Page 40 of Of Heartbreak and Harmony
The way she’s staring at me...
Were the rumors about their relationshipjustrumors?
I narrow my eyes at her, a silent, subtle warning, and then I look back at Hammond. I bypass Torren entirely.
“How was that?” I ask Hammond, my voice cracking a little.
Hammond is quiet for a moment as he studies his phone, and then he nods once.
“It will work. Time to go.”
Hammond turns on his heel and disappears down the driveway. When I glance back at the front porch, Sav is gone, so I face Torren once more.
“Now what?”
“Now we go on tour. We’ll hold hands. I’ll walk you to Sav and Mabel’s bus. We’ll do a lovey goodbye for the cameras—don’t worry, no kissing—and then we’ll part ways.”
I nod twice, repeating over and over in my head that this is a job. This band employed me. I agreed to do this for my family, and I need to succeed. I stick my hand out toward him and wiggle my fingers.
“C’mon. Let’s?—”
“Just get this over with?”
I give him a ghost of a smile. “Yep.”
Torren laces his fingers through mine and leads me down the driveway.
“Your suitcase has already been brought to the bus, along with some other things. The big bedroom is set up for you, too. You should be all set until we get to Glendale, where we move into our hotel suites. We’re in Glendale for four nights, and then?—”
“You’re in Vegas for four nights. Then Arlington, Texas, then Houston.”
“You memorized the tour schedule?”
“Of course. I’m here for three months. You expected me to go into this totally blind?”
He huffs out a small laugh, and I see him shake his head in my periphery. “I don’t know what I expected, honestly.”
“I do. Someone who can fake it well enough for the cameras.”
I feel him shrug. “Yeah. I guess that was part of it.”
I roll my eyes. That wasallof it, but he won’t say it out loud and offend me. To him, I’m a means to an end. This is a business agreement. This is a job. Nothing more.
I’m basically an independent contractor.
I frown to myself.
I’m basically a high-end escort but without the sex.
I want to groan, but I bite my tongue. I signed up for this. It might be a gigantic hit to my self-respect, but it’s for a good cause. Eighty thousand good causes, technically.
The bout of self-loathing doesn’t last, thankfully. When I see the mob of paparazzi across the street from Sav’s gate, all thoughts of everything else are forgotten. I squeeze Torren’s hand on instinct, and he squeezes back, then releases my hand and moves his to the small of my back.
“I got you, Callie. Just keep your head down and I’ll guide you. You don’t have to look at them or talk to them, okay?”
“Kay.”
“Put your arm around my waist. It looks more natural.”
