“I know. But I found out he’d gotten some terrible news the morning of his tirade in Atlanta. And he thought I was dating Malik when he brought all those groupies into my dressing rooms. And it’s not like we’d agreed to be exclusive when he banged that groupie in Vegas. So, all things considered—”

“He’d sent you a text, begging you to come to his room, mere minutes before banging that groupie, Laila!”

I pout. “Yes, I know, Aloha. But we’ve both agreed to forgive and forget all sins committed during the tour by either of us. We’re going to press the reset button and see what happens and I’m excited about that.”

Aloha raises her eyebrows. “You think you can do that?”

“I do. Now that I’ve had a chance to get to know him on a deeper level, I think I can forgive and forget and move on. I’ve told him that I expect and require monogamy while we’re living together, and he said he totally understands and promises to be with nobody but me. And not because of his contract or the fake romance. But for real. And I believe him.”

Aloha looks skeptical.

“What’s the downside?” I blurt. “He’s hot as hell and I’m stuck with him in a fancy house for three months. I might as well enjoy myself.”

Aloha smirks. “Well, that’s true. I just don’t want you getting hurt, that’s all.”

“I’ll be fine. Thank you.”

“Regardless, I think you should bring it down a notch, on-camera, just to give yourself a little headroom, so to speak—room for the on-camera romance to grow.”

I furrow my brow. “Nadine said she was thrilled with what we did today.”

“Yeah, I heard. But let me offer some unsolicited advice. I’ve been in this industry my whole life, so trust me when I say you can’t give the suits everything they want on day one, or there’s nowhere for your performance to go. Trust me, they always want more, more, more, until their expectations feel impossible to fulfill. You and Savage should leave yourselves some room for your ‘romance’ to blossom each week on the show, or else, by the finale, they’re going to want you to give birth on-air.”

I laugh.

“I’m only half-kidding.”

I process that for a moment. “Here’s my predicament, though. The producers slipped a cheap buy-out clause into my contract, and I’m worried if the romance storyline isn’t a ratings bonanza out of the gate, the producers will axe me from the show.”

“Shoot, Laila. Daria was okay with a buy-out clause?”

“We had no choice. The producers wouldn’t do the deal without it, and I wanted to do the deal. Daria said the chances of them invoking the clause are almost nothing, because she thinks we’ll pull in record ratings. But, still, just knowing that clause is in my contract like a ticking time bomb is messing with my head. It makes me not want to give anything less than a hundred percent, right out of the gate.”

Aloha pats my arm. “Don’t worry, Laila. Like you said, Nadine is thrilled with you and Savage. I’m probably just being paranoid. Nadine was the executive producer of The Engagement Experiment when it first launched, so I know for a fact she’s hard-wired to wring every drop of romance she can out of every situation, at full blast.”

“I’ll keep that in mind and maybe try to pace myself a little bit more, on-camera.”

“And also maybe try to keep your wits about you a tiny bit, off-camera, too?” She smiles. “Honey, I want you to be happy. And I want this thing with Savage to work out great for you. I’m just saying you cried a whole lot during that tour. And I don’t want that boy to make you cry again, this time around.”

I pat her arm. “I hear you and appreciate what you’re saying. But it’s going to be okay. Like I said, we’re both pretending the past doesn’t exist and taking each other as we are now. Trust me, that strategy absolves me of almost as many sins as Savage.”

Aloha looks at me for a very long moment with nothing but kindness in her eyes. “Well, that sounds like a great thing, then. I’m happy for you.”

“But you think I’m pulling a ‘Laila.’ Sprinting ahead with blinders on and ignoring every red flag.”

Aloha pauses. “No. I mean, yes. But I don’t blame you. What I think is that you’re a gorgeous, passionate, horny-ass woman who’s stuck for three months in the mansion from The Engagement Experiment with a rock star who regularly gives you multiple orgasms that make you scream in ecstasy. Frankly, I don’t think you’re pulling a ‘Laila’ this time, as much I think you’re pulling a ‘red-blooded human.’”

Thirteen

Laila

“Cheers!” I say, holding up a glass of champagne in one hand and my phone in video mode in the other. While recording a live video, Savage and I are sitting side by side on the couch in our living room, toasting our first day of shooting with a bottle of Dom Perignon sent home with us by Nadine. Despite the sobriety clause in Savage’s contract, Nadine gave us the bottle on two conditions. One, we had to promise we’d open the champagne in a live video tonight and joyfully toast on-camera to our first day as judges. And two, Savage had to promise no photos of his dick or bare ass would join his already robust collection on the internet.

Tags: Lauren Rowe The Hate-Love Duet Romance
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