Page 106 of Rumor Has It

I want a man who refuses to speak ill of his former wife around her child because Aria deserves to hear his memories of her mother that aren’t humiliating to either of them. Isaiah is choosing to elevate who Aria is, who she can become, and to teach her about boundaries and self respect so she can grow up happy and healthy.

I want to be there for it. All of it. The good and the bad. Isaiah is the kind of man I want to live the rest of my life alongside and to raise children with.

Don’t let go of my hand. I know we can make it.

You have my whole heart. Love has led me home.

When Isaiah finishes the ballad, he’s staring at me with adoration. In this moment, the one thing I know for certain is that Kingsbrier isn’t my home anymore… He is.

Isaiah’s optimism, and his faith in my abilities, haven’t wavered since he brought me into his circle. He trusts me with the most precious parts of his life; his heart and the little girl we are raising together.

I don’t feel lucky that a celebrity chose me. I feel blessed that, when I least expected it, my path crossed with someone who has such a big heart and so much love to share.

The cameras stay steady on Isaiah as the audience rises to applaud. If I could bound up the stairs to the stage and throw myself into his arms, I would.

The next time Isaiah brings up getting married, I’m not shying away from the conversation. I want to marry him. I want to be in the audience clapping for him the way he clapped for me by telling the reporters I was an excellent chef. I want to show him I am the person he’s proud of. Not just for him, but for me.

It’s close to impossible to sit still until the commercial break, but I refrain from bouncing the row of chairs while I wait.

I want to tell Isaiah everything I’m thinking when he comes back, though I don’t know when the opportunity will present itself. We have a busy night after this. Maybe after the party tonight, when we go back to the suite and we’ve made love.

Isaiah has his nose glued to his phone when he returns. He looks up from studying the screen long enough to shake hands with my uncle and accept Cris’s accolades as they switch places.

“Anything important?” I ask.

My elation has turned to concern about the baby.

Isaiah stuffs his cell in his coat breast pocket as the next presenter walks to the podium.

“Will needs to know if you have representation. He’s offering to set you up if you don’t,” he whispers in my ear.

My brow arches in confusion. “Why would I need a manager?” I whisper back.

Isaiah turns his face to me fully, hitting me with a devilish grin, and keeping his voice low “Because every network morning show is asking for you to fill a slot and spotlight your baking. The Cooking Station wants an interview with a demo, and the southern home magazine is interested in a spread of you at home in the kitchen…Hmm.That’ll be hard. We don’t have a house, and the only person you’re spreading anything for in the kitchen is me.” He shoots me a dirty wink.

“We have a bus?” My shoulders hitch.

I’m hesitant, yet hopeful. I know I can do this.

The diamonds dangling from my earlobes brush against my bare skin and it feels like an eternity before Isaiah speaks, though it’s hardly a fraction of a second.

“Chou, you want this and I’ll make it happen. Just say the word.”

Chapter Forty-two

ISAIAH

I hold Cassidy to my side for the remainder of the evening. On the ride back to the hotel. All the way up in the elevator to the floor we’re saying on.

Tonight, she was the belle of the ball. Cassidy outshone her legendary uncle and other artists seemed to approach me intent on meeting her; the woman who enticed me by simply by being herself and provided a modicum of normalcy to my life.

Tomorrow, the entertainment rags will put our relationship through the gauntlet, dissecting everything from what she wore to the four measly minutes I sang to her in a packed opera house.

Comparisons to Kylie will follow Cassidy as long as we’re together—which will be until my dying breath, if I have anything to say about it. I often contrast the incredible woman at my side to my first wife, too.

What I come up with is an intimate view of who we really are. How an unwitting Cassidy reached out and steadied me before I tumbled back into a pit of despair. She showed me I was worthy of having a family I thought I lost out on.

I’ve been a star, performing on stage, longer than I haven’t. No one except Kylie knew me before I’d made my mark. And she left me with the impression no one, not even another artist, would love a celebrity for who they actually were on the inside and not who they appeared to be to the outside world.

---