Whisky Moments

by Bowie, Emily

  Seeing my black-tinted town car, I wiggle out of his grasp, not having the energy to face him. I jump into the back of the car, locking the door behind me. My driver doesn’t miss a beat and the tires squeal, pulling out from the curb to take me home.

  CHAPTER 38

  It takes no less than a second after I’ve locked myself in my town car for Mindy to be blowing up my phone with her calls. I want to ignore her, angry she didn’t do her job properly. She needs to be my eyes and ears when I can’t.

  Stabbing my finger at my phone, I answer, “Mindy, how the hell did you not know about this story? I was blindsided by the press as I walked out.” My frustration is evident in my tone.

  “I just heard, and you left without saying a word. I never had a chance to tell you. But I’m trying to dig up who leaked the story.”

  I hate that she sounds sincere, making it harder to be angry with her.

  Please, don’t be Rhett. He’s the first person who comes to mind, and it shatters my heart. I won’t recover if my suspicions are true. Tears stream down my face, my heart ripping into pieces for a man who’s shown me his other side, which is kind, loving, and protective for all those close to him. Was I not good enough? Did I not earn the right to be in his inner circle?

  Rounding the corner, I can already see the reporters camped out at my house, lining the sidewalk. “Keep going,” I direct before the driver has the chance to slow down. “Head to my new home.”

  My back rests against the cold leather, my hand rubbing at my tense shoulders. I once thought that if only I could make it in this industry, then I’d have no problems. Now I feel like my problems are bigger than everyone’s, because everyone knows my business and takes an interest. Funny how the grass is always greener on the other side.

  Exhaling I wonder how my daughter is doing. Tears fall faster as I think about how I have failed her and her parents. I promised them she would be able to have a regular life, that my drama would never interfere with them. How wrong we all were.

  My driver heads to the entrance of my new home. A huge skyscraper breaks the sky, with a doorman standing out front and a full-time security guard on the inside. No reporters are here. The sidewalks are silent. Stepping out, I don’t utter a word. I walk in the grand entrance as I head toward my elevator.

  The building is beautiful, flashy, everything you would want to see in a magazine. When I walk into my penthouse, it has been fully furnished and decorated with only the best. Yet, it feels unwelcoming. I’ve lost that at-home, cozy feeling I had with my old place.

  Walking toward my open-concept kitchen, I notice a vase of white flowers sits on my counter. They’re the same flowers I’ve been getting the last few years. The card in messy handwriting says Home Sweet Home. I give them a sniff and they smell beautiful like they normally do.

  Picking up the vase, I toss it to the ground, hating that Rhett would even consider sending me flowers after all he’s done to me.

  I’m so frustrated that the mess doesn’t bother me, stepping over the shards of ceramic to go to my bedroom and put on my baggy sweatpants and a T-shirt. I try to get comfortable in my overly lonely home.

  For the hundredth time, I try to call Kellie again, and just like before, she doesn’t pick up. She’s my go-to person. When I can’t make sense of my world, I go to her and vice versa. Before now, we have talked every day for the last four years. Pacing, I think of who would know where she is. Her boyfriend Van comes to mind first. He would know what her unfinished business is and when she’ll return.

  “Van?” I ask as soon as a voice picks up.

  “This is him,” he answers; loud music plays in the background, making it hard to hear.

  “This is Camilla. Is Kellie with you?”

  “Fuck no. I haven’t heard from her since the awards night.”

  I can hear the sound of a woman talking low to Van but can’t make out what is said. I’m a little taken aback. Kellie hadn’t said anything to me, making me worry even more.

  “Do you know where she is?” I begin to pace my house, starting at the bedroom then walking toward the living room, sidestepping any damage I had done with the flowers.

  “Last I talked to her, she told me to fuck off,” he tells me, sounding like he’s lost interest in our conversation.

  “This isn’t like her.” I can hear the pitch in my voice rise as I worry more.

  “Camilla, I’ve known her for longer than you. This isn’t out of her norm. Give her a week and she’ll be back.”

  I’ve never known her to do this. I can’t help but think Van is doing what everyone here does with me. Displacing what I think, thinking they know more than I do.

  “Sounds like she made the right decision by telling you to fuck off,” I say, annoyed by the fact he doesn’t give two shits.

  A knock on my door has me tossing my phone to the couch. Mindy walks in like she owns the place before I get a chance to make it fully there.

  “Dick’s been sniffing around, doing Rhett’s dirty work and trying to find your address.” She rolls her eyes and scowls at the mention of his name. I can’t help but look to the flowers on my counter. “We won’t be able to hide it for long, so enjoy the calm before the storm.”

  Turning, I go toward my perfect view of Nashville, staring out into its vastness.

  When her voice becomes softer, I know the bad news is still to come. “I also found out the source who leaked the news story about you.” I look at her expectantly. “I was told it was Rhett’s camp. They couldn’t confirm if it was him or someone close to him, but it sounded like it was him. As in the source felt one hundred percent confident the news was true, with stuff to back up the story.”

