He grimaced. “I hate that term. It makes it
sound like I’m eighteen years old and drunk dialing my booty call.”
She laughed, slapping his chest. “Fine,
what are you suggesting?”
“I’m suggesting we put our friendship above
our relationship. You said this thing between us can’t last, but that doesn’t
mean our friendship can’t. You’re in and out of Nashville all the time. Surely
you need to eat. We could grab dinner, hang out, watch movies…”
She smiled. “That sounds an awful lot like
dating, especially if we’re having sex.”
She was onto him, not that that would
dissuade him. “Why do we have to put a label on it? As long as we’re having
fun.”
“Would we be free to sleep with other
people?”
“Do you want to?” He tried to sound
unaffected by her question, but the thought of her with someone else made him
crazy.
“No.”
“Then there’s no problem, is there?” At
least she was agreeing to see him when she was in town. He knew his friends
would tell him he was pathetic for compromising everything he wanted while Elle
was getting the best of both worlds, but if any of them had a shot with a woman
like Elle, they’d do the same thing without thinking twice.
“You know what we’re doing, don’t you?
Prolonging the inevitable.”
“Maybe so, but I can live with that.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.” He was crazy to think what
he was proposing could be a permanent arrangement. Of course he wanted more
than a casual relationship, but for now it was enough. “Let’s just take it as
it comes, okay?”
Nuzzling deeper into his arms, she released
a contented sigh. “Okay.”
Caleb was trying to stay out of the
way while reporters shoved microphones in Elle’s face and photographers snapped
her picture. She’d won awards for female vocalist of the year and song of the
year, and everyone wanted a piece of her. When he recognized the pushy reporter
she’d pointed out at Jimmy’s, Caleb moved in, prepared to issue a warning if
the man overstepped.
“I was just thrilled to be nominated with
so many amazing women,” she said to the pushy reporter, offering him a tight
smile. “I idolize those women, and for me to be counted among them truly is the
highlight of my career.”
He sneered as his eyes drifted to Elle’s
cleavage, prompting Caleb to consider slapping him upside the head. “That
sounds like a pat response if I’ve ever heard one, Elle. Come on, give me
something I can use.”
She straightened her spine and gave him her
haughtiest look. “If you’ll excuse me, Donny. I promised
Country Weekly
a few minutes.”
“That’s it?” he asked, grabbing her elbow.
“That’s all you’re gonna give me? Three goddamn minutes?”
“Take your hands off her,” Caleb warned,
gripping the man’s shoulder.
“Who the hell are you?” he snarled,
slapping Caleb’s hand away.
Caleb whispered in the man’s ear, careful
not to draw attention to himself, “I suggest you back off unless you want this
to get ugly.” Caleb towered over Donny, and while he didn’t enjoy using
physical force to make his point, he wasn’t above it.
“Who the hell is this guy?” Donny asked
Elle, hooking a finger over his shoulder. “Your new bodyguard?”
“No,” Elle said, lifting her chin as her
eyes met Caleb’s. “He’s my boyfriend.”
Caleb felt ten feet tall. Elle was finally
labeling their relationship, which was more than he’d hoped for given their
talk at his beach house.
“What happened to the artist?” Donny asked.
“Why’d you ditch him?”
Elle reached for Caleb’s hand. With a
reassuring smile, she pulled him closer. “We weren’t right for each other. We
both decided it was time to move on. Turns out it was the best decision I ever
made.”
“Was your decision to part ways with Ricky
mutual too?” Tongue in cheek, Donny said, “Your old buddy called me the other
day, said he’d love to tell me about the
real
Elle Morgan.”
Caleb watched the color drain from Elle’s
face as her grip on his hand tightened. Judging by her reaction, she hadn’t
been as forthcoming as he’d thought.
“Did he tell you where he is?” she asked,
obviously trying to keep her voice.
“No. Why?”
“You said he offered to talk to you.” She
glanced around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. “In
person?”
“Why should I tell you?” Donny asked,
looking around for a more interesting subject. “You’ve been less than
cooperative with me. Every time I ask for an interview, you brush me off.”
Looking desperate, Elle curled her hand
around Donny’s forearm. “I’ll give you an exclusive right now.” She looked at
Caleb, silently pleading with him to follow her lead. “No one knows about my
relationship with Caleb. You could be the one to break the story… If you tell
me exactly what Ricky said to you, word for word.”
Caleb didn’t know why this was so important
to Elle, but it clearly was. Since he was more than willing to go public with
their relationship, he gave her a curt nod, letting her know he was on board
with her plan.
“What do you say, Donny?” she asked. “Do we
have a deal?”
He narrowed his eyes at Caleb. “Fine, we
have a deal. But you’d better tell me everything I want to know, and don’t even
think about lying to me. I have my ways of finding out the truth.”
Caleb couldn’t help thinking that if Donny
was as sharp as he pretended to be, he would have dug deeper after seeing them
at Jimmy’s. They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other, and
several people had asked Elle about her new man
.
“We’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
She slipped her arm around Caleb’s waist. “Won’t we, hon?”
Caleb didn’t know if the term of endearment
was for the reporter’s benefit or not, but he could get used to being part of a
happy couple. “Sure, we have nothing to hide.”
“Fine,” Donny said. “Let’s find a quiet
place to talk.”
The event was being held at a massive hotel
and casino, and with celebrities milling about and their security details following
close behind, it wasn’t easy to find a quiet place. Elle’s security was keeping
a close eye on her from a respectable distance, allowing her space to work the
red carpet.
Donny led them to a trio of white armchairs
away from the noise of the casino. “I’m sure you won’t mind if I record this.”
He pulled out a digital voice recorder.
