etting some stuff for my honeymoon.”
“Cool. Where you off to?”
“St. Cecilia.”
“Great choice. We might’ve gone there if I’d been confident the paparazzi wouldn’t follow us.”
I make a face. Ryder and Paige can’t go anywhere without the vultures flapping around. The fact that they’re expecting leaked, not because they made an announcement, but because some asshole took photos of Paige at a hospital and uploaded them everywhere. “You need a little plastic surgery, make yourself ugly. Cutting off half your nose would do wonders for privacy.” I climb into my car and settle behind the steering wheel.
“Yeah, but that would be spiting half my face,” Ryder says good-naturedly. “Not to mention, Paige adores my nose.”
“How’s she doing?” I also wonder what Geraldine will say about becoming a grandma, but I keep that to myself. Nothing can ruin Ryder’s mood faster than mentioning his mom. “You excited about your first born?”
A slight pause. “Of course I’m excited.”
“Holy shit, dude. You hesitated.”
“Did not.”
“Did too. Do you not want it?”
“Of course I want it! Don’t put words in my mouth. Listen, I didn’t call you so you can give me shit about my perfect life. I called to give you a heads-up.”
“About what?”
“Someone’s digging into your wife’s past.”
Now it’s my turn to hesitate. “And you know this because…?” I ask finally.
“Because it’s my job to know stuff like that. Actually my team is monitoring everyone because they’re worried about possible blowback.”
“Which would be…?”
“She was a stripper.”
“Only briefly,” I say. “She was a waitress before.”
“You know how tabloids are. You marrying a waitress isn’t interesting. You marrying a stripper is.”
Ah, fuck.
“And you are a person of interest, having been one of the most eligible bachelors in the country, plus your relationship to me. Just don’t want you to get blindsided.”
I rub my face. “Thanks for the concern, but don’t worry. I got it covered.”
“You do?”
“Of course. I’m the one digging into her.”
Ryder is quiet, but I can hear the gears in his head turning. “Why? Didn’t you run a background check before getting married?”
“Yup.”
“So…”
“I need to figure out what’s going on with her and an ex of hers. And her financials.”
“Jesus. Why do you care about her ex? It isn’t like you don’t have a thousand of them.”