Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
I love you.
I’m in love with you.
I’d never said those words to anyone unless they were scripted. They terrified me. Even now, in the beautiful gloom of the forest at night, with a fire leaping in the stone circle, Garrett’s arm warm and heavy wrapped around my shoulders, his voice pouring into my ear like honeyed brandy, a little chill touched my heart at the idea of saying them out loud.
“What is it?” Garrett asked, breaking off mid-sentence. He’d been telling me about how easily his first book came. How hard the second one was. So hard that he wasn’t sure he had a second book in him. But still, he’d caught the shift in my mood.
“It’s nothing.” I snuggled further under his arm, slipping my cold hands under his sweater to warm them against the hard pane of his stomach. He tensed, and I saw his cock stir in his pants, but he wasn’t swayed.
“Tell me.”
I couldn’t. I wasn’t ready. So I groped for a believable half-truth. “Talking about your book has me thinking about my career. The roles used to come so easily. Now it’s so hard. Sometimes I wonder–” I trailed off.
“Sometimes you wonder what? If it’s worth it?” Garrett asked, his voice sharp with perception.
I nodded against his shoulder. “Yeah. But then, what else would I do? It’s the only thing I’ve ever–” I almost said loved, but I caught myself in time. “--wanted to do.”
Garrett was silent for a long time, his eyes fixed on the leaping fire. I looked beyond it, out at the still, silent lake. Far across, I could see another fire burning. I felt the tension drawing him tight and wished I hadn’t said anything.
But not badly enough to tell him the truth.
“You’re going to get everything you want,” Garrett said suddenly, and his voice had changed completely. He sounded like he used to: ruthlessly confident and unnervingly determined, like because he said it, it was preordained.
“I have everything I want right now,” I murmured, trying to bring him back.
He tightened his grip on me, but his jaw stayed as hard as granite as he stared into the flames.
27
GARRETT
The day we got back, Jasmine Portillo gave an interview against her attorney’s advice. She said Destiny knew what was going on on the yachts. The story was getting bigger.
I watched the coverage feeling shittier than I had in years. I was letting Destiny down. After all the careers I’d help salvage, I was fucking helpless to do anything for the one that mattered most. I’d become blasé with all my success. I’d learned to shrug off the ones that didn’t work out because my track record of success had paved my way in gold. If I wasn’t successful once or twice, well, I couldn’t work miracles. Not everything was in my control. I could guide one person, influence a few others, but I wasn’t some grand puppet master.
But now I wanted to work a miracle. I wanted to silence Jasmine and have Geoffrey Dorsch taken out and I wanted that fucking hipster director to meet with Destiny, because if he did, he’d see that her talent outweighed her past. She wasn’t Magical Melody anymore. She wasn’t a side character in a bigger movie. She was a star.
I ran through my options with Jasmine. Landon was still looking into her past. He said there was definitely shit to be dug up, he was just looking for the right shovel. I didn’t know what the hell that meant, but it seemed like a positive sign. I just hoped he found it soon. I’d discredit that psychopath no matter when the shit came up, but it would be ideal if I could interrupt her current news cycle.
Geoffery Dorsch was a nonstarter. Even Landon didn’t deal in jailhouse hits. And even if he did–what good would it do? It would just hit restart on the story, and that wouldn’t help Destiny.
The director was the only thing I could possibly influence.
I called Julian. “Can you get me some face time with Adrian Yester?”
“You don’t want face time with Adrian Yester,” Julian said. “He’s a prick.”
“Regardless,” I said grimly.
There was a long, curious pause while Julian weighed how much to pry. I wished that for once in his life, Julian would decide to leave well enough alone.
“Does this have something to do with Destiny’s audition for his new movie?” Julian asked, blowing up that bit of wishful thinking.
“Maybe.”
“Then maybe I can get you a seat at the table for this charity fundraiser I’m going to tonight. Adrian’s at my table, too.”
I sighed, aggravated. Part of me wanted to tell Julian to fuck off, I’d find Adrian Yester on my own. But the other part of me knew that this was the quickest, most direct route to Adrian. And while Julian was being a pain in the ass about it, he was willing to rearrange his 10k-per-seat table to help me out.