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“It is. She was married in the middle of filming, but they wanted to keep it under wraps for as long as possible. You know how it is.” She gave me a compassionate look.
Yeah, this woman wasdefinitelynot a stranger to how I’d been connected to Rhett lately. How silly of me to think she had been unaware when she called. “But she and Rhett were so snuggly during the morning show.”
“Snuggly? They’re more like siblings than lovers, Beth. You have nothing to be worried about. They’re just good friends.”
I tried to remember that first interview, and the protective nature of Rhett’s position and actions made sense when slanted in a sibling light. It also made sense now why Jimmy Fallon brought up a marriage during the show and Rhett blew right past it without any comment.
“Sunny has morning sickness, then?” I asked.
“Yes. She’s five months along, so we thought it would be gone by now, but I guess her mom was sick all nine months too. Nature of the beast sometimes.”
“Huh. So when Jimmy Fallon was questioning Rhett about the wedding that they halted production for—”
“It was Sunny’s.”
“I didn’t realize she’d even been dating anyone.”
“Well, she’s a private person. They met on a beach in Spain, and he’s an accountant. They wanted their relationship to be theirs for as long as possible.”
I understood that very well. “Ooh, he’s Spanish?”
“British, actually. He was there on vacation.” Jackie turned into the room and waved for me to follow her. “This will all come out tonight in a post before the premiere. There’s no hiding her baby bump anymore. It was hard enough during her last interview onBreakfast with Juliana.”
That explained the flowy, oversized clothes she’d been wearing the last time we’d met. It also explained why Rhett thought the only interviews she would agree to would be virtual.
“Sunny’s still waking up from a nap. If you want to set up, she should be out soon.”
“Great, thanks.”
I took my cases to the table that was conveniently set before windows, pulling in a lot of natural light. Perfect. My makeup was all spread out, my hot tools ready to be plugged in, and my products arranged so I could access them easily. The room Jackie had disappeared into was still silent, so I sat in the chair and pulled out my phone.
A notification popped up telling meRhett Myers is now going live!I hesitated, my finger hovering over it. He was probably doing one of those “get ready with me” videos celebrities did sometimes to hype up their red-carpet appearances. Did I really want to see someone else put their hands in his hair or apply his makeup? Not really.
Did I want to see Rhett? Yes. I did.
I clicked the notification, and it jumped me into the app and straight to Rhett’s live video.
He stood near a window, much like the one I was sitting in front of. Actually, it was identical. Same drapes, similar view. He wasin this building?
My stomach gave an involuntary swoop. His hair was styled, and he wore a white shirt open at the collar. This undone look was one of my favorites. I couldn’t stop looking into his clear-blue, basset-hound eyes. They were the very definition of broody and soulful.
“I’m not really one for stage fright, but I am nervous about this.” His laugh rang out on the video and went straight to my heart. Would seeing him ever get easier?
I missed Rhett. And the truth was I didn’t really mind any of the publicity stuff. It wasn’t a dealbreaker for me to be in the spotlight. It was the dishonesty of it all that I couldn’t deal with forever. If I called him and asked for another chance, would I have to break up with him every time he had to pretend-date his movie costar? Would someone else determine the speed at which our relationship could progress? Did he haveanycontrol over his own life?
I shook my head. I wasn’t ever going to move on if I was too busy thinking about him and wanting to be with him again. It was time to let it go.
“There have been a few things about me in the media lately that are not true, and I wanted to clear the air a little bit. You guys are understanding, and I knew I could count on you.” He flashed a smile. “While the media has chosen to vilify Beth Parker—”
WHAT?
“—she has done nothing wrong. I never cheated on anybody with Beth Parker, because I was never with anyone else. I recently put in a few appearances with Karina Bier in an attempt to improve my image. It was nothing more than that. Karina and I are just friends, and you can go ahead and ask her to verify.” He winked to soften his words.
Was Karina on board with this? I guessed she must be if she wanted to keep a good relationship with Rhett for future publicity.
He looked toward the window for a little bit, giving the camera a broody side angle. “I’ve never really worried too much about which relationships of mine are real and which ones are a product of the need for good publicity. It’s part of me and part of my job—or so I thought.” He looked back at the camera. “But someone recently pointed out to me that just because I was used to acting in front of a camera all the time, that didn’t mean I had to let the acting bleed into my life too. I admit that I’ve blurred those lines recently. I’ve been living in a bit of a gray area, and I’m not proud of it.”
What was happening here? Emojis kept popping up on the screen. Rhett’s followers were inundating him with loves and wow faces. So many people had tuned in to hear this, and the comments were rolling faster than I could read them, but my attention was on Rhett’s face, my breath suspended.
