Page 8 of Hollywood Humbug (The Naughty List)

Grimacing, I sighed, then chuckled. “Touché, baby.”

* * *

My phone rang justas I poured my second cup of coffee that morning. I was tired as fuck after spending the entire night dreaming of Scarlet and her hot little body. I woke up on the verge of climax several times before I finally trudged into the bathroom and took an ice-cold shower.

My eyes darted to my phone, and I saw Della’s name and number on the screen. I contemplated letting it go to voicemail; too tired to deal with agent shit this morning. However, I was waiting to hear about a project, so I padded over to the counter and swiped to answer, then put it on speaker.

“Della,” I greeted before swallowing another large gulp of coffee.

“What the fuck, Kane?” she yelled.

Startled, I accidentally sloshed the hot liquid over the side of the cup, burning my hand. “Ouch! Shit!” I dropped the cup into the sink before turning on the cold water and sticking my hand under it.

“Are you okay?” she asked, sounding impatient.

“Yeah, I just—”

“Good. Now what the fuck?”

“You’ll have to be a little more specific, Della,” I drawled.

“How the hell could you get engaged and not tell me? How many times do I have to tell you I’m your first fucking call? You have to give me a heads up so we can strategize—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I interrupted as I shut off the water, my hand no longer burning, and grabbed a towel to dry it. “Engaged? What the hell are you talking about?”

“You tell me, Kane. It’s all over entertainment news. People magazine called me for a quote, and I had to get out of it without them realizing that I had no fucking clue what was going on! Turn on Entertainment First.”

I stalked into my den and grabbed the TV remote, turning it on and flipping to a channel dedicated to news and talk shows about the entertainment industry. After the current commercial finished, a talk show came on, and the host smiled into the camera. “We’reback and continuing to discuss the shocking news that emerged this morning. Is Kane Remington engaged? And to Scarlet Cassidy? Did anyone even know they were dating?”

What the actual fuck?

“I’m not fucking engaged, Della,” I gritted out through clenched teeth. “And I barely had a first date with Scarlet last night. Who reported this bullshit?”

“As far as I can tell, the first one to say anything about it was Star Watch. My sources have found no earlier mentions in print or other media. Why would she print this? Who told her?”

“I don’t fucking know, but I am going to find out.” Fucking Mandi Donovan. She’d been the first person to report on several of my breakups, and I hated that she’d seemed to know more about my shitty relationships than I did. I didn’t know how she’d found out about things with Scarlet unless she had a source. But it wasn’t as if she checked her facts, either.

The co-host of the show caught my attention again.“They sure look cozy in the photos!”

The screen filled with a few pictures from the night before, one of us at dinner, another where we were talking in Scarlet’s driveway, and the one that really pissed me off. A closeup of us locked in a passionate kiss.

“How the hell….?” I’d taken Scarlet to a place well off the beaten path, a hidden diamond where we could get to know each other without prying eyes or interrupting fans. After my last few disastrous relationships had been splashed all over the news, I was even more wary of letting the media get ahold of any details of my personal life.

“Do you think this will boost Scarlet’s career?” the host mused.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,”her companion replied.“I heard she’s being considered for the other lead role in his next movie, and I can’t imagine Kane would let them turn down his fiancé.”

The co-host’s words were like a slap in the face. Scarlet was being considered forLife Flight? Why hadn’t she mentioned it?

“Did you know about that?” I asked.

“It’s news to me,” Della answered.

“I thought they offered the role to Tara Langley.” That had been several weeks ago, and knowing this business, it wasn’t shocking to learn that there had been a change. Though I was surprised, no one had told me.

“Tara had to back out. She’s pregnant and can’t work around the shooting schedule. I knew they were looking for someone new but hadn’t heard yet.”

“Scarlet’s certainly not new to the industry, but being linked with someone like Kane Remington…”The co-host shook her head.“They will be a powerhouse couple, for sure.”

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