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“It actually happens all the time. Fake relationships in Hollywood? That’s a total thing.”
“We’re not in Hollywood, though,” she points out.
“We could be.” I try smiling again. “That’s the other part of the deal. They want me to make the album at a studio in Los Angeles. And they want you to come with me.”
Her mouth hangs open again. “I don’t even know you.”
“We could definitely get to know each other.”
“What if I don’t like you?”
“I’m fairly irresistible.” I’m wearing a big grin, trying to be my old charming self, but Scarlett isn’t having it. “What do you say?”
She crosses her arms in front of her. “I think I’ve heard enough.”
“And you’re going to say no?” I wince, bracing myself.
“I’m definitely saying no.”
Damn it.
“Why?” Why can’t shit ever go my way? Why can’t she be completely enamored with me and willing to do whatever I say? Any other woman would be totally down. They’d kill for the opportunity to go to sunny Southern California and let me make a record while they were off frolicking at the beach and spending their money. Going out with me on occasion and letting me grope them—lovingly—for the cameras, putting on a show.
Not this girl. She’d rather run from me like I’m a flesh-eating zombie.
“This is the worst idea I’ve ever heard. I don’t even think I like you.”
Now I’m on the defensive. “I’m not too sure if I like you much either.”
“Then how are we going to be believable as a couple? Did you think that part through? Doubtful.” She shoves at my shoulder and then takes off again, her pink skirt fluttering in the breeze.
I jog after her, impressed by her speed. “This will help you out too, you know. Make you stand out from the crowd.”
“Maybe I don’t want that. I’m not a fame whore like you.” She doesn’t even slow down.
Ouch. She knows just where to stick me.
“I know you’re trying to stand on your own two feet,” I call after her.
“Please.” She tosses her head, her hair flying. “I don’t matter to anyone. If I were even to go through with this, they’d only pay attention to you. This is all for you and your reemerging career. I gain nothing from this. You just want to use me for the media attention.”
I think about what she said to me earlier. How no one knows who she is. How she’s lost in the Lancaster family and not seen as an individual. “If we play up the fact that you’re my muse and you’re the only reason I actually have a career again, I think they might sit up and take notice.”
Her steps slow, her gaze finding mine quickly before she looks away again. “No one will believe that.”
“Everyonewill. They’ll believe anything they’re fed, especially when it’s a romance like ours. Come on, I just wrote that song about you, and they’re all dying over it. You’re totally my muse.”
She sends me an incredulous look before she grabs hold of my hand and drags me through the crowd so we’re standing right in front of the window of a tiny deli. The touch of her hand in mine sends an electric bolt straight up my arm, leaving me unsettled, and when she lets go of my hand to cross her arms in front of her chest once again, I’m disappointed that she’s not touching me.
I rub at my chest, trying to ease the sudden throbbing of my heart.
“This is so unbelievable.” A huff of laughter falls from her lush, pink-glossed lips, and she shakes her head. “There is no romance between us, Tate.”
“Our fake romance then. Can’t you see we can spin it any way we want? With everyone hanging on our every word, just dying to see us together again, we can portray ourselves however we want to look to the public.”
“Will they actually buy it?” she asks, her voice soft.
“They’ll buy it if we sell it to them. We can do this. Look at how easily they believe we’re already together.” Unable to help myself, I reach out and grab her shoulders, holding her gently. “This is my last shot at making something of my singing career. I’ve been working on some songs and writing lyrics for the last year, like I somehow knew this was coming. And for whatever reason, I’m being given another chance. They want me again. My manager. My record label. This is big, and I don’t want to screw this up now. All because they want me to have a girlfriend who isn’t actually mine. That’s why I need you, Scarlett. When I mentioned to my manager I wanted to write the lyrics for every song on my new album, he warned me they’d tell me no. But after the immediate success of ‘Red’ and me letting them know you’re my muse, I think they might agree.”
