To Love Jason Thorn (Page 70)

“Lucy came over for an hour or so.” Then I remembered that I hadn’t asked his permission for that. “Is that okay? Her coming over?”

“Of course it’s okay for your friends to come over, Olive. You don’t need my permission for that.”

“But I know you said you don’t like having people in your personal space.”

“I meant industry people. Unfortunately, I don’t have that many friends. It’s hard to trust people when you are out in the open as much as I am, and since I prefer a relatively quieter life , I don’t have that many people close to me. Speaking of  friends, there is someone I met very early in my career, Devlin. He lives in New York so I don’t get to see him that often, but he is opening up a club/lounge here and he invited us. Would you like to go? We can invite your friends, too. I feel bad that you’re having trouble meeting with them without a sea of cameras following you around.”

I extricated myself from his arms, pulled the cover over myself to make sure nothing was showing, and stared at the ceiling.

“If you’re okay with it, that could be fun. Lucy would love to come, and maybe I can convince her to invite Jameson, her on-again, off-again one-night stand. But Charlotte…I’m not sure about that right now.”

Jason propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at me.

God… What was it about this guy that affected me so much? Even when he wasn’t showing off that damn dimple of his, you kept staring at him just for the sheer pleasure of it, and of course the promise of that dimple wasn’t something to turn your nose up at.

“Is everything all right with you two?”

Forcing myself to look away so I wouldn’t tackle him and climb on for one last ride, I said, “Apparently, Lucy saw Char and Marcus kissing in the apartment.”

“And…”

“And she is my friend. Isn’t there supposed to be a girl code of some sort that says you shouldn’t date your friend’s ex?”

His tone was different, both softer and tighter at the same time when he asked, “Do you still have feelings for Marcus? Are you jealous of her, Olive?”

I glanced at him. “The answer to the first question is a definite no. Being jealous? Not sure, but I don’t think so. Marcus and I… We’ve been over for a long time, and…heck. No, I’m not jealous of him. It’s just sort of a weird thing for Charlotte to do behind my back. If she had at any time told me that she had feelings for Marcus, I would’ve gotten over it, and if they love each other…I would be happy for them. I mean, she hasn’t even talked to me about it so I have no idea what’s actually going on. Just a few short months ago, the day I was meeting with the production people, Marcus came to my room to tell me he thought we would get back together once I’d finished my book. And now he is with Char? I don’t know. It’s not anger or jealousy I’m feeling. It’s something else, but I’m not sure I can name it.”

“I understand. The way Marcus acted when I came to get your little drunk ass from their apartment, I wouldn’t have guessed he had his eyes on anyone but you.”

“Yeah, I heard about that from Lucy, too.”

“Well,” he started as he got up from the bed, completely naked.

Don’t look, Olive. Don’t do it.

But of course, I looked.

At least don’t look down.

Oh, but I did.

“The invitation is open; you can invite whomever you want to invite. Devlin will have a VIP room reserved for us so we’ll have privacy.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Olive

Two days later, we were getting out of the car in front of Devlin’s club, Mad Play. The logo for the club was two Ms intertwined with each other in a geometric shape. I had no idea what it meant since it wasn’t the initials of the club, but it was cool as hell.

Jason and I had met with his friend over dinner before he headed to his club ahead of us. Even though we had barely spent an hour together, he was very charming throughout the entire diner—maybe a little too charming, the kind that would sweet talk you out of your panties if given the chance.

Imagining him wreaking havoc in New York with a single Jason had led to a multitude of scenarios going through my mind. Those two would break hearts left and right, and they probably already had. On a side note, I had loved how Jason had introduced me as his wife. I wasn’t sure if he would let him know this was all a play for the public eye. Since my best friend knew, I’d assumed he would share that with Devlin, just like Alvin was in on the whole thing.

Speaking of Alvin, he was supposed to meet us at the club with his girlfriend, but as far as we knew he hadn’t made it yet.

The biggest surprise of the night, however, was getting a text message from Lucy that said Char and her friend Lily were coming with her. Not having any idea how that would go down, I decided not to dwell on it for the time being.

Since there would be drinking involved, Jason had a driver drop us off. When I saw all the paparazzi huddled in front of the club, I held on to Jason’s hand tighter and exited the car right after him.

Wrapping his hand more securely around mine, he put his other hand at the small of my back and guided me toward the entrance. The bulky guard at the front didn’t even check our names as we were ushered in before the paparazzi could swarm us.

“Does it ever get easier?” I asked, slightly breathless from jogging the short distance. The music was loud enough that Jason had to lean down to hear what I was saying. I repeated my question when he was close enough.

“The paparazzi, the constant following…does it ever get easier?”

He shook his head in a distracted manner and curled his arm around my waist, pulling me close to his body as a beautiful blonde approached us with a smiling face. Of course, she only had eyes for Jason and ignored me completely. I was getting used to it.

Really.

I definitely didn’t wanna gouge her eyes out or anything.

That would be gruesome.

“Hello Mr. Thorn. My name is Drew. We were waiting for you. If you can follow me, I’ll take you to Devlin.”

Jason didn’t reply, gave her a stiff nod, and pretty much shattered the girls dreams, judging by the look on her face.

Smug, I stood a bit straighter and gave the girl a brilliant smile when she finally gave me a dismissing glance.

Fuck her.

After walking through a hallway filled with mirrors and lights, we found ourselves at the mouth of the club where you could see the sea of bodies dancing under the flashing lights. A remix of the latest song by The Weeknd was blasting through the speakers and from what I could see, it looked like everyone was having the time of their lives.

As we started following the girl, skirting around the gyrating bodies, Jason positioned me in front of him and kept his hands on me at all times.

Trusting him to guide me in the right direction, I took out my phone from the small clutch in my hands and sent a quick text to Lucy asking if they had arrived.

By the time we made it to Devlin’s side and the blonde gave Jason one last longing look, Lucy had texted back, saying they were already inside. After sending one last text that asked her to meet us at the bar area where we were, I gave all of my attention to Jason.

“Your friends are here?” he asked as soon as I tucked my phone back into my purse.

“Yes. I told her where we are.” I looked around me and noticed that no one was bothering Jason. No one was coming at us, begging to take a picture with him or have him sign any of their body parts.