Page 66 of Shy Girls Can't Date Celebrities
They’re his parents.
Shaking it off, we move into the elevator, exiting onto one of the garage basement levels. In front of us, three shiny, black SUVs lie inwait. As we move toward the vehicles, Lexy comes into view, along with her assistant, Thea, who I met earlier this morning.
“Okay, Wyatt,” Erika says, moving toward Lexy, who yammers on her phone. “You’ll ride with me and Lexy, and we’ll prep you on...”
Wyatt winces. “Nuh-uh.”
Erika deadpans him. “Excuse me?”
“I’m not sitting in a car with you two.”
Erika blinks at him and Randall fidgets uncomfortably, waiting for Erika to explode.
Lexy lowers her phone, flicking her eyes between everyone. “What’s happening?”
“Wyatt,” Erika huffs, planting her hands on her hips. “We need to get you to the hotel safely.”
Wyatt motions at the security team waiting in front of the SUVs. “I feel safe with them.” He swallows hard and then glances at me. “And with Josie.”
“Randall will ride with Jose,” Erika says when Lexy goes back to her phone conversation.
“There’s no way,” Wyatt says defiantly. “I’m only getting in a car if it’s me and Josie.”
Erika huffs. “Wyatt, we...”
“I’m not going with you,” Wyatt blurts with only the slightest of stutters.
Erika frowns, glances at Randall, and then throws her palms up. “Fine, it’s your call. But I really think you should at least have Lexy by your side to prepare you for life outside the clinic.”
“I-I’m going to a fan-fancy hotel,” Wyatt says, pulling himself out of the wheelchair. “I think I’ll be fine.”
As he stands, Erika and Randall rush toward him, and Lexy snaps her fingers at her assistant to react. All just making Wyatt recoil.
“I don’t need your help,” he stammers. “I’ve got Josie.”
I catch dagger-filled stares in my direction before they quickly dissolve. But as if I care about their jealousy. I’m the one getting the ultimate prize of being in Wyatt’s company.
Wyatt motions for me to follow him when the security team shows him into the middle SUV. As he slowly slides into the backseat, I spy Erika and Randall taking the front car. Lexy and Thea move into the rear car.
When I get in the SUV with Wyatt, a security member gets into the front seat. “Ready to go, Mr. Hayes?”
“I, I guess.”
I grin at him. “Now’s the part where you get to be excited.”
He smiles back. “I’m so glad we’re away from everyone else. Once we’re in the hotel, I’m giving them all the boot.”
I sink in my seat. “But they’re still paying for everything, right?”
He shrugs. “I dunno. Is it my money or theirs?”
I shake my head. “I really don’t know. But I think they’ll want to talk to you about money. Erika was saying something about her and the finance guy needing you to make some decisions.”
“My first decision would be to get rid of them all. They’ve been getting in my head since I woke up in that clinic.”
Our car pulls out of the parking garage, one black SUV in front and another behind us. The mid-morning sun breaks through the tinted windows, and I’m about to smile until we exit the garage to a swarm. Either side of the car, people with signs, phones, and cameras, crowd the three emerging vehicles.
“What the...” it tumbles out of Wyatt as his name is called between the camera flashes.
