Carolina Breeze Page 5

  “Let me see,” Molly said.

  “Our guests’ private lives are private.”

  “We’re in a need-to-know situation here, Levi.” Grace handed the phone over to Molly.

  She looked at the screen, wincing. “Yikes.”

  Grace continued in a whisper. “There’s a new Hollywood scandal brewing, and Mia’s at the center of it. Everyone’s looking for her, and she’s here.”

  “She’s right,” Molly said. “This looks pretty bad.”

  Levi couldn’t take it anymore. “Give it here,” he said reluctantly.

  Molly handed over the phone. He couldn’t miss the all-caps headline. The pictures below it made his gut tighten. There was Mia in the arms of Jax Jordan, in what seemed to be a very steamy kiss. He didn’t follow much when it came to Hollywood, but everyone knew Jax was married to Emma Taylor.

  “She’s broken up Jemma!” Molly said.

  Levi frowned. “Jemma?”

  “Jax and Emma—Jemma,” Grace said. “You do live under a rock.”

  “Couldn’t these just be photoshopped? I mean, otherwise, explain all the alien pictures I’ve seen at checkout counters.”

  Levi wondered why he was so reluctant to believe the reports. Maybe he’d only just met Mia, but he didn’t want to believe she was capable of carrying on with a married man.

  “There are too many pictures and too many reputable sites covering this,” Grace said. “They apparently aired it on Entertainment Tonight last night.”

  Levi thought back over the twenty-four hours he’d known Mia. The look of vulnerability on her face when she’d checked in. The hint of tears in her puffy eyelids this morning. The guardedness and flicker of hurt in her eyes only moments ago. Maybe it wasn’t just the broken engagement. Maybe she was upset about having been caught in an adulterous affair. But she just didn’t strike him as a home wrecker.

  “Well, I don’t believe it,” Levi said firmly.

  Two pairs of eyes swung his direction and held there for a long moment.

  All right, he could see why his adamant defense of Mia might be out of character. But she just didn’t seem the type. And for some reason she brought out all his protective instincts.

  “Levi . . .” Grace said. “You don’t even know her.”

  “Oh no.” Molly touched his arm. “Please don’t tell me you’re getting a crush on Mia Emerson.”

  “Of course not.”

  “I know we’ve been pestering you to date, but she’s a celebrity, Levi. Every man in America wants her, including Jax Jordan, apparently, and she’s in the middle of a huge scandal, not to mention fresh off a broken engagement.”

  He shrugged off Molly’s hand. “Stop it. I don’t have a crush. Maybe I just want to believe the best about somebody. Ever think of that? She’s our guest. Our loyalties lie with her. Besides, she told me something today that you might be interested in . . .”

  He waited until he had their attention.

  “She’s the Livingstons’ granddaughter.”

  “Paul and Dorothy Livingston?” Grace asked.

  Molly was shaking her head. “They didn’t have any children.”

  “They apparently had an estranged daughter—Mia’s mom. That’s why she wanted to come here on her honeymoon to begin with. She wanted to see where her family came from. So, for all kinds of reasons, we need to have her back while she’s here.”

  “Well, you can believe her all you want,” Grace said. “But there’s a whole bunch of media who aren’t giving her the benefit of the doubt, and they’re not going to give up until they find her.”

  Levi frowned. “Then we’ll just have to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  eight

  Mia shifted on the chaise in her room, the new memoir propped on her lap. She was having trouble focusing tonight. She’d turned down lunch, and now she was starving.

  There were few restaurants that delivered in this town, so she’d settled on pizza. She knew Levi would be glad to run and grab her something, but even though she was paying for his services, he was an innkeeper, not an errand boy. Besides, she didn’t like owing people. Didn’t want to feel obligated.

  As they had so often these past couple days, her thoughts turned to the scandal. She’d buried her head in the sand long enough; she was going to have to call Jax. This scandal wasn’t going away, so she needed the truth to be exposed. And that started with Jax.

