Page 90 of On Set
23
A simple pictureof Eli and me graces the cover. He has his arms wrapped around me from behind, and for the first time since news broke of our relationship, my face is on full display. I can see the minimal similarities between my mother and me, but to the average eye, you wouldn’t be able to notice.
Well, unless you are a huge fan of my mother’s maybe.
And only after you read the headline.
Hollywood’s Royal Daughter meets her Prince Charming.
My face contorts every time I read it, knowing that what lays between the pages of this magazine is the story of my life. And a little bit about my relationship with Eli.
Tinsley did an amazing job of twisting, researching, and spinning every fact we gave her to sell a story that is filled with truths told by a dimly lit light.
It opens with the few details about me and Eli, and then jumps straight into my father’s death. The scandal that surrounded it, and she notes almost every hypothesis journalists came up with twenty-five years ago. The woman must have scoured every magazine she could find. The notations are beyond ridiculous.
There are quotes from interviews my mother has given through the years, piecing together to create a story that is damn close to the truth.
The irony.
Considering I didn’t give her any information, I’m impressed at her accuracy.
She highlights my career with Spotlight Studios, my transition onto the set, and meeting Eli.
All that is included in the first two pages. It’s the next two that are the real story.
My love affair with the hottest up-and-coming celeb in the industry right now. There’s a lengthy question and answer section that sounds word for word of our conversation.
So far, nothing that has me wanting to run screaming into the dark night. To become a shut-in and hide from the world for the rest of my life.
Until the very last question.
I’d almost forgotten about it until I saw it in black and white. Until I read his answer again.
Eli, do you have any plans to make your relationship more permanent in the near future? You’ll crush the hearts of many readers in the process, but Taylor would be a lucky woman to have you all to herself.
She already has me all to herself. I don’t see that changing any time soon unless she tires of me and kicks me to the curb.
More permanent?
As in … forever?
We’re far from that right now but I can think of one thing that would make us be considered more permanent.
Meeting’s Eli’s gaze over the top of the magazine, there’s a hint of a smile on his face. We’re sitting across from each other at the little nook in my kitchen. Dinner is in the oven, prepared to the specifications of Martha who dropped it off this afternoon while we were on set with instructions on how to reheat the casserole.
I’m about to open my mouth when the timer goes off, interrupting my thoughts.
“You know,” Eli says, suddenly behind me as I dish out the casserole onto two plates, “she didn’t do a bad job.”
“No, but it wasn’t all factual either. I mean, come on. I’m not Hollywood royalty.”
“And I’m not a prince, but you are your mother’s daughter, and she is considered royalty.”
“If people knew what she was really like they may change their minds about that,” I mutter, turning in his arms and leaning back against the counter. “The focus was barely on our relationship. That was the reason we went there in the first place. So people would get the truth and stop gossiping about the situation.”
“Now that they know who you are, the only thing they’re going to talk about is how disappointing it is that I’m no longer on the market.” A devious grin spreads across Eli’s face as he leans in close, his breath fanning my neck. “You know, since you have me all to yourself.”
Laughing, I press my palm to the center of his chest and attempt to push him out of my personal space but he’s stronger than I am. When his lips skim the sensitive skin of my collarbone, my laughter catches in my throat, quickly turning to a soft moan.