Twisted Reality (Blind Reality #2) (25 page)

I’
m giddy, yet saddened by the desperate attempts Jules has made in her efforts to keep Josh away from me. To use an innocent baby is deplorable in my mind, yet I know it happens all the time.

Inside our home, I breathe a sigh of relief. The nightmare is over, although I don’t expect Jules to go away anytime soon. They’re still in the same social circle and will be at the same industry events. It’s too much to wish that we’d never run into her. Except when we do, I hope that she saves face and avoids us. Lying for months about who the father of your baby is … I can’t even.

“Who do you think the father is?” I ask Josh, who is busy trying to pick up our house. The cleaning lady doesn’t come until tomorrow and he’s invited Rob over, which subsequently lead to us inviting Rebekah and Bronx over as well. After a stop at the grocery store to pick up food and beverages, we’re home and scrambling to be ready for our company.

“Matt,” he replies, shocking me. My mouth drops open and he uses his finger to push it closed.

“What, why?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs and proceeds to load the dishwasher with our mugs from this morning. “The whole mess in Alabama has never sat well with me. Why betray me for her, ya know?”

“I don’t know, babe. I mean, there seems to be a lot of that going on in the industry, right?”

“Unfortunately.” He sounds sad and that breaks my heart. I know he was close to Matt and Jason, but they’ve done things to him that haven’t been in his best interests. Josh comes to me as I lean up against the counter, watching him.

“You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me,” he says, wrapping his arms around my waist.

“That’s not true. If you hadn’t become an actor, I doubt our paths would’ve ever crossed.” My hands rub up and down on his chest until I lock them behind his neck.

“Is that what you think?”

I nod. “We’d have to have a lot of stars align for us.”

“Not necessarily. Can you imagine if I signed up for the show and we were matched. Would you still have fallen for me if the circumstances were changed? If I weren’t the Joshua Wilson that hangs in poster form on your wall?”

“Would you have the same personality?”

He laughs. “And the same looks.”

I run my fingers through his hair and lean forward to kiss him. “Then yeah, I’d fall for you. Aside from your job, once I got to know the person you are in the inside, it changed everything for me.”

He lifts me up onto the counter so we’re eye level. Smooth fingers push my hair behind my ear and beautiful brown eyes gaze deep into mine. “You make me want to be sappy and profess feelings that I never thought I’d feel. And that all started when I kissed you the first time. Even though I thought I could be strong around you, all you have to do is say my name and I’m putty in your hands.”

“Good knowledge for the future.”

“Speaking of,” he says, sighing. “I know it’s not only my choice, but I’d really like for you to go off the pill. We really haven’t discussed it and I don’t want you to think this is in reaction to the whole Jules saga. When I saw you with your family I knew that it’s something I wanted to give you.”

“When you say it’s not a reaction to Jules, do you mean because she was pregnant or because the baby isn’t yours? I don’t want to get pregnant and have a baby only for you to realize months down the road that you truly don’t want to be a father.”

Josh cups my cheek and holds his hand there for a moment before kissing me lightly. “When I found out Jules was pregnant, the first thing I thought was it should’ve been you even if I didn’t want it. You should’ve been the one to have my baby. That inkling turned to desire, and before I knew it I was picturing you with a small bump and saw us shopping for the perfect crib for our baby.”

A smile spreads across my face, causing Josh to step back in what I’m assuming is in confusion.

“I went off the pill about a month ago.”

“You did?”

I nod, biting my lower lip.

“How long does it take?”

“I don’t know, but practicing will help I’m sure.” I wink teasingly. He scoops me up and I squeal, wrapping my legs around him. We’re only halfway down the hall when the doorbell rings. We both groan, but know that we invited people over so we don’t have a choice but to answer the door. That’s one of the beauties about where we live—you can’t show up unless you’re on our list. Security is twenty-four seven and everyone must check in.

“I love you, Mrs. Wilson,” he says, kissing me chastely before putting me down.

“I love you, Mr. Wilson.” We’re silly and ridiculous with how we act and we don’t care. We didn’t get that year long—or longer is some cases—courtship, and almost everything we do is new.

Josh opens the door to let Bronx, Rebekah, and Rob in. It’s funny how they arrived at the same time, but whatever works. Bronx and Rebekah give me a hug, and Bronx hangs on a bit longer until Josh is clearing his throat.

“Come on, let’s get outside,” Josh says, showing Rob the way to go.

“Wow, your house is amazing.”

“Thanks, man. It feels good to be a homeowner.”

As soon as we step out onto the patio, Josh is getting us all beer. He pops the tops and calls us all in.

“Joey and I want to thank you for being here tonight. Not only are we celebrating our last days away from the camera, but we also found out today that I’m not the father of Jules’s baby. Bronx, I want to thank you for everything.”

We all click our bottles together and take a drink.

“You dodged a bullet there, man,” Rob says, patting him on the back.

“Don’t I know it,” Josh sighs. “Let me show you around.” He motions for Rob to walk back into the house while Bronx, Rebekah, and I take a seat around the fireplace.

“Are you happy, Joey?” Bronx asks.

“Yes, I am. I mean, I would’ve accepted my fate if the baby turned out to be his, but now it finally feels like our lives are starting. We have nothing looming in front of us, aside from this production, and I feel like I can breathe again. No more eggshells or wondering what she’s going to do and say next.”