  A tapping sounded on the door, and she set aside her book and answered.

  “Pizza delivery.” Levi smiled over a small cardboard box. He’d added a plate and silverware rolled inside a napkin.

  Mia opened the door for him, and he slipped past and set the box on the table beside the chaise, then handed her a brown leather volume. “Dorothy’s journal.”

  Heart dancing a jig, Mia took the book. Her grandmother’s diary. She traced her fingers over the word Journal etched into the material.

  After arranging the plate and silverware Levi asked, “What can I bring you to drink?”

  “I’m all set. Thank you, though.” She walked him to the door. “I keep feeling like I should tip you or something, but I’ve always been told you don’t tip the owner.”

  “You were told right.” He stopped in the doorway. “So listen. I wanted you to know we’ve stepped up security a little around here. We’ll be keeping the doors locked so people can’t just drop in. Your room key will get you in and out, of course.”

  “Well, I can’t exactly be wandering the streets anyway, can I?”

  “I’m always available for transportation. You mentioned hiking before, and we have some great trails around here. I can drive you to the trailheads. There are other hikers, of course, but if you wear your disguise, I think you’ll be all right.”

  “I might do that. I’m already going a little stir-crazy. I’m not used to having so much time to think.” She gave him a conspiratorial grin, and he met it with one of his own. His eyes were a beautiful shade of clear blue, and though he couldn’t yet be thirty, he had little crinkles at the corners of his eyes.

  “Well . . .” He shifted awkwardly, his cheeks going pink. “I don’t want your pizza getting cold.”

  “Thank you, Levi.” Mia gave him a genuine smile. “For everything. I really do appreciate it.”

  “My pleasure, Mia.”

  She pushed the door and it closed with a soft little knick. Her heart was beating too hard for someone who’d only gotten up to answer the door.

  Get it together, Mia.

  Sure, the innkeeper was too cute for his own good, but what could they possibly have in common?

  What was she saying? She had an ex-fiancé and a married supposed-lover. She didn’t even need to be thinking about another man right now.

  Mia ate an extra slice of pizza not because she was savoring the taste of the treat—although she was—but because she was dreading what she had to do next. She closed the empty box and set it aside.

  It was nine o’clock on a Monday night, a good time to call Jax. He had a standing poker night with his buddies when he wasn’t filming. It would be best to catch him when he wasn’t with Emma. Would he even answer her call? She briefly thought of using the inn’s phone, but the area code would show up.

  She could block her number, but the chances of his answering were better if he knew it was her rather than some obsessive fan. He was a nice guy, after all. She’d considered him a friend after working on the film with him all these weeks. They’d had some great times together, some good conversations. She didn’t know what was happening on his end since the scandal had broken, but she thought he’d be willing to discuss it with her.

  She grabbed her phone and stood, needing to pace. Actually, she needed fresh air and lots of it. She slid open the balcony door and stepped outside. The sultry breeze hit her flesh, but it felt good after the too-cool room. The wind whispered through leaves, carrying the smell of burning wood. Some family must be enjoying a bonfire.

  For a moment she le
t herself envy the imagined family—a tight-knit unit, sharing a lakeside vacation, their biggest worry if someone had brought the Hershey bars for the s’mores. She tried to imagine her mom and grandparents in that scenario, but the image didn’t quite gel.

  Her eyes drifted to the horizon as she let loose a sigh. The sun had recently set over the lake, and the darkening sky was swathed in hues of pink and purple. It was a beautiful sight, and she took a moment to appreciate it.

  Oh, who was she kidding? She was just stalling. This was so awkward. Jax had kissed her, after all, and she’d rebuffed him, and now it had turned into this huge thing. This huge, public thing.

  Please, God. I know I haven’t given You much time lately, but please give me the words. Work this out. Let the truth be revealed.

  She located his phone number, blew out a deep breath, and tapped it.

  Her heart pummeled her ribs as she waited. She’d find common ground with Jax. He was a victim of this scandal too, after all. The media were the enemy. The two of them could join forces and eradicate this scandal, and then everything could go back to normal.

