Page 80 of Well, Actually
“I’m sorry for raising my voice,” I say, looking at William, then to Landry. Her expression is softer, so I focus there. “And I’m sorry for lying, but you’re right, Rylie and I have had contact since our last recording, and we don’t want to move forward with the remaining dates and recordings.”
“See, Mom,”William whines. “I told you she was playing games. You need to—”
“Shush.” Landry’s eyes spark, her expression stony as she glares at her son. She turns the look on me, the softness from moments ago gone. “Care to share any details, or am I to fill in the blanks myself?”
My skin prickles with sweat under her stare. I’m a deer in the headlights, my tongue feeling too big for my mouth, like I’ll choke on it before I can muster up the spine to tell her the truth.
“Don’t turn prudish and coy on me, Eva,” Landry says, her voice light but a thread of discipline poking through. “It’s boring.”
“I’m… I’m not,” I say, shrugging like a dumbass. “It’s just…”
“Justis a lazy word, dear. You should know that.”
Rylie opens his mouth to speak, but I tug the sleeve of his suit jacket, stepping forward, and swallowing my trepidation like a hot coal. “Things are starting to become real. Between me and Rylie. And I ju— We no longer plan to go forward with the recordings because we’re seeing each other and would both like to protect the early stages of our relationship from the stress of public observation and opinion.”
I can’t believe the steadiness in my voice, the cool command that somehow threads through every word while my knees feel like they’re about to give out. Landry and William could ruin me right here and now, and I’ve given them an arsenal of tools to carry it out.
But they surprise me with silence, William seething while Landry’s expression shifts from cutting to curious.
I clear my throat, having nothing to lose. “It’s been harderthan I anticipated, managing this level of attention. I’m sure you know how hard it can be to feel like you’re under a microscope, everyone analyzing your every move, critiquing everything you do.”
“We don’t want your excuses,” William snaps. “You—”
Landry silences her son with a touch to his arm, sharing a speaking glance with him. After a moment, she inclines her head toward me.
“Experiencing that in the context of a relationship isn’t something I was prepared for,” I say, voice fragile. “And to protect my mental health and the delicacy of my—our—relationship, I need to take a step back from having any of it online.” I feel raw, extremely exposed, in this beautiful room filled with beautiful people admitting that I’m not tough enough to hack it and I’m not sure I really care.
Rylie’s hand slips into mine, the warmth of his skin swirling through me, climbing like a vine up my arm, across my chest, shooting roots into my stomach and all the way down to my toes, something in my chest aching and expanding like a flower opening its petals to the sun.
Landry stares at me for so long, I wonder if I missed a key moment and I’m supposed to walk away with my tail tucked and head down.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about, Eva,” Landry says at last, careful consideration in her eyes. Her voice lacks the cruelty I was bracing for, and even William gives her a double-take. I bite the inside of my cheek against a tiny gasp, not willing to risk spooking away this soft side of my boss.
“R-really?”
She nods, lips curling up in what I think is supposed to be a reassuring smile. “Let’s plan to meet on Monday morning, the three of us.” She gestures at me and William. “See what we can make of this tangled web. I’ll have my assistant send you a calendar invite.”
“Okay,” I choke out. Landry spares the briefest of glances for Rylie and nods at Aida, sauntering away with her head held high and posture impeccable. William shakes his head in disgust, his look lingering much longer than his mother’s on both me and Aida. He clunks down his empty wineglass and stalks after his mother.
“Holy shit,” I whisper, more breath than voice. “Did that go… well?”
I share dumbfounded expressions with Rylie and Aida before Rylie lets out a tinywhoop, swooping me into a hug.
“That was so fucking hot,” he mumbles against my lips before capturing them in a deep kiss. I laugh, feeling giddy and exhausted and more than a little drunk on the taste of him.
“I can’t believe William didn’t explode,” Aida says, a rigid wariness still in her expression, eyebrows furrowed as she stares in the direction he exited. “Landry too, if I’m being honest. She’s more even-keeled than her son but she’s notoriously not warm and fuzzy. I thought for sure we were about to get fired.”
“Maybe the tin woman had a heart all along,” I say, smacking away Rylie’s roving hands. He gives me a boyish smile, stealing one more sloppy kiss before I push him off for good.
Rylie looks at me with a wildfire spark in those eyes of his,catching fire in my chest and making my cheeks burn. He looks like he wants to touch me some more, like he wants to pin me against the wall and kiss me until I can’t think straight, like he wants to steal me from this party and take me up to our room and not let me out until every part of me is incinerated. And, god, I hope my look tells him how much I want him to do just that.
“Rylie, there you are.” Lilith materializes again at his side, making us jump. “Aida, so good to see you,” Lilith adds, registering my friend.
The two hug, Aida offering a string of congratulations that Lilith graciously waves away.
“Thank you, thank you. It’s been the effort of a lot of people—”
“Take a damn compliment, Lil,” Rylie scolds.
