CHAPTER TWELVE
AUBREY
“YOU GUYS READY?” Jay asked from my left side.
Katie squirmed in her black dress like I squirmed in my red dress. Rome pulled me closer to him in the limo, as if we could shield each other from the screaming outside. The only person who looked prepared was Vick. She looked angelic in a form fitting crystal-blue dress that swung fluidly around her pumps.
“How long do we have to stay?” Katie blurted.
Jay chuckled. “You three look like deer in headlights.”
I stomped my red pump. “Shut up, Jay. We’re only going because you’re making us.”
Vick jumped in. “Speak for yourself. I intend to take a selfie with every actor I meet tonight.”
I snorted. “I intend to hide in a corner.”
“It’ll be fun, Sass Pot.” Jay poked me in the ribs.
I dropped my head onto Rome’s shoulder. “These are your people. Not ours. We don’t belong.”
Jay’s shoulders bunched a little. “You belong anywhere I am, Brey. Always.”
Which was why I had succumbed to wearing the form fitting, sequined, designer dress Jay had bought for me. Instead of blending in like I wanted, he pushed me to stand out.
It was why I let Vick, yet again, do my hair and makeup. This was his night, and I couldn’t say no to anything.
I had hated cameras ever since the day I’d walked out of the Stonewood house and had been blinded by them. I didn’t want to be the center of attention. So, this part of Jay’s life, I avoided.
I avoided people who ran up to him for his autograph and asked me if I was his girlfriend.
I avoided tabloids speculating about us.
I avoided a lot.
I heard the screaming outside of our limo. My gut clenched. When I looked at Jay, he seemed on top of the world though.
Yes, I hated this part, but I loved the guy on my left with every bone in my camera-shy body.
I turned to him and smiled, trying my damnedest not to tear up. “You did it, Jay.”
He took both my hands in his and touched his forehead to mine. “You helped.”
Although I hadn’t helped much, he made me feel like I had. I remembered the lines I would read back to him and the times I told him he was unstoppable when he doubted himself.
Which reminded me to give him my only advice. “This movie is a romance, which means you’re romancing every woman in America. Be charming, be committed. Charming is easy for you.”
“Who am I committing myself to?”
I pulled back and looked at Katie, who had a hell-to-the-no look on her face, and Vick, who smiled radiantly. “Your PR team needs to do a better job with these sorts of things,” I mumbled.
He and Rome laughed.
I threw my hands up. “Well, it’s true!”
Jay sobered enough to say, “My PR doesn’t get to tell me who to date. I told them I would have three women in the limo with me, including you. That was enough for them.”
I waved that idea away. “I’m not feeding into the tabloids. Vick, you walk with him.”