Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
The ride back to the house had been a nonstop frenzy of Brady talking at me.
I’d been fully bracing myself for yelling, maybe even threats of a lawsuit or pulling the show altogether.
But the man practically had a twinkle in his damn eye.
All he could talk about was the pictures of Danny and me that had gone viral.
He hadn’t once mentioned a fine or breaking my contract.
Instead, he was all about the finale. How I was going to let Tripp down. How Danny and I were going to end up together. How he was going to frame us running from the show, because in his words: “Yes, I’m definitely going to use that, it’s gold.”
He’d even asked if I’d be interested in a proposal from Danny, to which I’d looked horrified, and said absolutely not. Brady had sighed and shaken his head with disappointment.
While marrying Danny would be a dream, I would never want to taint our proposal by having it forced upon us in this environment.
When we finally pulled up to the house, I was exhausted and starving, considering I hadn’t eaten anything since dinner the night before.
“Don’t get too comfortable. We need to film a scene with you and Tripp tonight. We’ll have to start later than originally planned, but we still have time. I’ll have hair and makeup at your house within the hour.”
I groaned.
Brady glared at me like I was a child in desperate need of discipline. “I don’t want to hear a single protest from you. And also…” He paused as we exited the van. “Make the breakup good. Maybe shed a tear if you can.”
“I don’t—”
“We have eye drops. The plan is to play up the love triangle even more in editing, so you ending things has to look convincing. Act like you were really torn.”
“But Danny—”
He nodded. “Yes, that was all very dramatic and you’re in love and whatever. But we need to build tension.”
My chest burned. “I’m not doing that. That isn’t fair to anyone.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, do you want me to get legal involved after what happened last night? Because that’s your other option.”
I snapped my mouth closed. He had me, and he knew it.
He exhaled with a roll of his eyes. “Don’t worry. Tripp knows that you two ran off. We basically tore this place apart last night to make sure you hadn’t come back here. He’s well aware you and Danny are endgame.”
“Okay,” I said, in a clipped tone. Soon I wouldn’t have to do everything this man said. I could handle this.
“I’m so sorry, Tripp. You’re such a good guy.”
Cliché after cliché spilled from my mouth as I broke the news to Tripp on a breathtaking patio overlooking the ocean.
They’d forced us to eat dinner first. Unlike the awkward silence of my date with Danny last night, I hadn’t been able to shut up today.
My mouth kept stumbling over every word.
Tripp probably sensed my nerves. At one point, he squeezed my arm and gave me a look like everything was okay, but I still felt terrible.
“I’m glad I got to know you.” I hoped my eyes said what my brain couldn’t articulate. In another world, maybe we would have known each other better. But in this world, I was very much in love with someone else.
“I’m glad I came.” He graciously bent down to give me a hug. “You’re lovely, Trace. I mean it. I know you have great things ahead.”
“Thank you.”
“And if I buy a ticket to your next tour, maybe I can come and see you backstage?” He gave me a lopsided grin.
“Definitely.” I smiled up at him, grateful I didn’t detect even a trace of bitterness in his eyes.
“He treats you right?” he asked, stepping away and giving my hand a final squeeze.
“He will,” I said, not even having to add tenacity to my tone. I genuinely believed it. The change in him was obvious. Danny was a little bruised emotionally, but so was I. We were each strong in different ways, and we made a good team.
“I’m happy for you, then. You seem a lot lighter,” he said.
“I really am happy,” I confirmed.
When it was over, Emma pulled me aside. “You did great.”
“I feel so icky,” I said, shimmying up and down.
Brady had tried to shove tear drops in my eyes for my postdate interview, but I’d managed to evade him.
“Tripp is fine.” Emma brushed away my concern, while simultaneously fixing one of my stubborn waves. “He made some friends, and I bet he'll have plenty of women knocking on his door when this is over.”
“Still.” I made a face and glanced behind us to see Tripp being led away to give his exit interview.
“He’s a good guy, but he’s not your guy. Less than forty-eight hours until you’re on a plane to Tennessee, and you can get back to reality.”
“Tennessee. Right.” I hadn’t even thought that far ahead. Would Danny come with me? Did he have to go back to Colorado or California? I kind of wanted to go with him, to whichever it was.
“Alright,” Brady said, waltzing over to us. “Trace, let’s get you back to the guesthouse so you can pack.”
“Pack?” I asked, glancing at Emma. Her eyebrows furrowed, which told me she likely had no idea what he was talking about.
“We’re filming the finale at this gorgeous hotel a few miles away. We’ve already got you booked in a suite there.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize I’d be leaving.” As much as I’d been itching to get out of this mansion, I was almost sad to be leaving my little slice of sanity. I’d grown to sort of like that guesthouse.
“Can I see Danny tonight?” I asked.
Brady’s mouth twitched, clearly unimpressed. “I think you two have had enough alone time for the show. You’ll see him tomorrow, and then all this will be over.”
Thank heavens for that. The end couldn’t come soon enough.