24
24
I woke up after noon, still exhausted from the superlate night. Though I never intended to fall asleep in his bed and thought it’d be kind of awkward to wake up beside him, Win wasn’t even in the room when I opened my eyes. It was clear he’d spent the night with me, though, and that he’d only just left, because his watch and cell phone were still on the nightstand and his pillows had indents where his head had been.
I sit up and stretch on the huge mattress, losing myself staring out the window for a moment, when chimes sound from the ceiling above me. The next thing I know, Win is talking to me from . . . the clouds?
“Beautiful day, isn’t it? Almost over, though, so I figured I’d better get up. How did you sleep?”
I look up, confused and laughing. “I’m sorry, what is happening? Can you see me?” Immediately, I reach for the covers, tugging them up to my chin.
“Oh, my bad, I should’ve mentioned.” He chuckles. “It’s the intercom system. Check out the little touchscreen above the nightstand beside you—it lets you talk to any room in the house. And unfortunately, no, I can’t see you.”
I relax a little, leaning over to check out the screen. Sure enough, a little keypad has a button for each room. “So cool,” I say, more to myself than to Win. “Where are you right now?”
“In the kitchen. My chef is here making you breakfast as we speak. Come down, it’ll be ready in about ten minutes.”
“Oh perfect, okay, I’ll be down in a few.”
I pull my hair into a high ponytail and head downstairs to the dining room for a restaurant-quality breakfast.
It’s pretty cute walking in and seeing Win in such an intimate setting, messy hair from the night before, our breakfasts beautifully plated. We don’t talk much while we eat but it feels perfectly comfortable. I enjoy every bite while my mind runs away with daydreams of what life would be like if we were actually a couple.
“Hey, someone’s calling you,” he says, breaking through my thoughts. My phone buzzes on the table next to me, Kimi’s caller ID flashing onscreen.
“Oh, thanks.” I take the phone from him and swipe to answer it. “Hey, Kimi, how are you?”
“Uh, I’ll feel better when I know your name’s out of the rumor mill,” she says wearily.
“What now?” Blood drains through me as I realize I haven’t checked my email or socials yet—anything could be happening right now and I wouldn’t have a clue, I’m so lost in a heavenly little bubble up here with Win in his fancy mansion.
“Don’t panic.” Kimi sighs. “A little birdy told me you left Coachella early—”
“You mean three little birdies who still happen to be soaking up the house as we speak?” I ask, nodding over at Win when he throws me a cautious look as if to ask if everything’s okay.
“Yes, those three,” she confirms. “Something about you escaping in the middle of the night, over something to do with John and Riley Vega, and now the two of them are posting some very touchy-feely stories together on Instagram.”
“Gross.” I can’t help myself: it’s the only word that pops into my head at the reminder of John and his shitty actions.
“Really, I just need to make sure you’re as uninvolved in whatever went down there as possible—at least in the eyes of the public. You can’t allow a guy to get in the way of your stardom right now, especially someone you’re going to be working with. Where are you right now, Princess?”
I glance over at Win, who’s sipping his coffee, and for a second I don’t even want to tell her. It’s been so nice to get some time away from all the drama, even if only for a few hours, that the thought of revealing where I am and bursting that bubble back to normality kind of sucks.
“I’m at a friend’s house,” I say reluctantly.
“In LA?” Kimi asks.
“Yeah, I’m in the Hills.”
She pauses for a moment as if trying to figure out whose house I might be at. “Okay, well, how quickly can you make it downtown?”
I hang my head back. I knew there’d be some sort of duty to attend to. Nothing special ever lasts. “I don’t know, Kimi. What for?”
“Do you remember a few months ago we had to turn down the invite for you to be guest of honor at that record store opening?”
I vaguely recall something about it. “Yeah, I guess. Didn’t we say no because I was going to be at Coachella?”
“We did, and now look at where you’re not. The last thing we want is to draw attention to the fact you disappeared early, right off the back of John and Riley posting all these coupled-up videos with each other. There are enough rumors out there already about the three of you—let’s not start any more. You need this to repair any possible damage.”
I grind my teeth, cursing John internally for still having such a hold over my life. “So, what, we’re going to pretend as if I came back for this store opening?”
“Exactly,” Kimi says. “I made a few calls this morning and the owners are delighted to have you attend. They would’ve had to go ahead with some actor who had three lines in an episode of Game of Thrones or something otherwise.”
