30. Chapter 30
Quint
Aura’s text from yesterday morning has been running through my head on repeat. The lights of the film production didn’t go dark until almost ten o’clock last night, so I know she was telling the truth. Her schedule ramped up these last two days. And now she’s leaving the ranch for the weekend.
At first when I saw the news about the fake-dating leak, I wondered if this entire thing was a setup, if all she ever wanted was to use me for publicity.
But when I thought about it, it didn’t ring true.
She was trying to avoid any more scandal or bad PR, and I know her better than that.
She wouldn’t have dragged me into a situation and lied to me like that.
This can’t be how she wanted things to go.
At least the ranch has kept me busy enough to almost forget about the whole mess yesterday. We’ve got a couple of horses in training and our assistant trainer is off work sick, so I offered to hop on to keep them in shape until she gets back.
I’m sweating as I’m rubbing down my last ride of the morning, still mulling things over, when footsteps approach.
I look up sponging off Bandit’s sweaty back to see Shayla walking toward me, arms crossed, a frown creasing her brow.
“Hey, slacker,” I say.
“I’m not a slacker.”
“I could have used a little help exercising these horses with Kayleigh off sick.”
Her shoulders tense up. “I’ve been helping Caleb with the financial stuff.”
I give her a long look. With all the Hollywood people on the ranch, Preston has been around way more than usual, and he’s been ‘helping’ Caleb with the money stuff. I highly doubt our older brother needs a second helper in that department.
“You know you’re going to have to hit the ring again eventually, Shay-Shay.
” Barrel racing is her passion and always has been, and while she’s been hitting the trails occasionally, her avoidance of any performance training—especially involving barrels—since her accident last year is glaringly obvious.
“What I do with my time is none of your damn business. Besides, you’re the one causing all the drama around here lately.
You know Jessa sent me a message with a bunch of links she saw online?
She’s such a busybody. How’s it feel to be famous?
” Of course her nosy best friend is all up in my business.
Jessa has been a pain all our asses since we were in elementary school.
Not enough excitement at her place I guess, so she spent way too much of her time at ours.
“Like shit. I actually thought we could make this work, but maybe I was delusional.” I rub the back of my neck. I know she’s just trying to distract me, but it still works. That’s the fun of siblings. When you’ve spent your lives together, you’re way too familiar with each other’s triggers.
She squeezes my shoulder in a rare show of affection.
“Oh, brother, you’ve always been delusional.
It’s one of your most charming features.
For other people, I think.” She sighs, giving Bandit’s damp neck a pat.
Without turning around, she says, “And I hate to say it, but I don’t think you were wrong about that.
I’ve been watching you and her. Mostly because I didn’t trust either of you to make good choices.
But from what I can see, she’s into you for real too, but she’s scared, and she doesn’t want to hurt you. And that’s something I can appreciate.”
I squint up at the sun, a little confused by this sudden about-face from my sister, who’s been very clear about her stance on the whole dating-a-celebrity thing. “Wait a second. Who are you and what have you done with my sister?”
“What nonsense are you going on about now? I’m trying to be helpful.”
“Exactly. The last time you were nice to me was…I don’t know, maybe when I was in ninth grade and Travis Shepherd was being a dick to me.”
“Don’t be so dramatic. I’m just telling you what I’ve seen. Contrary to what you might think, I have had your best interests at heart, but you seemed to be doing just fine on your own, so I didn’t see any reason to meddle.”
I don’t know how true any of that is. She has butted into my business constantly over the years, just not so much recently.
“So what exactly makes this situation so dire that you felt like you needed to step in?” I cluck to Bandit and start walking toward the far pasture. Shayla falls into step beside me.
“It just seems like you’re both into each other, and I do want you to be happy.
If she’s the one that’s going to do that, then I guess I’ve gotta support it.
But no one is going to be happy if you both walk around with your heads up your asses refusing to talk to each other. Cowboy up and deal with this.”
“How, exactly? She’s taking off for LA this afternoon. I can’t exactly follow her there.”
“Can’t you? What better way to prove to the press that you two are good than showing up on the red carpet next to her?”
I unlatch the gate, leading Bandit into the pasture before slipping his halter off. He launches himself away from me, kicking his heels in the air as he goes. You’d think he’d be tired after our ride, but apparently it was just a warmup for him.
Shayla is leaning over the fence with her arms propped on the top rail, watching the horse go, as I come back out.
“My delusional ways might be rubbing off on you. How do you figure I make that happen? You expect me to crash some fancy Hollywood thing?”
My sister turns around to face me. “Whatever they might say about you two doesn’t change the fact that you’re her boyfriend. You’re welcome there. We just need to get you on a plane, and I can handle that.”
There’s a gleeful whinny in the distance. Probably Bandit joining his buddies.
“I don’t think that’s it. I have to get a suit, probably a tuxedo. Get to the event, wherever it is, and then wish on a star that she doesn’t turn me away.”
