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Nate didn’t need to remind Trent that Ivy Bliss had a reputation for being “challenging” in the studio. She didn’t take suggestions, and criticism sent her into hysterics. Neither of the producers Trent mentioned would want to work with her again.
“I’m doing this for West Coast Records.” Another lie. There were a couple dozen guys who could produce the heck out of Ivy Bliss and make an album that would rocket to the top of the charts.
“I’m not buying it.” Trent hadn’t made a major success of every one of his business ventures by being dense. “Wait a second, are you into her? Damn. That’s crazy, but my sister said you fell for someone on the tour. I never in a million years thought it was Ivy Bliss.”
“It wasn’t.” With a shudder, Nate changed topics before Trent could press further. “The other reason I called is that I’m going in for surgery tomorrow.”
“Surgery.” Trent’s tone sharpened. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve got these polyps on my vocal cords.” He tried to keep the tension out of his voice. The situation was serious, but he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. “I need to get them removed.”
“That sounds bad.”
“It’s outpatient surgery. A couple hours max. I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be out of commission for a few days.”
“Do you want me to take you?”
“And do what?” Nate injected as much sarcasm as he could into the words to hide how embarrassed he was at his mounting anxiety. “Hold my hand? Please.”
“Fine.” Trent sounded doubtful. “But if you need anything, just let me know.”
“Sure.”
An hour after hanging up, Nate strode into the conference room for his two o’clock meeting with Ivy Bliss. Only it wasn’t Ivy and her manager-father who awaited him, but Mia Navarro, her twin sister and personal assistant. His heart raced across the room toward her. Nate plunged after it for two strides before coming to a stop. What did he think he was going to do? Wrap her in his arms and crush her against his chest? Whisper that the last three weeks had been a living hell without her? That he ached to hear her voice and sulked without her smile to brighten his day?
She’d made her choice and it hadn’t been him.
“How have you been?” He searched her face for some sign she’d suffered as he had, lingering over the circles under her eyes and the downward turn of her mouth. To his relief she didn’t look happy, but that didn’t stop her from putting on a show.
“Things have been great. Ivy’s been busy with appearances on The Tonight Show and Ellen. She’s stoked about being asked to perform at the AMAs on the twentieth. And of course she’s really excited about working with you.”
Nate reined in his impatience, unable to believe that he was nearly back to square one with Mia. He’d spent weeks chatting her up on the tour, afraid if he pushed too fast that she’d retreat into the persona of personal assistant to Ivy Bliss. Many times he’d asked himself why he was working so hard to draw out someone who didn’t want to be noticed. Then she’d smile at him and make his entire day.
If only he could convince her to leave Ivy... Mia had more to offer the world than just being her famous sister’s flunky. For one thing, she was a ridiculously talented songwriter. When he’d discovered that she had written all the songs her sister had recorded and that she’d been denied credit on the albums, he’d been seconds away from storming into Ivy’s hotel room and demanding she go public with the truth.
Mia had been mortified. She’d claimed to be okay with the lies and Nate could understand letting the error stand for the first album, but not the subsequent one. As someone who nurtured artists, he’d been appalled by what had been done to Mia by her own family, and saddened by how she’d been bullied.
“I didn’t ask how your sister is doing. I asked about you.”
“I’m fine. Never better.” Mia could go on for hours talking about Ivy, but when it came to talking about herself, she was fond of two-word sentences.
“Tell me the truth.” He was asking after her welfare, but what he really wanted to know was if she’d missed him at all. It seemed crazy that he’d known her for less than three months and in that time she’d become like breathing to him.
“I’m great. Really.”
“What have you been doing since the tour ended?”
Mia shrugged. “The usual.”
Meaning whatever occupied Ivy was what Mia had been doing. As her sister’s personal assistant, she lived and breathed Ivy Bliss, pop princess.
“I
hope she gave you a little time off.”
“Ivy was invited to a charity event in South Beach and we extended our stay a couple days to kick back and soak up some sun.”
Ivy demanded all Mia’s time and energy. That Nate had been able to spend any time at all alone with Mia during Ivy’s eight-week stint on his tour was nothing short of amazing. They’d sneaked around like teenage kids. The danger of getting caught had promoted intimacy. And at first, Nate had found the subterfuge amusing. It got old fast.
