Page 76 of Sex Symbol

He took a swallow of his coffee and looked over at the set nearby, hoping it was time for filming to resume. Bruce was still adjusting lights, though. Damn, he wasn’t getting out of this interviewyet.

He moved his attention back to Ariahn who was peering at him intently. He cocked his head, deciding to play dumb. “Oh, are you waiting for me to answer? I didn’t realize it was a question.”

“I guess it wasn’t.” Ariahn picked up her bag and rifled through it. “Here’s a question though.” She pulled out several sheets of paper and laid them on the table between them. “Who’s this attractive young woman that Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor has been hanging out with recently?”

Micah felt the blood drain from his face as he examined the papers in front of him. They were low-quality photos, obviously printed off the Internet, four of them in total. Three pictures were of him and Maddie getting into the basket of the hot air balloon. One of the crew must have taken them with his phone. How had he not noticed? The fourth was from the Breckenridge Film Festival. That one didn’t surprise him. In fact, none of it surprised him. He knew the press would find out about her eventually. They alwaysdid.

Fuck.

He wasn’t ready forthis.

Several possible responses whirled through his mind, each with a different set of consequences. A big part of him said he should just claim her as his. Tell Ariahn that Maddie was his girlfriend and deal with the aftermath later.

But he hadn’t talked to Maddie about it and that wouldn’t be fair to her. He needed to have this conversation with her first. Tell her how he felt. Work out with her how they would move forward.

Besides, there would be an inevitable media circus. Once it was out that they were a couple, every decision they made would be under the microscopic eye of his fans and the paparazzi. It would add an incredible amount of strain to their relationship. Maddie’s private life would be destroyed. They’d pounce on her, follow her wherever she went, dig up all of her past, lie about her. Hurther.

They’d find out about her history with Joss Beaumont. That could harm her chances at a directing career. Hell, it could harm his own career.

Did she even realize that’s what dating him meant? Why hadn’t he talked to her about the press? Prepared her? He was such an idiot, trying to keep their romance in a bubble.

And when her movie came out—and it would eventually, he’d see to it—her brilliance would be overlooked because she was Micah Preston’s girlfriend. People would say that was the only reason she’d gotten her movie picked up, before they even sawit.

At that moment, he hated the press more than he ever had. Because they forced him to keep Maddie a secret, whether he wanted to ornot.

He processed all of this in a matter of seconds so when he answered Ariahn it didn’t even seem like he’d skipped a beat. “Ah, Maddie Bauers. Yeah, she’s on the crew of this show.” He removed his sunglasses and met the reporter’s eyes, hoping to come across sincere. “She’s also a writer/director and we’ve been talking about working on a project together.”

Ariahn looked skeptical. “In a hot air balloon?”

“Only place I’m not followed by paparazzi.” Yeah, it was vague, but it was also charming.

“Yes, the paparazzi.” Ariahn smirked. “Oh, I forgot—I have one more.” She uncovered another sheet of paper she had tucked under the others. This one was taken in the lobby of the Buell. He and Maddie were lip-locked in one of the most heart-searing kisses of his lifetime. The usher. It had tobe.

Goddammit!Why did everyone have to have camera phones nowadays?

Though he liked the look of them together likethat.

This one was the hardest to deny. This one almost made him ignore all the reasonable arguments and claim Maddie as his right then and there.

Almost.

“This looks like more than a meeting about a project,” Ariahn prodded.

He swallowed his surprise, his frustration, his desire to come clean about the woman he adored and improvised. “All right, Ariahn, you caught me. I made a pass. Hot girl at a hot party? I’ve been known to dothat.”

Ariahn raised an eyebrow. “Let me put it this way: Micah, are you off the market?”

“Come on, am I ever off the market?” He added a wink. Time to bring out flirtatious Micah.

It worked. She smiled coyly in return. “So you’re still Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor?”

“Definitely.” He leaned back in his seat, putting on a relaxed air contrary to the uneasiness he felt at dismissing his relationship with Maddie. “Without a doubt. Free and single as ever. In fact, I’d ask you if you were busy later, but I see you’re wearing an engagementring.”

“Hey, you got that hard drive for Beaumont?” Joe’s voice drew Micah to peer behind him to see who he was addressing.

His heart stopped.

Maddie.

She was standing right behind him, clearly in ear shot, hard drive in hand as Joe approached her from the set. Micah didn’t have to wonder if she had overheard his interview. Her face said that she had heard everyword.

And that every wordhurt.

Fuck!

But this shouldn’t matter, he told himself. They’d agreed no media. A shift had occurred between them, he couldn’t deny that, but they hadn’t said they were ready for this. He would remind her of that. He’d tell her how he felt about her and that would make up for this. It hadto.

Except the pain in her eyes said that nothing could make up forthis.

Maddie didn’t speak, but she turned and waved the hard drive atJoe.

“Cool,” Joe said. “I’ll tell him you’re on yourway.”

Micah almost rose to follow as she left briskly toward video village. He almost called afterher.

But he couldn’t. Not without negating everything he’d just told Ariahn Jessler. Not without inviting chaos into their relationship.

No, he had to sit and watch her walk away, hoping he wasn’t watching her walk out of his life forever.