“Did you know I studied public relations as part of my degree?”
Willow’s stomach flipped. “You did?”
“Yeah. So while we wait for Luke to call, why don’t we start to build a plan? For a start, grant me access to all your platforms. You aren’t to read any of the stuff posted over the next forty-eight hours. It’s too stressful. I’ll read it and make a list of themes your statement should address. And then, we’ll document it and send out a press release. Granted, this is a bigger press release than anything I’ve ever worked on, but it shouldn’t be hard. I’ll set up an email address for all enquires so they filter to one place. Then, we’ll pin the statement to all your platforms. And maybe when—”
“Thanks, Iz,” Willow whispered, reaching for Izabel’s hands.
Izabel smiled as she nodded. “Anytime, sis.”
Luke slammed upright in bed. “What the fuck?” he muttered as he reached for the lamp. The phone in his hotel room was ringing, while someone hammered on the door.
The red lights of the digital clock in the room accusingly told him it was half past four in the morning.
“One second,” he shouted grumpily as he reached for his joggers and pulled them on.
He yanked open the door to find Matt in the hallway. With his T-shirt crooked, his shorts wrinkled, and his feet bare, Matt looked as dishevelled as he felt. They’d only been in bed two hours.
“There’s nothing wrong with the baby, but you need to call Willow.”
His heart dropped in his chest with a thud that reverberated through his ribs.
“What happened?” he said, grabbing his phone.
Five missed calls.
Matt opened his phone and pointed it in Luke’s direction.
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The worst, a photograph of the two of them, the last one posted to her social media platforms. It was after their talk on the rocks, where he bared his soul to her. They’d wandered back to the hotel, hand in hand. And after a glass of wine where he’d thanked his lucky stars that she was still with him, she’d taken the picture.
It was the backdrop of his phone, because in that moment, he’d felt that life might be conquerable. To see it bashed online hurt.
He dialled Willow, is heart racing as he waited for her to pick up.
“Flower,” he said as Willow’s face appeared on his screen. At his words, a tear spilled over her lashes and his heart cracked for her. “We’ll figure it out. Together. I promise.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I should never have asked you to do this.”
“One second, babe.” He looked at Matt. “Get me home, mate. As soon as we can, yeah?”
“Alex is already on it. I’ll stop by his room to see what he found. United front, yeah? All of us have your back. And Willow’s.”
“Thanks, mate.”
He waited to respond to Willow until the door clicked shut. “You don’t need to be sorry. If you’d come to me back then with anything else, the promise of a relationship, I wouldn’t have listened. It’s because of that contract I’m here. I’m not sorry in the least.”
“You’re not?”
“How could I be? I love you. You’re carrying my child. And I love him too. Was it the kind of get together that legends are made of? Not exactly. But isn’t that what all good rock ’n’ roll stories are made of?”
“You still love me?”
“Yes, Will. I love you. Loved you from the moment Alex bet me a hundred quid I couldn’t sleep with you.”
“I was a bet?”
“You were. The easiest money I ever made because one look at you and I was sunk. I just didn’t know how to deal with it.”
“But a bet?”
“Yup. And I’d bet on you, and us, and Cletus a hundred times over. When our back is against the wall, I want to . . .”
Shit. A lump formed in his throat.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Sorry. I was just thinking I want to be like Dad. I want to protect you and Cletus. I want it to be us versus the world when it matters.”
Willow placed her hand over her heart. “You did a great job of protecting your sister. I have no doubt you can look after us. Your sister is amazing, by the way.”
“What made you go up there?”
“I realised I didn’t need to face this alone.”
“You trust her.”
“I drank tea.”
“Wow. You really do trust her.”
This time when she smiled, it reached her eyes. “Izabel has been so helpful. She’s helping me write a PR plan. I thought we could deny it. Unless people have proof, which I think—”
“Let’s tell the truth. You’ve got the opportunity to do something amazing here. Being a social media influencer is seen as this super cushy job. But it’s not. It’s cutthroat. And maintaining the lifestyle is a full-time job. And there are young girls who follow you. Getting pregnant unexpectedly isn’t the end of the world. It shouldn’t be the end of your deals. If you worked at an office and got pregnant, your employer can’t fire you. All of this is morally bankrupt. You have a chance to pivot, Will. To become an advocate. To tell the truth online. To share the good with the bad. Show the balance, babe. I’ve got your back. The band has your back.”
“I don’t know, Luke. It’s bothering me that I don’t know how the paparazzi found out.”
Luke lay back down on the bed. “Does it matter? They know. It doesn’t affect you and me. What happens next in our life isn’t defined by this moment.”
“But doesn’t it bother you that people are asking why you took the money?”
“I took it because you needed the contract to trust me enough. It’s the only reason. And you know that. I know that. Those people who matter to us know. Everyone else out there, sitting behind their keyboards firing potshots at us because their life is miserable . . . I don’t give a shit about them.”
“What if they all unfollow me?”
“Will. You have, like, a bazillion followers. You don’t have to be a math wizard to know in basic probability that at least fifty percent of them will stay with you.”
“What if they unfollow you?”
Luke ran his hand through his hair. “Again, I don’t give a shit about them. Anyone who judges me for the things I’ve done in my life can go fuck themselves. Let’s tell the truth, Will. Wait until I get home and we’ll do it together. Alex is working on flights. I’ll be home as soon as I can, okay? I’ll go see what Alex has been able to book.”
Willow sighed, her shoulders rising and falling. “Hurry. I love you.”
“I love you too. Try to relax. It’s not good for you or Cletus.”
Four hours later, he was trying to attain the calm he’d encouraged Willow to find. When Iz had messaged him two hours ago that Willow was asleep on the sofa, he’d felt relieved. Now, he felt anything but.