Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 290(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“Not in general no, but Derek is the main reason I left the first time around.”
“No!”
I nodded. “Yep.”
And now I couldn’t stop thinking about his words as he’d spun me around the dance floor. They had a ring of believability to them, or maybe that was just wishful thinking. Either way I couldn’t let myself, my heart or my mind be swayed by his words. I could forgive him, easily, because that’s what was best for me, but could I trust him?
I still didn’t know, and until I did, I would have to tread carefully.
Chapter 18
Derek
“So you do know how to follow directions.” Brody’s loud voice boomed over the phone, his tone thick with amusement. “Good to know. I’ll file that away for later.”
I grunted at him, but I couldn’t help smiling. “I have my moments. I did good, yeah?”
“You did very good Derek. The photos of you and Bella bowling are pure fucking gold. They look as if I hired a professional photographer to follow you lovebirds around, and if anyone asks I may or may not insinuate that’s what happened.” He laughed for real for the first time in months. “And the media is eating it up. They’re already wondering how Bella managed to forgive your foolish ass.”
I gave the air a silent fist pump, because this fake relationship thing was already working out so much better than I anticipated. “As long as they don’t ask her directly, we’ll be fine.” The date had gone well, very well, and Bella hadn’t been awkward or anxious at all. As soon as she had the ball in her hands, she was all sassy comments and competitive vixen. She was gorgeous as she laughed and smiled while she taunted me and talked smack through three games.
“About that,” Brody began. “It might become necessary. Right now it’s not, but just keep in mind that we might need her to say a few words. She can do that, can’t she?”
I shook my head, fully aware that Brody couldn’t see me. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“We can find a way to make it part of the deal if it becomes necessary,” He said in a dismissive tone. “The beer and nachos were a nice touch. Women all over the country, hell the whole damn world are lamenting how she is the non-famous woman who’s won your heart.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “As long as they approve.”
“Don’t be that way Derek. You screwed up, and you are well on your way to fixing it. Thanks to the fans, it’s working, so just keep up what you’re doing. Don’t deviate from the formula,” he encouraged in a firm tone.
“I have no plans to Brody. Don’t worry.” In fact I hadn’t been able to keep my eyes off the social media photos of me and Bella. Not only did we look good together, we looked like a natural fit. She was a tall woman, so we were nearly eye to eye when she wore her killer heels, and we couldn’t keep our eyes off each other, so the photos were authentic. We came across like a real couple who had been together for years.
“Good, because this slow trickle of content through social media is working. The public relations assholes are happy with your efforts, and they’ve been blasting the photos to make people remember why they love you so much.” Brody sighed, and I knew there was more. The man had a routine when it came to delivering news. He started with a joke, and sandwiched it with praise before he went in for the kill. “Even the label is thrilled with this new turn your life has taken.”
I snorted. “My life was fine with them for twenty years. Now they’re concerned?”
“Not exactly,” he said, mincing his words, which wasn’t like Brody at all.
“Then what exactly, Brody?”
“A song. They want you to write and produce a song.”
That wasn’t so bad. “I do that and I’ll be out of the dog house? Out of exile?”
“Probably.”
I growled in frustration. “What the fuck Brody? How long is this going to last?”
Brody exploded with laughter. “Poor little Derek, forced to spend time in the company of a beautiful woman. Oh no!”
“Sarcasm makes you come across grumpy Brody.”
“Whatever,” he said, still chuckling. “Look, it hasn’t been that long in the grand scheme of things. If you return to normal after two dates, some smart ass is going to put two and two together, so be a good little rock star and make this work for you. For all of us. Can you do that?”
I turned back to the photo of Bella with her head thrown back in laughter, a cheesy bowling alley nacho perched between two fingers with three jalapeno peppers on top. It looks as if she’s a normal girlfriend feeding her boyfriend, but the truth was the woman had been trying to kill me with all those jalapenos. But her laughter, her smiling eyes had made the challenge worth the heartburn. “Yeah, of course I can do it. That’s not the issue. I’ve done my time as a dancing monkey, and I won’t do this forever.”