Perfectly Scripted Read Free

traveled fast, leaving Ronan’s team on twenty-four-seven damage control. Unfortunately, The Hollywood Reporter was the latest media outlet to have reported the story.
    As soon as I finished reading the post, Ronan’s phone rang.
    Taking a deep breath, he answered confidently, “Hello, Darcy.” His voice was chipper, but his body language told a different story. “I’m fantastic. Simply lying on the beach with a beautiful brunette.” He glanced in my direction, giving me that sexy gleaming movie star smile of his.
    Covering the phone, he said, “I’ll be right back.”
    I nodded and watched him trudge through the sand towards the swirling sea.
    Darcy Sachs had been his publicist since he had landed his first major fashion ad campaign, and she’d been working her magic with his image ever since. I felt bad because he’d managed to maintain a stellar presence in the spotlight until this ugly incident. It was partly my fault, although he said that he’d made the choice to hit Grady, so now, he had to deal with the fallout.
    Since that night, Ronan had received a wave of phone calls from his manager, his agent, and Darcy, all trying to contain the media firestorm the Grady James debacle had created.
    Ronan’s ex-wife, Emma Bailey-Wilson, was one such problematic factor we had to deal with as a result of the incident. In a bullshit move, she had tried to keep their daughters, Jade and Leah, from coming to New York for Christmas, saying that he had acted irresponsibly and his actions were affecting their children negatively. She’d demanded he talk to a therapist about his rage, and until he did, he would not be seeing his daughters.
    She lost that battle though, and Emma was immediately ordered to put the girls on a plane to New York with their nanny. I had yet to meet his ex-wife, but something told me that I should try to kill her with kindness to avoid any more friction.
    Ronan returned to the cabana a few moments later. His lustrous curls were tousled, probably from running his hands through his hair while on the phone with Darcy.
    Concerned about what might have him worked up, I asked, “What did Darcy have to say?”
    “She shared some industry stuff, but mainly she told me that my image is strongly intact with the studio, the director, and my co-stars—except Heather. She’s royally pissed at me.” He sighed deeply. “I guess Grady had a photo shoot two days later. Apparently, his lip and jaw were so swollen not even makeup could help it. They had to reschedule the shoot.”
    I brushed my fingertips across his warm skin. “Are you ever going to tell me what he said that set you off?”
    Ronan shot me an irritated look. “No,” he replied firmly. “All you need to know is that he was out of line.”
    I am such an idiot.
    I’d hurt Ronan, the man who’d done nothing but offer me his love and a promise to protect me from ever being hurt again. Looking back, I had no idea what had come over me. It was as if I had been out of my damn mind to allow Grady to kiss and grind up on me for the majority of the evening. Why had I even kissed him back?
    At present, Ronan’s life was spinning out of control. He had assaulted Grady because of me. Maybe, he’d wake up one day and realize I wasn’t worth the trouble. I pushed those thoughts out of my mind, focusing my attention instead on Ronan, who was brooding while he stared out at the crystal-blue water.
    “Darcy suggested that we let the paparazzi take photos of us here on vacation.” He slid his sunglasses off his face, revealing his alluring, deep-green eyes—eyes so piercing that I swear he could see straight into my soul. Eyes that pleaded, “ Let’s run away together. ”
    How could any hot-blooded woman have said no to this beautiful man? I couldn’t, which was precisely how I’d ended up there on the beach in Mexico.
    “Darcy feels this will be a good way to divert attention from the Grady incident and send tongues wagging about the two of us.