“Well, that’s because my mother and everyone I know is calling me and asking if I knew that you were in a relationship with Jo. I can’t handle any more questions. And that statement sure as hell doesn’t make it sound like you guys didn’t have anything going on,” I said, as a lump formed in my throat.
“Ivy, we’ve never had anything, and you know that. I brought you onstage to let everyone know that we’re together. This is just someone trying to stir up drama. Our legal team came up with that lame-ass statement, and I’m not happy about it and neither is Zane. I will just make a live statement if this shit doesn’t die down. Tune out all the noise, baby. We’re going to be fine. Declan and Anton just landed, and they are heading over to the football game. I just emailed you a photo of them, so you’ll know who they are. They’ll stay out of your hair. I’ve worked with them many times over the years, and you can trust them.”
“All right, thank you for having them come here. You know I can take care of myself,” I said.
“Of course I do. But these people are batshit crazy, and I just want to make sure that you’re safe. You aren’t throwing in the towel yet, right? That’s what they probably want to happen.”
“Please. This does not scare me, Ty. Sure, I didn’t expect to be hated, but I know what’s true and I know who I am. I’ve never struggled with that. They can kiss my ass if they think I’m going to run away because of a stupid rumor.”
“That’s my girl. I love you, Ive. I promise you this will blow over. Someone is trying to hurt us, and I have no idea why. Jo thinks it might be an ex-girlfriend of hers, but we just don’t know. Do you want me to come there right now?”
I laughed and shook my head. “You have a show in Nashville. Let’s not give them more reason to be angry. I’m fine here, I promise.”
“Just stay at Addy’s tonight and keep your phone on, okay?”
“I hate to say it, but Zane might be right. It might not be good for me to come next week.”
“Let’s just see if it dies down. This is part of the package, baby. It took me a bit to deal with the fandom too, and you’ll learn to ignore it. I just forget how shitty it is when you’re initially thrown into it; it’s been five years. But you’ll learn to flush it too, got me? I love you, you know that, right?”
“Yep.” He was right. And I’d be dammed if I let anyone come between what Ty and I had. We’d waited a long time to be together.
And we loved each other something fierce.
I was holding on tight to that.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ty
“Find yourself a man who writes music that speaks to your soul. ” Ivy, after attending her first Ty Greene concert
Things had gone from bad to worse over the past two days. The media had run with the story that Ivy had broken up a serious relationship between me and Jo. They were now blaming her for a miscarriage that she never had. It was so far-fetched it was hard to wrap my head around.
Ivy was getting bombarded in Willow Springs, but she’d handled it like a champ. She’d refused to hide out at Addy’s, and Declan and Anton were definitely earning their salary following her all over town. There were news teams there now, fans were making threats online and saying terrible things about her. I’d had Jett disable all her social media. Her office building had been egged, and she’d been photographed scrubbing her office door and smiling for the cameras. She was refusing to let this break her even though it was cyberbullying at its finest. And I was about done with all of it.
Ivy and I were talking all day, every day. I’d made her promise to stay off the internet for anything other than work, but I’d been checking, and the things people were saying were brutal.
Jo and Rayne were also frustrated as they felt like it was time to tell the world their story. Jo was going home to speak to her parents this coming weekend. But Zane just kept insisting we hold off on speaking out and let things die down.
Aside from her workplace taking a hit, no one had vandalized her house probably because there was a camera crew sitting there twenty-four-seven, along with police officers driving by every hour. Ivy, being the daughter of the Willow Springs police chief, worked in her favor as he made sure they were keeping a close eye on her.
“I miss you,” she said as she lay on her bed FaceTiming me.
“I miss you too, baby.”
“I wish you were here.” My chest squeezed. The guilt was substantial. I’d done this to her. I’d known better too, but I did it anyway. Because I was a selfish asshole, and I couldn’t stay away.
“What if Jett could get you out through your garage and you could lie down on the back seat, and he’d drive you to the hangar? I could fly you here and you could just stay backstage where no one would see you. And we could be together when I’m not at the show.”
“I like the sound of that. I just don’t want to make things worse. What does your legal team say?”
“Zane’s fighting with them over the way they’re handling it. Let me talk to him, okay? I need to see you, Ive. I can’t stand this much longer.”
“Me either, and I can have Kathleen cover work for a few days. We’re super slow right now anyway.”
Zane opened the door and paused when he saw I was on the phone. I held up my hand.
“I’ll call you after the show. I love you.”
“Love you too,” she said before ending the call.
“Did you talk to Thompson?” He was our chief legal that the label used, and he had a pretty powerful team of attorneys at his beck and call.
“Yeah, he’s working on it.”
“Maybe I should talk to him. The way they’re handling this is bullshit. I think I should just go out and speak to the press. Shut things down once and for all.”
Zane nodded and dropped to sit on the couch. “I know you’re frustrated. I feel bad about how hard I was pushing you for so long, and I heard you, Ty. I want to do my job where I can for you. And I promise I am out there busting everyone’s balls about this. Let me do this for you, okay? You focus on the show.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “It’s ridiculous that we’re responding to this pathetic shit. It’s affecting my relationship now, Zane. I’m thinking maybe we sneak Ivy out of the house and get her to the hangar, and we can hide her out here with me. It would mean a lot if you could help me make this happen, man.”
“All right. Let’s do it. I’ll schedule the flight and you make arrangements for her to get to the hangar unseen. If we can get her there without anyone seeing her, I’ll handle the pickup on our end. She’ll have Declan and Anton as well to stay with her until she lands. I’ll send our best driver and make sure the pilot and the driver know that she is not to be seen. Declan and Anton can shadow her in a second car, just to make sure we are covered. We can sneak her in after the concert starts tomorrow, so no one will be standing out there if the show’s already started. And then we’ll figure out a way to get her out of here with you, even if we have to wrap her in a blanket and carry her out,” he said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. This was the Zane that I loved. The guy who’d helped me build my career and always had my back. I hadn’t felt that from him in a long time, but now that I was in a crisis, he’d stepped up. And that shit mattered to me.