Tempting the Crown (The Crown 1)

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

What could she say? What could undo the lies and deceit? What would erase the images flashing through my head of other men having her the way they wanted? Of her reaching for the bedside for piles of cash after she had been fucked. God. I cringed. I beat the steering wheel.

“You have to know I was trying to make it on my own, and the real story isn’t the one you—”

The rage consumed me. The pain tore through my veins. I hung up and hurled the phone in the back of the truck. I didn’t want to be near it if she called or texted.

I walked inside and went straight for the bottle of bourbon.

I didn’t bother to find a glass. I popped the top and touched the bottle to my lips. It had been a long time since I had spent the night drunk, but I was about to change that.

33

Alexa

“Honey, please stop checking your phone.” Helena’s voice was sympathetic.

“He hasn’t called or returned any of my texts.” I turned the screen facedown. “If he were coming tonight, he would have called, wouldn’t he?”

Her eyes met mine in the mirror. “I’m sorry. But you’ve got to focus on this night. Look how gorgeous you look. And this dress is to-die-for.”

I didn’t care about the dress or my hair. Without Luke, it didn’t matter.

“I think I should skip the red carpet.”

“I realize Jake isn’t your manager any more, but I have to step in on this one. You’re doing the red carpet.”

I sighed. “So I can be humiliated, publicly?”

“No, so you can show people you are not ashamed of who you are. Tell people the truth, Lex.”

I shook my head. “They’ve already made up their minds. They think I was a prostitute.”

“And you’re ok with that? You’re ok with Jake smearing your name to everyone?”

I glared. “Why didn’t he just leave on his own? Why did he have to throw me under the bus and claim breach of contract on my part? I would have let him out if he had asked.”

“Because he’s a fucking snake.”

I was done wasting my energy on Jake. I was free from him. And he had been right. I wasn’t going to run his name through the mud. It would make me just as ugly and nasty as he was if I outed him. I’d always told him I’d stand by him if he decided to live his life publicly. I’d feel like a hypocrite if suddenly I used it against him as if I didn’t support gay relationships. I had to let that go. It wasn’t going to happen.

“I wonder how long he had been courting Nicki Niles?”

She shrugged, tucking a few curls behind my ears and pinning them with crystals. It gave my hair a little bit of extra sparkle.

“Long enough to devise a diabolical plan. He signed with her yesterday. He could have at least waited until after the CYAs.”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s in pop now. And I’m staying in country. Hopefully, we’ll never see each other again.”

I had a lump in my throat. I hoped I was still in country. I wanted to b

e. This was my musical place. The instruments I played. The lyrics I loved. My friends, who had been noticeably absent, were in this industry.

But Jake’s plan to destroy me out of pure driven spite had already been successful. The calls had stopped. The congratulations had slowed. No one invited me to any of the after parties tonight. And the one person who mattered most—Luke—was gone.

***

I pulled my shoulders back and pressed my lips together, refreshing my lip gloss before the limo door opened. I had to walk the red carpet alone. I plastered a smile on my face. I missed Luke. So badly it hurt.