Page 38 of Shy Girls Can’t Date Celebrities (Shy Girls Sweet Romances #6)

I lift myself up, lowering my hands, and swallow hard. “People will talk if we go back home together.”

His eyebrows arch. “What people?”

“ Hello, hello ,” Lexy’s voice calls out from the living-dining area.

Wyatt rolls his eyes and groans.

“Wyatt?” Erika’s voice calls out. “Are you up, hon?”

He then pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. “Great. They’re both here.”

I clasp his hand. “I can tell them you’re in bed with a headache if you don’t want to see them.”

Wyatt gives me a weak smile. “No, it’s okay. I’ll get it over with so they leave sooner.” He lifts my hand and kisses the back of it. “Then the sooner we can go on another date.”

I try for a smile, but end up with a weird quirk at the corners of my mouth.

I hate that the word date now conjures up images of crowds encircling us .

“Wyatt?” Lexy calls out again.

“Ugh.” Wyatt groans and tugs on my hand. “C’mon, let’s get out there.”

“Can’t we say I have a headache?” I half-joke as I trudge behind him.

Wyatt mumbles a laugh. “No. You’re my safety net. I need you beside me.”

“You did just fine yesterday when I bailed from being by your side.”

“You mean with the crowd?”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t you say you were in your element?”

“Oh my gosh, Wyatt!” Lexy cheers, throwing her hands into the air triumphantly as we enter the open-plan space. “I can’t believe you did a public meet and greet without your publicist.”

Wyatt stops dead with concern coloring his face. “Sorry? Was that wrong?”

Lexy giggles ecstatically. “No, hon. You did fantastically. You’re blowing up online.”

There goes my stomach again.

Wyatt squeezes my clammy hand. “Blowing up? That’s good?”

Erika grins. “You did better than we could have hoped. With all the difficulties and setbacks you’ve had to deal with, we didn’t know if you’d be able to interact with fans again.”

Wyatt shrugs. “It felt right.”

Lexy squeals in delight. “Ah, I’m so thrilled. We now have so many options to get you back in front of your fanbase. If you can do this well without our help, you’ll be magnificent when we move forward with a strategic approach.”

Wyatt stumbles on his footing. “Wh-what does that mean?”

Randall steps in from the side with Wyatt’s walking aide, which he reluctantly accepts .

Erika beckons Wyatt closer. “Take a seat, Wyatt. Let’s chat about this.”

Wyatt creeps toward the dining table, which is covered with tiered platters of breakfast items. As he carefully takes a seat, he finds me over his shoulder, and I take my cue to sit beside him.

“Wyatt,” Lexy begins, sitting across from him at the table. “You’ve been trending online since your accident. There’s been loads of speculation as to what happened and what treatment you were undergoing.”

Wyatt sits back, wincing. “Yeah, people were asking me yesterday if it was true I had memory loss.”

“We tried to keep it under wraps,” Erika says, “but these things inevitably get out when you’re on so many people’s radars.”

“My point is,” Lexy says, steering the conversation, “after the public saw you yesterday, you’re tracking as high as you did when you won Talent Quest.”

Wyatt turns to me and then back to Lexy. “I don’t know what that means.”

Lexy beams. “It means you’re extremely popular.”

“And it’s all happening online?” Wyatt questions. “Like, are people just talking about me? Or is it photos and videos as well?”

“Maybe it’s time you got back into the real world,” Erika says suggestively. She pulls a phone from her oversized handbag and offers it to Wyatt. “Here, it’s yours. Why don’t you take a look for yourself?”

Wyatt flinches, frowning at the phone.

Lexy hums a laugh. “It won’t bite, Wyatt.”

I retch, thinking about Wyatt looking at us online.

His mouth falls open as he turns to me in concern. He then winces, holding the side of his head. “ Ouch . Dang it. Turned too fast.”

I clutch his shoulder and hiss in second-hand pain. “Ugh. These headaches. ”

“Are they still as bad as ever?” Lexy asks, leaning in.

Wyatt rubs the heel of his palm against his head. “I keep hoping they’ll get better.”

“He had a bad one last night,” I tell Lexy and Erika. “So, don’t rush him into doing too much. It’ll wipe him out.”

Wyatt lowers his hand and grasps the phone. “This might be too much,” he mutters. “I’m only just getting my confidence back.”

“You mean by meeting fans yesterday?” Lexy asks.

Wyatt rubs under his chin, holding back a smile. “And singing.”

Erika and Lexy lean in with elation. “ What ?”

He combs his fingers through his hair, shying away as his cheeks brighten with a light pink. “Umm, yeah. Just a few covers.”

“A few?” Lexy says, sitting up with stars in her eyes. “Like, more than one?”

I squeeze Wyatt’s shoulder, grinning. “He didn’t miss a beat. It was like hearing the old Wyatt again.”

“Marvelous,” Erika cheers. “And do you remember any of the songs from your albums?”

Wyatt’s teeth grit. “No, my memory hasn’t come back.”

