14
14
One week later
“Sooooo, I saw photos of you and John arriving back here together last week. Are you two an item again?” My stylist, Kaitlin, raises her eyebrows as she thrusts a brand-new pair of thigh-high boots at me. We’re in my apartment trying on outfits in preparation for Coachella later this week. Jessie flew in this morning, and she’s sitting at my dining table, busy flipping through the huge catalog of clothes Kaitlin handpicked for us already. “You were coming back from a late one, huh?”
Kaitlin is my new personal stylist and she’s amazing. She’s got the same taste as me and an eye for new designer talent. Coincidently, she was included in the list of stylists the Image Agency provided and was also introduced to me by Maya after the whole dress incident, when somehow Riley managed to steal not just my dress but my stylist too.
“They’d been out breaking into rich people’s houses,” Val jokes from her spot lounging on my huge white cloud couch.
“And burying bodies in secret locations.” Jessie plays along.
“Guys, the only crime committed that night was them not moving the fuck on from each other,” Maya cuts in. She’s helping Kaitlin dress me in an outfit they insist will make headlines. Val cackles from the couch.
“Thank you.” I shake my head and focus on Kaitlin with a smile. “We’re taking things slow, so nothing’s exactly official yet, but yeah, I guess we’re seeing each other again.” I step into the boots. “It’s been going well. We seem to be so in tune with each other right now.”
“It’s only been a week, Princess,” Maya mumbles, zipping up the corset top Kaitlin picked out for me.
“And probably the best week we’ve ever had.” I defend myself, trying my best to keep my tone even so I don’t sound too hurt by the comment. The events with the stalker have put life into better focus. When John finally got to my place, hours late, we talked for so long. And he finally heard me—where I was coming from—and the thought of losing me made him truly scared. Since then he’s been at my house every night, and our studio sessions during the day have been beyond productive. Admittedly, it sucks my friends are not as excited about this new development with John as I am.
“You make such a cute couple,” Kaitlin swoons, helping Maya adjust the corset while I lace up the boots. I pretend to ignore the concerned look that floats between Jessie, Val, and Maya as I glance at myself in the mirror.
“Thanks.” I appreciate Kaitlin’s enthusiasm, even if my friends aren’t with me one hundred percent. “This outfit is guaranteed to be on some best-dressed list. I love it.”
“You look hot as hell,” Jessie agrees.
“No surprise, girls.” Maya chuckles. “Kaitlin’s the best stylist in LA.”
“I don’t know about that.” Kaitlin giggles bashfully, shaking her head. “But that’s a real compliment coming from you, supermodel.”
Maya tosses her long auburn hair, making us all laugh. “Hey, have you seen the house we got at Coachella this year? It’s such a beautiful property. Huge pool, a sauna—not that we’re going to need it considering it’ll be a thousand degrees—cute backyard setup where we can have mimosas in the morning.” She grabs her cell phone and swipes through the photos. “I mean, how gorgeous is this? Literally the biggest Jacuzzi I’ve ever seen!”
“Oh my—that is absolutely stunning.” Kaitlin’s mouth gapes wide open.
“Only the best for us, right?” I say with a wink, still in awe that this is my life now.
“Hell, yeah, Princess.” Kaitlin bounces with joy, celebrating with me. “What’s the deal? Did Win set it up for you?” she asks.
“Wait—how do you know Win?” I suppress a smile at the thought of Win going to Kaitlin for fashion advice. He’s too slick to need a professional opinion.
“Who doesn’t know Win?” Kaitlin grins, fanning the heat from her cheeks. “Now, there’s a man I’d like to do things to.” She slaps a hand over her mouth quickly.
“Princess.”Val and Maya accuse me instantly, both shooting pointed looks my way.
“Oh, stop.” I shake my head. “You make it sound like I invite him to family dinners.”
“Didn’t he come to Nobu with us last time your mom and dad were in town?” Jessie throws me a butter-wouldn’t-melt smile, knowing she’s right.
