“What the hell is going on?” she said, staring down at her phone. “I have seventeen missed calls from Henley.”
“Fuck,” I said, leaning over her shoulder to look at her screen.
“Oh, nooooo. Fucking Beckett can’t ever just keep his mouth shut,” she hissed.
“What happened?”
“Apparently, he spoke out publicly about our relationship with some big entertainment show,” she groaned, leaning against my shoulder as she hit play on the video she’d been sent.
The dude looked haggard. His jeans hung from his slim frame, and his hair was overgrown and hanging in his face. “I’ve had a lot of messages from fans asking if I’m okay, and I know I posted a little about it, but I agreed to this interview so I could speak out, and you all can stop worrying about me.”
“He is such a narcissist,” Lulu hissed.
“It’s true what Lulu said. She and I haven’t been together in a very long time, and I know I messed up. But after seeing the photos that you’ve all seen, the one of her with her new boyfriend… it did something to me. My eyes are opened. I’ve been awakened from a very long sleep,” he said dramatically, as the woman interviewing him shook her head like she understood what he meant.
Was he a fucking bear? Had he been hibernating?
“We have a break in our tour next week, and I will be jumping on the first plane out of here and heading to Rosewood River. It’s time to win my girl back. I hope you all will send me the positive vibes that I can make it happen,” he said.
“Of course, he’s got to drag the whole world into his drama. It’s all about getting attention.” Lulu rubbed her temple with her free hand.
And then the douchebag looked right at the camera, moving closer. “Sorry, Rafe Chadwick. I think you took something that belongs to me.”
What the actual fuck?
Was this prick for real?
She glanced up at me and sighed. “Welcome to my shit show.”
“He also just told all of his fans where he’s going to be,” I said. “Doesn’t he worry about security?”
“No. He’ll travel with his security team. He loves the attention,” she said, making no attempt to hide her irritation. “I’m sorry. Your name is now out there even more now.”
We pulled up in front of the hotel and stepped out of the car. I needed to process the information before I made a decision about what we should do. I paid the driver, and we both thanked him, just as several flashes went off, causing me to startle. I pulled Lulu beside me, taking in the photographers that were lined up near the entrance of the hotel, and hurried her inside.
A man wearing a fancy suit walked toward us, holding his hands up. He explained that he was the hotel manager, and he’d already phoned the police to ask them to clear the paparazzi from the premises.
I informed him that we were checking out in the morning, and he said he’d make sure it was clear when we left the hotel. Lulu hadn’t said a word.
We stepped onto the elevator, and she did the most unexpected thing.
Dropping to her knees in the closet had been unexpected in the best way.
But seeing her bottom lip wobble…
Seeing the way she blinked rapidly to stop the tears that were threatening to fall…
It caused a deep pain in the center of my chest. I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her. “It’s going to be fine.”
“It’s not, Rafe. He’s going to come and ruin this place that I’m enjoying. A place where I can work peacefully until I move to Paris. He’s toxic and selfish, and he doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions. It’s like dealing with a toddler all the time.”
The last word broke on a sob, and when the elevator doors opened, I moved her quickly down the hall to our hotel room. She dropped to sit on the bed, and she let it all out. I grabbed the box of tissues from the bathroom and bent down in front of her.
“Lulu. It’ll pass. Come on, don’t let this guy win.”
She looked up at me, eyes swollen with a little mascara smeared beneath them. “He has won. We haven’t been together in so long, but he comes to town and upsets my family. He drags my name into the press every few months. He makes it so that I don’t want to date anyone because I’m so guarded now. And he’s going to drag you and your family through the mud. And the craziest part of all of this is that he doesn’t even want me back.”
I sat beside her on the bed, wrapping my arms around her. “You sure about that?”
