What? “But—”
Jem was the one who was being paid, here. That didn’t seem fair.
“That was just for you, sunshine.” River dropped a quick kiss on his lips. “Because I wanted to and I couldn’t resist.”
For some reason that made the tips of Jem’s ears burn, but what could he say? “Okay.”
“Good. Now.” River took a step back and assessed them both. Evidently he decided they were fit enough to be seen in public, or at least by other people at this party. “What are you thinking? Do you want to stick around, or are you going to turn into a pumpkin at any moment?”
“Uh….” Honestly, Jem would love to go home and sleep off whatever was happening in his brain. But River wasn’t paying him to go home and sleep.
“Pumpkin,” River said before Jem could answer. “Yeah, me too. Come on.”
Without further preamble, he unlocked the bathroom door, stepped out, and almost ran into Kiana as he did so. “Oops,” River said cheerfully. “Sorry. Hope you weren’t waiting long.”
And then, like it was nothing, he dragged Jem—still come-dumb—out of the party to find their ride.
Chapter Nine
Good Day Sunshine
River leftJem at his apartment door with a lingering kiss and waited for him to go inside before he floated his way down the elevator and back out to the car.
“Good night?” Norm, his driver, asked as he got back in. River typically left the privacy divider down when it was just him, unless he had to change or make a phone call.
He laughed a little, unsure how to answer the question. Good night? Yes and no. Yes, because he was starting to suspect any night with Jem would be a good one. No, because River was ass over tits for this guy he was paying to spend time with him. “It was… something,” he said after a moment.
It was everything. Having Jem tucked under his arm, whispering with him, being stupid catty assholes together. Laughing and giggling and dancing and then kissing, Jem going pliant at his touch.
It didn’t escape his notice that everyone he knew had predicted this outcome—even Jem had spotted the setup, though maybe he hadn’t seen it for what it was when he pointed out Jem was a lot closer to River’s celebrity-crush type than any of the men he’d dated for real. Amanda had set him up with someone he was basically doomed to fall for and shemusthave done it on purpose; she never did anything by accident.
River didn’t know whether to fire her or give her a raise. Maybe he’d wait to see how everything played out.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket.
His publicist had texted; she’d already seen pictures of River and Jem at the premiere and was predictably enthralled. River made a mental note to never let her hear Jem talk shit about someone’s style, because she’d ask River to muzzle him in public.
But River barely glanced at the photo she had forwarded. He’d had the real thing in his arms just moments before, and he was focused on getting that to happen again.
Fyi, he texted Amanda,I know this was a setup and I’m withholding judgment until I have more information.
Unsurprisingly, Amanda was awake.I don’t know what you’re talking about.She followed this with the nail-painting emoji.
Bitch, River thought fondly.Whatever. Do you think tomorrow is too soon to see him again?
This time he got the emoji of two men holding hands. He interpreted that asyes but do it anyway.
He gave himself until the middle of Sunday morning to think better of it, but at eleven he was lying on his back on the bed with his guitar in his arms, writing silly love songs that would never see the airwaves because they were too embarrassing, so honestly he might as well go for it. He set theguitar on its stand, rolled to his feet, and slinked into the library, where he took a photo of Jem’s Taylor Swift album sitting on top of his record player. He sent that and a quick text—Listening party?—and then lay facedown on the couch and screamed into a pillow like a teenager with a crush.
River was forty years old. He was a goddamn rock star. He had a Grammy!
He had also spent his adult life kinda-sorta on purpose dating men he’d never fall in love with so he couldn’t get hurt. This whole thing where he was trying to get a guy he genuinely liked to go from his sugar baby to the love of his life was new and stressful.
But it was alsofun. River liked the butterflies in his stomach. He’d always been a daydreamer. Those daydreams had just gotten a little more specific lately, was all.
His phone buzzed on the coffee table.
River raised his head long enough to look at it, put his face back into the pillow, and screamed again before picking it up.
