Hollywood Playboy (Hollywood Royalty 1)

“Can you believe that the month is almost over?” she says to me, and my hand now rubs her shoulder. “We have New York and LA left.”

I’m trying not to think about the fact that once we get home, I’m heading to the ranch for a month if not more. “Yeah, it’ll be good to be settled,” I say while she gets off me, grabbing her robe and going into the bathroom. “You want the usual?” I ask her about the room service.

“Yes, please,” she says from the bathroom; the sound of water being turned on means she’s taking a shower. Last night, we went to her room, and she brought her clothes to wear today, and she’ll stop in her room to grab her bag. I order her the usual yogurt with fresh fruit and granola, but I also include some croissants, knowing it’s her favorite. I get up and put on my own robe, going to sit outside on the balcony.

She returns from the shower fifteen minutes later with her hair on top of her head and the robe tied around her waist. “The flight is eight hours.” Sitting on the chair next to me, she waits as the butler comes in and places the food on the table. She picks up her coffee cup. “I’m going to miss this view.” Taking a sip of coffee, she says, “It’s just as pretty during the day as it is at night.”

We finish eating, and I go take my own shower. When I come out, she’s sitting on the bed dressed in tight white capris and a light pink short-sleeved shirt that is short in the front and longer in the back with pink Converse. “I’m going to go down.” She comes over to me and kisses my lips. “See you later.” She kisses me again, grabs her bag, and heads out.

I’m putting on my sweater when I hear a knock on the door. Walking to it, I open it and see Cassie there with her bag. For the past two days, she’s been gone. She took off to visit a couple of friends who live in Cannes. “Hey there.” She comes in the door, closing it behind her. “Who is excited to get back to the good ole U S of A?” She smiles. “Are you packed?”

“Yeah,” I tell her, closing the door and walking back to the room while she sits on the couch. “Did you have a good visit?”

“I so did,” she says while I get my bag and bring it out of the room. “It was good to get away. Listen, I have to say something,” she starts, and I look at her. “I’m sorry about what went down with Jessica and the red carpet.” I don’t say anything. “I took matters into my own hands, and I was wrong to do that. I just thought with your parents here that it would be special for you to walk with them.”

I nod my head. “I appreciate that, but the next time you think of taking matters into your own hands, I get the final say.”

“Totally,” she says smiling, “now where do we want to eat in New York?”

“What is the schedule like?” I ask her, grabbing my backpack and wheeling my own luggage out for the first time. “Is it a three day?”

“Actually, we land, and the next day is both interviews and red carpet, and then we take off on the red-eye.”

“Let’s see how it goes once we land, and we can make a decision there.”

“I also have your apartment ready in case you wanted to stay there.” I nod my head. “Perfect. I’ll have it set up.”

We get to the lobby, and the two days off did everyone wonders because they all look rested and happy. I talk to a couple of people before we get on the bus. Jessica waits at the front door with Autumn and Kendall with her sunglasses on. I don’t get to sit next to her on the bus. Getting on the plane, I walk in and see the seat next to her open, so I toss my backpack in the chair. I walk to the front to get a water bottle, then turn and go back to my seat. “Hi,” I say, looking around.

“Hey,” she says casually, “how are you?”

“Good, well rested,” I tell her, and she continues the conversation as if we didn’t wake up together. The eight-hour flight is long, very long. We watch a couple of episodes of Dateline, then I get up and go eat with Cassie. Jessica opens her laptop and is so engrossed in whatever she is working on that she doesn’t hear them say we are landing. “We land in five minutes, Jessica,” I interrupt her.

“Oh, shit, really?” Saving her document, she starts putting her things away. “I have two assignments for next week, and I dropped the ball.”