Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 87091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
But even as he thought the word friend, he felt like they’d already moved to something else, something new and a little bit scary. When had his friend become the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about? Dreaming about? Fantasizing about?
He grabbed a pot of cashew nuts and was about to head back to the studio when his phone rang. Crystal!
He grabbed at the thing only to see that it was his brother. Okay, so he’d rather it was Crystal calling him, but he was always happy to talk to Arch.
“Hey, bro, how’s it going?” he said, arranging the snacks on a tray.
“Hey. Good.” His brother sounded terse, as though he was in a hurry. “Listen, I’ll get right to the point.” There was a moment’s pause. “I have a service that keeps tabs on any mentions of me in the media. And because they know you’re my brother, they just sent something over. I’m forwarding it now. You’re not going to like it.”
Damien’s heart immediately sank into his sneakers. With Arch still on the line, he opened his email. There was no subject line from his brother, just a large attachment, and then there it was: a page from a well-known gossip site with a photograph of him and Opal at the airport. They’d managed to crop out his sister, of course, to make it look all the more compromising. The headline was damning: Rock star Davenport greets new mystery woman at Monterey Airport.
Damien felt a sudden burst of fury. There he was at the airport with a beautiful young woman, helping her with her luggage. With just the two of them in the frame, it looked like he was picking up someone special. In fact, zooming in, you couldn’t even really see her guitar.
For a second, he seethed in silence, and then Arch said, “You still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Erin and I only picked her up two hours ago. How the hell has a gossip site got photos already?”
“Some lucky pap was in the right place at the right time.” No one understood better than his movie-star brother how the paps could screw with your life. “Who is she, anyway?” Arch wanted to know. “I mean, if there’s a new woman in your life, I figured you might have told us about it first.”
Damien shook his head even though Arch couldn’t see him. “She’s not a new woman in my life. Her name’s Opal. She’s a young musician, and I’m mentoring her.” He’d been planning to tell his family at brunch, but Mila had completely stolen the spotlight with her engagement announcement. After that, it hadn’t occurred to him to mention Opal was coming. He hadn’t seen the news as particularly exciting compared to his sister getting married.
Arch said, “Once they see this, and the sleazy headline that goes with it, people are going to think you’re doing a little more than mentoring. Anyway, I just thought I’d let you know. So you can keep your guard up. People know you’re back home now.”
“Thanks for the heads-up. I appreciate it.” He found himself saying, “Do you ever wish you’d gone into business with Dad or become a vet or something? Found a job where nobody cared who you were dating, what you ate for breakfast, where you lived, or followed you around taking photos?”
Arch laughed. “At least my breakfasts are more exciting than your plant-based pancakes.” He paused to consider Damien’s question more seriously. “I had to think about this a lot when I met Tessa, because she hates the limelight so much. Fame has its price, for sure. But no. I wouldn’t choose a different path. Would you?”
Damien sighed. “I always figured fame was the price of the band’s becoming successful. It’s afforded me a lot of amazing opportunities. And I love to travel. But sometimes I wonder what my life would have looked like if I’d stayed in Carmel.” And dated Crystal.
Would they have been married by now? Kids? Did the idea scare or excite him? He didn’t know.
“I doubt Dad would have wanted me in the family business. I don’t have the talent for building that Finn does. I visited them onsite yesterday and they barely trusted me with a pen.”
Arch laughed. “I’m surprised they even let you set foot on-site. So when you say you’re mentoring this young woman, she’s obviously here in Carmel. She must be good for you to invite her to your studio.”
“Oh, she’s very good.” He was as sure of that as he was sure of anything in life.
“You know, as soon as the sibs and Mom and Dad get hold of this, everybody will want to know what’s going on. Why don’t you invite her to the next family breakfast?”
“Yeah, I will. Thanks.” It was actually a great idea. If he got the rest of his family on board, that would definitely help him fight rumors of a nonexistent romance.