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CHAPTER TEN

LENA

I rattle my iced matcha latte until the drink settles enough for me to finish it.

“You seriously have nothing to say?” My mother fumes.

Biting down on the straw, I gaze up from the sprawling contract she’s laid out before me.

No —I want to shout— I actually have a lot to say. But because most of my comments have nothing to do with her current conniption fit, I keep them to myself.

“Thank God Legal was able to work something up on short notice.” My mother paces as Antonia becomes one with her tablet, scrolling and typing furiously.

Antonia pops her head up. “Jason just messaged that he’s faxing over Mr. Trace’s paperwork now.”

“Thank God.” My mom comes to a standstill, hands pressing into the freshly signed documents littering her desktop as she hovers over me.

“This is why we have employees, Lena. This is why we’ve hired Antonia.

She’s the one who is supposed to orchestrate how we reveal details of your personal life to the public. ”

I shift in my seat, jaw clenching. I wish we didn’t have to release any of my personal information to the public at all.

No one is entitled to know a single thing about my personal life—her included.

If it wasn’t for Callum’s unfaithfulness and my misplaced hope he’d take me back, I wouldn’t be in this mess.

I sigh. “I just wanted it to feel organic.”

“Then Antonia would have planned it that way.”

“You can’t plan organic,” I argue.

She rubs her temples. “Antonia, please talk some sense into her.”

Antonia lowers her tablet, stepping around the chair parallel to mine and dropping herself down to sit beside me.

She gives me a sheepish smile as she leans forward.

“I think what your mother is trying to say is that when we started this interaction between you and Decker, we were under the impression we would spearhead any and all leaks to the public, as we always do.”

“Maybe Decker was just too cute for me to resist. Too charming .” I snort. Sure, he’s attractive—anyone with eyes can see that—and he thinks he’s charming, but the thought itself is ridiculous. Decker so isn’t my type.

“Sarcasm has no place here right now.” My mother sighs, attempting to swallow down her irritation. “We just feel it’s best that we handle things for you. You have so much on your plate with your career, the least we can do is assist with your personal life. Lord knows we can’t help you on stage.”

“You’ve got that more than covered,” Antonia chimes in with a bright smile.

My mom nods.

“Well, I’m sorry for being overzealous, but it’s not like this situation is any different from my past relationships. I just expedited the process a bit.” I shrug.

My mom’s eyes widen. “Lena Claire, this is so much different from your past relationships. This is your future we’re talking about.

” She shakes her head, her mouth agape. “You started a fire. This is the relationship that will determine whether or not Antonia is worth her salt as a publicist.” She smiles and tilts her head toward Antonia. “And I know you are.”

Antonia shifts in her seat and places a hand gently on my knee.

“Listen, Lena. I’m sure Decker is great, and we’ve all seen him, but given the reason we reached out to him in the first place, I’m going to have to agree with your mom.

You need to let us handle this if we truly want to move past the whole music venue snafu. ”

I plunk into my chair, knowing the odds are not in my favor. They never are in this office. “I promise from this point forward, I’ll let you two plan all my dates, posts online, whatever. And I’ll do what I always do—focus on my career.”

My mom sinks behind her desk as Antonia bolts to her feet and whips out her phone.

“I’ll get ahold of Jason again. We need to trade contact info.” Antonia pauses briefly, lowering her phone. “Did you get Decker’s number?”

I shake my head, feeling a little embarrassed. How did I expect to pull this off without my “boyfriend’s” phone number?

Perking up, Antonia lifts her phone to her ear. “Good. We’ll get everything in place and pass on the pertinent info to you.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief. Despite what Decker and I discussed about feeling out of touch with my own personal life, I can’t help but to be happy to hand this over.

Why shouldn’t I let them do their jobs and handle this thing?

Focusing on my career has yet to disappoint me.

Relationships, on the other hand, are always disappointing.

Even after my vocal nodule scare a few years back, I learned that I can overcome, and that my career will still be there.

I can’t say the same about men. Dating Decker for real would be the worst thing I could do for myself after such a horrendous breakup with Callum.

I never want to go through that again. I never want to put myself in a position to set myself up for that kind of failure again. Real, fake, or anything in between.

My mind kicks into overdrive as I consider what I’ve done.

What do I do if Callum decides he wants me back but finds out I’m “dating” someone else?

I instantly hate myself for considering it.

He’s a cheating degenerate who doesn’t deserve a single thought.

My heart aches. A cheating degenerate that, for some unknown reason, I wish hadn’t dumped me.

I set my empty plastic cup on a coaster and press my palms into the cool wooden desktop.

It’s grounding. Pretending to date Decker will keep my mind off Callum, which in turn will keep my mind on work.

It’s a win-win. And I get to help the needy, since apparently Decker needs help sorting out his future.

I do feel bad for ruining his restaurant plans.

If nothing else, that’s reason alone to try to pull this off.

To atone. Plus, of all the relationships my mother and Antonia have ever suggested, Decker is the safest. He and I seem so completely different that there’s no chance of making the same mistake this time.

This time I won’t be falling for someone so careless because I won’t be falling at all.

My mom and Antonia huddle behind a tablet, engrossed in something.

“Can I go now? I’m supposed to be at Living Truth soon.” I try not to let them see how antsy I am to leave this awkward conversation.

“You’re volunteering at the church today?” My mom frowns, reaching over Antonia, who obediently lets her tap across her tablet screen. “It’s not on your schedule.”

So that’s what they’re looking at.

“I didn’t have anything else tonight, so I wanted to squeeze in some time there. I wasn’t sure when I’d be able to otherwise.”

My mom sighs like it’s the biggest inconvenience in the world that I want to help serve food to hungry people at a church. “We were hoping to set up an actual dinner date with Decker. To get you two in the public eye a bit more.”

“Decker could always join her,” Antonia suggests.

Great. Just what I need, my quiet place interrupted by Decker.

“And who would see them while they volunteer?” My mom scoffs. “If we don’t get them in the public eye soon, what’s the point?”

Antonia’s eyes widen as my mother’s delicate nostrils flare ever so slightly. It’s a warning sign, the look that has always let me know one of her signature fits is about to happen. Instinctively, my body tenses, bracing for impact.

“The kickoff game. They’ll launch at the football season’s kickoff game.” The words fly from Antonia’s lips.

“That’s too far away,” my mom counters.

“It’s only a week or so away, right?” I ask quietly.

Antonia nods and turns toward my mother. “I want Lena to feel prepared. I really want to sell this relationship, so before we throw them to the wolves, they need to spend some time together.”

“In the backroom of some church?” my mom rolls her eyes.

Antonia lifts a shoulder. “Wherever. They need to at least appear comfortable together. Lena’s plans can work in our favor just as much as a dinner alone could.

I’ll call Jason. Decker is neck deep in practices, but I think he should have tonight off.

If I remember correctly, the Kings have Sundays free. ”

I know my mom is about to lose it, but I’m so happy.

I wish I could wrap Antonia in a hug and squeeze her until she turns blue.

Relief replaces my looming anxiety. Not only because I don’t have to cancel my plans, but because she’s allowing me time to ease into this chaos with that oaf.

If I have to meet with him, at least it’s on my turf.