Now sitting on the couch, I blow out a deep breath and steel myself for whatever drama is about to come my way. “What’s wrong?”
“I guess I’ll skip the morning pleasantries and get right to it then,” Anna replies, taking a brief pause. “Is Kate with you?”
My brows furrow. “She’s asleep in the other room. Why?”
Anna lets out a breath. “Okay. How do I put this delicately? Do not let Kate on social media today. Or tomorrow. Maybe not for a week or so.”
The muscles in my jaw tighten as I sit up straight. “What’s going on, Anna?”
“Two issues. I’m working to handle both of them, but it’s proving to be slightly more complicated than normal.” Anna’s tone falters a bit from her normal cheerful demeanor.
Fuck. Something isseriouslywrong.
“Just tell me,” I bark, unable to hide my frustration. Any negativity related to Kate immediately puts me on edge.
“Only if you promise to remain calm and not lose your shit.”
I scoff. “No promises.”
“Okay. Well, Kate looked fantastic on the red carpet and did such a great job. Everyone who met her adored her.” Anna takes a pause, preparing herself to give me bad news. She’s told me before about how she likes to use the sorority recruitment method when delivering bad news. Something about pro, con, con, pro. I’m not sure I fully understand what she’s talking about, except that she tries to smush the negative news in between compliments to make it sting a little less. “The internet hadotherstrong feelings about Kate’s first red carpet.”
“Tell me.” I clench my fist against my sweatpants as my anger rises.
“It started out with the usual commentary about what she’s wearing. Some people loved it. Others hated it. Nothing out of the ordinary at first. Not until one rather prickly influencer made a video about how Kate looked like she was trying too hard. Commenting how she basically wore a bridal gown to a night that should’ve been all about you. This may have gone viral.”
“I’m confused. They didn’t like that she wore an almost-white dress?”
“Technically, it was a cream Valentino, but that’s neither here nor there. The sentiment on social media is that she’s pushing you to pop the question.”
I chuckle. “Talk about the furthest thing from the truth.I’mthe one who would marryhertomorrow. She isn’t ready.”
“Although that might be true, I highly doubt you want that shared on social media.”
“Definitely not. The fewer people talking about Kate, the better.” The tension in my shoulders starts to relax, because this doesn’t seem that bad. I was expecting way worse, based on how Anna started the call. “I assume this will blow over in a few days.”
“It’s slightly more complicated than that. A few strongly opinionated people on the internet who are clearly not fans of Kate’s took it upon themselves to come up with a list of women who would be worthy of dating and marrying you.”
A deep, sinister laugh reverberates out of me. “You can’t be fucking serious.”
“Unfortunately, I am. And it went more viral than the previous one. So, not only does the internet think Kate is trying to push you down the aisle, but they also have a rather specific list of blondes they believeshouldbe on your arm. A few of them might have used some creative photo editing to swap out Kate’s face with the faces of these women. There might be a polltrending. Some people believe you actually took some of these women to the movie premiere. A few media outlets have asked whether you and Kate have broken up.”
“What the fuck is wrong with people?” I stand up and start pacing in front of the couch. “It’s none of their goddamn business who I date.”
Anna sighs. “I know, Jake. There’s also one more thing we need to discuss.”
I groan, dragging a hand down my face, bewildered at what else could’ve possibly gone to shit in the few hours since I went to bed.
“Let me put you on hold while I conference someone in.”
Every muscle in my body is tense as I continue to pace and wait for Anna to come back on the line. How the fuck am I going to tell Kate about any of this? Does she even need to know? It’s stupid internet bullshit. Perhaps keeping her offline for a few days until it dies down is the best option.
“Did you tell him this is not my fault?”
“Jason? What are you doing on the call?” I ask. What the fuck is going on?
“So, she hasn’t told you yet. That figures,” Jason says, annoyed. “Waiting for me to drop the shit sandwich.”
“I was waiting for you to join us so we could have this conversation together, Jason. But if you want to throw a tantrum like a toddler, feel free to hang up at any time,” Anna replies sweetly, almost like she’s daring him to poke her back.
