Page 13 of Y'allywood Billionaire

Once we’re live, Jemma claps her hands together and plasters on a phony smile. “The internet’s calling them Rilox, but you know them as the stars of Urban Dawn! Maddox Winter and Riley Glenn are here with me today for their first interview! Now, I know you all are anxious to get answers to your most burning questions, so let’s get right to it.”

My nerves kick up, and when I get the question, “What do you and Agent Lexi Bryce have in common?” it should be easy to answer. But my mind goes blank, and I sit for a beat with my finger on my chin, saying, “Hmm.”

What iswrongwith me? I never freeze!

Maddox jumps in with, “Neither of you put up with my crap.”

I laugh, and he leans in and kisses my cheek, whispering, “We’ve got this.”

His words put me at ease, and I know I can make it through this if he’ll cover for me. The fog in my mind clears, and I’m able to come up with two more things I share with Lexi Bryce. One, I’m an early riser, always have been. Two, I’m a strong believer in getting all sides of a story.

We continue with questions from some of our most loyal viewers. Maddox and I go back and forth, trading answers that reveal facts about ourselves and our characters on the show. I’m feeling much better now that we’ve hit a rhythm.

Then Jemma’s fluorescent-bright face turns serious. “All right, you two. Now—let’s get to what everyone is dying to know.” She reads off the prompter. “Our first Rilox question is for Riley and comes in from the fan, UrbanDawnJunkie44. It says, ‘How did you manage to landtheMaddox Winter?’”

I don’t have a chance to answer because Maddox leans in and says, “I think a better question is how didIlandtheRiley Glenn?“ He winks. “And the answer is that I have no idea, but I’m a very lucky man.”

I smile a genuine smile, relieved he pushed back on the narrative created by the press that I’ve somehow cornered him.

Since I started the show, the social media reaction to me has been mixed. I have a lot of great fans, but many others have expressed that they feel I’m not of Maddox’s caliber. And let’s face it: they’re right. So if they think we’re in different leagues with talent and star power, you can imagine how that’ll likelytranslate to our romance. But I’m ready for it—or I’m trying to be.

Keeping things light, I add, “We’re both addicted to Blue Heat Takis. I mean, if that doesn’t scream ‘meant to be,’ I don’t know what does.”

“We like it hot,” Maddox deadpans.

I shake my head with a smile, but Jemma moves on. “The next question is from UBConspiracies&FanFic. It says, ‘When was the moment you realized you had romantic feelings for each other?’” Jemma shoots me a saccharine-sweet smile. “Riley?”

My mind flips through the sheet Skye had us fill out and memorize. Then I say what we scripted. “I’ve always admired and respected Maddox as a human being, friend, and actor. But we both realized there was much more between us when we were filming in St. Sebastian last week.”

Jemma tilts her head. “How romantic. So it was the day at the naked beach?”

That wasn’t a fan question, but I’ll answer it, anyway. “That was a magical day, yes.” I rest my head against Maddox’s shoulder.

“Hmm.” Jemma puts a finger on her lips, her eye twitching. “Interesting. Maddox. How about you?”

Maddox uses his TV voice when he says, “That one’s easy for me. I knew I felt something more for Riley from the moment I met her—when she auditioned forUrban Dawn.“ He looks at me, his eyes like icicles in the sun. “That day, she made me feel things I’ve never felt before.” His gaze flickers down, then back, now more focused on the camera. “And, if I’m being honest with myself, now that I know her, I’ve realized she’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman. Beautiful. Brilliant. Badass.”

His words catch me entirely off-guard, as none of that was scripted. What is he doing? It sounded genuine, I’ll give him that, but he was supposed to say he fell for me in St. Sebastian,too, because before that, he had other girlfriends. Namely, Jemma, who has a vein bulging on her forehead right now.

Shewasjust using Maddox for this promotion, right?

“Wow.” She claps her hands together, and it’s so loud it makes Maddox and me both jump. “So, let’s nail this timeline down, shall we?” Her voice turns shrill. “You were doing it doggie style with Riley on the nude beach during the day, then coming back to your hotel room and banging me all night. That doesn’t sound like true love to me.”

There’s a long, pregnant pause as Maddox and I freeze. On the computer, surprised emojis float up the reaction section of the feed, and my face feels like someone’s holding a flame to it. A bead of sweat trickles down my back, and my tongue has doubled in size.

Maddox says, “I’m sorry, Jemma. I realized I had feelings for Riley that day, but we weren’t exclusive yet.”

My mouth speaks. “Not exclusive until Monday, mid-morning.”

Jemma looks like her head might spin three hundred and sixty degrees. She squawks, “So you can be in love with one woman and sleep with another?”

Maddox’s face stays even, and I can tell he’s carefully crafting his words. He studies the plant on the coffee table before saying, “Love can be messy, especially when feelings are brand new. I liked you, but I was also realizing my feelings for Riley, too.”

I got to give it to Madman. He’s unflappable.

But his answer seems to knock the air out of Jemma, and she sits in her chair, almost vibrating. Finally, she turns to the screen and says, “Well, there you have it, folks. The real dish with Rilox. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.” She pushes the “stop recording” button on her computer screen, but she’s moving so swiftly, it doesn’t work.

The camera light is still on.

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