Page 35 of I'm Not His Style
Me:Hmm. That needs an explanation.
Rhett:You haven’t seenLadder Man? I’m offended.
Ohhhh, I’d seen it. Many times.
Me:Oh, of course. How silly of me. You must be Axl, right? Rose.
Rhett:*GIF of a dog with thinly spread wry smile*
Rhett:Yes. You can call me Axl, Frenchy.
Butterflies flapped in my stomach, and I drew in a silent breath.
Me:Any fun New York plans?
Rhett:Fun and New York aren’t synonymous for me right now.
Me:Oh, sad. Poor, poor movie star tired of his events?
Rhett:I know that was sarcastic, but yes, I am.
That made my stomach pang. It couldn’t be easy to woo so many rich women, even for the sake of charities.
Me:I can come up with something fun if you need a pick-me-up later.
Rhett:What did you have in mind?
Me:Uno competition, obviously.
He laughed, and the sound rang out in the car. It was loud in the silent vehicle and a stark reminder that we weren’t alone, despite how I’d been lulled into a sense of it being only the two of us.
Bridget looked up, snapped from her own trance. The spell was sadly broken. She turned in her seat to face Adalyn and me. “I sent the updated schedule to both of your email addresses. We snagged that spot with Jimmy Fallon Friday, and it’s worth missing the dinner with Rhett’s cousin. We can invite him to the food bank and promote the charity at the same time.”
“Isn’t that a bad idea?” Rhett asked, stealing her attention. “Fallon has a knack for bringing up things we don’t want to speak about.”
Bridget looked back at her phone. “I doubt he knows. But if he does, then it’s better to get ahead of it.”
“But bringing my cousin to the food bank? He won’t go for it.”
“If he wants to see you, he’ll have to. You’re booked solid the entire time we’re here, and we can’t sacrifice the food bank. As many pictures as we can get circulated of you in positions of charity will be helpful.”
Rhett laughed again, but the bitter bark was nothing like the beautiful sound I’d earned a moment ago.
“Karina might attend the charity dinner tomorrow night.”
“Why?” he asked, skeptical.
Bridget’s attention went back to her phone. “Because her concert tour starts again next weekend, so she’ll already be in New York. Now that you’ve established a friendship again, it would be good to be seen together casually. Maybe Rooftop Joe’s? Adalyn, look into reservations. Probably Thursday night.”
“Okay, on it,” Adalyn said.
“Isn’t one appearance with Karina good enough?” Rhett asked. “Her post has already gotten a lot of attention, and if we’re seen together too frequently, people might think we’re getting back together.”
“Let them. That does nothing but benefit you. The publiclovedKarhett.”
Some names were not meant to be combined. Karina and Rhett were two of them.
He looked at Bridget, disgust rolling over his face. “I thought you wanted me and Sunny to appear like we were on the verge of being together for the movie’s sake.”