“Ooh, you lucky thing.” Kaitlin shakes her head. “So he did set you up with the house? I mean, I only know him through a friend of a friend, but this has Win written all over it.”
“Actually,” I say, “the house was a thank-you gift from one of my business partners.”
“You got it as a gift? Exciting!”
Jessie beams with pride. “Princess is launching a new cosmetics line this year, and Maya’s the face of the first collection, so the company gifted them the house as a thank-you for all the big business they’re about to generate.”
“Obviously confidential right now,” I cut in fast, trying to signal across the room to Jessie that she shouldn’t say any more.
“Top secret. Got it.” Kaitlin’s eyes light up. “Oh, you know I love a secret . . .”
“No, really.” Maya swoops in, flashing me a look as she loops an arm through Kaitlin’s and diverts her. “This has to be kept quiet. But you’ll hear more about it soon enough.”
Both of us know how fast gossip can spread with stylists. They may have never-ending lists of contacts in all the right places and be so fun to hang out with, but man can they spread word like wildfire. Kaitlin and I are still building our relationship; so far it’s been great but I’d rather be cautious, especially after what happened with Avery. You never know with people.
Sorry, Jessie mouths silently across the room, looking apologetic.
I share a reassuring smile and make a mental note to brief her on being less forthcoming with new people, even though we do love Kaitlin.
In fact, there’s a lot I’ll need to brief Jessie about before we head to Coachella. We’ll be bumping into a lot of familiar faces, some friendly but most not, and the last thing I want is to throw my lifelong bestie into the deep end without a cheat sheet on how to interact with the sort of people who show one face in the spotlight and a whole other personality behind the scenes.
“Well, all I’m gonna say is, John’s about to go insane for that outfit on you, Princess.” Kaitlin looks me up and down approvingly, satisfied with her work. She pauses. “He’s going with you to Coachella, right?”
“Yeah, he’s staying in the house with us.”
What Kaitlin doesn’t need to know is that I only made the decision to invite him yesterday afternoon, because for a second there I was set to go with just my girls, young, free, and single. But I actually like the thought of being there with him. Plus it’s nice to have backup when guys get drunk and aggressively start hitting on you. Apparently, politely declining translates to Yes, please. I’m so into this and I’d love for you to relentlessly hit on me because you are so sexy and I’m just dying to get with you. With John there I can simply say, My boyfriend’s standing right here. Easy.
Not that John’s technically my boyfriend right now. But with the way things are going, it’s only a matter of time.
“That’s so cute. I’ll be looking out for all the couples’ photos. I read something online the other day about you two releasing a song together soon,” Kaitlin subtly throws in as she heads back over to Jessie at the table, glancing at her shortlist of clothes. “Great choice,” she whispers, pointing to one of Jessie’s options with a wink.
Jessie practically glows with a smile. She’s loving the chance to get involved in all this. It’s why I specifically had her come stay with me a couple of nights before we head out to the valley.
“Yeah, we have some stuff lined up and dropping soon,” I say, perking up as I think of how fast everything’s moving. I always dreamed of the days I’d have a song that’s working and an actual plan for other singles to drop. Even though it takes time and patience to work a song and give it enough space to develop, I feel so much more in control when I know there’s a plan in place.
“Hell, yeah!” Kaitlin looks impressed. “He has something coming really soon with Riley Vega, too, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh my god,” Kaitlin continues, getting ahead of herself. “Is the collab the three of you! That is going to be amazing.”
I glance at Maya, and I can tell she’s trying desperately not to say something she’ll regret. Val looks kind of awkward, avoiding eye contact, and Jessie’s fumbling for her phone in her pocket. I watch as she unlocks it with a frown and starts typing rapidly. If I know her, she’ll be searching for as much information about Riley and John’s new song as she can find.
“Not a collab, no,” I say quickly, heat rising inside. He can’t seriously be releasing our new song at the same time as his work with Riley, can he?
“Oh, that’s a shame. You guys would be great together.” Kaitlin shrugs. I’m a little too caught up in my head wondering how John’s even made time for Riley since we worked things out. He’s been with me 24-7.