“Ugh, who cares,” Lexy says, scooting her chair backwards. “Remembering the covers is a game changer. It’s what the fans love the most.”

Erika turns to Lexy. “What are you thinking?”

“Well, we can capitalize on the interest in Wyatt,” Lexy says. “We could record a clip of him singing and post it to his account. Show he’s back online.”

Wyatt slides the phone away from him. “I never said I was going back online.”

Lexy bats a hand. “Oh, don’t worry, hon. We have people to manage your accounts for you.”

Wyatt sits back. “Oh. ”

“If we get a clip of you singing an old classic, your audience will be absolutely gaga,” Lexy says. “Maybe the track you performed on the grand finale.”

Wyatt folds his arms, shifting uncomfortably. “Umm, I don’t know what that is.”

I bite into my lip, a smile pushing at my cheeks. “Yes, you do,” I say, rubbing his upper arm. “You were singing it in your bedroom.”

Wyatt splutters a laugh. “No way. I won with that song?”

My grin expands as I nod emphatically.

“I love this idea,” Erika says. “We’ll be highlighting his roots. Back to basics as he gets back into action.”

Lexy looks around our immediate area. “We just need to stage somewhere in the apartment.”

“I-I-I’ve just been singing to myself,” Wyatt stammers. “I don’t kn-know if I-I’m performance ready.”

“We’re not talking about anything professional, Wyatt,” Lexy says, tapping on her phone. “It would just be you practicing and showing your fans how well you’re doing.”

Erika picks up Wyatt’s phone and opens an app.

“Your fans are eager to get more from you.” She scrolls through posts and reposts about yesterday’s Wyatt-sighting.

“Those who weren’t on Royale Boulevard yesterday are extremely jealous of those who were.

If you post a public video of you singing and strumming on the guitar, it’ll show the fans you love them all equally. ”

Overwhelm scrambles Wyatt’s expression as he watches the posts scroll by. “Ah, umm, yeah, okay.”

“There’s a ring light in the fourth bedroom, along with his guitar,” Randall pipes up. “Should I get it?”

Erika grins at Wyatt. “You up for it?”

Wyatt stretches his hand open and closed. “I was practicing my hand exercises last night because I feel ready. Yeah, let’s do this. ”

Erika claps loudly, only stopping when she stares down Randall. “What are you waiting for? Get moving.”

At that, Randall jumps and then dashes up the hall in search of the light and guitar.

Lexy pauses her thumbs over her phone, blissfully sighing. “The timing of this could not be greater.”

Erika nods, stifling a happy laugh. “I know. Is that Thea with an ETA?”

“Yeah. They’re just checking her in,” Lexy replies.

“Oh good,” Erika chirps. “Traffic must’ve been light this morning.”

Footsteps hurry down the hallway, and Randall emerges with a guitar in one hand, and a standing ring light in the other.

“Where do you want these?” he asks, lifting them in the air.

Lexy looks around the space, framing areas with her phone. “We should utilize the natural light coming from the terrace. If everyone can clear away from the dining table, we’ll use the space between the dining area and the couch.”

Erika snaps her fingers at me to move. When Wyatt stands from the table, he ditches his walking aide. Getting myself out of the way, I watch as Lexy stages the area, and Randall hands the guitar to Wyatt.

“Wyatt, why don’t you just strum and get a feel for the guitar,” Lexy says, angling the phone at Wyatt. “Take it nice and easy. We just need some candid clips and the fans will eat it up.”

Wyatt strums the guitar and glances around at us watching him. “You sure anyone will care enough to watch me practicing some chords?”

Erika gestures at me. “What do you say, Josie? You’re a super fan, aren’t you? Would you be into seeing this on your feed?”

I hug my waist and giggle, my eyes wandering up and down Wyatt. “Oh, yeah. I’d totally be into this.”

Wyatt laughs nervously and then attempts a wink. “Okay, Joze. This one’s for you.”

Lexy taps the side of the phone as she records Wyatt. “Just imagine all the fans as Josie. You’re doing it for every one of them. Every version of Josie out there. Got it?”

Wyatt nods, changing chords as he strums. “I got it.”

Wyatt continues to strum, and soon, he’s singing like he used to. Tingles run up my spine and I’m grinning ear to ear. Wyatt performs like he has in all the videos I’ve rewatched, over and over again.

I can’t believe this is real.

I’m no longer in my bedroom, swooning over the boy who got away.

I’m standing here, as my boyfriend serenades the world.

The elevator pings and heavy footsteps enter the penthouse. I turn toward the elevator entryway, and extra security guards appear first. My eyebrows knit together in confusion, and then a man in a sharp suit enters behind security.

Soon, Lexy’s assistant Thea walks in with a wondrous look in her eyes. “My gosh, Wyatt.” Thea gasps. “You’re playing again. Awesome.”

“I’d recognize that song anywhere,” a voice says from behind Thea. “Only you could play it that well, baby.”

Oh crap.

I’d recognize that voice anywhere.

But it can’t be.

Can it?

Oh my gosh, it is.