CHAPTER TWELVE
The knock didn’t surprise Nash. Seeing Ivy standing on the opposite side of the door with a frown did. He assumed Bob or one of her brothers would pay him a visit when the news broke. Nash hadn’t expected her to find out at work.
No worries.
Once he explained as R.J. had said to, she would understand. She’d forgiven Nash before, this time would be no different. Knowing that, however, didn’t lighten his heavy heart. He opened the door.
She stormed into his suite. “Is it true? Peyton Rush is your girlfriend, and you’re singing ‘Broken Dreams’ with her?”
He didn’t think his muscles could tighten more. He was wrong. “Peyton isn’t my girlfriend. You are. But I am singing your song with her.”
Ivy plopped onto the couch. A range of emotions crossed her face, one after the other, but relief didn’t appear. She pinned him with a hard gaze. “Why didn’t you tell me what was happening?”
“Nothing was decided until this morning. You had to work early and longer hours, so I didn’t want to bother you.” Nash sounded defensive, but that was how he felt. “This wasn’t something I could explain to you over the phone or via text. I planned to talk to you after your shift.”
“The stuff I read…” Ivy rubbed her hands against her pants. “What’s going on?”
Nash sat next to her. He waited for her to scoot closer. She didn’t. “My producer and the record execs want me to sing the duet with Peyton Rush.”
“Your ex-girlfriend, right? The one who put you in such a bad mood on my audition day?”
He hadn’t remembered Peyton’s connection to Ivy. “Yes, but that’s been over a long time. We’re friends. Nothing more.”
“You told me the duet wasn’t a sure thing, but hearing Peyton Rush is your girlfriend? She has no idea I exist, yet she’s had and continues to have a huge impact on me.” Ivy barely got the words out before she hung her head. “But if things are over between you two, why do people think you’re dating her again?”
He’d upset her. Again.
His heart squeezed tightly.
Nash cut the distance between them, put his arm around Ivy, and pulled her close. “Peyton has a spotless reputation. Being with her will help me clean up mine. She truly is as sweet as she appears. That’s all this is about. Nothing else. I promise.”
Ivy’s forehead creased. “I thought a PR firm was handling that.”
“They are and have been doing a good job, but R.J.’s still worried. He came up with this idea to help—said it would be the best thing for my career.”
Ivy’s shoulder sagged. “‘This’ meaning Peyton.”
Nash nodded. He wanted to kiss away the sadness from Ivy’s eyes. He knew this would be a difficult discussion but seeing her upset was tearing him apart. “Peyton agreed to be my ‘fake’ girlfriend if she could sing the duet with me. Somehow she heard our recording and wanted the song, too.”
Ivy took a breath. “How did it come together?”
“Discussions started last night. Details were finalized this morning.”
Ivy’s eyes widened. “You said your PR firm was the best in the business, but you’re not kidding. They got the news out fast.”
“R.J. didn’t think there was any reason to wait.”
She flinched. “Giving your ‘real’ girlfriend a heads-up wasn’t a good enough reason?”
Ivy hadn’t come up in the discussions besides her being mentioned as the songwriter. R.J. felt the less others knew about her the better, so the plan wouldn’t appear too complicated. That, however, didn’t excuse Nash from leaving her out. “I didn’t think about that.”
“At least you’re honest.” She didn’t sound amused. The lines on her forehead deepened. “Did you go to bat for me?”
He hadn’t, but there was a reason for that. One he knew she would understand. “No, because you’re unknown without a platform. Over the past five years, each of Peyton’s songs has hit number one. It’s been a few years since I hit the top of the charts, so that was the producer’s and label’s reasoning for having her sing ‘Broken Dreams’ with me.”
“I didn’t mean the duet.” The words rushed out. “Did you go to bat for me as your girlfriend so you wouldn’t need a fake one?”
His lips parted. He hadn’t.
