Page 47 of The Pucking Grump

“Didn’t expect to see you.” Her voice is dry and cracked.

I take a step. I don’t even mean to, but I find myself drawing her into my arms. It’s hard to see her looking like this, broken and vulnerable. Even on the night that was supposed to be her wedding, she still had a lot of anger to give. This time, she’s got absolutely nothing.

Faye folds into my embrace. She starts to sob, and my own heart collapses with her pain.

I must be the biggest dick on the planet. Maybe even a bigger dick than her own father ever was. It doesn’t matter if she staged it or if it was a mistake. All that matters is that she needs someone to get her out of this mess.

Brit is right. She chose me. And I chose to ride the rollercoaster. At this point, the only way to go is up.

I draw back to look at her tear-stained face. Even in this state, she looks more beautiful than any woman I’ve ever set my eyes on. In this moment, I’d do anything to make her happy.

“We’re going to figure this out together. I promise.”

It’s the first promise I’ve made her. Or anyone, for that matter.

And I intend to keep it.

Even if it involves a fake public relationship that could potentially be ruinous for me.

16

THE COMEBACK

It’s even harder than I imagined, sitting and smiling at people who, only two weeks ago, had their fun calling me a stuck-up brat on national TV. But I maintain the smile on my face as the assistant mics me up.

If I can convince the most antagonistic of my derailers, I can finally get the ball rolling and settle back into a normal life.

“It’s nice to have you here.” It’s the guy with the pink hair talking. He sounds sincere enough, but he exchanges a smug smile with the blond woman by his side.

I try not to think of the barrage of unkind words they hurled at me after the lies my dad fed them. Today is the day I finally share my side of the story. And since E! is the most highly ranked program who’d asked me to grant them an interview, it was a no-brainer.

“We’re going live in ten seconds,” Kate Huxley, the blond woman chirps. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do great!”

Her hostility is simmering underneath her nice words, but I try to remind myself why this is a good thing. If, by the end of the show, I manage to convince her and her co-host that I’m not a monster, the negative press about me will cease.

Or so Kevin thinks.

It had been Blake’s idea to hire my longtime friend. “I only came to your wedding to see him because my agent messed up my deals. He’s young and barely qualifies as a manager, but he has good instincts. I think you can trust him to relaunch you in a spectacular way . . . at least, until you find someone else.”

It seemed Blake was right. “You want to start by answering questions from your most violent opposition,” Kevin advised me. He was quick to agree to represent me, quitting his agency the next day and pulling together a ragtag team within forty-eight hours. That kind of reassured me, too. It meant that if my relaunch failed, both Kevin’s and my neck were on the line.

“Let them ask you anything,” he instructed me. “You already have a good story, one that’s going to move them to tears, so you don’t need to embellish much. Be honest, plain, direct. Let them throw all the venom they can at you. And when they realize they have no reason to hate you, they’re going to fall over themselves apologizing for being assholes.”

“What if I come up?” Blake interjected. He’d driven me to see Kevin’s team. I looked over at him, half-expecting to see that he was done with this drama and finally wanted to sever whatever ties he had with me. Instead, he looked curious.

“Then she talks about your relationship.” He put air-quotes around the last word—he was all for the fake relationship. “How you saved her, and she fell in love with you. How she decided to move to Philly to be close to you during the season. Be careful not to make it sound too needy, though,” he added quickly.

The interview hasn’t started yet, but I know that’s going to be the hardest part. The one where I talk about my so-called feelings for Blake. I’m glad he tracked me down—don’t know why on Earth he did it, but I’m grateful for it. Still, knowing I’m dragging him even further into my mess doesn’t make me feel whole.

All I want is for things to go back to normal. But since the internet is involved, things are never really going to be normal between us. Even when we dissolve our new, fake relationship and go back to our separate lives, my fans are always going to think I was in love with him at one point in my life.

That is, if I exit this interview with any fans left.

I look around the set, suddenly nervous and needing reassurance from someone friendly. But all I see are strange faces—a couple of anxious-looking producers and a camera crew. Kevin and his team came with me, as well as my new security detail. But I thought it best if they stay out of sight while I am on camera so my explanations sound less rehearsed.

I’m kind of regretting that now.

Kate counts down the last five seconds with her fingers while the assistant directs me on what camera to look at. Finally, she flashes an even broader smile at the main camera while she launches into action.

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