’m not sure I can pull this off. I thought Max and I would at least become friends, if not friendly. I wasn’t thinking we’d fall into bed like you and Nate but I kind of hoped we could have fun and laugh. You know, enjoy ourselves. I mean…what does that man do for fun? He hardly ever smiles.”
Paige’s brows pinched together. “You know, I don’t know what he does for fun. I do know that he and Nate go play darts and have a few beers down at the pub. But as for how else he spends his free time, I don’t know. He once told me he likes to read.”
“We have that in common then but I’m not sure that’s enough to base a relationship on, even a make-believe one.”
Heavy footsteps sounded and then Nate breezed in, kissing Paige soundly and giving Carrie a smug grin. This was a happily married man before her. She’d been worried about whether he could do this but clearly marriage looked good on him. He snuggled next to Paige, wrapping an arm around her shoulders while she rested her head on his chest.
“Carrie, it’s lovely to see you my friend.” He frowned and leaned closer to the camera on the laptop. “Have you been crying?”
Paige nodded. “She most certainly has and it’s all Max’s fault.”
Frowning, Nate looked from his wife to Carrie. “What’s going on here?”
“Max is an asshole,” Paige growled before Carrie could answer. “You should hear how your best friend has treated my best friend. He ought to be ashamed of himself.”
Nate settled next to Paige, his elbows on his knees. “I think I need to hear about this.”
“It’s not a big deal,” Carrie protested, already seeing this was going to be trouble. Nate was over the top protective of the females in his life, even her. “We’ll get it worked out.”
“The relationship is fake,” Paige declared smugly. “Just as we thought but Max has been a total arrogant jerk. Let her tell you about what he said when she was talking to Tyler Gaylord. He’s lost his mind.”
“Tyler? How did he get involved with this? Carrie,” Nate said softly. “Talk.”
“I’ve got it handled. Everything is under control.”
He smiled that smile. The one that made women swoon on several continents. “Talk. Don’t make me do something drastic.”
“It’s not a big deal,” she tried again. “I just don’t think he and I are compatible, that’s all. No harm, no foul. Let’s move on.”
Nate and Paige just sat there staring at her, not saying a word.
“I’m not going to say anything.”
More staring.
“Seriously, I’ve said too much already. Let’s change the subject. How’s the traffic in LA?”
Silence.
Fuck. This wasn’t going to go well.
* * *
Max wasn’t a man that sat around feeling badly about himself but he found himself doing exactly that. He’d always known he had a few issues but he hadn’t thought they were all that serious.
Clearly he’d been deluding himself.
According to Carrie – and he had no reason to disbelieve her – he was cold, remote, arrogant, and spoiled.
He’d also seen his need to win rear its ugly head. He was a competitive arse and he hated to lose, even when the stakes didn’t matter. It was the reason he wasn’t allowed to play checkers with Mike and Amy’s kids anymore. He had to win the game even if his opponent was only five years old. He hadn’t been all that proud of his behavior that day and he wasn’t today either. His words had been cruel and unnecessarily so. The last word, the one-upmanship, had been the goal, not being a decent human being.
He’d been hurt when she’d made the remark about why he didn’t win. To be honest, he’d known he wasn’t going to win from the moment he’d been nominated. Two of the actors in his category were older and had been passed over several times. It was going to be the year for one of them. Since it was Max’s first nomination it was his job to attend the awards, smile at the cameras, and say what an honor it was to be nominated.
It was an honor and he’d totally wanted to win. He’d hoped for a miracle, and it hadn’t come.
Twisting open a bottle of beer, he lounged back on his bed, the television on in the background but it was just noise. The entire situation had to be settled, one way or another. They had been photographed together plus Alana knew about Carrie. Breaking up at this stage wasn’t a good option but sniping at each other constantly wasn’t either. He was going to have to let down his guard and be himself. If she didn’t like him then, he couldn’t say he hadn’t tried.
What would show her he truly wanted to work this out?
Like a lightbulb over his head, the idea came to him. A smile on his face, he reached for his laptop on the side table, opened up his word processing program and began to type.