“No problem,” Elle said, sitting across
from Donny. “Where would you like to start?”
“Tell me how you two met.” He looked
skeptical when Caleb sat down and reached for Elle’s hand.
Caleb could tell the reporter thought they
were lying to get the information Elle wanted, but he was comfortable telling
the world that he was crazy about Elle. Even if she dumped him a few months
from now when she left on tour, he was willing to risk the public humiliation.
“Through a mutual friend,” Caleb said.
“Drake, Elle’s producer, and I go way back. He introduced us.” He didn’t think
it was necessary to tell the man Drake had asked for a favor to get Caleb to
watch her back. If anything, Drake had done him the favor by introducing him to
the woman of his dreams.
“How long ago?” Donny asked, watching
Elle’s every move.
She crossed and uncrossed her legs,
repositioning her dress when the slit revealed too much skin. “Not long.” She
smiled at Caleb. “But it didn’t take long for me to realize Caleb was the real
deal.”
“So you’re saying it’s serious?” Donny
asked.
Caleb hoped that’s what she was implying.
He watched her, waiting for her reaction. He didn’t know who was more anxious
to hear what she had to say: him or the reporter.
“Let’s just say we’re enjoying each other’s
company,” Elle said.
Donny scowled, and Caleb felt like doing
the same. That wasn’t the response he’d been hoping to hear.
“That’s it? That’s all you’re gonna give
me?” Donny pressed the button to stop the recorder. “Forget it. I should have
known you were playing me.”
“Wait,” Elle said when he stood. “I’m not
playing. Please, sit down.”
Caleb was concerned she would say something
she didn’t mean just to get this parasite to tell her about his conversation
with her former assistant. He didn’t mind going public with their relationship
to further her cause, but he sure as hell didn’t intend to be a pawn in some
game.
“Caleb and I are…” She looked at him, the
words seeming stuck in her throat. “He… inspires me. I’ve written some of the
best material of my career, in my opinion, since I met him.”
Caleb wanted to believe she was telling the
truth. That song she’d sung for him on the beach had been amazing.
“Are you saying you’re in love?” Donny
asked, looking from Elle to Caleb.
Elle took a deep breath. She was obviously
uncomfortable spilling her guts to a man she disliked, but Caleb assumed she
had reasons she would share with him later.
“It’s a little too soon to label what we
have,” Elle said. “But I’m open to the possibility.”
Open to the possibility?
Caleb had already told her he was there, and he’d bet his last
dividend check she felt the same way, so why was she pretending otherwise?
“Open to the possibility of a future with
him?” Donny crossed his legs as he settled in. “You’ve always told the press
you don’t have time for a serious relationship at this stage in your career.
Are you saying you’ve changed your mind since you met Caleb?”
Caleb held his breath. She’d made her
opinion on the subject clear a few days ago, maybe something had happened to
change her mind. He could only hope.
“Perhaps,” Elle said. “Caleb is very busy
with his career, as am I. We’re trying to figure things out at this point,
trying to make time for each other. So far, it’s been good.”
The truth was they’d spent nearly every
night together since they met, either at her place or his. So while Elle
claimed her career didn’t allow for a relationship, she was definitely making
her time with him a priority, for which he was grateful. Seeing her was the
highlight of his day.
“What’s your last name?” Donny asked Caleb.
“Wright.”
“Uh huh, and what do you do?”
“I own a transportation company.”
“You mean like trucks?” Donny frowned as he
eyed Caleb’s custom tuxedo and shoes. “You don’t strike me as a trucker.”
“It’s a limousine company,” Caleb said. He
glanced at Elle when the cell phone in her purse rang. She ignored it without
checking the caller I.D. Apparently this interview was more important to her
than he realized.
“Do you have a lot of celebrity clients?”
Donny asked. “Have you ever been involved with a celebrity before? Do you make
a habit of dating beautiful A-list—”
Caleb held up his hand. He could see where
this was going and didn’t appreciate the insinuation that Elle was one in a
long line of many. “I’m no longer a driver. I’m the C.E.O. I don’t fraternize
with my clients, nor do any of my drivers.”
“If you say so,” Donny muttered. “So back
to you two. How do you plan to make this work when you go back out on tour,
Elle? Will your boyfriend drop everything to follow you around the world for
months?”
Caleb didn’t appreciate the condescension
in the man’s voice. “That’s the beauty of being a self-made multi-millionaire,
Donny boy. I work when I want to, travel when I want to. If I want to be with
Elle, I have a competent team who makes sure my business runs smoothly in my
absence.”
Donny’s mouth dropped open before he
snapped it shut again. “I assumed you had a nice little local business. I guess
that’s not the case?”
“Not quite.” Caleb’s mouth twisted into a
smile. He would have fun with the guy. “But I don’t think you want to hear
about my business. This is about me and Elle. You want a front page statement,
and I’ll give you one.” He ignored Elle’s fingernails digging into his hand as
she tried to stop him from saying something he might regret. “I fell in love
with this woman the first time I laid eyes on her.” He kissed Elle’s hand when
he heard her sharp intake of breath.
“Caleb…” she whispered. “That’s too personal.
You don’t have to—”
“I want to.” He locked eyes with Donny, who
was practically salivating. “I’d heard her voice, seen her picture, even seen
her music videos, but nothing could have prepared me for what I felt when I
actually met her.”
Donny grinned. “Star-struck, were you?”
“I thought so at first,” Caleb admitted.
“But I quickly realized it was much more than that.” He leaned in to kiss
Elle—not for the reporter’s benefit but because he had to. “Friends had always
told me they’d met their wives and they just
knew.
It was a guttural
sensation, the hairs on the back of their necks stood up. That’s exactly how I
felt when I met Elle.”