Chapter 28
Rhett
A month later
Bang, bang, bang.
“What the hell?” I sit upright in bed.
“What’s going on?” Carina’s voice is groggy.
No wonder, we’re being rudely awaken.
Two different ringtones are sounding off like alarms at the same time as a loud banging threatens to bring down my girl’s front door.
“Who’s out there?” I run a hand through my hair. “And what the hell is so urgent?”
More banging. “Carina, are you in there?”
Miranda?
“Carina, are you up yet? This is important.”
“Allison?” Carina and I speak at the same time.
“Maybe they had a late night.”
Riley?
“Bang harder, Miranda.”
Carina and I look at each other, puzzled.
What in God’s name is going on?
In the meantime, my phone and Carina’s are still ringing like crazy.
“Jesus, you’d think the end of the world is nearing.” I fling the covers off my naked body. “Get dressed, babe. Something bad must’ve happened.”
We bolt out of bed and jump into our clothes.
“I’ll get the door,” she says. “You answer your phone.”
“Good idea. Divide and conquer.”
I rush to the living room where I left my phone, snatch it off the coffee table, and head to Carina’s backyard.
“Hey, Jenkins.”
“Dude, where are you? I’m banging on your door and you aren’t opening.”
“I’m at Carina’s,” I say. “For God’s sake, what are you doing at my place?”
“I can’t believe I get to call you my best friend.”
“It’s too early to be drinkin’, so did you hit your head or somethin’?”
“You don’t know?”
“Do I sound like I do?”
“You’re all over the fucking news.”
“Why? What’d I do?”
“Rhett Sullivan, everyone in the country knows your name.”
“Jenkins, you ain’t making any goddamn sense. What the fuck is going on?”
“Remember the photo shoot in New York from a month back?”
“Of course.”
“It hit this mornin’, and it’s like wildfire. April’s been surfin’ the internet for the past twenty minutes. You’re everywhere. I drove here as fast as I could because I figured your phone would be ringing off the hook.”
“What?”
“Your story went viral. So did Carina’s.
Headlines like these are floating around, ‘A MODERN-DAY ROMANCE WITH A TOUCH OF OLD-WORLD CHARM’, and ‘BIG CITY GIRL GETS HER SWOONY COWBOY’, or ‘COWBOYS DO IT BETTER. HERE’S WHY’.
You two already have a catchy nickname. The media is referring to you as CarRhett. Get it? CarRhett.”
“God, that sounds awful.”
“Well, it’s trendin’. The fact you’re a country boy and she’s a New York City chef is the selling factor. Heck, you two are the most talked about people right now. And to think, barely anyone knew who the hell you were yesterday mornin’.”
I’m speechless.
Molly texted earlier this week to announce the story would be running in the coming days, but neither Carina nor I made a big deal out of it. We expected some buzz, but nothing close to this.
“Man, you need to get on the internet and see it with your own two eyes.”
“You’re right. Let me call you back.”
“All right.”
I hang up with Jenkins and make my way back inside Carina’s house.
“Babe––”
I freeze when I meet four pairs of eager eyes.
Oh yeah, I’d forgotten about them.
“Morning, ladies,” I say.
“Good morning,” Miranda says.
“Mornin’,” Allison says.
“Good, good morning, indeed.” Riley trails her eyes up and down the length of my body.
My gaze shifts to the other two women who are also… checking me out.
I feel as naked as I did on Basil’s set when he insisted I remove my boxer briefs for the bed shots because it would be a lot sexier.
I shut that shit down real fast.
Given how these three are ogling me, I’m happy I had the presence of mind to put on jeans and a t-shirt. “You’re here because of the news?”
“Why else?” Riley says. “Seems like you’re an even bigger celebrity than I am,” she says. “And I couldn’t be happier for you, Rhett.” Riley rushes up to me, grabs me by my shoulders, and slams me against her body. She hugs the hell out of me, swaying us both from side to side.
“Riley,” I say, breaking our embrace.
“I’m so sorry,” she says, taking a step back.
“I tend to get emotional. When I found out about your story of courage in regard to Dawson, it tugged at my heart. And sure, you’re great at what you do for my brother, but I watched the videos from your rodeo days.
” She offers a wide grin. “You were destined for stardom. And here you are… a shooting star.”
“Um, well, thanks,” I say a little embarrassed.
“All this media buzz is mind-blowing,” Carina says.
“That’s what Jenkins said, but I still find it hard to believe all the hype.”
“Believe it,” Miranda says.
“She’s right,” Allison says. “As we were telling your girlfriend, this is ridiculous. Did you know your social media presence multiplied like crazy?”
My eyebrows shoot to my forehead. “Really?”
She nods. “You went from a handful of followers to millions in a flash. I doubt I have to tell you most are women.”
“Wow.” All this is a bit much to handle.
“It’s big, Rhett.” Miranda arches a brow. “Really big.”
“That!” Riley points a frantic finger in Maranda’s direction. “Even when I was at my all-time high in terms of media exposure, it was never anything close to this,” she says. “You’re on fire.”
I struggle to take in Riley’s words.
“Here. Read it for yourself.” Carina hands me her phone. Her blue eyes sparkle with excitement.
I scroll down the headlines, dumbfounded.
Holy shit.
My name appears on every line. I jump from one page to another and it’s the same thing. I keep scrolling until I hit page twenty, and my name is still everywhere.
Jenkins wasn’t making this stuff up.
“Jesus.” I rub a hand over my face.
“This is what we call the perfect viral storm,” Allison says.
“It’s bigger than a media tsunami,” Riley says.
I don’t even know what that means.
“And you know what else?”
I meet Allison’s eyes and shake my head.
“The ranch’s phone has been ringing off the hook. And that’s not all––”
“There’s more?” No way.
She nods. “Everyone wants a piece of you––morning shows, daytime shows, the radio, podcasters, magazines, and even late night TV. You name it.” Allison rattles off a list that has my head spinning. “And a slew of photographers from coast to coast are dying to book you––”
“For what?”
“Everything you can possibly imagine. We even got calls from companies looking for you to become the face––and body––of their products. I can’t tell you how many voicemails we received since the news hit about half an hour ago.
Carina is also getting some interesting offers, but nothing quite like what you’re getting. ”
Allison’s words are thrilling and frightening at the same time.
I’m used to a little attention, but there ain’t nothing little about what’s happening right now. “Why the hell are these people trying to get in touch with me?”
Allison tilts her head to the side. “I guess Jenkins forgot to mention the most important news.”
I frown. “Which is?”
“Rhett Sullivan, People magazine voted you, ‘THE SEXIEST COWBOY ALIVE’”
My head jerks back. “You’re pulling my leg?”
“Not even a little bit.” She grins wide. “They liked everything about you, and created a special issue to celebrate the everyday American.”
“I’ll be damned.”