Page 14 of Tattoos and Heartbreak
Luckily, it didn’t take Taylor long to tell me what she wanted.
She was having trouble with Rivers and needed him to clean up his act. She wanted him to have a more steady reputation, maybe look like he was settling down so he’d fit better on the Olivia and Connor tour. Look like he might actually become more than the industry’s designated bad boy and Casanova.
“Okay,” I said, confused. It made sense on the surface, but I didn’t see what this had to do with me.
She turned away and started fixing the coffee she’d poured for herself. “The thing is, Lila, I saw the way you two were looking at each other when you were singing. I don’t know whether you know him or not, but I know a connection when I see it. I know when two people are attracted to each other. And that’s exactly what I need.”
I turned to stare at her. “Whatyouneed?”
She glanced up and that smile was back on her face. “Yes. I need Rivers to clean up his act. And to do that, I need him to have a girl at his side I can trust. I need someone keeping him in line and making sure he plays the good boy. While convincing the press and the fans that she loves him enough to actually be his girlfriend. I want you. Just for long enough to get him on the right road. Stick next to him. Keep him out of trouble. Convince people that you’re actually together. It won’t be that hard. Just keep looking at him the way you were looking at him when you were onstage.”
I opened my mouth, waiting for the words to come out, but closed it again a moment later. When I tried again, my voice came out hoarse and strangled. “You want me to pretend to be Rivers Shine’s girlfriend, to help clean up his reputation?”
“Exactly.”
“What’s in that deal for me?”
She straightened up and faced me. “I’m sure you’ve heard we’re doing a contest for a contract on this tour, right? Do this and do a good job and I’ll make sure you get first shot at it. I have some pull with Olivia and the record label. I can virtually guarantee you that contract. If you do your job.”
A contract. As long as I pretended to be Rivers Shine’s girlfriend for the tour.
Oh. My. God.
RIVERS
When Taylor told me the plan, I thought she must be joking.
Only a part of me knew that she wasn’t, because this went along with what she’d already told me.
“You want me to pretend to date a girl to rehab my reputation,” I said slowly. Just making sure shehadn’tbeen joking when she said what she said.
“Right, exactly,” she said, in that no-nonsense way only Taylor James could pull off. “You date the girl, take her on the road with you and make sure there are plenty of photographers taking pictures of you. You act like you’re over the moon. Like you can’t get enough of each other. And the world at large starts to see that you’re a changed man. That maybe you’ve finally figured out what you want in life. Maybe...” Her eyes got suddenly large, like she’d just come up with the most brilliant idea ever. “Maybe we put it out there that being around Connor and Olivia, those two lovebirds, has made you realize that you want love too, and then you happened to meet this girl and everything just fell right into place.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that one. “Me? Suddenly deciding that I want to fall in love with someone and then walking out and finding the right person immediately? What, just the girl next door? Are you serious right now?”
Her eyes snapped back to mine and her face changed from thoughtful to hard and driving. “I’m dead serious. And do I need to remind you that your spot on the tour probably depends on you doing whatever I tell you to?”
I scowled at her. “No, you were perfectly clear about that part. I just don’t see how you think any of us is going to pull this off. Reporters know how to do their jobs, Taylor. They’re going to spot it in three seconds if I’m trying to pass some girl off as my girlfriend. They won’t believe it in the first place, and if they see I don’t have any chemistry with her...”
My point was obvious as far as I was concerned, so I let my argument die there. This would never work. Taylor was going to find some groupie who didn’t know anything about music and who I didn’t have anything in common with, and she was going to be stuck to me for the rest of the tour. I’d be miserable the entire time and no one would buy it once they saw that on my face. Taylor was a good agent, but this was a really, really stupid idea.
So why the fuck did she look so cocky and triumphant?
“What?” I asked suspiciously. “What do you know that I don’t?”
She shrugged, looking unbearably smug. “I was worried about the same thing. You know, that whole chemistry thing. I’ve been thinking about it all night. Then I came to breakfast this morning and realized that you’d already solved my problem for me. You’ve already found a girl you have chemistry with. And she just so happens to be at our fingertips.”
No.
I knew without having to ask what she was talking about. Lila had gone up on stage and volunteered to sing, and the moment she was up there—the moment I’d seen her in her cute little cutoff shorts and tank top, with cowboy boots to match—I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off her. She’d been so sweet and small-town up there, so ‘aw shucks,’ all flushed with excitement, and I’d been completely entranced.
I’d been staring, and I hadn’t cared.
Even when she caught me doing it and spent the whole song staring right back at me.
My heart tried to climb its way up my throat at the memory—and the ghost of her kisses on my body—and I attempted to wipe my face clean of any emotion. Taylor didn’t know about that. She had no idea who I’d been with last night or how much she’d affected me. She probably hadn’t even seen me watching Lila on stage.
Taylor, however, leaned toward me and dropped her voice. “I can see by the look on your face that you know exactly who I’m talking about, Rivers. I saw you watching her when she was onstage. I saw the way you wanted to eat her up. Stick her in your breast pocket and take her home like some sort of pet. You were practically drooling, and the funny thing was, she was just as into you. You two were acting like you were the only ones in the room. So I don’t think chemistry is going to be a problem.”