“But they’re still going to be there, right? I don’t want to steal an opportunity from someone just because I suddenly became available, Kimi.”
“You know how it is and that’s not your problem to worry about. You need to be there, and you need to worry about yourself. Their team can handle their side.” She sighs, sounding a little annoyed with me.
“All right,” I agree, knowing she isn’t going to give in. I pull back to glance at the time on my phone. “It’s already after noon. What time does this event start?”
“They need you there to open the store at two.”
“Two! As in, less than two hours from now? Kimi, you know that’s not going to happen. I’m literally in the middle of eating breakfast. It’d be impossible for me to get my hair and makeup figured out. Plus, I don’t have anything with me I can wear.”
She sighs heavily. “I’m backed into a corner here, Princess. Find a way. It’s this or deal with weeks’ worth of rumors about you and Riley headlining all the blogs.”
I know what she means. If it looks like I left Coachella for no reason, the press will fill in the blanks for us. There’s enough suspicion where John and I are concerned already; I definitely don’t need people catching on to what really happened yesterday. I can explain away our time as recording together but if anyone catches on that it was more than that, it could destroy all my hard work over the last few months.
“Okay,” I say with a sigh. “I’ll be there. Send me the address and I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”
“See you there, Princess,” Kimi says, and right before she hangs up she adds, “Make sure you’re dressed like you planned this.”
The call ends and I look down at my outfit then stare into my reflection in the wall-length mirror. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Something wrong?” Win asks.
I sigh and press my hands to my temples, so utterly done with the situation. “I have to appear at a store opening at two this afternoon so people think I came back from Coachella for work and not running from John and Riley drama. Which means I somehow have to get myself from here, back home, into a perfect outfit, do my hair and makeup, and make it to the store through traffic, all within the next”—I glance at my phone—“one hour, fifty-five minutes. No—one hour, fifty-four minutes.”
“That’s rough.” Win exhales, stepping over to rub a hand between my shoulder blades. It feels so damn nice, but my mind’s too preoccupied to settle down.
“Not rough—it’s impossible.”
“Nothing’s impossible, Princess.” He pulls out his cell phone and scrolls through his contacts. “Let me see what I can do.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, eyeing him suspiciously when I see the small smile dancing at the corner of his lips.
“I have it under control.” He looks up. “Just trust me.”
“You know I trust you.”
“Perfect.” Win releases me and hits Call on a number, bringing the phone up to his ear. “In the meantime, go take a quick shower. You can use mine or the guest room’s. Take whatever you need. All the towels are fresh.”
With more questions than answers, I decide I don’t have time to stick around and find out what he’s plotting, so I make my way back to Win’s room and take the fastest shower known to mankind, deciding a messy updo will have to suffice. It looks kind of cute in a laid-back way. Even if Kimi thinks otherwise.
I make my way downstairs ten minutes later feeling—and smelling—much more fresh and clean. Win’s waiting for me near the door, using the smart screen on his wall to open the front gates for a sleek black Range Rover. I watch it drive in on the little video camera.
“Did Kimi call a car for me?”
Win shakes his head. “This is one of my drivers. And you’re not going straight to the record store—or to your apartment.” When I raise an eyebrow in question, he elaborates. “I called ahead to Maxfield, it’s not too far away. They have my credit card so just get whatever you want. Their personal shopper, Carli, is pulling some outfits for you right now, and they’ll close off a section of the store for you to shop in peace, just in case anyone notices you scrambling for an outfit last minute. One less chance for rumors to spread.”
My jaw is on the floor, and I shake my head slowly. “You are amazing. I’ll pay you back for all of this.”
Win shakes his head and nods to the screen showing the car on the driveway. “And then the driver will take you to your event. Just tell him the address when you get in. He knows all the shortcuts around here.”
“You’re a lifesaver. Thank you so much, Win.”
He laughs. “Don’t mention it.”
“No, I owe you big-time for this. For today, and for last night.”
Placing a hand on my back, he guides me to the door. “You owe me nothing. But we should go out to dinner sometime soon.”
“Dinner that I’ll be paying for, sure,” I tell him, but even without looking I know the grin on his face says otherwise. He’d never let me pay for dinner; one time we were out for drinks and I took my card out to pay—I’d never seen such a look of disapproval. He told me I should never offer to pay with him again. With Win it’s always taken care of.
Just like everything else.