Hollywood Prince (Hollywood Royalty 3)

“So you like this Carter better than the other Carter?” she asks him.

“I love them both,” he says, smirking. “But this Carter is more comfortable in his skin than he ever was before.” She nods her head. “This Carter is a man I can be proud of, and that is everything.”

“Good answer,” I mumble, and he just smiles at me. Jessica doesn’t ask any other rough questions, and when it’s finally over, she puts her stuff away and then stands up.

“Carter, it was a pleasure,” she says and then looks at me. “I will email you the final interview when it’s ready.”

I nod, and she walks out. “That wasn’t so bad,” he says. “I was more nervous during this interview than I was signing my first big contract.”

“You did amazing, and you showed them who you really are,” I tell him. “Now, go change so we can make an appearance at the party.”

“You didn’t even kiss me today,” he says, and I walk to him, kissing him. “I missed you.”

“Good news, we have the whole weekend off,” I remind him. “Now go get dressed.” He turns and walks to the bedroom, taking off his stage clothes and putting on jeans and a shirt. We walk out to the stage area and hear the music already playing, and people are mingling and simply enjoying themselves. We walk in, and I smile at the people I recognize. Jennifer waves hello, and I wave back and walk to the table, grabbing a bottle of water.

Carter grabs a water bottle and sees someone he recognizes, so he tells me he’s going to be right back. I look around and then snap a picture, putting it up with the caption

“All work and no play make an unhappy crew. Enjoy the weekend.”

I put the phone in my purse and spot Carter walking toward me. “So how long do we have to stay here?” he asks in a low tone, but then we are joined by someone I’ve never really seen.

“Carter,” she says, going to him and hugging him and kissing his cheek. “I was wondering if I was going to see you here tonight.”

“Kasey,” he says, smiling at her. “Nice to see you again. This is Erin, my PR girl.”

Kasey looks at me and smiles. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you all week,” she says, putting her hand on his arm. “I was thinking we could catch up.”

I look at Carter, who looks like a deer in headlights. “I can’t,” he says, and then continues, “I’m with someone.”

I’m expecting her to take the hint and walk away, but she doesn’t. Instead, she gets closer to him. “That’s never stopped us before on multiple occasions.” I swear, that bitch just licked his ear after she said that.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment I’m running late for,” I say and walk away. I walk out the door and into the night, and then hear my name being called.

“Erin, can you wait a minute, please,” he says and reaches me, stopping me from walking. “Erin. Stop.”

“I need a second please,” I tell him, not sure a second is going to cut it.

“Come on, that isn’t my fault,” he says.

“I know it isn’t your fault,” I tell him. “I know that you have a past. I know that chances are it’s going to be thrown in my face a little bit from time to time. But to actually experience it live, in person, in all of its in-your-face glory is something I just need time to digest.”

“Let’s go home,” he says, and I shake my head.

“I think I’m going to spend the night at my home tonight,” I tell him.

“You can’t be serious,” he says.

“Can I just have a minute to process everything? Can I just have that time to think?” I ask him, my heart pounding. “Just give me some space. You can fuck up both of our lives with one tabloid report with one unearthed sex video,” I tell him, the anger running through me. “You have the power to destroy me in more ways than one.” I watch his eyes narrow to slits. “You can still go on to continue to be the big time actor”—I shake my head—“but I will be the one to lose everything here, not you,” I say, turning to walk away.

“So you are just going to walk away?” he shouts after me, and I just shake my head.

“Whatever,” I say under my breath, and I flag down a cab and get in, giving him my address. I get home and walk up the stairs, not bothering to turn on the lights. I undress and crawl into bed, looking out into the darkness.

The night is horrible. I toss and turn, and finally, I toss the covers aside. I look at the clock and see that it’s almost six a.m., so I grab my phone and see that he hasn’t even attempted to call or text me. I get up and get dressed, stopping by Starbucks before heading to his house. I should have just calmed down before I spoke to him, I realize as I pull up to his house. I get out, grabbing the coffee, and make my way to the door. I wonder if he’s sleeping or if his night was just as restless as mine. I walk in, and the house is eerily quiet.