  I feel like my breath is taken out of me, even though I was expecting this news. “Were you able to reach out—”

  Mindy interrupts my question, already knowing I would want to know how Jillian and Robert are coping with the news breaking to Leah about me. “We’ve secured them with a nice place to stay until the story dies down to make sure no one finds out it’s Leah. Her parents are very grateful for that, but they have had to have a lot of conversations with her regarding you.”

  I’m happy to hear that. I wanted to contact them, but I wasn’t sure how they would react, thinking maybe I was the one to tell the press.

  “I also tried to explain we had no idea this story was going to break. They seem to be coping well.”

  “Do they think they’ll let me see her again?” Originally, the plan was for Leah to never know my true identity until she was much older, and only if she asked.

  “They did mention they would like to talk to you about plans going further about the future. But they gave no indication of what that looked like.”

  I nod, unsure if I would be able to force any words out.

  Now that I’ve met Leah and have helped her, it would be nice to have some contact. Leah and I established a relationship, and it would be sad for that to disappear. But at the same time, I can understand how scary this could be for her parents.

  “Okay,” I’m able to manage, still focusing on the city I call home while taking in the information, wishing it was me who had made the call.

  CHAPTER 39

  “Camilla!”

  My back straightens, hearing his voice, as I exit the lobby of the studio.

  Whipping my body around. “Don’t.” I hold up a finger, not wanting to hear the bullshit that spews from his mouth, wishing the sound of his voice didn’t trigger a love-hate reaction deep inside me.

  “It wasn’t me. I swear. I’m so sorry this is happening to you. Is there anything I can do?”

  The nerve of this man. He honestly thinks he’s untouchable. “Yeah, leave me alone. Everyone is better off when you aren’t around.” I mean every word I say, I don’t care if it hurts his feelings.

  He goes to touch my arm, but I swing it away from him. “What about our song?” he asks, causing me to laugh. Even after all this, he can only think about his career.


  “It’s all yours. Find anyone you want to sing it with. Think of it as my parting gift to you.”

  “That’s not what I meant. It’s our song.”

  “Then throw it out; light it on fire. I don’t give a damn, because we will never be singing it together.”

  I’m afraid that if I give him the smallest inch, he will steal my heart completely. He has the power to destroy me. I’m petrified he will worm his way back into my heart and hurt me again. We seem to have this perpetuating cycle of hurting each other on purpose that I have to break. I have the power to stand up to him and break the cycle.

  He goes to reach for me again, causing me to take another step backward. I hate how his scent drifts toward me, making me smell his deliciousness.

  Chemistry works itself into our little bubble, swirling around as our stares intensify at each other. He takes another step; I take one back.

  All it is, is my body confusing the hate for a deeper connection.

  “I promise I will prove us to you,” he vows, taking another step towards me before I get too spooked. Worried that I will do something dangerously stupid, I take off toward my awaiting car. I can’t do this with him, not now, not ever.

  *

  Camilla is wearing heavier makeup than normal, her eyes look darker, and she looks exhausted. All I want to do is make this right again. There is conflict in her eyes, like she wants my embrace but can’t put herself out there. All I can think is that I can’t lose her now. I miss everything about her. She has inspired me to be a better person, a person who actually wants a future, one that has her in it.

  I’m so scared she will never look at me the same way.

  Walking away is the hardest thing to do right now, when everything in my body is yelling at me to fight, to make her hear me out. But I also know her mind in made up about me. No words will be able to change this. I have to show her; it’s the last hope I have.

  Picking up my phone, I call my sister Shay.

  She doesn’t answer with a hello; she goes right into it. “So it looks like you and Camilla are fighting.”

  I grumble a non-committal response.

  “And you’ve called me to hear my wisdom and need my advice to help you fix it.” I can hear her smile. She loves being needed and is always more than willing to help us boys out.

  “Are you trying to tell me you don’t think I have it under control?” I tease her.

  “Is it true?” she asks, the concern starting to come out in her voice.

  “Which part?” I have no idea what they have or have not heard, but I hear the intake of air from her. She does the same thing as our mother when we were kids. She doesn’t have to say she’s disappointed, because we can tell with her not saying a word.

  “Oh, Rhett.”

  Here goes.

  Before she can go further, I interrupt her. “I need a favor.”

  “I figured. What is it?” She sighs.

  “I need you to hang out with Camilla.”

  A confused chuckle leaves her. “That’s a four-hour flight. Who would look after the boys? Where would I stay? It’s not like you have a house there.”

  Always so logical.

  “You and Sloan could come to have a girls weekend,” I try to persuade her. Girls seem to love that type of shit. I would include Raya, but she’s on bed rest.

  “Sloan is too pregnant to fly,” she huffs out.

