Page 6 of Love You Like This

I walk over to the refrigerator and pull out an energy drink to wake him up. Why he can’t drink coffee like a normal adult, I’ll never understand. I ignore the sparks that fly between our fingers when I hand him the can.

“Thank you,” he says. “And no, I don’t know anything about getting someone pregnant.”

“She claims it was in October while you guys were filming a music video in Atlanta.”

“I can’t remember, but I never fuck without a condom. It’s probably not mine.”

He does fuck without condoms. Don’t ask me how I know.

“But I’ll pay for a paternity test just in case,” he adds.

“She wants you present for it,” I tell him.

“We’re on tour, so no,” he says with a scowl. “What’s her name?”

“Would you even remember?” I ask.

“Probably not, but it’s worth a shot,” he snaps back at me.

“Ashley Matthews,” Darren tells him. “She’s twenty-two, a dental hygienist and influencer.”

I hand him my phone with her picture. She’s cute as hell with long blonde hair and big blue eyes. The still I took from one of her videos is a body check of her in a workout set before she starts a ‘what I eat in a day’ vlog. Can’t even tell she just had a baby.

He looks at it for a minute and then shakes his head. “I don’t remember her.” He hands the phone back to me and takes a swig of his drink. “Are we releasing a statement?”

“Depends on if any of the major outlets pick it up.” I lean against the desk. “We’ve had a really good run on the tour so far without any bad press. Stone’s doing amazing. Hazel is bringing tons of new fans to the band. We really need to keep this quiet.”

“Should I call her? Talk to her personally?”

“Yes,” Darren snaps his finger and points down at Xander. “Butter her up. Be nice, be flirty, but not sexual. Make her think she’s going to get what she wants so she stays quiet while we wait for test results.”

“How old is the kid?” Xander asks.

“Three months.”

“A little guy, then.”

I suppress the desire to be sarcastic. Obviously, anyone with a functioning brain could figure out from the timeline that the baby would barely be out of the newborn stage. “A little girl, actually,” I correct.

“What’s her name?” he looks up at me.

“Blakeleigh.”

He winces and then finishes off his drink. I watch, annoyed, as he crushes the can and tosses it directly into the recycling bin. “Well, I trust you two to handle it in the way you see fit. But I honestly don’t think it could be mine.”

My phone rings again, and when I look down, I see the name of a reporter I have a good working relationship with. “I need to take this. You behave yourself,” I point in his direction as I walk out of the room.

“This is Jade,” I say as I answer the phone.

“You can’t keep those boys out of trouble, can you?” Amusement laces his tone.

“Sure can’t, Drew. What can I help you with?”

“Do you have a statement about the breaking news?”

“On the record?” I ask.

“Yes.”