Page 41 of Shy Girls Can’t Date Celebrities (Shy Girls Sweet Romances #6)

My heart constricts and I hit the answer button.

“Hello?”

“ Josie .” Her voice is frantic. “I’ve been calling you all morning. What is going on?”

I wipe my eyes dry and notice the dull headache building at the base of my skull. “Huh? I was in a different room. Why are you calling? Aren’t you at work?”

“Precisely. Where everyone is asking me why my daughter is gallivanting with a movie star?”

“Huh?”

I rub my head, shutting my eyes. This isn’t computing.

“Josie, you’re all over the local news. I almost swerved the car into oncoming traffic when the breakfast radio hosts were using your name.”

My fingertips dig into my chest. “What? Why are they talking about me?”

“Because you were walking on Royale Boulevard with Wyatt, surrounded by a mob of people.”

“But, how do they know who I am?”

“Apparently people were asking about you online, and people from your high school identified you.”

“Ugh.” I groan, folding forward. “I’ve done so well, staying invisible at that school. I don’t want those people talking about me.”

“I’m sure they have a million questions. Darling, I have a million questions.”

“Did you see the videos?”

“I had a panic attack just hearing about it. Marcy showed me something on the way to my cubicle, but it was such a blur.”

“Well, I was on the street with Wyatt, but I wasn’t in a mob.”

“People were saying...”

“Wyatt wanted to speak with his fans, but I couldn’t stomach it. I hugged a wall so tight until his security moved us away.”

Mom breathes a sigh of relief. “You had security with you?”

“Yes, they’re always with Wyatt.”

“Josie, I don’t like the sounds of this. You get so scared in large crowds, and now you’re in a big city, with a celebrity who has loads of fans, and you...”

“ Mom ,” I blurt. “Stop. I’m already wigging out. I don’t need any help spiraling.”

“Darling, I just want you home.”

Tears well in my eyes and I swallow hard. “I want that too. But... But, Wyatt...”

“If mobs are forming around him, this won’t get easier.”

“I know. They’re already talking about him going back to work. They want to send me home.”

“I think it’s for the best.”

“Were the twins in the car when they were talking about me on the radio?”

“No, it was after school drop off.” Mom huffs. “I now know why that group of moms was eyeballing me by the school gate.”

“I’m sorry the news about me scared you.”

“Oh, darling, I’m just scared about your safety. I want you home where I know you’re safe.”

“You could tell last night there was something wrong,” I say, cradling the phone by my ear. “I’m not cut out for this. Oh, Mom, I love Wyatt so much. It’ll hurt so much when we’re pulled apart again. I’m already in pain.”

“Oh, Josie.” Mom sniffs back tears. “Maybe we shouldn’t have let you go in the first place.”

“I just wish he wasn’t famous. I wish he could come back to Victoria Falls, and everything would be normal.”

“I don’t think that’ll ever happen.”

A sob breaks in my throat, garbling my words. “He said he’d come home. This morning, he said he wanted to come back, see all you guys again, and just be with me.”

“But Josie...”

“But he loves this life. He got a taste of it yesterday, and it lit him up. He’s so excited to record again, and play his guitar. He’ll go back to his life, and forget he wanted anything to do with me.”

“Oh, darling.”

“I just hate this, Mom. He’s so perfect. I don’t want him giving up on his music or his movies. But I don’t want to let him go.”

“But your anxiety...”

“I know.” My heart squeezes and pain ripples through my chest. “I know. I have to let him go. ”

“Do you need me to call Dad to arrange a flight home?”

“No, Randall will do it.”

“Okay, let me know as soon as it’s booked.”

I nod against the phone. “I will.”

“Love you, Josie-posey.”

I crack a tear-stained smile. “Love you too.”

After I end the call, I stand and shake out my hands. Without looking in a mirror, I make my way into my bathroom to freshen up. I don’t even want to know how bad my mascara is running.

When I turn off the water, and dab my face dry with a hand towel, my nose scrunches up at a foul smell. I turn toward the bathroom window and sniff the air.

Eww .

It’s cigarettes.

Unable to help myself, I step on the closed toilet seat, and soon hear the unmistakable sound of Erika’s voice. As I peer out the half-open window, she and Randall are out on the terrace as Erika drags on a cigarette.

“We’re so close,” Erika says, gesturing with the cigarette between her fingers. “We get him back into the studio, then he’s back at work.”

“But he hasn’t shaken that stutter.”

“I know, and the headaches are going to derail production.”

“The director will have to keep cutting if Wyatt’s holding the side of his head through a scene.”

“Bright side, he doesn’t stutter while he sings.” Erika takes another drag. “Bad side, his music underperforms. We only keep Wyatt signed because the movies do phenomenally well. What are we supposed to do with him if he can’t keep it together on set?”

“Hopefully Portia can get him back on track.”