Well, except for now.
I grab my phone and shoot him a text.
Me: Hey, how’s studio going? 3
“Yeah, me and John are just working on our own stuff,” I say idly when Kaitlin continues singing Riley’s praises. Girl, read the room.
“You know, last time I saw her she had so much good stuff to say about you, Val. I didn’t realize you guys were so close,” Kaitlin says, breaking Val’s silent trance and making her head snap up.
“Huh?” Val’s cheeks flush.
“Riley.” Kaitlin chuckles. “Earth to Valerie . . . I was just saying, last time I spoke to her she was really into you. Kept telling me how cute you looked in that Ala?a dress on the red carpet for the premiere of that movie—oh, what was the name of it? The one with that guy from Ozark—”
“Riley . . . hyping you up?” Maya twists her neck in Val’s direction, eyebrows knitted together. “After New Year’s Eve—” Maya stops herself, and Kaitlin continues chattering.
“Are you two not close?” Kaitlin looks confused when Val shakes her head slowly, giving a nervous laugh.
“Not even remotely,” she says.
“Hmm, that’s weird. Anyway, she was being really positive about you. Maybe there’s a new friend to be made there? I’m just saying . . .”
Maya pulls Kaitlin’s attention away and back to the task at hand, and we finally stop talking about Riley freaking Vega not a moment too soon.
For the next fifteen minutes while we wrap up our session, and Kaitlin notes down all the clothes we want her to buy and reassures us she’ll be back tomorrow with everything ready to go, I can’t shake John and Riley from my mind.
“Okay, what?” Maya explodes as soon as the elevator dings, announcing Kaitlin’s exit. Jessie’s bouncing in her chair so I know she’s got something she wants to say. “I swear to god, you better have found some more info about John and Riley’s song while you were tapping away over there, Nancy Drew. Now, are we gonna boycott this shit, or . . . ?”
“We’re not boycotting anything.” I sigh, already making my way over to Jessie. “I knew John was working with Riley, I just didn’t realize they were getting so close to a release date like we are.”
“Prepare yourselves.” Jessie holds her phone close to her chest and shoots Maya a warning look. “Don’t freak out, okay?”
“Just let me see, Jess,” I say, too anxious to wait any longer.
She hands me the phone, and I skim read the Billboard article onscreen. It’s an interview with John from a couple of days ago, and in it he talks mostly about our release, no mention of Riley until the final question. The interviewer asks if John has any other exciting projects lined up, and that’s when he drops Riley’s name. Cherry on top of it all . . . somehow Riley was asked to comment, and she’s quoted right in the middle of it all.
“Oh nice,” I say dryly, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “How sweet of them to approach Riley for comment in an article about my fucking song and not once reach out to me.”
“Princess, seriously, read us the damn article,” Maya bosses me, grabbing for the phone.
“Hey.” I snatch it back and clear my throat. “Let me do it so you can all hear. ‘Riley tells us: “We’re coming to the end of a really close collaborative project right now. John’s been a dream to work with, so attentive and in tune with my sound. He just gets it when I’m coming at him with concepts, he’ll instantly know how to put the beat together and come up with suggestions all the time for ways we can make it better. He knows me so well, which just makes this whole process so effortless. I’m really excited to share this one with you all. It’s special.”’” I pause to see the girls’ reactions, feeling my gut hollow out with a weird, empty sensation as I continue. “‘Riley and John’s new song is set to be released before the end of this month, so stay tuned on their social media for more news and snippets.’”
“Insanity,” Maya says, stepping forward to drape an arm around my shoulders. “And just when you thought things were getting back on track with you two, ugh, babe.” Her voice holds the same sympathetic note as when John and I first broke up, as if she’s soothing me before I inevitably break down.
I don’t get it.
