Chapter 3
Chapter Three
“We’re just going to have something simple. A small ceremony.” Calla flashed a shy smile at the camera closest to her as Eli tucked her into his side.
“I’m just excited to finally make it official,” he said, gazing down at her with more love than I would have thought possible.
As much as I wanted the fairytale ending—the white dress and the ring and the forevers—it was hard to imagine anyone looking at me like that.
My mother insisted I just didn’t try hard enough. Wasn’t flexible enough. Cared too much about my career. Although she never hesitated to take advantage of any of the perks I’d received since I’d become successful.
When I used to play in small bars in Nashville, dying to be noticed, she never came to see me play.
She told me over and over again that I was wasting my time.
Instead of admitting that my dream had any sort of a chance, she signed me up for a reality dating show, telling me it was some sort of singing competition.
And then she’d berated me when I still managed to come home without a man.
The taping of the reunion was almost over and I was immensely grateful that soon I could stop actively forcing my gaze from searching for Danny’s.
It was a lot of effort to appear unbothered while only feet away from the man who occupied way too many of my thoughts and had probably inspired one too many of my songs.
Rita had already covered most of the cast. Arnie and Rachel had already recounted the dream proposal. Sofia had discussed her new makeup line. Grant talked about enjoying his bachelor status and teased the show he’d just finished filming.
It was going to be my turn soon. Our turn.
“It wasn’t all happy endings on the first season of Tough Love,” Rita said, and my chest tightened.
“One couple in particular seemed like the perfect opposites-attract, grumpy-sunshine pairing. But unfortunately, despite being fan favorites, they never made it out of the house. Of course, I’m talking about Trace and Danny. Let’s take a look.”
The TV screen that had been playing highlights from our season all evening switched back on.
It was me, glowing, fresh, excited. On set, I kept the neutral soft smile plastered to my face, knowing they’d be recording my reaction to seeing the clips.
It was tough. This was my first time watching it back.
After the show had wrapped, I’d been too upset to watch it all back knowing how it ended.
Ugh, I looked so na?ve. My face beamed up at Danny when he told me he was falling for me as he gently placed a piece of hair behind my ear and kissed me for the first time.
My stomach went sour.
Instinctively, I looked for Danny, only to find him staring intently at me—not looking at the screen at all, but watching me watch us.
My face faltered for a second before I returned my attention to the TV—just in time to watch him break it off, telling me harshly that it would never work between us. That he didn’t want me.
I squeezed my hands together in my lap. Grant nudged his knee with mine. In that moment, I was grateful for him.
“Trace, how does it feel watching it all back?” Rita asked with a sympathetic frown.
“It f-feels—” My voice cracked, and I took a second to swallow and steady myself.
My PR rep from the label had coached me vigorously for this moment.
I had to appear above it, positively over everything that had happened, and gracious to the show for all the opportunities I’d been given as a result.
A soft laugh escaped me, one that sounded surprisingly real. Maybe my mother was right and I should give acting a try after all.
“Honestly, it’s like watching a stranger. I want to reach into the screen and give that girl a big ol’ hug. She looks so sad. I want to let her know how great life is about to get, and that she’ll be just fine.”
Rita pursed her lips and nodded. “So, no lingering feelings for Danny?”
“Not at all.”
“You don’t feel bitter?”
My pulse elevated a little at her line of questioning. She wanted a scene out of me, drama they could milk.
“Of course not.” I smiled and even directed it at Danny. “I wish him nothing but the best. No hard feelings. Besides, he was probably right—it never would have worked out between us.”
“Danny.” Rita turned her attention to him. “How do you feel? Does it bring back any old feelings?”
He stared at me a second too long before answering. “It does.”
His words twisted like a knife in my chest.
“Oh really?” Rita practically foamed at the mouth with anticipation. “Do tell.”
But Danny just shrugged, continuing to direct all his intense attention at me.
When it was clear he wasn’t going to give her anything more, Rita frowned and changed her line of questioning.
“Well, we all know you’ve been a bit busy for romance. Your skiing documentary—In His Tracks—just got picked up by one of the big streaming services.”
I couldn’t help but notice the way she didn’t dwell on his answer, or ask him follow-up question after follow-up question.
“That’s right,” he said.
“And Trace, off releasing music and going on national tours. I suppose it all worked out in the end. Opposites don’t really attract in real life.”
She continued to ask us a few surface-level questions, but the worst of it was over. She couldn’t dwell on our ancient relationship or create drama with neither of us playing ball.
And finally, after I was sure I’d collapse from the effort of putting on a casual front, I heard the magical words.
“That’s a wrap!” Brady shouted from behind the scenes after Rita gave the camera one last, “Thank you for watching, and be sure to tune in for the latest season of Tough Love.”
Well, that was a real hoot.
I let out a shaky breath but didn’t make a move to stand yet. The bright fluorescent lights mixed with the smile I’d been forced to keep the entire night had taken their toll on me. I wanted to puke.
“You did good.” Grant stood, stretching out his hand. I placed mine in his and let him help me up, needing the steady balance.
“That was fun,” Rachel said sarcastically.
Arnie laughed and slung an arm over her shoulders. “It wasn’t so bad.”
“A few hours out of our lives and we’ll all get a little more relevancy. Well, you all will. I’ve had steady growth since we left the show,” Sofia said in a bored tone, opening up a compact to check her makeup.
“Oh yeah, the rest of us just have no noteworthy accomplishments.” Rachel rolled her eyes.