  His phone had rung at least four times. Maybe he was busy. Or maybe Emma was right there. But no, it was poker night.

  Should she leave a message?

  The ringing stopped. “Hello?”

  “Jax. Hi. I wasn’t sure you were going to answer.”

  A beat passed, and she opened her mouth to confirm he was still there.

  “Why are you calling?” He sounded distant—and not in a geographical way.

  “I’m calling because of the scandal, Jax. We have to do something. This is going to wreck my career, and I can’t imagine it’s doing much for yours either. Can you talk right now? Maybe we can put our heads together and—”

  “I really don’t have anything to say to you, Mia. You’re not only wreaking havoc on my career but on my marriage, and I take that very personally.”

  “Wh-what?”

  “I told you I wasn’t interested when we were filming. But you just couldn’t take no for an answer. Now that picture has been spread across every tabloid in the country! How do think Emma feels, huh? She’s wrecked. Our marriage is in jeopardy because of you.”

  Mia’s fingers tightened on the balcony railing. “Now, wait just a minute. You know very well that’s not—”

  “Did you tip off the media? Was it a setup? Because I am going to get to the bottom of this.”

  “Are you serious right now? You’re the one who couldn’t take no for an answer. You kissed me and I pushed you away. Why are you saying all—” Mia huffed out a breath. Emma was there. Of course. He was making this look like it was all her fault. All her doing.

  “Don’t call me again, Mia.”

  “You can’t do this, Jax. You have to tell the truth. This isn’t the kind of man you—”

  A click sounded in her ear. She stared at the phone, gaping. Anger boiled inside. Helplessness, she was drowning in it. Is this what Jax was going to tell the reporters? Was he going to make it look like she’d been trying to seduce him?

  This could not be happening.

  * * *

  Levi stacked the paid bills on the corner of his desk and stood. He’d put off the ones they couldn’t afford to pay yet. It killed him to pay late fees, but it couldn’t be helped. He had to leave some room on the credit card for emergencies. He left his room and wandered to the other side of the inn to the library.

  He scanned the titles for something to read. Something with a lot of action to keep him engaged. To keep his mind off Mia.

  “Whatcha doing?”

  He turned at the sound of Molly’s voice. She’d just come in from out back and was cradling her laptop.

  “Looking for a book. How was the sunset?”

  “I got caught up in my research for Adam and missed most of it.” She unshelved a Tom Clancy novel and handed it to him. “Here, you’ll like this one. Did you know the average orchard size is fifty acres, and it takes at least one colony of bees—that’s roughly twenty thousand bees—per acre to pollinate the trees?”

  “Did not know that.”

  “And only one-fifth of the bees in the colonies are actually pollinators.”

  “What do the rest of them do?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “All these factoids—you’ve been hanging around Adam too much.”

  Just the mention of his name brought a goofy smile to her face.

  Ever since Adam had moved here from New York in January the two had grown closer. Levi thought he was an all right guy—even if he couldn’t throw a football to save his life. Long as he treated Molly right, Levi had no beef with him.

  “When does his new book come out?” Adam’s new release was more or less his love story with Molly. Levi didn’t think he could stomach the read.

  “In August. I can’t wait.”

  “Coming up soon.”

  “Well, he got so much publicity last fall, and they wanted to build on it. He’s got another big tour too.”

  “Makes sense.”

  Molly’s eyes sharpened on the bookshelf. She frowned at a gaping hole. “Where’s Dorothy’s journal? Oh, you gave it to Mia, didn’t you?” Molly was looking at him, her mouth twisted in that funny way that told him she was biting her tongue.

  “Stop it, all right? I’m just being a good host. It wouldn’t hurt if she went back to Hollywood and told all her friends about us, you know.”

  “I wasn’t going to give you a hard time. It’s just—” She turned abruptly and closed the library door, then faced him again. “While I was outside Mia was on her balcony, and I overheard a phone call.”