“That’s the easy part. She’s not going to turn you away. And Sav is going too, she just decided to fly out tomorrow instead so she could film some extra scenes this afternoon. I already talked to her. You can stay at her place, and she’ll take you to the event. After that, it’s up to you.”
My arm freezes halfway to grabbing a hoof pick.
I’ve seen Shayla and Savannah together a couple of times over the last month, but I had no idea they were this tight.
Have I just been too wrapped up in my own stuff to notice what’s going on with my sister?
“There are so many things wrong with this plan. A: Since when have you been on scheming terms with Savannah? B: How are you paying for a plane ticket for me? And a follow-up: why? And C: What makes you think you can go around organizing my life for me?”
“I’ve been hanging with Savannah for weeks, I’ve got a boatload of points saved up from traveling, and if not me, then who? Because you are apparently not doing a good job of it. Someone’s got to step in.”
At the back of my mind, I’m wondering if she’s sending me off on this wild adventure hoping I’ll fail and prove her right about Aura and me being destined for failure. But as annoying as she can be, I don’t think she’d really set me up like that. She’s much too protective.
“This is a lot. I’m going to need to think about it.”
She shrugs. “Don’t think about it for too long, flight leaves at nine a.m. tomorrow.” She walks away, and I just stand there, mouth hanging open, hand still hovering over the hoof pick.
***
I’ve only been on a plane twice before, and the experience was nothing like this.
Apparently my sister had enough points to get me a business-class ticket, so I’m sitting in a little pod chair with my legs splayed out and a beer in my hand as the “seatbelts on” sign lights up and the pilot announces we’re preparing for our descent.
Savannah is sitting in the seat next to me with a mask over her face and a fuzzy pink blanket pulled up to her chin.
She was recognized a couple of times at the airport, but she’s not as well-known yet as Aura is.
My nerves were fighting with each other the entire flight, so I didn’t even really get to enjoy the more civilized experience in business class.
Between the fear of crashing into a mountain and dying a fiery death and the fear that Aura is going to outright reject me live on camera at the film event, it’s been a rough few hours.
But after landing safely and navigating customs, Sav leads me through the place with ruthless efficiency. My legs are long, but I’m no match for her energy, zipping through crowds of tourists and out into the relentless glare of the LA sun.
Her driver is waiting for us, and my shoulders relax for the first time all day as I slip into the buttery-soft leather backseat.
“That was a lot.”
Sav smiles, tossing her curls over her shoulder. “Don’t travel much?”
“Not much. Not unless I can get there by car.”
She folds her arms across her chest. “You know, if this goes well and you end up dating Aura for real, you’re going to have to do a lot more of this.
If you actually want to be with her, that is.
This is part of her life. LA travel, fancy events.
It’s part of the package, and if you can’t handle it, it’s not going to work out. ”
“I can handle it.” For her, I can handle anything.
“Okay. Then let’s figure this out. My assistant will be there when we get back to my place. She’ll have a variety of suits for you to try. Then we’ll make sure you get a shower, clean up that hair.” Her eyes drop to my hands. “Moisturize. The works. Get you all prettied up.”
“You don’t think I’m pretty?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at her.
She rolls her eyes. “I think you’re very pretty. In a rugged, rough-around-the-edges kind of way.”
“Well, isn’t that part of the deal? The cowboy and the celebrity.”
“It is, but you’re on her turf now and you have to dress appropriately. When she’s on the ranch, she wears worn jeans and a plaid shirt, right? This is her work uniform.”
When she puts it that way, it makes total sense. Aura’s been bending to my world for the last few months, and today I get to return the favor. To really prove to her that I can handle her world.
“I still can’t believe you were faking it this whole time. I’ve usually got such a good radar for bullshit publicity stunts.” She taps a long glittery green fingernail on her lips.
“Well, it wasn’t ever really fake on my part, to be honest.” I haven’t been able to get her out of my head since the day she sassed me in the coffee shop.
And sure, it was her beauty at first, the stunning, knock-you-off-your-feet looks that made her a star.
But even then, there was something more to it.
“That could be it. And you two have seen each other naked, right?”
I don’t say a word. I’ve never been one to kiss and tell, but I know Aura wouldn’t want me sharing such intimate details. Even with someone she considers a friend.
“Not going to share, hmm?” Sav grins. “But let me guess. You started the fake-dating thing after those pics leaked, but you were already into her, and I suspect she was into you too. Then you just couldn’t resist each other’s delicious bodies, so you gave in.
But Aura wasn’t ready to admit that she had actual feelings for you, so she denied them and kept pretending it was fake?
” She tilts her head to the side with a smirk. “Am I close?”
I just stare at her, still not willing to give anything away, but she must pick up on my expression because she cackles and claps her hands together.
“I got it, didn’t I? I know, I’ve got a gift.”
The car swings into the driveway of a modest house, and I take one moment to breathe before I step out into a world that’s completely different than anything I’ve ever known.