I shake my head. “No, not when it comes to you,” I finally say, and she nods her head.
“Go back in,” she says, “I’m going to go to the bathroom and freshen up.”
“It kills me that I can’t kiss you right now,” I say, my hand squeezing hers. As I turn and walk away from her, my feet are heavy for leaving her, so I stop at the bar inside the waiting area to make sure people see me apart from her. I watch her walk back into the movie, her head down as always. She doesn’t see the heads that turn to look at her; she doesn’t see the men who smile at her secretly. I stand at the bar drinking the whiskey that the bartender poured for me, taking my time getting my heart back to normal so I can go back in there and be Tyler the actor. I’m going to need every acting skill I’ve ever learned not to look hopelessly in love with a woman who has the power to destroy me.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jessica
Looks like this pop star is on her way to rehab. Again.
“Wasn’t it wonderful?” Susanna says from beside me in the middle of the reception, both of us holding champagne glasses. “I swear when he comes home, I’m sitting him down and scolding him for doing all those stunts,” she whispers, and I laugh. The movie was amazing, his stunts were real nail-biters, and he looked like the superstar that he is. I watch as he makes his way around the room, thanking people for coming. “He wasn’t the one who didn’t want you by his side.” I turn to his mother now. She looks around to make sure it’s just the two of us. Frank’s standing at the bar to get another beer. “I saw him checking his watch five times waiting for you.”
“It was a misunderstanding,” I tell her, trying not to make it a bigger deal or look like a bitch in all this. “It all worked out.”
She nods her head at me. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” I laugh at her, knowing exactly how she feels. There have been people going around with “amuse-bouches” as they call it. “The last crab cake I had was the size of my pinky nail.”
“How much longer?” Frank asks when he finally gets back to our side. His parents haven’t left my side since we walked out of the movie. They stand with me, and I introduced them to all the journalists. “Susanna, I love you and my son, but this collar is getting tighter and tighter as the night goes on.” He pulls at it. “I swear I’m suffocating.”
I look at the clock on my phone. “It’s almost eleven.” Looking around, I see that it’s still fully packed. “Why don’t we get in the car, go back to the hotel, order a bunch of room service, and make the superstar pay?”
Susanna and Frank both laugh. “I like her,” Frank says. “I’m going to go tell him we are leaving.” I watch him make his way to Tyler and lean in to talk in his ear. Tyler’s eyes fly up to mine, and he just smiles and nods. Frank walks back to us. “Let’s go.”
I nod at him and walk out of the event with his parents, walking down the steps to the limos lined up waiting for people to leave. We walk to the front of the line, and the chauffeur opens the door for us. “The Four Seasons please,” I say, getting into the car after his parents, his father already taking off his tie. “I forgot to get Tyler’s key,” I say, putting my head back and closing my eyes.
“That’s okay,” Frank says. “He told us he’d meet us in our room anyway.”
“Are you sure?” I ask them. Frank just smiles, and Susanna is the one to talk.
“If we let you leave, he might have a nervous breakdown.” She laughs, and the car comes to a stop. “Now let’s go order all that room service,” she says, and the man opens the door for us to walk into the hotel. The lobby is quiet at this late hour, and I get into the elevator with them to go up to their room. Frank opens the door for us, and I see the marble is almost the same as the entrance. We walk into the room, and I see a pantry on the right-hand side, so I follow Frank, and he stops in the living room. “This room is massive,” I say, and Susanna sits on the ivory couch, slipping off her shoes. The whole room screams elegance and money. The walls all have mirrors on them. Two huge windows show the balcony outside. “Go see how beautiful it is outside, and I’ll call room service.” She smiles and then looks at Frank. “Get her a glass of wine.” He nods at me, and I smile at the two of them. “Is there anything you don’t eat?”