  He huffed. “Molly, you and Grace have to stop butting into her business. That’s terribly unprofessional, and if she were to find out—”

  “She didn’t do it,” Molly blurted.

  “Who didn’t do what?” He gave his head a hard shake and started for the door. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

  “You were right.”

  Of course she had to go and say his three favorite words. He turned and gave her a long look, his hand squeezing the doorknob.

  “She didn’t do what she was accused of. I heard her talking to Jax Jordan on the phone. She accused him of putting the moves on her, but it was obvious he was having none of that. Levi, that is not a woman in love with a married man. It’s a woman fighting to save her reputation after said married man Me-Too’d her.”

  Levi wasn’t one bit surprised. But he was torn. He shouldn’t encourage his sister’s snooping, and he definitely shouldn’t involve himself in a guest’s personal problems.

  But man, did he want to know what was really going on in Mia’s life.

  “It sounded like Jax might be blaming it all on her. You know, making it look like Mia came on to him.”

  Levi gave a wry huff. “He’s just trying to save face with his wife.”

  “Not to mention his career.”

  “At the expense of Mia’s.” And man, if that didn’t just tick him off. Especially when she was fresh off a broken engagement. To think he’d ever held Jax Jordan in high esteem. Right now he wanted to lay the man flat.

  “We need to be even more careful around here.”

  “We’re already on lock-down, and I’m driving her everywhere she goes. What more can we do?”

  “I don’t know . . .” Molly shifted. “Maybe we can help somehow to prove this wasn’t her fault—that she was the victim of Jax’s unwanted advances.”

  Levi held up both hands. “That’s going too far. This is none of our business, and I’m sure Mia can handle herself. She probably has a whole staff of people looking out for her public relations.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  “I am.” His gaze sharpened on Molly. “So let’s just leave this alone.”

  nine

  Levi put up a jump shot, but it bounced off the rim and dropped into Erik’s hands. Didn’t matter. They weren’t keeping score anyway. But he
sure was stinking up the court this morning.

  Pawley Park was quiet, the temperature comfortable. A morning fog still hung over Bluebell Lake. The fresh air felt invigorating, as did the bit of exercise.

  Erik dribbled the ball out and turned back toward the hoop. “Your shot’s off today.”

  Levi put a guard up on him. “Just distracted.”

  “Everything okay at home?”

  “About the same.”

  “I’m sure things will get better now that the season is in full swing.”

  Erik faked to the right, but Levi was right there. “What about you? Everything all right with Karli?”

  The ball smacked the pavement rhythmically. “Yeah, it’s just getting a little old—the long-distance thing.” He’d met his girlfriend on a business trip.

  “You could always move to Knoxville if things get serious enough.”

  Erik made a fadeaway shot that arced through the air and sank through the hoop with a swoosh.

  “I don’t know if I could leave my dad, you know?” Bill owned the local garage, and Erik was his right-hand man. When he wasn’t working on cars, he was a volunteer firefighter.

  Levi grabbed the ball and took it out. “Right. And with her son in Knoxville, Karli’s not leaving anytime soon.”

  “Seems kind of doomed, huh? Maybe we should just call it quits before it gets too serious.”

  “Well, you can’t ask her to leave her kid.”

  “I know. She’d never do that anyway.”

  “So I guess the question is, would you ever move there?”

  Erik winced. “I don’t know. It’d kill my dad.”

  Levi moved forward, dribbling with ease. Erik was scrappier, but Levi had the height advantage. Of course, that didn’t matter if he couldn’t even sink a shot.

  “So how are the honeymooners? Or have you even seen them since they checked in?”

  Levi took a second to consider how much he wanted to say. “Actually, it’s just the woman. Apparently the wedding never happened.”

  Erik straightened. “She came on her honeymoon alone?”

  Levi was no fool—he took advantage of Erik’s distraction. Dodged him and put up a lay-up. The ball bounced off the board and dropped through the basket.