Page 41 of Me and Mr. Just Right

His eyes clouded. That was definitely anger. He stood and marched a few more steps away before turning back to face her. “Was any of it real, then? I was falling in love with Lia Hall, and she doesn’t exist.”

Falling in love? Her heart raced, and it took effort for her to focus on what Haydn was saying. On not regretting telling him sooner, while knowing that she never could have told him before now. Not until she knew she trusted him. “It wasallreal.”

“Then tell me something real! I don’t know what to believe.”

She stood and stepped toward him, but stayed far enough away to give him the space he seemed to need. “Six weeks ago, I discovered my boyfriend, Bo, and my best friend, Gwen, had been in a secret relationship together for almost three months.”

That was something the tabloids didn’t know. Bo and Gwen said they’d fought their feelings for months, and the day she’d discovered them kissing was the day they’d finally given in to the urge to be together.

“Neither of them wanted to end their relationship with me while I was finished writing songs for my latest album. An album they stole from me, and Gwen just released this week.”

Another thing the tabloids didn’t know. They’d replaced Gwen’s name with hers, erased her as if she didn’t exist, when those songs were so deeply her own. But even if she got them back, they were tainted. She’d never be able to sing them.

“Then they started rumors to destabilize me and make it harder for people to believe me if I did accuse them of stealing. They made it sound like I was violent and unhinged, that they’d both been abused by me over the years and had found comfort in one another.”

That onewasall over the tabloids. Someone had taken a picture of her in the moment after she’d learned Bo and Gwen had betrayed her. She’d been distraught, crying, her makeup smeared, and for once, she hadn’t been thinking of her image.

And the photo, paired with every play on her number one song “Unsteady in Love” as headlines, was shared across the world. No truth required. Her side of the story, even if she was willing to share it, was unnecessary and muddying to the truly sensational headlines people craved.

“I came out here because I needed a place to hide. I wanted to sleep away the entire week and forget any of this existed.” She moved closer, just a tiny step, and he didn’t back away. She tried not to let the hope rise too high in her. “And instead, I was surprised by you. You didn’t know who I was, or what I’d been through, or all the lies they’d told about me, and I didn’t want to give that up. You and your brothers treated me like a normal person, and it’s been so long since I’ve experienced that. I’m sorry, Haydn.”

Haydn closed his eyes and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know where to go from here, Lia. Aurelia. I don’t even know what to call you.”

“I prefer Lia with my friends.”

He stared into her face as if taking her in, now knowing who she was. He shook his head. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before now. Rosie loves your music. She even flew to Seattle to go to your last concert.”

People usually only saw what they expected to see. And if he’d been expecting the Aurelia of the tabloids, maybe he would have seen that too. He still could. But she hoped he wouldn’t.

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Lia. This is going to take me a minute to process.”

“That’s okay. Take as long as you need.” Disappointment swirled in her, though. She’d hoped that he would tell her that none of it mattered. That he’d sweep her into his arms and kiss her the same way he had last night, long and deeply and unforgettably. They still had one night left of their summer romance. She wasn’t ready for it to end.

But the chasm between them seemed too large to cross.

He cleared his throat. “We should head back to the house.”

“Oh.” She nodded and fought back tears. “Yeah, sure.”

About a foot separated them as they went back toward the house. “How’s the legal battle going?”

“Legal battle?”

“For your songs. They stole your intellectual property.”

“I haven’t pursued legal action yet. I’ve been reeling, to be honest.”

“Jules does IP work. We can ask him about it when we get back.”

Her heart sank. She didn’t want the rest of them to know yet, but she had to trust them too.

“It’s not right they stole your songs.”

“I don’t want them back.”

“Maybe not,” he said fiercely. “But you should be getting royalties for them. If anything, it undercuts what they’re making.”

“You don’t have to do this,” she said to him.

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