Trouble in Paradise (Romantic Suspense, Completed)

Chapter 22

Kat regained the use of her tongue first.

"Twenty-four million what?" Kat asked.

"People on Twitter. That's how many I can reach."

What on earth was he talking about?

His mouth was set in a grim line as he fished his phone out, tapped the screen a few times, and slid it over to me. I peered down at it. The Twitter app was open on an account belonging to Scott Lowes. That name sounded familiar, but why?

I flipped through fuzzy thoughts. Scott Lowes... Scott Lowes... Hang on, wasn't he one of the many, many Hollywood hotshots that Kat kept obsessing over?

"Why do you have access to Scott Lowes's Twitter account? Are you his PA or something?"

Kat couldn't help herself, even in the middle of such a dire situation.

"You know Scott Lowes?" she shrieked, and started fanning herself.

Adam sagged back against the wall, and I sucked in a breath. Kat needed to learn how to tone things down, but now was hardly the time to remind her. Instead, I turned my attention back to the phone and squinted more closely at the tiny picture. A swipe of the screen made it bigger. I looked up at Adam, then back down again.

"What the heck...? You are Scott Lowes."

He nodded.

"But... But..."

"You said you'd never date an actor again. I didn't know how to tell you."

I stood up, hands on hips. I couldn't believe this. "So you thought it was better to lie?"

"Technically, I didn't lie about anything. I just left some stuff out."

"You told me your name was Adam."

"Because it is. Adam Scott Lowestein. My agent shortened it when I started acting, and Hollywood seemed to prefer it."

I collapsed back on the sofa. My legs wouldn't hold me up. And once she'd got over her initial fangirl moment, Kat leapt to my defence.

"You bastard! You're dating Velvet Jones."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are. I saw it on celebgossip.com."

He smacked his palm on his forehead. "Oh, so it must be true."

"You went to two premieres with her."

"That was the studio's idea."

"You still went."

"Look, Velvet's whacked. I made one movie with her, and then she wouldn't leave me alone. She called me every damn day. I had to change my number."

Was he telling the truth? I may not have been familiar with Scott or Adam or whoever he was, but I'd seen a picture of Velvet. She was beautiful, thin, petite, and rich—everything I wasn't. How could Adam possibly prefer me? I couldn't even put on a wetsuit without help.

And I certainly couldn't trust him anymore.

So much had changed in just a few seconds. Last night, I dreamed of a future with Adam. Adam the unemployed drifter. And now I had Scott the Hollywood millionaire? Somehow, what was undoubtedly every other girl's dream had turned into my nightmare.

"I don't know who you are," I said quietly.

"Yes, you do. I'm just Adam. Nothing's changed."

"Oh, sure, nothing's changed. Other than the fact that the man I fell for has millions of females lusting after his every move, everything's totally normal.