At the start of the week, Kye did what he’d promised after I got the go-ahead from Martina: he marched into the Village Pictures headquarters with the video of Buzz and me at the wrap party. I’d have felt better about him showing it to the executives if it hadn’t also captured me tearing apart Buzz’s creative vision, of course, but I still felt pretty certain that the director’s lewd rant was far more offensive than anything I’d said. Kye and Martina agreed, and so did Rafael when I showed him the video.
Now, Village Pictures has launched an investigation into the incident, and Martina is handling the matter onmy behalf. So far, I have no idea what’s happening other than that post-production forMovinghas been put on hold until the situation is resolved.
‘You have no need to worry,’ Kye reassures me now. ‘She’ll get in touch.’ He reaches for my hand and links our fingers. ‘And what about … the other thing?’ he asks, hesitation colouring his voice. ‘How are you feeling about it?’
I tense.The other thingis the lunch I have scheduled with my father tomorrow. Every time I think about it, my stomach turns in on itself, and I fight off an urge to retch. I haven’t even worked up the courage to tell my mum about it yet.
‘Theother thing,’ I stammer, ‘can’t come soon enough, but is also coming way too fast, if that makes sense.’
Kye’s fingers tighten around mine. ‘It does. And like I said, if there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.’
I smile at him, squinting through the sharp blades of sunlight slicing through the trees. ‘Could you go to the lunchforme?’ I try. ‘Take some notes, and I’ll go see the new Beyoncé concert movie instead?’
He murmurs a sound of sympathy and tugs me closer.
With careful steps, we navigate our way back down the rocky path, and once civilisation has reappeared and we’re back in mobile range, I dig my phone out of my canvas backpack.
‘Everything all right?’ Kye asks, eyeing my frown.
‘Austin tried to call me. He wants me to ring him back.’
Two spots of colour appear on Kye’s cheeks. ‘Why’d he call you?’
‘I have no idea. What do you think he wants?’
He shrugs. ‘No clue.’ We traipse across the picnic ground towards his black Audi in silence. The drama between Kye and Austin still confuses the heck out of me—especially because so much of it has to do with me, even though there was never any real connection between me and Austin.
‘I should call him back,’ I decide out loud as we arrive at the car.
Kye clears his throat and unlocks the doors. ‘Sure.’
We climb into the comfy leather seats, and Kye tugs on his bottom lip with his thumb and forefinger while I bring my phone to my ear.
Austin answers immediately, but his usually energetic tone is flat and sombre. ‘Hi, Evie. Are you with Kye?’
‘Um … no—I’m … I’m with my mum.’
Why did I just say that?My face crunches up. I hate lying.
With a tight swallow, Kye throws the car into gear and pulls out onto the street.
This is ridiculous. Why do I feel like we need to hide this?
‘Cool,’ Austin says, sounding relieved. He then starts on about how he hasn’t seen Kye for a few days. While Austin mutters away, my gaze runs up the side of Kye’s tanned neck, across to the tendrils of dark-caramel hairthat sit up off his forehead and down to his lips, which pout even more when he’s concentrating on the road. If I wasn’t on the phone, I’d crawl over the console and kiss the corner of his mouth. Like he can read my thoughts, he glances at me for a quick second, and an adorable blush hits his cheeks.
‘Anyway, I should’ve made this call ages ago,’ Austin says, drawing back my focus. After a deep breath, he blurts,‘I’m sorry, Evie. I’m sorry for making that announcement at the DanceLab showcase about your dad.’
I seize up in my seat.
‘I honestly didn’t know it was such a big secret,’ Austin says. ‘But I should’ve, because you never said anything about it. I was only thinking about the movie and making it a hit for both of us. I screwed up majorly, and I’m really sorry. You know I’m not the sharpest cookie in the jar.’
A heavy sigh expands my chest. ‘It’s okay,’ I say softly. I look over to Kye, who is only hearing one side of this conversation; his confusion is palpable. ‘I believe that you didn’t know I wanted my father’s identity kept secret,’ I add for Kye’s benefit. A little line forms on his brow, and he reaches over to set his palm on my thigh.
‘Is there anything I can do to make it better?’ Austin asks me.
It’s not a question I expected from him. As I think about it now, however, a run of formerly held-back words breaks free. ‘You can agree to break up with me,’ I say. ‘Publicly. This taste I’ve had of media interest inthese past few months isnotworking for me. I know it’s not great timing for the film, but what do you think? Could we cool off our public romance?’
Kye glances at me as Austin lets out a breath. ‘I’d have to talk to Kye about it,’ he replies. ‘There’s a lot of shit attached to this movie already, so we’d have to play it right.’
