“I—It’s okay. I told them I was up for whatever they needed.”
Now his jaw tightened. “Is ‘yes’ the only answer you know?” There was an odd stiltedness to his question. Would he prefer I was a prima donna who needed all requests to be submitted in writing in triplicate a week in advance?
“No.” My lips twitched.
He relaxed. “Thank you for being here today. It means a lot to me.”
Breathlessness robbed the words from my throat, and I nodded.
Gwen stepped in front of us. “We’ll get you two beside each other with a few props. Video first and then some photos. We’ll need a few minutes to change the lighting. Quick, short lines and the photographer will try to have you both out of here as quickly as she can with minimal embarrassment.” She handed us both a card and let out a slightly hysterical laugh before running away. It wasn’t a fangirl star-struck laugh; I’d heard those a thousand times before. This was something else.
The room buzzed with activity the way every set did. There were so many people behind the camera. Hair, makeup, lighting, sound.
“She seems nice.” I scanned the card with the lines printed in size 22 font. Memorizing them like I did my lyrics, I set them to a melody, so everyone wasn’t hanging around waiting for me to say my lines correctly.
“Gwen is my right-hand woman. She’s been working for me for three years.” He searched over his shoulder for her.
Had that work relationship ever progressed beyond just work? People often made assumptions about me and Holden, who was off in the corner pretending he didn’t have a watchful eye on everything going on in the room while also scrolling through his tablet.
“It’s hard to find good people.”
“She’s been with me through three moves so far.”
“And she doesn’t mind following you all over the country?”
“Not with how much she gets paid. Those red-soled shoes don’t come cheap.”
The bright color peeped out from under every step. Nope, I wasn’t jealous. He could sleep with whomever he wanted. So why did it feel like taking a mic stand to the chest?
“That’s like Holden and his watches.”
Keyton shot me a look.
Gwen returned. “We have these for you. They’ll match, so we don’t have to worry about any color clashes with your outfit.” She hefted a furry costume unicorn head and handed it over to me.
Now the laughter made complete sense. Was this a weird embarrassment play? Make me uncomfortable and keep me looking like an absolute idiot?
The weight hit my hands and sent me pitching forward. Keyton and Gwen both lurched forward to steady me. “People wear this on their heads? It’s so heavy.”
Shifting it, I stood straight. They let go of me, Keyton’s hands lingering longer than Gwen’s.
She’d been carrying both heads like they were made of paper mâché. Holden better watch out. She could probably challenge him in a bench press competition.
“And we’ve got this one for you, boss.” She held out a furry alligator head with one freaking hand.
He took it from her like it was nothing.
Show-offs. I tried not to grumble.
“Are we hosting a furry convention or a costume party?” He examined the mossy green head.
“We’re improvising with what we have on hand.” She walked back to the table. “Or would you prefer the leather bondage gear option.” The silver loops and rings from the outfit clinked against each other doing their best heavy metal wind chime impersonation. She grumbled under her breath. “This is what happens when you send a new intern out on a job without explicit instructions. So this is what we have…”
He stared at me wide-eyed.
“Furries.” We said at the same time.
The embarrassment-soaked laughter broke some of the tension.
The director for our impromptu shoot came over and showed us our marks.
We recited the lines ten or twenty times before they got whatever footage they needed. After every one, Gwen pranced over and handed us a new prop. She took Keyton’s coat and gave him a new one.
All their moves were choreographed without a word. He handed her his cufflinks and rolled the sleeves of his button-down shirt to the elbows.
The flare of jealousy was hard to explain. Hard to tamp down. Hard to ignore.
I had no claim to him. Not like he had to me, even all these years later. The indelible mark he’d left on me back in Greenwood had been reinforced in LA. Whereas I’d been one of many, firmly in the rearview mirror of his life.
He’d been engaged. If that didn’t spell moved on, I don’t know what did. Hell, it screamed it through a megaphone into my ear.
Emily and Holden jumped in for touch ups here and there.
“Bay?” Keyton touched my shoulder.
I jerked, focusing on him again. Going through the motions had become second nature. I hadn’t even noticed the lighting guys changing the lights and the video camera being stowed.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“We can sit for a few minutes while they change the lights.” He motioned to the two folding chairs beside the folding table with some of the props on them.
I sat and tucked my hands between my legs, trying not to let the awkwardness eat me alive.
“It’s great you’ve got Gwen here to handle all your needs.” My smile was tissue paper thin.
His head tilted. One eyebrow dropped a hint. “She’s indispensable. I couldn’t do half the things I do without her.”
“Must be great to have someone like her you can rely on no matter what?” Why am I saying this? If he is with Gwen, why the hell do I want to know? It’s none of my business. I have no claim to him.
He owes me nothing.
I’m here for his foundation and there’s nothing more attached to it.
His eyes narrowed. “She’s great at her job. Why do you keep asking me so many questions about Gwen? What about Holden? How long have you two been together?”
“He was there the night I left LA.” A sinking feeling engulfed my stomach. It was part of our story. The ones I’d recited to reporters and interviewers and other managers who’d tried to swoop in as my star rose. The story of me and Holden being a team from the beginning. But I’d forgotten I wasn’t talking to anyone. I was talking to him.
His bare forearms flexed. “You walked out of your apartment while I was sleeping and hopped right into an SUV with him?”
I stared down at my hands pinched between my thighs. This was what I got for opening that Pandora’s Box. “No.” I glanced up. “He was on the plane Maddy arranged to take me to Seattle.”
“Wow, so a whole thirty-minute trip to the airport.” His voice was a hair off a growl.
“Forty if you count the trip to Felicia’s to drop off the letter.” Pushing. Prodding. Poking. I couldn’t help it. How long had this Gwen situation been a thing? Didn’t he just have a fiancée?
His jaw clenched. “What’s it been like having him by your side all these years taking care of you through your rise to stardom?”
Like he didn’t have someone taking care of all his needs too. “He’s been great to have around in all the stressful situations I’ve been thrown into over the years.”