“In bed.” Ella grinned.
Avery rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
“And that’s an improvement over the way you felt last time we spoke.” Ella glanced at her phone, reminding Avery she hadn’t checked hers since before the meeting.
She pulled her cell from her purse and realized she had six missed calls, some duplicates from various siblings. “So many missed calls,” she said, concerned something was wrong.
“Is everything okay?” Ella asked.
“I’m not sure. Maybe one of them left a text.” If not, she’d be calling them ASAP.
She opened her text messages, and Olivia’s name popped up first. She read out loud. Click this link, then call me.
Avery clicked on a link to today’s local newspaper. And a photo of her and Grey leaving his apartment this morning showed up on her screen. She wore his too-long tee shirt and a pair of gym shorts, her dress and shoes from last night in her hands. And the headline screamed out at her in all capital letters … REASON FOR TANGLED ROYAL BREAKUP!
“Oh my God,” she said as the blood rushed from her head.
“Whoa.” Ella led her to a set of chairs down the hall and eased her into the first seat. “Breathe,” she instructed.
Avery pulled in deep breaths, trying to calm down and not end up in a full-fledged panic.
“Let me see that.” Ella took Avery’s phone and stared at the screen. “Well, shit.”
“No wonder everyone’s been calling me.” Her siblings would see this article and know she’d immediately stress.
She was going to have to reassure them she was okay, even if her heart was racing, her hands were shaking, and she still had flashing spots in front of her eyes.
“This is from this morning. I didn’t even see anyone watching us.” Where had they been? How had she not known her photo had been taken? “How did they know to wait outside his building?” she asked Ella.
“I’m sure that’s standard operating procedure for the paparazzi,” her friend said, her hand still on Avery’s back.
How did Grey live like this? she wondered.
“How are you holding up?” Ella asked, concerned.
Avery swallowed hard. “Not well. I’m going to be a public pariah. The woman who broke up America’s favorite band.” She shivered at the very idea of that kind of awful publicity.
The fact that it was all lies didn’t matter. People believed what they read, she thought. And worse, the drama probably wasn’t over. This kind of publicity was part of Grey’s life. If their relationship continued, she’d be continually sucked into the drama and made the focus of media scrutiny, she thought, a sudden headache building behind her eyes.
“Hey. One problem at a time, right? Let’s get through this situation before we worry about what happens next. Come on. Let’s get you home.”
“Good idea.” She had a sudden yearning for the quiet of her apartment, where she could relax and think things through.
Avery rose to her feet and Ella followed. “I’ll be fine,” she said out loud, trying to convince herself. And she was, until she arrived at her apartment complex to find reporters waiting outside her building.
“Holy shit,” Ella muttered. “We’re going to make a run for it, okay?”
Stunned, Avery nodded.
They shouted questions at her as she and Ella rushed toward the entrance.
“Avery, how’s it feel to break up one of the biggest bands in the country?”
“Avery, any regrets about taking Grey away from the band and dragging him to Miami?”
“Avery, anything to say to the disappointed fans?”
Past memories mixed with the present. The men with cameras closed in on her as she made her way to the entrance. Ella grabbed the handle and pushed Avery inside, slamming the door shut behind her.