Page 25 of The Music of Love

And then I hear the sound of the door opening, followed by it closing behind him. And then I find myself alone in a Beverly Hills mansion.

“Okay, then…” I say to myself. “Well, well, well…”

It’s a strange feeling. I know he won’t be gone long, but it’s still strange to be on the other side of the country from my family, my job, from Sarah, and to be without Cal by my side—especially considering I just arrived.

Either way, I finish up the dishes quickly and go upstairs to the office to e-mail my parents. They’ll both be at work right now and won’t be able to take my call, but I want to make sure they get a good explanation of what I’m doing out here, and typing up like twenty texts to both of them is just going to be a huge pain. I’ll probably get a call from at least one of them later.

Once I’ve finished and have pressed send, I do an exploration of the rest of the house, and it’s incredible. Do people really live like this? The entire staff of Henry’s could live here, and we’d never see them. There’s a pool, a game room, the main kitchen, and a kitchen that I assume is just for the staff. There’s a garage with six cars that I don’t even know the names of and two living rooms, one of which where I finally park my butt in the most comfortable couch I’ve ever been in before turning on the enormous TV. Cal should be back soon, and it shouldn’t be hard for him to find me sitting right here waiting for him.

Sarah and I don’t have half this many channels back at our apartment, and I’m flipping through trying to find something to watch, when I see Cal’s smiling face pop up on the screen.

“–the duo are rumored to be romantically linked now that Shelton’s last relationship with actress Rina Dulling ended last Spring. Cal Shelton and Jenni Hinderman are–” I instantly click away from the station but pause as the name rings a bell in my mind.

Jenni Hinderman.

Quickly I flick back, and my heart nearly stops when I see a photo of Cal standing beside Jenni Hinderman, and it seems to be at one of his shows. In fact, it reminds me a lot of when he came off stage to see me at hislastshow.

“Jenni Hinderman?” I say out loud. Wasn’t that the girl Josh and Kathleen were talking about? Didn’t they want to get Cal to stage a photo with her?

Well, why would they be asking him to stage a photo with her if there already is one?

“–the two are rumored to beveryserious. So much so that many are speculating that this may be the end of Shelton’s wild, playboy days and that he may be planning to settle down–”

I press the off-button hard and toss the remote.

How could this happen? Cal made it seem like there weren’t any photos of him with Jenni and there weren’t going to be any. But if that were true, what isthatphoto that’s all over the television? He must have known.

All that means is that he lied to me.

18

Cal

“Everything looks great, buddy,”Ari, my lawyer, says with a smile. “This tour killed it yet again. You sure you don’t wanna get out on the road next week?”

Grinning, I put my signature on the last of the documents and shake my head. “Can’t over-expose, man.”

He frowns back at me. “But you’re the biggest in the world!”

“That may be,” I reply, “but there’s still such a thing as too much Cal Shelton.”

Ari laughs and sets the documents aside. “Yeah, tell that to Jenni Hinderman. Am I right?”

“Christ, not you too? Did Josh tell you to say that? Or let me guess—Kathleen?”

Ari just frowns as he leans back in his chair. “What are you talking about?” he asks. “It wasn’t either of them. You two are all over the news, buddy.”

He flicks his mouse to bring up a website, and instantly my heart sinks. There it is, plain as day; fake-news about Jenni and me being a thing.

“Fuck,” I growl, standing up from my chair and heading for the door.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, buddy,” Ari laughs. “Every guy in the country wants to tap that ass. And you’re the one!”

I’m trying not to lose my cool as I race downstairs to the car. There’s a chance Reese hasn’t seen the fake-news yet, and even if she has, there’s a chance she doesn’t buy into it. But that’s just me thinking positive. In reality, she’s more than likely seen it by now, and she’s wondering what the hell is going on and why I lied to her.

She’s wondering why Kathleen and Josh were trying to get me to take a picture with Jenni when I was already dating her and she’s trying to figure out how to get away from me because I’m just another asshole celebrity dude that doesn’t care about women.

I have to get back to her before she leaves me.

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