“What the hell is that?”
“It’s reporters.”
“Reporters?” I was taken aback. “What are they doing here?”
“I guess you haven’t been online today.”
“Why do I need to go online?”
He pulled out his cell phone from his pocket. “See for yourself.”
I grabbed it out of his hands, feeling sick to my stomach. Swiping over the locked screen, I hit the Safari button. Not having to search for one damn thing.
Right there in front of my eyes was the headline, Quarterback Jax Colton falls in love with New York Times Bestselling Author Sophie Hayes, also known as…
I couldn’t read the rest, instead throwing his phone onto the bed.
“I thought this would come out tomorrow! Why wasn’t I told that it was going to be today? Where’s Autumn?”
“Why does it matter if it’s today or tomorrow?”
“Because I haven’t even told my mom yet! She’s going to—” Her ringtone on my cell phone blared off the nightstand, cutting me off. “I can’t answer that.”
Jax didn’t miss a beat, walking toward my phone. “I’ll deal with her.”
“Oh my God!” I stepped out in front of him. “No!”
“She’s going to keep calling unless you answer, Sophie.”
“What do I say?”
He smiled. “That it’s the happiest day of your life.”
“This isn’t funny, Jax! She’s going to kill me!”
“Do you need me to remind you that you’re not a kid anymore? You’re a grown-ass woman. She can’t order you to stay away from me like she did back then. Just pick up the phone and tell her what’s going on.”
“Do I tell her the truth?”
“I don’t think that’s the best idea.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t trust her not to go to the press and tell them the truth.”
I nodded, hating that he was right. I didn’t trust her to not do it either. Once the call ended, it immediately began ringing again. Before I gave it another thought, I walked over to the nightstand and answered her call.
I didn’t get to say one word.
“Sophie Marie Hayes!” she shouted. “What the hell is going on?”
“Hey, Mom.”
“Don’t ‘Hey, Mom’ me, young lady! You have a lot of explaining to do! When did you start seeing Jax again?”
“Ummm… I … it’s… I…”
Jax snatched the phone out of my hand, hitting the speaker button.