‘Hey, everyone!Did you all have a good breakfast?’
‘Yes!’ the guests chorused.
‘Excellent!Hope you enjoyed looking through your photos from yesterday and have picked out your favourites for the memory book.’ In the end, Halle agreed on the photos of me looking at her with heart eyes.That was kinda embarrassing, but what can I say?Faking it or not, I challenged any red-blooded male not to get affected by an attractive woman telling you that you’re making them come.
I, of course, chose the photos of her smiling at me.Just to remind her why I’d given her that Smiley nickname.
‘And hopefully you all submitted your playlist selections too.’
Nope.Not me.
Taking photos was one thing, but playlists were something that I did for someone who was important to me.Which was why I hadn’t made one for Halle.That shit was too personal.
I poured my heart and soul into making a playlist for someone I thought was special before and I sure as shit wasn’t spending time doing that for a stranger who hated my guts.
Plus, the last thing I wanted to do these days was listen to music.I didn’t need a reminder of what I couldn’t do any more.
Fuck that.
‘So the first part of today’s activity will be… drumroll, please… a tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills!’
‘All right!’ a woman at the front who I think was called Maisy called out.
As multiple other guests whooped and cheered, my stomach dropped like a stone.
That was up there with the activity from hell.As well as driving past all the tourist hotspots, those kinds of tours usually involved gawping at celebrities’ houses.
I could understand why it might be interesting for a lot of people, but for me, it was just another reminder of my life before.The last thing I wanted to do was cruise by the homes of people who pretended to be my friends when I was riding high in the charts, but ditched me quicker than a hot potato the second things went to shit and I’d outlived my usefulness.
I dragged my hand over my face.There was no way I wanted to go on this trip, but if I refused, I’d draw more attention to myself.But if I went and the paps were around, that’d draw even more attention too.
Then again, the last place they’d expect me to be is on a fancy tourist bus.I was overreacting.It would be uncomfortable as hell, but it’d be fine.
‘I know for some of you, it might seem a bit touristy,’ Sammie continued, her gaze flicking to me for a second, ‘but I know for most people it’s one thing they’d like to do when they visit LA, so we thought we’d do this as the first excursion and then we’ll be turning up the romance…’
Several guests whooped enthusiastically as the driver started the engine and set off.
‘Great,’ Halle muttered under her breath.
Looked like we were both dreading this trip.
‘Want the window seat?’ I asked Halle.‘It’s your first time here, so I figured you’d want to see the sights.’ Her eyes widened with surprise.‘If you don’t want to, it’s fine.’
‘No, I… that’d be great.Thanks.’ She winced like it physically hurt her to show her appreciation.
Halle stood in the aisle whilst I slid out.My arm brushed against hers and my pulse spiked.I quickly stepped back to give her more space to climb into the window seat.
Her scent hit me again and I groaned internally.I hated it how it affected me.
‘So I guess you’re excited about going to Hollywood,’ I said, attempting to make conversation and to avoid thinking about how damn good Halle smelt.
‘Yeah,’ she said flatly.I was about to roll my eyes about the fact that she’d just given me another monosyllabic answer when she continued to talk.‘I always wanted to go.’
‘What stopped you?’
‘Just…’ She paused.‘Circumstances.’
‘I suppose it’d be asking too much for you to elaborate by responding with a full sentence.’