Erika sighs. “Lord, I’m hoping so.”

Erika butts out the cigarette, and she and Randall walk out of view .

I lower myself off the toilet seat and onto the tiled floor below.

I’m in the way.

I was brought to Cherry Beach to help him get released from the Clearview Clinic and adjust to his lifestyle. I’ve done that, and I can’t help anymore.

Circle 8 has brought Portia back from Europe to help Wyatt. They’re a dream team when together. I can’t be selfish. I need to let Wyatt get back to what he does best.

Portia’s here to step in.

I need to bow out.

Carefully taking in my mirrored reflection, the damage isn’t as bad as I thought. With a quick touch up, I ready myself to join the others.

With a deep breath, I force myself out of the hallway.

“Huh?”

The open-plan space is empty.

Until, someone steps into view.

“Oh, hi,” Jenna says with a friendly wave. “They took Wyatt to the hotel’s gym to meet his physical therapist. Portia’s gone to her suite to freshen up, and she told me to take you down to the day spa.”

It takes me aback. “Excuse me?”

Jenny giggles, fixing her oversized glasses. “Yeah, as a thank you. She meant it when she said how grateful she is that you’ve been by Wyatt’s side. I’ve organized her regular treatments for you downstairs at the spa.”

“Oh, that’s really nice of you, and her, but it’s really not necessary.”

Jenna clasps her hands in front. “Well, I won’t force you, but the offer still stands.”

There’s something different about Jenna. She’s not pushy and in a rush like the other Circle 8 team members. I’m reminded of her sweet and apologetic reaction at the mention of Devon.

I glance around the room, and whisper, “So, is everyone gone? ”

Jenna nods. “Mm-hmm. Umm, if you want me to leave too, I can...”

“No,” I blurt. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you.”

“Me?” She smiles kindly. “Why’s that?”

I edge toward her and whisper, “Devon.”

Jenna recoils, frowning with a mixture of embarrassment and shame. “I shouldn’t have said... Especially in front of Wyatt. It was so stupid.”

“No, it wasn’t,” I rush. “I’m with you. I can’t believe Devon would hurt Wyatt.”

Her eyes grow larger behind her frames. “You do?”

I nod, gesturing for her to follow me to the couch. When we sit, I continue in a hushed tone. “They looked so close. Like best friends.”

“They were,” Jenna whispers back. “We all were.”

“So, you and Devon were close too?”

She nods. “That’s what I was going to say earlier, before everyone freaked out. Devon and I would always hang out whenever Wyatt and Portia were working together. We’d always comment on their friendship-that-could-be-more status.”

I recoil, yet have to ask, “Were Wyatt and Portia ever more than...?”

She shakes her head. “Not more than I saw on set.”

“And you were overseas with Portia when Wyatt’s accident happened?”

“Mm-hmm. We were devastated. I can’t believe they never gave Portia anytime off to see him.”

“She wanted to come back?”

“Desperately. They didn’t even tell her the status of his medical condition.”

“Why not?”

Jenna’s hands ball into fists and she grunts in frustration.

“Because of how high Wyatt was trending when his condition was kept a secret. They didn’t tell Portia, Simon, or any of the talent, what was wrong with Wyatt.

That way, when they were in interviews and asked about Wyatt, they’re answers were vague and it kept the mystery going online. ”

My jaw drops. “They really did that?”

Jenna rolls her eyes. “It’s nothing new with Circle 8. Manipulating the talent is what keeps the cogs in motion. Heck, Simon was in town and ready to visit Wyatt. Portia texted him to ask how it went, and Simon told her his visit was canceled at the last minute.”

“Why?”

“Because when Portia couldn’t answer questions about Wyatt and speculation went through the roof, Erika and the rest of them couldn’t risk the spike dropping. They wanted to keep Simon and everyone else in the dark.”

My hands ball into fists. “I can’t believe this! Wyatt thought he wasn’t friends with any of them because they didn’t visit him. He was alone in that room for weeks.”

“Yet another reason for Erika to keep hold of his phone all this time.”

My blood boils, remembering her proudly revealing his phone from her handbag. “She’s the worst of all the suits.”

Jenna blinks at me. “The what?”

I bat a hand. “Oh, it’s just what Wyatt calls the management team.”

Jenna’s mouth forms an ‘o.’ “Get out.”

“Huh?”

Jenna latches onto my wrist. “That’s what Devon would call the managers. Do you know what this means?”

I stare at her wide-eyed.

Jenna taps the side of her head. “Wyatt remembers Devon. He’s in there. Why would he use an inside joke from the person who supposedly hurt him? Doesn’t this sound like proof Devon didn’t do it? ”

I suck in a deep breath. “Like, maybe, somewhere deep down, Wyatt can remember what happened to him. The truth.”

Jenna rubs an ache from her chest. “I knew it. I just knew it.”