“Maya, this isn’t exactly a John problem,” I say defensively, and Jessie and Val both straighten in their seats, their interest piqued. “I mean, yeah, it’s annoying that she made it sound like they’re fucking on the soundboard or something and like it’s a ‘project.’ Babe, two songs isn’t a project. But obviously she’s going to make it seem like that, all important and perfect and romantic. She knows it pushes my buttons. She knows what she’s doing, she probably got her PR in on it to start shaping the narrative. What I don’t get is why they wouldn’t ask me for a comment. It doesn’t make sense.”
“But then why would the article be focused on your song with John?” Jessie points out thoughtfully. “I would think they’d want all the attention to be on Riley’s song. That’d piss you off more, wouldn’t it? For her release to totally eclipse yours.”
“That would be so obvious. Come on, you guys. She’s playing a game.” I shake my head with a bitter laugh. “Trust me, I know Riley.”
“You really don’t think it’s shady John hasn’t mentioned anything about their drop date clashing with yours?” Maya asks slowly, glancing at Val out of the corner of her eye.
I look at Val too. She’s detached from the conversation, still sitting on the couch with her head resting in her hand, her elbow propped on the arm. Did she even hear any of what I read?
“Val, what do you think?” I ask, interrupting her daydream. “You know Riley. Do you agree this was all a setup to stir shit between me and John?”
“To be honest,” Jessie cuts in before Val has a chance to speak, “it would make sense if she saw those paparazzi photos Kaitlin was talking about. She’d know you and John got back together and it might’ve made her jealous—which would make her do something petty like this.”
“Exactly,” I say with a definitive nod. “Val?”
She bites her lip. “Yeah, maybe. I don’t really know.”
“Very insightful, thanks for the input,” I say jokingly, but Val doesn’t laugh. She just pulls out her phone and starts scrolling, obviously in no mood to chat.
What’s gotten into her?
Maya sighs. “All I’m saying is, it’s obviously shady. You two literally just got back together and he’s hiding their release date from you? It really wouldn’t be such a stretch to suggest he’s hiding more than that.”
“Oh my god.” I laugh. “Can we just give the man a break? He spent the entire interview talking about me! There’s nothing suspicious about it. Maybe Riley exaggerated the release date. Maybe he doesn’t know when they’re gonna drop the song. Maybe he didn’t want to tell me because I’m so sick of hearing about Riley Vega lately and she’s already ruined too much for us.”
Maya raises her eyebrows. “All right, relax. John’s innocent and I’m reading too much into it.” She places her hands on her hips and sighs. “I just hope you’re right.”
I glance down at my phone, the notification screen still empty of messages from John. Should I be worried he hasn’t replied to my text? Stop. You’re spiraling when you don’t need to. I take a deep breath in to clear my head and smile.
“I’m right, Maya. Seriously. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Right on time, my phone buzzes with a reply.
John: Hey, babe, it’s going great. Let’s talk about release dates later. Try not to stress, I’m figuring it all out w my manager. Hope your fitting is going well. Can’t wait to see u
I thrust my phone out in front of me so Maya can see the screen. “See? He probably wants to talk to me about their release date tonight. It’s no big deal.”
Maya shows me her palms and backs away. “Famous last words, babe, that’s all I’m saying.”
“Wait, did he just text you about it?” Jessie asks.
“Yes, right here.” I show her the phone too.
“Weird. It’s like he’s listening to us.” She giggles and glances around dramatically. “Hidden cameras, much? Helloooooo, John, can you hear me?”
“Stop.” I laugh, pushing her shoulder playfully. “I told you, we’re just in tune with each other.”
“You’re right, Princess,” Val chimes in, standing up from the couch and walking over to us. “Ignore these two haters. If you’re feeling it with John, just enjoy it. Nothing in this town lasts for long anyway, but you two always seem to come back to each other.”
“Thanks, Val,” I say, relieved.
“Enjoy it,” Val repeats with an easy shrug. “If it makes you happy, it makes you happy. You don’t need to put a label on it. Or explain yourself or the situation to anyone else.” She grabs her purse and slings it over her arm. “Okay, who’s coming with me for lunch? I booked a table at the rooftop restaurant at the Waldorf, and I hear your favorite hot waiter’s working today’s shift, Maya.”