“Jake, if you’d just listen to me for a second…”
I clanged a few pots while I looked for the frying pan. I kept one ear in Alexa’s direction.
“It’s not that bad,” she insisted. “Really, my fans aren’t going to care.”
She groaned and twirled on the heels of her boots. “I don’t think it happened like that … uh-huh … I know. You’re paranoid. It’s going to be ok. My fans are more forgiving than you.” There was a long pause. “Fine. I’ll be there. But you’re wrong. I know you are.”
She hung up the phone.
I turned the dial, lighting the gas burner. “What did he say?”
She slouched onto one of the stools. “Oh just that I’ve completely ruined my career and that all of my fans are going to turn on me. I should expect my social media to be filled with hate messages.”
I pinched my brows together. “What the fuck?”
“We have already made internet news and it’s only the beginning.”
I couldn’t believe I was going to give advice. “Trust me. I’m an expert here. I’ve been through this shit. It will die down.”
“When?”
“Give it a day or two. Everyone will forget when some other celebrity changes the discussion. Pray some famous fucker gets arrested tonight.”
“That’s terrible.”
“That’s reality, baby.”
I couldn’t tell her how many times I had been saved because some other athlete got a DUI. I wanted to distract her. Get her to stop thinking about how we were caught and get back to focusing on that kiss instead. I had been ready to strip her and take her in the back of my truck. Her tongue drove me wild. Her sweet little moans made my dick hard. We needed to get on that topic.
“Luke, there’s something else.”
“What’s that?” I studied her lips. I wanted them. Badly.
“Jake wants to me ask you if you set it up.”
I moved about as fast as I did when a linebacker was headed for me. “He did what?”
There was a slow blink, but she didn’t back down. “Luke, did you tip off the press?”
“That’s what Jake is worried about?”
“I told him I didn’t think that’s what happened. There’s no way. Absolutely no way you’d involve the press. Because who would do that to someone else?”
It sounded as if she was trying to convince herself.
Her elbows dug into the counter. “You wouldn’t. I mean you hate the way the media follows you around. You’d never.”
I hadn’t moved yet. I held the spatula in my hand.
“But I think I would feel better if I heard you say it yourself.”
The pan sizzled behind me with a pop from the butter splatter. Fuck. Her blue eyes held me. I didn’t like tests. Being tested—being slammed into the middle of a moral crossroads. I was in too deep to turn around from this place. But here I was. In this place where I had to decide what I should do about lying to this pretty girl.
“Luke?”
12
Luke
This morning
Linc honked like he always did when he dropped by to pick me up. I locked the mudroom entry behind me and pressed the code for the alarm. I had a stupid grin on my face I needed to erase. Alexa was all I could think about.
“Damn it, Luke. Dress up for fuck’s sake.”
He eyed my jeans and T-shirt with annoyance when I emerged from the shadows of the garage.
It was early. I didn’t like mornings. I’d already worn a monkey suit in the past twenty-four hours. What did he expect?
“Shut up. It’s a PR guy, not the president.” I pulled open the truck door, slid into the seat, and fastened the seatbelt over my chest.
As usual my manager wore a dark suit. His hair was styled and I noticed a leather tote in the seat behind him on the floorboard. Linc was willing to suck up to people when I wasn’t. Our jobs were well-suited for each of us.
He put the truck in drive and we drove off the ranch toward Austin.
“What do you know about this Charlie fucker?” he asked.
“Not a damn thing.” The longhorns stood sleepily grazing grass in the fields.
“Helpful.” He smirked. “I don’t know what we’re walking into with this meeting.”
I tried to stretch my legs forward.
“I know what it is. Bullshit.” I pulled a pair of sunglasses over my eyes. I’d gotten minimal sleep and if anyone looked directly at me they’d be able to tell. Management forced me to go to that auction. My bloodshot eyes were on them.
“How was the charity deal? You never called me back.”
“Oh, that? Went well.”