Bronx smiles and leans into Rebekah. For the longest time I couldn’t figure these two out, but they seem to work and I like her, despite her attempt to kill me in the house.

“Have you heard from Millie?” Rebekah asks.

I shake my head and instantly feel like shit that I haven’t checked in with her. “I talked to her a day or so before we found out about Jules and I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to catch up with her. Gah, I’m a shitty friend.”

“Or you were worrying about your life first. Nothing wrong with that, Joey,” Bronx says, defending my actions.

“What about Gary? Have you talked to him?” If anyone thought that Bronx would be jealous of Gary, they’re crazy. You can tell by the way Rebekah looks at Bronx that they share something unbreakable.

“His divorce from Amanda was final last week. He said he’s sad, but she was so upset at the finale that he knew he’d never be able to convince her that he and I were only friends.”

“In her defense, not that I want to defend her, you and Gary seemed to have something going on. I thought for sure you were leaving Bronx at the end of the show.”

Smiling, Rebekah glances at Bronx. They both laugh.

“Should we tell her?” she asks, and he shrugs.

“Tell me what?” I ask, eager to know their secret. “Are you pregnant?” I’m sitting on the edge of my seat waiting.

Rebekah laughs. “No, and we’re not trying.”

“We are practicing though,” Bronx says, waggling his eyebrows.

“The whole thing with Gary was a set-up from the producers. They didn’t like the way Amanda was pawing after Josh. They found me through Gary’s contacts and found out that I had recently married Bronx.”

“The offer was something we couldn’t give up.”

“Give up what offer?” Josh comes back, followed by Rob. As soon as he sits down next to me, his arm is draped over my shoulder and he gives me a kiss.

“Get a room,” Rob bellows out, causing us all to laugh.

“Bronx and Rebekah were telling me about Gary. They found Rebekah when Amanda started pissing the producers off. It was dumb luck that she was married to Bronx. Made everything perfect for the producers to send them in.”

“Fuckers,” Josh mutters. Everyone laughs except for Rebekah and me. The guys all have experience with shitty producers. I don’t, but I’m sure that’s about to change. I’m dreading what’s upcoming. The thought of having the cameras following me around for six weeks, until Josh and I disappear behind the door of the honeymoon suite, is really stressful. The only bright spot, aside from marrying Josh again, is that my mother will be here soon. She’s going to help us plan our dream wedding. It’s not just mine, but Josh’s as well, and I can’t wait to marry him again.

“Barry is a snake,” Bronx adds, increasing my anxiety toward the new show.

“Have they named your show?” Rebekah asks, moving closer to Bronx.

I shake my head and look at Josh, wondering if I missed something in the paperwork.

“No, I don’t think so. I guess I never paid attention. I’m sure there’s a name. And only half of the show will be live. At first I thought all six weeks, but it’s only the last three.”

“You guys are lucky. I want to go to Hawaii,” Rebekah says.

I give Josh a knowing look before turning back to Bronx and Rebekah.

“Well one of the reasons you’re here tonight is so I can ask if you want to be a bridesmaid?”

“Seriously?” she asks, as her legs start bouncing up and down.

“Yes, of course. We’ve grown close and I want to include you, Rebekah.”

“Yes! I’d love to.” We both stand and give each other a hug. When she sits back down, Bronx pulls her into his arms.

“My turn,” Josh says. “Bronx, you and I may never be best friends, but you care for my wife and were there to make sure I saw the bigger picture. What do you say, are you up for being a groomsman?”

Bronx smiles so bright you’d think it’s Christmas. “Yeah, man, I’m totally in.” The guys don’t hug, but they shake and clap hands and that seems to be enough for them.

“I’m going to start cooking,” Josh says, taking the guys with him. I like that he’s left Rebekah and me alone, because it gives us a chance to talk.

“So, how did Jules take the news?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. I half expected her to call Josh and claim the test was wrong, but she hasn’t.”

“That doesn’t mean she won’t.”

“I know, and that’s what I’m afraid of. What if she shows up during filming or somehow finds out the location of the wedding?”

“I won’t let her ruin your wedding, Joey, don’t worry.”

I smile, knowing that I’ve found a friend for life in Rebekah.

“Crap, I’ll be right back,” I say when I hear the house phone ring. Josh and I thought about only using our cell phones, but we turn them off when we’re home and I didn’t want my parents not to be able to get a hold of us.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. Wilson, this is AJ from security. There’s a woman here named Nina Springer.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know her. Please tell her we’re not interested.” I can hear AJ in the background talking to the woman. She’s screeching and sounds very flamboyant.

“Ma’am, she says that she’s Mr. Wilson’s mother.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

AJ repeats himself and she gets louder. “Um, hold on.” After setting the phone down, I make my way back outside. Josh and the guys are laughing near the grill, enjoying themselves and drinking beer.

We’ve talked about his parents, but never discussed having them at the house or even introducing me. He doesn’t like them and feels they’re going to taint our marriage. He’s trying to be better.

He is better.

“Hey, babe,” I say loud enough for him to hear me from the house.

“’Sup?” Turning, he gives me his million-dollar-panty-dropping smile.

“A woman, Nina Springer, is at the gate. She’s claiming to be your mother.”

Josh’s face drops, along with his bottle of beer. The glass shatters as the beer coats the patio and I immediately know that our drama is far from over.