Hollywood Playboy (Hollywood Royalty 1)

We finally get up to the top step where the carpet starts, and my eyes search for Jessica. Yamina is the first to come up to us with a smile. “Welcome, welcome, welcome,” she says to my parents. “How exciting is this for you?” She talks loudly now since the fans are chanting my name.

My mother leans in and yells, “It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen.” Cassie walks to them and tells them more or less how this is going to go, and then I spot Yolanda.

“Welcome,” she says, walking over to me. “We have to wait just a second. Alex and Meghan just got here, and to say the cameras are blinding is an understatement.”

“That’s fine.” I look down the line, but I don’t see Jessica.

I just nod at her, and Yamina yells, “Showtime.”

Looking forward, I see that my parents have started walking, and Cassie waits next to me. “I can walk by myself,” I tell her, and she just nods and walks ahead of me. I start at the edge of the red carpet, giving them the smile that is the same in every single picture. I pose with my hand in my pocket for a couple of shots and then see I’m behind Alex, who is standing with a beautiful woman on his arm.

“Hey, look who showed up.” I laugh and go over to greet Alex with a handshake. “I heard that it’s your big night, so thanks for taking all the attention off me.” I wink at him, so he knows it’s a joke. “This your girl?” I point at the redhead next to him. “How the hell did you manage to get her to like you, let alone date you?”

“It was all my charm,” Alex says. “That and she returned a bottle of my wine,” he says, and I know Alex only serves wine that comes from his vineyard, so it must have been a hard pill for him to swallow.

I throw my head back and laugh. “I like her already.” I look at her, extending my hand. “I’m Tyler.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Meghan,” she says, and I just smile at her. My eyes finally find Jessica in the corner, and I admire how the dress looks perfect on her. Exactly as I planned her to look, except she isn’t at my side.

“And she isn’t French.” I laugh, taking this opportunity to change things up. “This is better than I thought. Let’s get a picture.” I put Meghan between us, and the three of us pose for pictures that will most likely be on the cover of all the French papers tomorrow. My hand loops around her waist. “You son of a bitch,” Alex says, his French accent sticking out. “You better get your paws off my woman.”

I shake my head, and I’m finally close enough to Jessica to call her name again. “Jessica.” She turns and looks at me, her green eyes so dark and angry. When she sees it’s me, she just turns back around and ignores me. “That woman,” I say to them before I storm toward her, the press no doubt watching every single moment.

She sees me and raises a microphone in her hand and turns to smile at me. “And here he is, the man of the hour.” I know I glare at her, and I don’t answer. Instead, I grab the microphone and toss it to the camera guy. Leaning in so only she hears this, I say, “If you fight me on this, you are going to make me do something neither of us is ready for.” I watch her eyes, and I know from the look of them she wants to kick me in the balls, tell me to fuck off, and turn and walk away. Not today. “Now get your ass on that red carpet and stand by my side where you’re supposed to be.”

“You’re making a scene,” she says, looking over and seeing Yamina and Yolanda approaching.

“Tyler,” Yamina says, “we are so sorry. We got your request.”

“Wasn’t my request,” I say to them, and she finally looks up at me. “The studio made a plan, and I’m respecting that plan. I have no idea what happened.”

“Cassie said you wanted to walk down the carpet with your parents,” Yolanda says, and I swallow down the rage by putting my hand in my pocket instead of punching something. “It was a simple request.”

“It was.” Jessica must feel the way I’ve changed and that I’m not okay, that this whole thing was in a way my own fault. “It’s not a big deal.”

“No,” I snap now, grabbing her hand and bringing her with me to where my parents are standing and talking to Cassie. “Seems that there was a mix-up.”

“Hello, dear,” my mother greets her with a smile. “You look so good.”