Page 43 of California Love Songs
Damien looked confused, but the more she thought about it, the more she liked it. “The story isn’t about a secret romance. The story is about Damien Davenport paying it forward, mentoring a young musician who has talent.”
Damien’s brow creased and his confusion seemed to double. “But that’s exactly what I am doing. That’s the real story.”
Crystal stared at him, exasperated. “How long have you been in the public eye? Do you know nothing? The paparazzi don’t care remotely about the real story. They want the drama, they want the gossip, they want intrigue. You have to take charge of the narrative.”
Damien shook his curls. “I just want to make music.”
“Me too,” Opal agreed.
“Well, you’ll just have to make music with a reporter watching.” She was convinced she was right. She might not be a PR professional, but she’d dealt with plenty of intrusive paps while planning celebrity weddings. She suggested inviting Roxy Thanton, who’d interviewed Archer after he’d broken his leg on set, to do an exclusive feature and interview with both Damien and Opal. “You give her an exclusive peek at this amazing new talent you’ve spotted.”
Both parties looked less than thrilled, but Crystal knew it was their best option in order to get out in front of this.
Damien’s phone rang. He looked at the screen. “It’s my security guys,” he said. He took the call and discovered there was now a sizeable huddle of reporters and photographers at his front gate.
“Once the real story’s public,” Crystal said, “there won’t be much reason for them to hang around here. You can get your privacy back by going public with this. I know it sounds strange, but it makes sense.”
Damien agreed and, much more reluctantly, so did Opal. “I’m not ready for this,” she said, sounding panicked.
“You are ready. It’s going to be fine,” Damien assured her. “No one’s asking you to sing on TV. It’s just a story of your being so talented that I wanted to mentor you.”
Opal blew out a breath, then nodded. “Okay. I guess that’s better than some sleazy tabloid saying I’m your girlfriend.” She sounded so horrified by that idea that Crystal had to squelch a laugh.
Instead, she nodded briskly. “Okay, I’m going up to the house to make some calls. You guys keep working. I’ll be back when I know more.” Now all she had to do was convince a busy entertainment anchor that a quick trip up to Carmel would be worth her while.
Well, she thought as she marched toward the house, she’d wanted a busy day. It looked like she’d got one.
She called Erin and asked if she was free to meet her at Damien’s place for an emergency PR intervention. Before Erin could make any assumptions about why Crystal was at her brother’s house, she explained the whole story.
Erin groaned. “Oh no. I was afraid this would happen. I’ve been writing my feature about the dog of the week and not paying attention to the news feed. Poor Damien. How’s he taking it? And poor Opal. She’s barely touched down in Carmel and already she’s being hounded by the paps.”
“Damien’s pretty annoyed, but not as much as Opal is.” She couldn’t resist sharing Opal’s reaction to finding out people thought she was Damien’s latest fling. “Erin, I’ve seen women so excited to meet him that they fainted. I’ve seen them slip their phone numbers into his pocket—heck, I saw one girl try to slide her underwear into his jean jacket. They’ve begged him to be with them, to have his babies. And what did Opal say? ‘What? But you’re old.’”
Erin burst out laughing. “What an ego-crushing moment that must have been for my irresistible rock-star brother.”
“I don’t think it did him any harm,” Crystal agreed, laughing along with Erin. It eased the tension she was carrying. “I’ve got a plan to help them out. What do you think?” She outlined her idea about the evening entertainment broadcast.
Erin made a couple of extra suggestions and then said, “I’ll be right up. If he’s going public, the Sea Shell would also like an interview.” Then she lowered her voice. “Besides, if I can bag an interview, Patricia will let me go for a few hours.”
True to her word, Erin arrived thirty minutes later and met Crystal in the main house. She was wearing jeans and a paisley blouse and was pink in the cheeks—she’d obviously rushed over. Still a little breathless, she said, “I called Arch and got him to pull some strings with Roxy Thanton. Not that much more than a tug was needed. Turns out she’s been trying for years to get a one-on-one with Damien. They’re moving things around to fit this in tonight’s broadcast. She’s gathering her team right this minute.”
“Fantastic.”
Erin grinned. “Can you believe it? She was ecstatic about the idea. A Damien Davenport interview is a rare thing, remember. Damien is always on about connecting with his fans through the music.”
“The answers are in the song,” Crystal and Erin chimed together.
Erin laughed. “Reporters think he’s kind of elusive. So, to have his people reaching out for an interview must have seemed like a lot of birthdays and Christmases rolled into one for an entertainment reporter. Especially with the extra help from Arch.”
Crystal nodded. She was impressed with the speed at which her plan was unfolding.
Then Erin looked more somber. “The thing is, they want to talk to Opal too. To interview them as a duo.”
Crystal’s eyebrows shot up in alarm. “But the poor girl has literally only just got here. She’s had a long flight, exposed her soul by playing her new songs for an international star, and been papped by the press. Isn’t that enough for one day?”
Erin shrugged. “If she’s as good as Damien thinks she is, she’s going to have to get used to being news. At least this way we can really control the story.”
Crystal wasn’t so sure. Opal had just been plucked off the coffeehouse circuit. She wasn’t media trained. She had no idea about this kind of world, how one wrong word could turn a person’s career upside down. The poor thing hadn’t even started her career.
