Page 104 of You and Me, For Real
Tension and anxiety radiate from Ashton on the car ride home.
She brushed off my attempts to soothe her, racing out of the venue. I made quick excuses to Jorge and promised to follow up soon.
I drive like a madman and make it home in record time. Ashton slams the car door shut and storms into the house.
The minute I step inside, Ashton is already mid-sentence.
“—this happen?”
Ashton stands in the middle of the living room staring at Luke, arms crossed.
“Some photographers for a celebrity site hid outside the Rhodes mansion and caught some video and pictures of the two of you.”
“Do people know who I am?”
Luke gently closes the laptop sitting on his lap. “Sort of.”
“Sort of? What does that mean?”
“Apparently, your new account was tagged on the images.”
“How? How could they possibly know who I am?”
Luke looks at me and then back to Ashton. He heaves in a big breath. “Wren tagged you in them.”
“Wren?”
The hurt that crosses Ashton’s face has me immediately wanting to hold her.
“But why? The two of us being seen together has nothing to do with the rescue or my blog. It doesn’t make sense.” She adds in a small voice, almost to herself, “Why would she do that to me?” She plops into the armchair.
I come around the chair and sit on the edge of the armrest, rubbing slow circles on her back.
“My guess is she thought by tagging you, that Griffin’s connection to you would elevate your status. It puts you on the map, so to speak. Despite the, um, nature of the post, any press is good—especially when it associates you with someone like my cousin.” He reopens the laptop and flips the screen around. “It’s already helped you in one aspect. You have half a million followers now.”
“I what?” She pitches her body forward, looking closer at the screen.
“Yeah. And the numbers continue to go up.” He shrugs. “Like they say, bad press is good press.”
With wide eyes and her mouth agape, she turns to me.
Luke rushes to fill in. “Some good has come of it, at least.”
Ashton jumps up from her seat and begins pacing the room. Roxy lifts her head from her bed, clocking her movements.
“Are you serious? How is this good? Griffin is practically engaged to America’s sweetheart, and here I come in, looking like I’m trying to steal her man.” She waves her hand at me. “How are you not freaking out? This can’t be good for you either!”
WhyamI not more upset? I should be. It puts me in a precarious situation with Scarlet, her father, and our contract,not to mention the damage it could do to my own stellar image. Right now, my focus is solely on Ashton and making this situation better for her.
Luke interjects. “By Wren tagging the video to your accounts, she helped guide the narrative. People know you’re not some miscellaneous arm candy. You’re his dog trainer.” He points to Wren’s specific post. “Her tagline reads:My new best friend with my favorite neighbor. So grateful for his kindness in helping our dog trainer get safely to her car after a recent ankle injury. Hero of the night. And if you haven’t heard of The Furry Godmother, look her up. She’s doing amazing things for the animal community. Hugs.”
“At least she didn’t say my real name,” Ashton whispers. She chews on her thumbnail, still pacing.
I jump into her path, halting her. I grab her arms and hold her still. “Listen, this is a good thing. Now you have ample followers. You weren’t sure you could pull off a gala. Now’s the time to strike. Play off this notoriety and announce the gala event. Today.”
I hate the doubt and insecurity I see in her expression as she looks into my eyes.
“You can do this.”
