Putting her forehead on my chest, her shoulders jump with her laughter. “Yes, I Googled you. Are you happy now?”
“That depends. What’d you find? Are those sexy, naked pictures of me still out there? What about that accidentally leaked sex tape? Did you find it, too?” I tease.
“I’m never telling you anything again,” she jokingly retorts.
“Ah. You must’ve found something really good on me. Do tell.”
“It just seems you’ve had your share of models, actresses, and singers for girlfriends over the years,” she finally says.
“So, checking out the competition, huh?” I tease.
“No,” she laughs, smacking my chest before wrapping her arm around my neck again. “It’s a little hard to miss all the pictures of you with a different beautiful girl on your arm in every one of them.”
“You know they say ex-girlfriends are an ex for a reason?” I ask and she nods. “That goes for every one of those girls. Most of them were probably for publicity stunts anyway.”
“You really do that? Act like you’re seeing someone just to create buzz?”
“Sure,” I admit. Disapproval flashes in her eyes before she quickly masks it.
She doesn’t like that?
Cami’s slow song ends, and I reluctantly let go of Andi. Taking our seats again, I make sure to sit as close to her as I can. I need to get to the bottom of this.
“It’s really not a big deal, is it?” I ask her.
She shrugs one shoulder. “It means lying to your fans, doesn’t it?”
Leaning back in my chair, her words hit me hard. I’ve never thought of it in that light before. My publicist from the label just shoves me in the direction I need to go, and I go.
“Wow. Never thought of it that way before,” I admit when I realize she’s watching me.
“It’s not my business. I shouldn’t have said that. Don’t listen to me.” She quickly tries to cover.
“I saw that look in your eye, Andi. I can tell you don’t like it.”
Her surprised look says more than her words. She didn’t think I noticed, but I notice everything about her. I notice how her clingy shirt accentuates her curves. I notice how the neckline plunges low enough to hint at cleavage. My body notices how much more of a turn-on that is than the girls who show up backstage, half-naked and more than willing to provide their services. Watching her out of the corner of my eye, I know when she’s paying attention to me and when her attention is focused elsewhere.
I’ve learned most of her expressions and how to read her body language. Her brown eyes are so expressive and she wears her heart on her sleeve. It shouldn’t surprise me that she doesn’t approve of me pretending to date another famous person to help further both of our careers.
“It doesn’t really matter what I think about it, Travis. They’re your career decisions to make.”
Her words say one thing, but the fact that she’s crossed her arms over her chest, turned her body slightly away from me, and is now solely focused on the girls onstage tells me otherwise. It bothers her that I’ve deceived her.
It bothers me that I’ve deceived her.
“If it’s any consolation, it wasn’t my idea. The label tells me when I need to do it, and I just do it,” I explain.
She nods slowly. “And if you were in a real relationship at the time? What would your label expect then?”
When her eyes swing to meet mine, the unspoken challenge in them is unmistakable.Would I remain loyal to my relationship or to my label?
I’ve found her hot button. She just revealed the very character trait that could mean winning her over to the Travis-side. The key to her heart and to way to gain her trust can be summed up in one word—loyalty.
“If I were in a serious, committed relationship with the right lady, the whole world would know about it. I would shout it from the rooftops and let every man out there know she’s all mine.
“I’d never betray the love of my life like that. When I win the heart of the one person I’d like to spend the rest of my life with, every other woman in the world would cease to exist in my eyes.”
She searches my eyes for a few seconds, and my mind wills her to see I’m telling the truth. Maintaining her gaze, I intentionally soften my features and give her my best smile. She can’t help but smile in return, and I can’t help but feel like I’ve just won a small victory with this odd conversation.
