AllFreeNovel
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He was talking to me, but he wasn’tjusttalking to me. He was talking to all of his 57 million followers. If my life were a romcom movie, this would qualify as the grand gesture moment.
“Beth Parker is a fantastic hairstylist. She joined us for the Date-a-Star campaign and has been extraordinarily helpful, not just to me, but also to other members of my team. She is currently styling Sunny Nash for tonight’s premiere.”
“Traitor!” Sunny called from the other room. “He wasn’t supposed to mention that he knew that.”
A smile touched my lips.
Rhett looked into the camera. The light from the window highlighted his blue eyes. He looked sincere. Despite the fact that I’d been feeling for weeks like I couldn’t tell when he was acting and when he wasn’t, I thought Icould. Rhett acted well, but he was still human. All those times he’d been annoyed with Bridget or something and—flash—shifted into a happy guy for his fans, that wasn’t acting. It was him happy to see his fans. He didn’t carry his frustration over, which wasn’t the same thing as pretending.
“If you’ve been around for a while, then you know how much I care about my fans. So this part is specifically to all of you: I’m sorry. I want to apologize for my dishonesty. While I never did anything that directly affected Karina Bier, I allowed the media to make you believe otherwise. Someone recently pointed out to me how shady that was, and I hope you’ll accept my apology. From now on, everything I show you moving forward is 100 percent me.”
That could not have been easy.
“If you’ve been following the Date-a-Star campaign, you’ll probably already know that the winner yesterday for San Francisco’s date, going with me to the premiere ofAll Aboard, was me.” He gave the camera a goofy grin. “Yes, I outbid everyone, and I still plan to double the number and donate the money to a California-based charity that’s close to my heart:Teaching United. You’re probably familiar with it, since Naomi Price is one of their lead spokeswomen, and she’s hard to ignore.”
He outbid everyone? He bought his own ticket? What the heck?
“I tried to win back Beth Parker, and she wouldn’t have me. I know! Can you believe it? It broke my heart too, but her reasons were valid. I won’t betray her trust and tell you those reasons, because I want to protect her privacy, but I will admit that she is the other reason I’m doing this ultra-revealing video for you all.” He chuckled. “I’m not hiding anymore. So, will you help a guy out? Here’s what I need from you. Bethany, you’re getting a text with the info for where to meet me if you want to be my date tonight. If you don’t show up, I’ll accept my defeat and back off. Everyone else, comment and convince this woman to give me another chance.”
Good heavens.
“But, Beth, please be there.”
Oh, hello, heart strings. Rhett was playing them like a banjo.
He closed out of the live video. I put my phone on the table and rubbed my temples.
“That was quite the declaration.”
I looked up. Sunny stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. Her rounded baby bump was obvious with her robe tied tightly over the top of it, and she was glowing.
“You were part of this plot, weren’t you?” I asked.
She laughed. “Maybe. Rhett called me. He knew I had your number for future styling jobs, and he asked if I would hire you for this premiere because he needed to get you to San Francisco.” She put her hand up. “Which I was more than happy to do. I really did love what you did with my hair and makeup last time.”
“Okay.” My pulse thrummed, my heart still wild from the effects of Rhett’s video.
She came closer and sat on the chair beside me, resting her hands on the armrests. “Half of America’s women hate you right now for being the recipient of Rhett’s feelings, and the other half wishes they were you. What are you going to do?”
I gestured to my black jumpsuit. “Nothing? I can’t go like this.”
“Your fairy godmother is on her way, and she’s bringing gowns from your closet. Rhett really did think of everything.”
“Fairy...you mean Charlie?”
“That name sounds right.”
“Wow. My friends are a bunch of schemers.”
“I think Rhett wanted to give you a big gesture to prove that he agreed with you. He’s willing to work with you to be a better person.” She leaned forward and took my hand, her dazzling wedding ring sparkling from the natural light pouring through the window. “He really cares about you.”
“I know that, and I care about him. It was the sneaking around and fake relationships that got to be too much for me.”
“And now?”
“NowI need to do your hair.” I squeezed her fingers and pulled my hand free, then plugged in my hair tools.
“Fine. You can do your job. But honestly, you should see your aura right now. It’s stunning.”
