“You should have warned me,” Marco said, leaning his elbows on the old kitchen table. “If I’d have known about you and this girl I would’ve played this differently. Or argued more for you coming to L.A. for the interview.”
“I did suggest that,” Gray pointed out. He was pissed. More than pissed. After a frantic call from Maddie, and Rick’s suggestion that he wanted to talk to Ashleigh and his dad, he was completely over this whole damn interview. And his hand was throbbing like a bitch.
“But you didn’t tell me why.” Marco sighed. “I’ve spoken to Rick. He’s agreed to keep it to a minimum about the two of you. But you have to admit, Gray, it’s a great angle for him. Big Rockstar Falls for Small Town Diner Waitress. I can see the headline now.”
“She’s not just a small town diner waitress,” Gray grumbled. “She’s a musician, too.”
Marco raised an eyebrow. “That’s convenient.”
“What do you mean?” Gray frowned.
“I mean, if I was some hick looking for a big break, I’d probably be falling all over you, too.”
“Yeah, well fuck you,” he said, his voice graveled.
“You’re tetchy as hell today.”
“I’m injured, I’m tired, and now I’m dealing with all this crap. I knew this whole thing was a bad idea.”
“It’ll be fine. And your publicist will love it.” Marco looked up. “Have you written any songs about this girl for the album?”
“Maddie,” Gray said pointedly. “Her name’s Maddie.”
Marco’s lip twitched. “Okay, have you written any songs about Maddie?” he asked. “Because that would give us a great angle.”
“I’m not using my relationship with Maddie for an angle.” He shook his head. “I don’t like it and she wouldn’t either. So that’s a no-go.”
“Gray, does she understand what she’s getting into?” Marco’s brows dipped with concern. “The gossip sites are going to be all over this. It’s big news. You haven’t dated anybody seriously since Ella Rackham a few years ago. And you remember what the response was to that, right?”
Yeah, he remembered. They couldn’t go anywhere without the paparazzi being all over them. That had been part of the reason their relationship had ended.
“I don’t want that for Maddie.”
“You might not get a choice,” Marco told him.
Gray leaned back in his chair and ran his good hand through his hair. “I need you to help me keep it quiet as long as we can. Jesus, we’ve barely started seeing each other.”
“And it’s already out of control.” Marco sighed. “Look, Gray, I get it. It’s annoying that you can’t have a relationship without the public knowing all about it. But it’s the price of fame. You can’t change that. You just have to roll with it.” He clasped his hands. “How serious is this thing between the two of you?”
Gray swallowed hard. He’d hated not talking with her for the past couple of days. Weird how quickly he’d gotten used to being with her. It was like his body craved her closeness. “It’s serious,” he said, his voice low.
Marco nodded. “Okay. How about I arrange for some media training for Maddie? We could fly her to L.A., have her talk to your publicist, work out a way to make it as easy as possible.”
“Do we have to?” Gray grimaced.
“If you want to protect her, then yeah. Either we work out a strategy to deal with the media, or they’ll come running for you. This way it’s under our control.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Gray muttered. Marco was right, he knew it, but it didn’t stop him from feeling angry. Hartson’s Creek was a whole other world to L.A., and he hated the way his two home towns seemed to be getting closer. For the past few weeks it had felt like the town had wrapped its arms around him and welcomed him home.
Now he felt like he was setting fire to the whole damn place.
* * *
“Mom?” Maddie called out, glancing inside the bedroom. Her mom was propped up on pillows, her reading glasses perched at the end of her nose. She took them off and looked up, a smile on her face.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
“I’m heading out for the evening. Any problems just call me. I’ll probably be late.”