She gave him a slow, unimpressed once-over. “Is that supposed to scare me or impress me?”
He lowered his arms. “Reassure you, darlin’.”
“Swing and a miss, cowboy.”
He sighed. “Fine. No guns. Just me.”
“Yeah, that’s what worries me.” She huffed, not seeing another option. “Can I borrow your phone to call Ruth? She must be freaking out. You have her number, right?”
Clayton handed her the device and she tapped on her assistant’s name.
“Hey, Clayton,” Ruth answered, chewing her gum.
“Ruth, it’s me. Oh my God! Did you see the interview? Derrick’s such a fucking asshole!”
“I know, I could hardly believe it when I saw his socials.”
“Wait. When did you find out?” There was a pause on the other end. “Ruth . . .”
“I saw it first thing,” she admitted.
“And you didn’t think to tell me before I went on live television?”
“Sorry, James. Shorty said it was too late to cancel.”
Women can’t be trusted either.
She immediately called Shorty after hanging up the phone.
“Hi, Clayton,” he answered on the first ring. “I was just about to call you. Congratulations on having the number-one song in the country!”
“It’s not Clayton,” she said in a cold tone.
“Oh, how are you, kiddo?”
“How the fuck do you think I am?” she asked. “You should’ve told me about Derrick before I went on.”
“The wheels were already in motion, Jamie.”
“You could’ve stopped it.” She shook her head at Clayton. “I can’t even go back to my hotel now. The paps are crawling everywhere.”
“You should lay low for a few days until things settle down.”
“Why should I hide out?” She hesitated a moment, aware of the answer to her question. “Clayton invited me to stay at his ranch.”
“That’s a great idea!” Shorty said.
“I’m sorry, have you met me?” He knew damn well she’d hate the ranch.
Fresh air gave her a headache.
CHAPTER 12
CLAYTON
At JFK Clayton called his brother, determined to make everything perfect for Jamie. She’d had a rough day and needed to unwind, and he wasn’t about to let Derrick’s humiliation of her be a lasting memory. The thought of it made his jaw tighten. For the first time he felt no regret about throwing that punch, just pure satisfaction.
“What’s up, Clay?” Nolan asked. “I saw your interview this morning. Jamie looked blindsided.”
