“I write about serial killers, have a pig for a child, and drove cross-country to stalk you . . . safe to say, nothing should creep me out.” She smiled, then it faded into a frown. She looked pensive.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I was just thinking about what one of the photographers shouted at me last night before we got in the car . . .”
My stomach sank. I’d been too busy swearing at them, I hadn’t heard every single thing that was thrown in our direction.
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘Eve . . . is that you? You look great. Keep up the good work.’”
My head fell.
I had to explain.
“Eve . . . is Eve Varikova.”
“Who is that?”
“She’s this . . . model I dated briefly several months ago. It was nothing serious. But she’s very well known, so the press had a field day when we were spotted out together.”
“Do I look like her or something?”
“You have dark hair. That’s about it. I think that person must have been smoking crack, because she’s about a foot taller than you.”
“Why did he say ‘keep up the good work’?”
“Because Eve had a drug problem that I didn’t know about when I started seeing her. Soon after, she went into rehab. I haven’t spoken to her since, but I hear she’s doing well.”
I took a deep breath in, because I could tell by the look on Luca’s face that she was overthinking everything again. She was probably going to start Googling Eve the second she got into the RV, and that would lead to more searches resulting in false information about me. It truly made me sick.
“Will you promise me something?” I asked.
She nodded. “Okay . . .”
“Will you try not to Google me? Most of what you find will be garbage. Or even better . . . Google me, but do it with me while I’m on the phone or beside you. Just let me be there to explain what’s truth and what’s not. I’ll never lie to you. I just hate the idea of you reading all of this shit and not knowing what to believe.”
She looked like she was struggling with that. I knew it would be extremely hard for her to really follow through on that promise. If I put myself in her shoes, I wasn’t entirely sure I could stop myself.
She blinked for a while, seeming to seriously consider my request.
“Okay,” she finally said. “I had to think about it to make sure I could make that type of a promise and mean it. I promise not to Google you . . . without you knowing.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I know it won’t be easy, but I promise, you’re not missing anything of value. I can tell you everything you need to know that’s important. And if you ever have any questions, you just have to ask me.”
She reached her hand out and brought my face into hers. The desire bubbling inside me transformed quickly into urgent need as I kissed her passionately.
“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to convince you to stay longer?” I whispered over her lips.
She didn’t have to answer. I already knew.
While the price of fame was high, I’d never downright wished I could make it all disappear. That was before Luca. At this very moment, if given a choice, I would have forgone the fan-crazed twelve-city tour I had coming up soon enough for a road trip across the country in a broken-down RV.CHAPTER 19
LUCAI’d never heard Hortencia oink so much in my life. After picking her up from the farm she’d been staying at, I unlocked my front door to find that somehow the place that had always been my safe haven felt a whole lot emptier.
It was still early, too early to call Griffin on West Coast time. So I sent him a text, hoping he’d receive it when he woke up.
Luca: Made it home safely.
To my surprise, he immediately responded.
Griffin: Thank God. I was so worried about you in that damn clunker.
Luca: What are you doing up?
Griffin: I haven’t really been sleeping.
Luca: Well, I’m safe and sound.
Griffin: I miss you like crazy. I have a million things to do, but I have no energy. I’m fucking depressed.
Luca: That was how I felt when I walked in here. Home is usually my happy place. It feels different now.
Griffin: You left your Furby here. The housekeeper brought it to me with a confused look on her face.
Luca: If she only knew the half of it!
Griffin: Siiiiiiiigh. Luca, Luca, Luca. I need to see you again.
I wanted to ask him when and if he thought that would be possible, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure he could know the answer. He was just finishing an album and now had to leave for Canada soon.