“I can’t wait to get off this set,” Calla said.
Eli rubbed her upper arm before dipping down and placing a kiss on the side of her head. It was kind of mesmerizing, the way he only had eyes for her.
Danny lingered in the back, hands stuffed in his pockets.
“I made reservations at The Tower. I figured we could all do dinner and catch up for real.” Eli looked around at the group.
Everyone nodded and gave their approval while I froze. Before I could respond, Danny gave a curt nod. All eyes were on me now.
“Sounds like fun,” I managed to squeak out. I wanted to get as far away from Danny as quickly as possible, but one dinner wouldn’t kill me. If I told myself I was over it, maybe I really would be.
We all moved to the hallway that led to our dressing rooms, agreeing to get our stuff and meet back up at dinner.
I was almost to my door when Danny spun around, less than a foot away from me.
“Hey.” He scratched the back of his neck, his forearm poking out of his rolled-up sleeve.
Hey. Really? Hey? That was the best he could come up with in the months since we’d last seen each other? After he’d just left me high and dry with zero explanation?
“Hi, Danny.” The brightness in my voice was forced, but I’d be damned if I let him know how much he actually affected me.
We stood there in silence for a second. His eyes searched mine as he towered over me. I knew what he was waiting for—for me to fill the silence, like I always did. Ask him how he’d been. Ask him if he’s staying safe, doing God-knows-what.
I let the smile settle into my features and blinked up innocently at him. He’d have to wait for hell to freeze over, because the next words spoken absolutely would be coming from him.
He tilted his head up toward the ceiling. I saw the defeat in his posture, as if having a real conversation was really taking it all out of him.
“Listen. We need to talk. About my cabin and what happened—”
Fate must have been on my side today, because that was when we were interrupted.
Brady swung around the corner and called out, “Trace, real quick—I wanted to discuss something with you.”
“Sure,” I said, instantly regretting it when I saw my mom at his tail. Trepidation filled my stomach. This couldn’t be good.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Danny backing away slowly.
Coward. Retreating, as usual. Whatever. It was for the best.
“I’m in talks with the network about a new show,” Brady said.
Ice ran through my veins as my mom looked all too eager.
“What kind of show?” I asked.
“Another dating show, but before you say no,” he added quickly, noticing I was already shaking my head. “It wouldn’t be like last time. This time, you would be the commodity. A group of men there, just to meet you. Trace Davis, America’s newest country music darling.”
I shot my mom a pleading look. “I don’t think I have time for that.”
“I already spoke with the label. They think it’ll be great publicity for your next album.”
The album they haven’t even signed yet, I wanted to say.
“The album I should be writing. I don’t have time for this,” I said instead.
“Tracy, honey. I’m not sure you can afford not to have time for this.” My skin bristled at the dig. “The tour wasn’t what anyone was hoping for. You need another boost. This is perfect. When Brady mentioned it to me, I nearly passed out with relief.”
“How exciting!” Brady clapped. “We start production soon.”
“How soon?”
“Next month.”
“Next month?” I choked out the words. It was already the end of May.
“I know, it’s last minute. We had someone else lined up, but she backed out a few days ago.” He said the last words quickly, as if hoping I would just brush them under the rug. “Her loss, right?” He smiled and reached out to touch my forearm.
Great. I wasn’t even their first choice for this show I had no interest in doing.
“I don’t know…”
“It’ll only be a few weeks,” he continued. “And who knows? Maybe you’ll even meet someone.” He winked and I fought against the urge to gag.
I very much doubted that. The Trace from last year would have been excited about the prospect of meeting the love of her life—on TV, at a bar, online, it hadn’t mattered. I’d wanted that, desperately.
But now I was jaded. I’d dated too many mediocre men over the years, culminating in the ultimate heartbreak of Danny Miller. They’d all proved time and time again that I wasn’t worth it. That I was easy to leave. No. I was so much better off on my own.
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
My mom didn’t even register my response as she tapped away on her phone. “Corey already spoke with some of the others at the label. They’re very excited about this. They want to set up a meeting ASAP.”
“Amazing,” Brady said. “I can get the contracts drawn up. We could even work the release date to align with whenever the next album comes out.”
“You’re an angel.”
They continued talking enthusiastically about my life, making decisions without me.
I was used to it, though. It seemed like nothing had been on my terms lately.
Might as well just add one more thing to the mix.
What difference would it make? I’d already had my life picked apart for reality TV once, what was one more round?
“I’m going to change and meet the rest of the cast for dinner.” My voice barely even floated above their chatter.
Brady nodded. “Alright, I can continue to iron out the details with your manager—"
“Mother,” I corrected.
She laughed before shooting me a warning glare. “I’m also her manager,” she said, waving me off as if I was nothing.
The hallway closed in on me as I turned to retreat to my dressing room. I stopped when I saw Danny at the end of the hallway, leaning against the wall. Instead of meeting my gaze, he ducked his head and disappeared around the corner.
Had he been eavesdropping?
My hand shook as I opened the door and let myself bask in the quiet for a second. My heart slowed. I hadn’t even realized it was racing. Between the news about the new show and my brief interaction with Danny, I was on edge.
I could hardly breathe while he was around. And now I had to make it through dinner with him and catch up with the rest of the group while appearing completely unaffected.
I could do it. I’d sit at the opposite end of the table and engage him in nothing more than polite small talk. It would be a piece of cake.