Sound crackled in Hope’s ears, a pit yawning wide in her belly.
Whereas half an hour ago, the world had been full of magic and possibilities, now she couldn’t help but wonder…was the security guard right in a way? She’d seen the mass of women screaming Johnny’s name last night. What made her any different than them? Wasn’t it arrogant to believe for even a second that she’d be the one to make him happy?
“I, um…” She fumbled the box of donuts, catching them just before they spilled out onto the ground. “W-well, I guess—”
“You seem like a sweet kid.” He adjusted his security belt. “And fine, you spent the night with Johnny Scott. Lucky you. But take it from me, men say all kinds of things in the heat of the moment and regret the shit out of it the next morning.” He sighed. “Look, I didn’t want to tell you this, sweetheart. But while you were out gathering baked goods and dreaming of a white picket fence, Johnny told me as much about your little encounter. That’s all it was—and now he wants to get back to being a giant star. He asked me to pass on his regards.”
Hope couldn’t get a decent breath. “He did?”
“Yeah. Run on home to mommy and tell the grandkids about your big night someday. I’m sure they’ll be really impressed.” He gave her another lecherous once over. “Or if you’re still feeling frisky and willing to settle for a security guard, I’ve got an hour before the tour bus heads to the airport…”
Hope was already turning and slapping the down button of the escalator.
Stupid. She’d been stupid and naïve.
She had to get out of there before Johnny woke up. If he’d invited her on the road in the passion of the moment, she didn’t want to be loitering outside his room to make everything uncomfortable. Worse, she didn’t want to be let down easy. Or at all.
Her heart was already broken, she had to salvage what she could.
Hope swiped at the tears sliding down her cheeks as the elevator went down. She handed the pink donut box to a second, familiar-looking security guard in the lobby and jumped into a taxi that was idling at the curb outside the hotel.
“Where are you headed, miss?”
She glanced back through the taxi window up at the opulent hotel. A voice in the back of her head whispered for her to go back, but she ignored it resolutely. She would always believe in magic, but maybe it was time to start being more realistic. “Home, please,” she murmured, before giving her driver the address.
Chapter Five
Johnny woke up feeling light as a feather.
Until he opened his eyes and experienced that lack of weight on his chest, he didn’t realize how long he’d been living with it. Damn, he could finally breathe again.
It wasn’t enough, though, just to have this lightness. He wanted to fortify it. Keep it. And that meant no more locking himself up in hotel rooms to avoid the noise. No, he needed to find a new way to manage his notoriety, now that Hope was in his life. A way that wouldn’t lead to him being miserable, his creativity sapped.
Hope didn’t like being locked up, either, but he needed her safe above all else. It was only a matter of time before the press got wind of him having a serious girlfriend and then they’d start hounding her, following her, prying into their private life. She was taking a huge leap of faith coming with him on tour, considering she didn’t like being confined and he spent a good deal of his time that way. So before he tackled the nine million songs circling in his head, he needed to ensure Hope’s happiness. He wouldn’t rest until that happened.
Open space. His Hope loved open space.
His house in Los Angeles was big, but it was surrounded by a fence, more houses beyond that. A congested city in the distance. Yeah, LA was the furthest thing from open space.
Serene scenes spread out in his mind. A pasture, a sunset, a back porch with a porch swing. He hadn’t conjured those images himself. They were real. Last year, Citizen had filmed a music video at a ranch in Wyoming—had anyone been living there? He didn’t think so. As soon as he made love to Hope—twice—he’d get his agent on the phone and find out. Hope would love the ranch. It was private, secure and he suddenly wanted to bring her there so bad, his pulse was tumbling end over end.
Johnny’s head wasn’t so up his ass that he believed Hope could be happy just being Johnny Scott’s girlfriend—and eventually his wife—forever, though. She had dreams of her own. Social work. Helping kids who lived through what she did. Johnny wanted to help give those dreams to her. If she didn’t want to be stuck in a classroom, maybe they could set up some kind of charity together to benefit orphans like Hope. That way she could accomplish her goals without being confined in a way that made her uncomfortable.