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Beside her, Alaric chuckled and ran a hand over his messy hair. “I should go back to my room and get changed.”
He shot her a look that felt as soft as his fingers caressing her cheek. Georgia couldn’t help but return the expression, wishing he didn’t have to leave. They’d gone way past a pretend relationship. Whatever was happening between them felt real. They couldn’t possibly have faked that.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” he said, heading toward the door and pausing to give her one last charming smile. “Then, how about you and I go get breakfast at that little bistro around the corner?”
Butterflies danced in Georgia’s stomach as she returned his smile and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Sounds perfect.”
As soon as he was gone, she fell back onto the bed with her arms spread out and a ridiculous grin on her face.
Angela fell onto the bed next to her and threw a pillow at her head with a chuckle. “Hey love-bird, better pull yourself together. I saw Sally down in the lobby this morning and she’s on one of her rampages. I came up here to give you a warning.”
Georgia shook her head and covered her face with a pillow. No matter what Sally had to say, nothing could dampen the delicious feelings inside her chest at the moment. It felt like she was soaring above the Andes Mountains and nothing could bring her down. She wanted to write a song about him. Or maybe twenty. All sickly sweet love ballads.
Alaric Hammond had spent the night holding her in his arms. That meant something. Something huge. And just maybe, this fake relationship was meant for something more.
“You really like him, don’t you?” Angela’s voice broke through her musings.
Georgia pulled the pillow off her face and tried to hold back the silly grin on her lips. “Yeah, I do. It kind of feels like we’re meant to be. Am I crazy?”
Angela shrugged, examining her black painted fingernails. “I’m not sure I believe in meant-to-bes. But I do know one thing — the way that boy looks at you is real. He adores you.”
She chewed on her bottom lip, excitement making her cheeks redden. “You really think so?”
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Angela threw her an exasperated look. “Come on. It’s obvious to everyone except you. He’s got it bad.”
She turned to her side on the bed and smiled down at the fluffy comforter, warmth filling her stomach. That was all the proof she needed. If Alaric really wanted more in this relationship, then she was game. Maybe that matchmaking app really had it right. Maybe she really had been matched with her perfect mate. Was it silly to think so? Could it really be Alaric Hammond — the coolest guy from her high school?
Sally burst into the door two seconds later, obliterating Georgia’s happy musings, and waved a rolled up magazine in her hand. “Have you seen this?” she demanded, arching her eyebrows as she often did when trying to prove a point.
Georgia sighed. This was the last thing she needed this morning. “See what? I haven’t left my room since late last night, so I’m afraid you’re going to have to explain.”
“Same here,” Angela added.
Sally shot Georgia and Angela dissatisfied glances and went to open the curtain, filling the room with blinding light. Tossing the magazine on top of the comforter, she retreated to an armchair and leaned back into the plush surface as if she were a queen on a throne.
“A heads up would’ve been nice. You know, since I’m your publicist and everything. This is going to be a huge mess to clean up.”
Georgia groaned and rubbed her eyes. The pictures with Vance. They had to be front page news this morning. Something that juicy wasn’t going to stay hidden for long.
“Listen, Sally,” she began, “that picture with Vance was totally a setup. He basically attacked me. I couldn’t stop it.”
Sally waved her hands dismissively and frowned. “If it were just the photo, we could easily counter. But Alaric’s comments to the press have put the final nail in the coffin. Spark isn’t happy with you. They’ve threatened to pull their contract.”
Georgia’s eyes narrowed as she stared at Sally for a long moment. She didn’t understand what she was talking about. Glancing down at the tabloid, she snatched it up and turned it to see a picture of her and Vance locking lips at the after-party. Thumbing frantically through the pages, she stopped when she got to the article about herself and began to skim.
Alaric Hammond, Gigi Weber’s supposed billionaire boyfriend from the matchmaking app Spark, had plenty to say on the topic as well. As he drowned his sorrows at the Universal Music’s after-party bar, he confided in our journalist that he wasn’t sure he’d be the one taking Gigi Weber home. When pressed further, he confessed that it wouldn’t be a surprise to him if Gigi went home with Vance.
It seems clear that Spark didn’t hit the mark with this power couple.
Georgia’s eyes blurred as she stared at the words on the page. Her heart drummed loudly and threatened to burst from her chest. It felt like a heart attack. A painful, life-ending kind of heart attack that left its victims in the hospital with a six-inch scar down the front of their chest.
What had Alaric done?
Chapter Fourteen
“He couldn’t have…” Georgia glanced up at Angela for help, wishing desperately that she would crack a smile and tell her it was all a joke. “He promised he wouldn’t talk to the press.”
