Hollywood Playboy (Hollywood Royalty 1)

“Yeah, baby,” I say, calling her that nickname for the first time, “you’re lucky it was just a soft one.”

“Tyler,” she says again, “I thought . . .”

“No.” I put a finger on her lips to stop her from talking. “Not with my parents. I’m not going to hide in front of my parents. Not when it’s just us. My parents in this hotel room are my safe spaces; a rare opportunity for me to have a sense of normalcy.”

“But,” she says with my hand still on her lips.

“But nothing.” Her eyes are looking into mine. “If you give me just one thing, let it be this.”

“Okay,” she says softly, “but let’s keep it classy.” She laughs. “No sucking face.”

I don’t know how she does it, but I roar out with a laugh. “Let me go call the food, and you get my father another beer.”

“Okay,” she says, and I let her go and open the door, walking out, holding her hand. “Do you want another beer?” she asks, stepping behind the bar and taking out two beers. “I’ll wait outside,” she says, and I just nod at her. I call for the food, and he’s there in five minutes as two people go outside and set up the food for the night. We spend the night out on the balcony, and Mom asks Jessica questions about every celebrity she can think of. I just sit back and let my girl have her moment. When it’s finally dark outside, the lights on the Eiffel Tower turn on and are stunning. My mother claps her hands together as she gushes over the beauty of it. I sit back, realizing I haven’t been this content in a long time.

Chapter Twenty

Jessica

Everyone is waiting for France’s most eligible bachelor to make his grand debut with his new lady love. He’s keeping this one hidden.

I’m sitting in my journalist chair while I wait for Tyler to come in again for another round of interviews. At this point, I’m running out of things to ask him about the same movie. I see him walking in, his hand typing away on his phone. He’s wearing dark black jeans with a white dress shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. “Here,” he says, handing his phone to Cassie at the entrance to the room and then coming in to sit in the chair in front of me.

“Good morning,” he says even though he whispered that this morning right before my alarm went off at six and he slid into me. I don’t know how he times it, but it’s almost like he is synchronized with the clock.

“Good morning.” I smile at him, my legs crossed. “Lovely day, isn’t it?” I ask him, and he smiles at me.

“Lovely indeed,” he says. “You know what would make it extra lovely?” He looks back at the door to make sure no one is around. “Berry fondue.”

I nod my head, rolling my lips in. “I don’t know. Having a berry kind of makes me itchy.” I laugh at him and then shake my head. “Is it good to be back in Paris?”

He knows that we have switched hats, and I’m now Jessica the reporter and he’s Tyler the superstar. “It’s always nice to come back to Paris. It’s even better this time since I have my parents here with me. I get to show them around and point out all the places we shot in the movie.”

“The biggest stunt in the movie is you falling from a helicopter into the ceiling of the Louvre,” I say, looking down at my notes. “Obviously, some of it was green screen, but how many takes did you actually have to film?” The interview goes on more than fifteen minutes, and Cassie sticks her head in twice. Both times, she rolls her eyes when he says he’ll be right out but continues to talk. He gets up from his chair, and I do also.

“See you later.” He winks and then turns around, walking to the door, then turning. “You should meet us for drinks in my penthouse.”

“I already did a head count for the order,” Cassie says, looking at him. “Besides, your parents are here.”

“And?” he asks her. “I’m sure it’s okay to add one more person, Cassie.”

She looks at him, rolling her eyes and then glaring at me. “No funny shit.” She points at me, and I just stand here, fuming now. “His parents are here so have a little respect.”

“Cassie,” Tyler hisses, but I stop him.

“It’s all good,” I tell him. “I already had plans beforehand.” I’m lying. I know I’m lying, and he knows I’m lying, but I’m not going to sit in a room with her while she makes these comments around his parents. He just looks at me. He wants to say something, but he knows he can’t, so he just turns and storms out.