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Dani pulled her knees to her chest and snuggled beneath the blanket on the settee in the drawing room she’d taken over since she’d arrived. It was one of her favorites, as it had once belonged to Jameson’s mother. Dani often felt she could perceive Calanthe’s warmth and empathy in the space, two things she desperately needed at the moment.
She laid her cheek on her knees and sighed. Which was worse, the press coverage or her arguments with Jameson?
It should’ve been the coverage.
But it wasn’t.
The critical headlines and articles had been coming in fast and furious. Every British newspaper, news program, blog, and social media account had something to say about her behavior at the hospital and her appearance at the regatta. She’d immediately sought out Jameson, wanting his comfort, but he’d just had to be a man about it, rushing in with his solutions, trying to fix things, whenshe’d only needed his ear. And his strong arms. And that broad chest.
Can he really fix anything when he doesn’t know the full nature of the problem?
Oh, stuff it!
She got his need to defend her. He’d spent years being gutted because he’d been unable to protect his mother from the paparazzi after his father died, in a scandal still felt by the Company. But Dani was a grown woman and had been living for twenty-eight years before she met Jameson.
She could take care of herself.
But her emotions had been too high for them to have a constructive conversation and she’d been grateful when Rhys had shown up and dragged him off. The time apart seemed to help them both put everything in perspective. Sometime during the night, he slid into bed and spooned her, his body hard and hot against hers.
“I missed you,” she’d murmured, waking to his kisses on the nape of her neck.
“Then I should go away to the club with Rhys more often?”
“I didn’t say all that.”
His chuckle was low and delicious in her ear.
“I love you, Dani,” he whispered, sliding his hand between her thighs.
She moaned. “I love you, too, Jay. And I’m sorry.”
They made love, healing the rift between them. But when she awakened the next morning, he’d already left for his trip.
Despite the pain of their argument, Dani was confident they’d get past it.
The press, on the other hand—
She should’ve known better. She’d acted like a complete noob.The press thrived on building people up before tearing them down. To them, it wasn’t even an issue of morality. It was business. They made money by hyping a celebrity; giving them pithy memorable nicknames; declaring them the next best thing; raving over their looks, talent, or fashion sense; and swooning over their possible love interest—all to increase magazine sales, click-through rates, and ad revenue.
Once the person was beloved, with stratospheric levels of popularity, the press would begin their campaign to wrench them back down to Earth. Unflattering photos, where concerned sources claimed the culprit was drugs, alcohol, or food; gossip about feuds with people in their industry that turned into declarations of being “difficult” and “not bankable”; and speculative articles about their partner cheating with someone... better. Little by little, all drawn out to make the most money possible.
Want to increase profits? Throw in a redemption arc. Two sources of income for the price of one celebrity.
No care about the person’s well-being or their mental state.
Or how disruptive that constant attention was to their lives.
“It’s supply and demand,” she’d heard on more than one occasion. “If there were no appetite for it, we wouldn’t do it.”
Just the type of bullshit these people spouted to explain their part or assuage their guilt over their role in the process.
She knew this; had seen it play out again and again. She was also aware the British tabloid press was notoriously more aggressive. And yet she’d been so gratified by her reception over here, not to mention stressed by her need to make a great impression, that she’d let her guard down.
Nana was probably looking down on her, angry that she had allowed these people to goad her into showing her ass.
“Ms. Nelson, you have a guest.”
