Page 49 of Lights, Camera, Love

I snatch the phone from his hand. ‘I don’t even want to know if you’re talking about drugs, hookers or violence. In any case—no.’ Austin may be a grown man, but as his manager and the person who’s made repeated promises to his parents to help keep him on track, I am not letting this happen.

He seizes the phone back from me. ‘Since you’re so interested, do you want to see the text that Nadia sent while I was on the way here?’ His eyes are huge and wild-looking.

‘What are you talking about?’

He taps through his phone before shoving it back in my face. I scan the text on the screen.

NADIA:I told you that if you ignored me, I’d look into your little girlfriend. It turns out that she’s been hiding things from you. Newsflash: She lives in a shithole, but guess who her daddy is? Gabriel Dean. Yes, the one and only.

Rage simmers inside me as I glare at Austin. ‘NadiafollowedEvie? To her apartment?’

‘Don’t look at me like that,’ he hisses. ‘This is not my fault. And that’s what you got from Nadia’s message? Kye, Evie’s dad isGabriel Dean. I mean—what the fuck?’ He mimics a bomb going off beside his ear, like his mind is blown. ‘Why isn’t she name-dropping the heck out of that to get more roles?’

‘Shhh!’ I twist to check that Evie can’t hear us, but Austin keeps going.

‘You need to jump on this, Kye, and make it part of our promo strategy forMoving.’

‘No fucking chance,’ I say quietly. ‘It’s private information that’s not ours to share.’

His face scrunches up. ‘Aren’t you a publicist? This is publicity gold. Plus, how private can it be if Nadia found out? Honestly, I bet Evie would love it if this got out. She’s probably just being humble—you know she’s not one to talk herself up.’

I lean towards him, speaking through my teeth. ‘You’re missing the point here. Nadia has been digging into Evie’s personal life and stalking her, which is taking thingswaytoo far. I told you to keep Nadia onside. To be nice to her; to call her now and then.’

‘Youcall her,’ he snaps. ‘I don’t want anything to do with her.’ He points his finger at me. ‘And you’re my manager. You should be handling her, not me. Especially when this whole fuckin’ thing is your fault.’

Tension floods our gazes as we stare each other down. Austin’s eyes suddenly shift past my shoulder to Evie; I glance around to find her looking right at me.

‘You better stay in your lane, Kye,’ Austin warns, pulling back my focus.

I blink at him. ‘Stay in my lane?’

‘Keep your hands off Evie,’ he says under his breath. ‘I already told you that I’m into her. I’m just waiting for a chance to properly ask her out.’

So, he hasn’t been seeing her these past few days. Relief takes hold of my lungs. But what the hell is he waiting for? He’s had every chance to ask her out.

‘From now on,’ Austin continues, ‘I’m watching you like you’re a hawk.’

‘Youwould be the hawk in that scenario,’ I bite back.

Austin’s shoulders tense as we stand in a deadlock. His eyes dart past my shoulder to Evie as she steps up to us, smiling, her purse slung over one arm.

‘I need to go,’ Austin cuts in. ‘I’m gonna head back to the apartment.Alone.’

I don’t get it: if he’s so into Evie, isn’t this the perfect opportunity for him to ask her if she wants to grab a coffee or a bite to eat?

He better not be planning some sort of drug- or alcohol-fuelled bender. Like the protective prick I am, I tap on his Uber app before his phone can relock and book him a car to our beach rental. I then share the trip with myself so I can check he gets there without any detours to a seedy part of town.

‘I’ll see you at home a bit later,’ I say, fixing him with a meaningful stare: I want him to know I’ll be checking up on him.

Without another word, Austin charges up the stairs that lead to the street level.

I step aside so that Evie can pass by me, too. ‘I’ll see you at the showcase on Saturday,’ I tell her with a small, fleeting smile. My mouth still tingles where her lips touched mine; my head is still foggy with the memory of it.

‘Are you doing anything now?’ she asks. ‘We could grab lunch?’

Such a simple question, yet it liquefies my legs. I summon the mental strength of a Buddhist monk so that I can hold my ground. ‘I can’t, Evie.’

Disappointment clouds her soft gaze. ‘Why not?’

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