Page 45 of One More Made Up Love Song
As far as Kat sees it, kissing me was the smartest thing Freddie could have done. He both distanced himself from Margot and gave the internet something to be excited about. It’s only been a few hours, but Freddie is already trending in ways that are making his record labelveryhappy.
“Just think of what would have happened otherwise,” she said. “Honestly, Ivy, this is the kind of love story the public eats up. Famous rock star falls in love with a normal girl from Kansas. It’s the plot of every romance novel.”
“I’m not from Kansas,” I argued, which, in retrospect,seems like a stupid thing to say. I should have led with, “But we aren’t in love.”
“That’s not the point,” Kat said. “The point is, youaren’tfamous, and you still captured Freddie’s heart. Or everyone thinks you did, and that’s what matters most.”
It took everything in me to swallow how much I wished her words were true.
Kat proceeded to walk me through her three-point plan.
Number one: Acknowledge the relationship but ask for privacy and respect.
Number two: orchestrate two or more public sightings as the release date of Freddie’s new album approaches.
Number three: leak anonymous rumors that one or more songs on the new album are about me.
A few months after the album releases, we can hint at trouble in paradise, then issue a press release about our amicable breakup.
She made it seem simple. And I know the industry well enough to understand that things like this happen all the time. Actors in leading roles will hold hands on the red carpet just long enough to fuel rumors and create the kind of speculation that keeps people talking. Music artists collaborating on a song will stare into each other’s eyes like they were only ever meant to sing to each other because listenerswantto believe in love.
So much of entertainment is about telling stories. What’s this but one more story? What does it truly hurt?
When I asked Freddie to kiss me, I didn’t think itwouldhurt anything. I saw a problem, and I figured out a way to solve it.
But I couldn’t have guessed how that kiss would feel. And if we do this, if I agree to go through with Kat’s plan, I’llbe leaning into feelings I’m supposed to be fighting. The effort might kill me. At the very least, it will utterly wreck my heart.
“Ivy,” Freddie says, pulling me back to the present, “I know Kat thinks we should ride this, but I don’t expect that of you. It’s important to me that you know that.”
“Does it matter?” I ask. “We kissed, Freddie. Even if we deny it, people will still talk.”
He’s quiet for a beat before he says, “You only have to ask, and I’ll release a statement owning everything. Explaining why we were there, admitting that I acted in haste to protect my reputation and we are not, and never have been, in a relationship.”
“It wasn’t your idea though,” I say.
“But nobody else knows that,” he says. “Not even Sloane or Kat. As far as they know, I made the decision to kiss you. It was my idea. My plan. And I’ll own all of it if that’s what you want me to do.”
I’m shaking my head before he’s even finished his sentence. “You can’t do that.”
“Icando that. Or we can do nothing. Let the speculation die. Tell Kat we aren’t going to deny anything, but we also don’t want to push the narrative.”
I breathe out a sigh. “Kat’s plan is good. If it’s going to keep you trending, it can only help your relationship with your label. You need them to be patient with you right now, and positive press that keeps your name in headlines will give them more incentive to extend your deadline.”
He shrugs. “Maybe. But that’s not really your problem to solve. If you don’t want to fake a relationship with me, then we don’t do it. I can figure out things with my label.”
I appreciate his willingness to prioritize my needs first,but at this point, we might be too far in for anything we do to make a difference. The kiss already happened, so people aren’t going to stop speculating. Even if Freddie denied any romantic connection between us, people would still talk. Are we together and just trying to hide it? Trying to throw them off our trail so we can have a little privacy? And what would people say about Margot? How wouldsherespond to the news? Would she start spinning new lies about why we were at her beach house?
As long as we’re together and very publicly in love, whatever Margot claims about Freddie won’t hold any water.
As terrible as she’s been to Freddie over the years, she doesn’t deserve a single headline that includes his name.
I’m not thrilled about what it will do to my reputation as a “very serious” businesswoman in the music industry, but I’m not sure one look is better than the other. Do I want to be the woman Freddie Ridgefield used in a cover-up to fend off Margot Valemont’s claws, or the woman who dated Freddie Ridgefield for a few months before parting ways with no bad feelings?
Honestly, maybe I’m overthinking, and it doesn’t matter either way. Idohave connections. If I truly wanted to get a job somewhere else, Freddie would only have to make one phone call, and I’d probably have three different offers on the table. That’s the kind of sway he has in this industry.
And he’d definitely do that for me.
Even if he didn’t want to let me go. If I asked him, he’d call any music executive I wanted him to.
