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“Well, I’ve seen them now. He doesn’t seem like that upstanding of a figure. Seems like a problem, if you ask me.”
I found myself growing defensive again. “He’s not as bad as the tabloids make him out to be. That’s how this stuff works. It’s all blown up.”
“Well, I’m glad this isn’t a real relationship. I don’t know how your father would take you getting involved with someone like Jackson. He’s a disgrace—and that’s what he would be to the family.”
“Right,” I said, unable to conjure up any other thought. “I know what kind of man you want me to marry.”
“Yes, and that’s the kind of man you always seem to date too. This is quite a shock. We want someone who will treat you the way you deserve, and this just…this man just…I don’t know. He seems like a big heartbreak. Or at least an STD.”
“Well, good thing it’s not real,” I snapped, reminding her again. “No need to worry about being disgraced. I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”
“Love you.” She barely got the words in before I hung up the phone, tossing it onto the couch.
A disgrace.
That’s what I would be if I fell for Jackson for real.
I guess it’s a good thing we’re just a complicated fling then.
34
JACKSON
“How’s Lena?” Genna asked me as I plopped down into my chair in the meeting room. I leaned back against it and shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“You should know. She’s your fiancée.”
“I haven’t seen her all weekend. We’ve been busy working on songs. She’s been busy hiding away from the shit show I brought to her doorstep.”
“But she’s hanging in there,” Genna commented, sounding more like she was asking a question rather than making a statement.
“I mean, I guess.”
“She’s fine,” Tyson answered for me, ignoring the look I shot him. “Maeve said she was taking the weekend to herself to get away from the spotlight. No one knows where she lives yet, so it’s kind of her safe place. Those beach photos got everything stirring.”
“Yes, and speaking of those…” Genna turned to me. “Good job. We had planned some dates, but I think that was ingenious, really. It was just what the public needed to see. So, smart thinking.”
“Uh huh,” I managed to say, pretending like the whole thing was just another ruse. No one needed to know I’d actually wanted to take her there. Or kiss her. Or fuck her, for that matter.
“So was this meeting called because of him?” Nel asked impatiently, gesturing to me. He had dark circles under his eyes from a weekend of partying, and I had to admit…
I didn’t miss the hangovers.
I didn’t really miss any of it.
And that was something I was coming to terms with. Maybe slowing down for a while wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Lena seemed to have a lot of fun without the fast life…and I might too.
“No, we didn’t call you here today about Jackson,” Tim spoke up, sounding nearly as tired as Nel. “We’re doing a surprise end-of-summer revamp tour.”
“Wait…what?” I asked, glancing around. “I figured that was off the table by now. Summer is nearly over. Tyson just got married. Seems a little extra.”
“Since when do you turn down the opportunity to go out on the road?” Genna questioned me, her dark brows raised with curiosity. “You were the initial one pushing for the extra leg of the tour.”
“Yeah, but…” I didn’t have a good reason, and thankfully, I didn’t have to come up with one as Genna continued.
“I think a successful tour could show any potential new owner of the label that you guys are worth keeping around.”
