Page 22 of Places I've Never Been

That left quite a few people who could unintentionally leak information.

She looked at the image again. Did it look like she was swooning over Adam?

He was maybe three or four inches taller than her, with dark hair shaved close and stubble along his jaw that gave him an edgy, street-wise vibe. He wore jeans, a plain black T-shirt, and combat boots.

He had an athletic body but didn’t look like he spent a ton of time in the gym. He was good looking in a bad-boy, rough-around-the-edges sort of way.

Devon Morales, by contrast, was a pretty boy. He was so photogenic that it had given him the idea that every woman swooned the second she laid eyes on him. It was part of what went so very wrong on the last project.

She hadn’t swooned.

After Kat had told her about Devon’s tweets, she’d spent hours combing over all of his recent posts. He hadn’t just complained about how she’d ruined his life by leading him on. He’d doubled down on the lie by posting some of the selfies they’d taken while working together.

Somehow he’d turned innocent friendly poses into suggestive intimacy with clever use of filters. She had toadmit by the time he was done it really did look like they’d had a six-month romance, at least on the internet.

Now the gossips had this new photo to add fuel to the already raging fire. Maybe she should just pass on this project right now, before it went any further.

Another text from Della sang out.When’s the meeting over? I’ll call you.

Her first instinct was to send back a retort along the lines of “never talk to me again and lose my phone number,” but she couldn’t bring herself to do that.

Piper texted again.If you’re still there, stay till the sun sets. Do you need cover? I can pick you up.

Mattie closed her eyes. Piper was offering to take the headlines off her back. If they saw Piper, they’d forget about boring Mattie.

The problem was cover only lasted so long. Once they got over their Piper Bellamy sighting, the gossip rags would focus on her again. The longer she was here, the more they’d have to sell. She could only imagine the next headline:Mattie Bellamy Gangbanging Delusions of Glory.

Dammit.

She was usually so careful to avoid prying eyes, but thanks to Devon she’d become front-page news in a way she’d never wanted to be.

She should leave.

She spun around to get her bag from the couch where she’d dropped it and bumped into Adam.

His hands immediately went to steady her. They were warm, solid, and entirely too comfortable.

“I’m sorry.” She stepped away. Had he told the paparazzi she’d be here?

Adam lowered his hands. “What’s going on? You look tense.”

“Nothing, really.” She studied his eyes. Concern and curiosity stared back at her. She relaxed and shook her head. “It’s just Twitter drama.”

“We can run through the other songs,” Adam suggested. “Might take your mind off Twitter.”

Mattie thought of several reasons why she should say no to that suggestion. The one song she’d heard nearly ripped her heart out, and she was too emotionally spent to deal with another one like it. Plus, cameras with long lenses were probably still waiting outside, counting the minutes she was spending in his company. The more minutes, the more sensational the gossip.

On the other hand, it felt safe in here. Nobody could see in. She liked the band. Adam seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders, and his second run-through on the song had been perfect. Bonus points for not giving her the puppy eyes afterward like Devon usually did.

Even better, the guys all seemed close, like a family. She’d had that once. Watching Delusions of Glory be the brothers they obviously were hurt in a way she couldn’t define.

“Hey, we can take a break, if you want.” Adam’s concerned look had been replaced by a carefully neutral mask. “No pressure. Or we can do this another time. Your call.”

He was being so nice, and here she was contemplating running out the door. It would be unprofessional to walk out now. She’d come here to prove a point, and to get the chance to write the Song of the Year, and there was no way a few paparazzi were going to scare her away from that goal.

“No, that’s okay. Let’s do it.” She nodded and offered him a professional smile, just to prove she could put aside personal issues. “This time I promise I’ll just sit and listen.”

Adam’s grin lit up his whole face. “Feel free to step in any time. We could use your voice in there.”

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