“That it benefitseveryoneif we let the story ride,” Spencer cuts in.
Cash scoffs. “So, you want people to think we’re together?”
“I already have a boyfriend.” I gesture toward Miles. “He’s sitting right here. There’snothingbetween me and Cash.”
Miles’s lips tip up, just a little.
“Doesn’t matter.” Spencer waves a dismissive hand. “What matters is that it’s working. The song is climbing the charts because people are invested in the story behind the lyrics.”
“The ‘story’ isn’t even about us,” I argue, but no one seems to hear me. The song’s about Miles, but I don’t say that. I don’t want to give these people more than they already have.
Kendra leans in. “I think what Spencer is trying to say?—”
“What I’mtryingto say,” Spencer cuts her off, “is that this is the kind of thing that could give you a leg up.”
I blink.
“Cash doesn’t need the publicity, but you’re brand new on the scene. Your association with someone well-respected and loved in the industry could help bolster your career. You want to be a star, don’t you, Summer?”
That damned word again.
Kendra touches my arm, her expression apologetic. “This is how the industry works. You ride the wave. And I have to admit, this wave looks like a good one.”
Miles’s hand leaves my thigh. He pops his knuckles.
“Let me guess—you’ll want us to be ‘seen together’?” Cash’s voice is flat. “Play up the couple angle ‘for the camera.’ The oldest play in the book. What do I pay you for? Can’t you come up with something original?”
He turns to me. “Summer, you don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with. Don’t let them?—”
My mouth gapes, then closes. I can’t decide what to say before Paula snaps, “Cash.”
Everyone looks at him, but his gaze stays fixed on me. He flicks a quick glance at Miles, then back. He’s trying to tell me something, and if I had to guess, it’d bedon’t do this.But that could be me projecting.
The room goes quiet. Then Spencer riffles through folders stacked in front of him. He checks each one before handing one to me, Miles, and Kendra.
“Oh, none for me?” Cash raises a brow. Paula shoots him a scathing look.
I flip through the folder as Miles does the same. “It’s an NDA,” he says, low, drawing the conclusion as I come to the same one.
“What’s all this about?” I ask Spencer.
But Paula answers, “It’s an extra layer of safety. Says you’ll keep your real relationship hush, hush, and that we’ll…collaborate on your image in relation to Cash.” She smiles, but the expression is all wrong on her face.
“Is this necessary—” Kendra starts, but is cut off by Paula’s clipped, “Yes.”
I turn to Miles. “What do you think?”
Miles takes my hand into his lap. When he looks at me, I almost forget everyone else in the room. “I’ll support whatever’s best for you, okay?” he murmurs. “Don’t worry about me.”
Well, that’s an impossible ask. I’ll never not worry about him.About us.
Paula clears her throat, and when I look back around the table, she says, “I have something that might make this worth it…”
Cash furrows his brow. He hasn’t been looped into any of this, and again, it’s not surprising, given how little input he has in his own life.
Is this the first step in following that same path?
“We’d like to invite you to join Cash’s tour this summer as an opening act,” Paula continues. “Cash sells out arenas. It’ll be good exposure for you. Plus, people will love seeing country music’s new ‘it couple’ share a stage.”