  “Would you reach out to Camilla and ask if she would come to you? Reporters are everywhere she goes. I’m sure she would welcome a break.”

  “What’s in this for you?” Even my sister seems to be on Team Camilla.

  “I get to know she’s safe.”

  “And…?” Her question hangs in the air, knowing me better than that.

  “And I have a plan to win her back,” I answer honestly, hoping everything falls into place perfectly.

  *

  “Camilla, how are you doing?” Shay asks worriedly.

  I feel horrible and guilty for how I ran off and how we lied to his family about us being together.

  I swipe in the air even though she can’t see me. “I’m fine,” I lie. “I’m sorry I up and left in the middle of the night—”

  “Girl, I’m going to stop you there. You don’t have to lie to me about being fine. I wouldn’t be fine if I were you, and I get why you left. Rhett is hard to handle, and he deserves everything he gets. It’s nice to see someone stand up to him. You’re good for him.”

  Her kind words hit me in the gut. I can’t help but think that forwardness must run in their family.

  “Anyway, Sloan and I had so much fun with you that we want to have a girls weekend here. We thought you might need some quiet, and I promise there will be no Rhett allowed.”

  “I don’t know….” my voice trails off. I could use the space, but my schedule is so full I don’t think I could make it work.

  “Please, it’s only two days. Forty-eight hours. Sloan is starting to freak out that a real living person is inside of her and is going to ruin her vagina forever.”

  I laugh at how she says it all so seriously.

  “Please. Save me and come down.”

  Scratching my head, I start to think of everything on my schedule. Most of it can be moved around if I want to make it happen.

  “Okay.”

  She squeals in happiness.

  CHAPTER 40

  Pulling in a deep breath, I take a seat. The camera crew is everywhere, and I’m nervous as hell. I haven’t been this jittery since I stepped off the plane from Three Rivers to Nashville.

  “Are you ready?” I’m asked.

  Giving a nod, I look around what resembles a comforting living room. There is a glass of water to my side that I instantaneously take a drink from to help my suddenly dry mouth. Katie Couric sits in front of me in a matching chair. I picked her because I know she will ask me the right questions.

  Hearing a countdown from three, she then she starts talking. “Hi, I’m Katie Couric, and as you can see, I’m here sitting down with Rhett Steele tonight.”

  I give a nod, as she continues, “Over the years, Rhett has won numerous awards for his twangy love songs and strutted his way into many of our hearts.”

  “I appreciate you saying that,” I insert, waiting for the hard stuff.

  “Rhett, you and Camilla Black have a spotted history, starting back when you were a guest judge on show she won and got signed for her first album.”

  A picture of us on the television show is bound to be flashing across the screen at some point, I’m sure. My heart is pumping, as I’m about to put everything on the line for her. “That was my first interaction with her. I was so taken aback by her voice and how she blew my version out of the water.”

  Katie jumps on this. “Why were those not your words to her?” She looks to her clipboard.

  “That doesn’t sell television. Looking back, I wish I’d said those words and hadn’t caved to what was expected instead of what was right. I have since apologized, and I’ll do it again. I am sorry, Camilla. What I did was wrong.”

  “Rhett, how in the world did you go from stealing her song, to the two of you dating, to back to stealing another of her songs?”

  I knew she would be tough on me. Taking off my hat, I place it down, wanting her to see my eyes and the world to know how sincere I truly am.

  “It’s true. My last number one hit was meant for her. I ended up hearing it first and asked for it before she had a chance to hear the song that was written for her. I was desperate—not that it makes this better, because it doesn’t. I was broke and my family had to rebuild their lives, causing me to feel helpless. At the time, I was only thinking about my family and how I could help them. Never the impact it would have on anyone else, including Camilla. I wish I could change how I went about that.” I pause, taking a drink of water. “I’m the one who kept coming into Camilla’s life and convinced her to go out with me. I did everything in my power to make Camilla like me, and in the proc
ess, I fell in love with her. Making what I have done inexcusable.”

  Katie tilts her head, silently allowing a pause before I continue.

  “It’s true that, while we were living together, I found a song of hers and recorded it without her knowledge. I was going for funny, since we always tried one-upping each other with our pranks, until I realized I never asked myself how Camilla would feel. The song was leaked on iTunes without my consent. I wish I never betrayed her trust, because in the process, I lost her. She means more to me than anything in the world.”

  “If this is true, why are people saying you’re the one who leaked her last scandal to the media? Do you think this is a healthy way to show love?”

  “No, ma’am. I was brought up better than that. And I did not leak that story. I would never do that to Camilla.”

  “You say that, but by your past actions, I don’t think the rumor is far off from being believable, do you?”

  “Sadly, you are a hundred percent right. I plan to make everything right with Camilla. I never set out to hurt her in any way. She is the love of my life, and I plan to show her. Like you said, my actions speak volumes. It’s about time I start showing my true self.”

  “Is this your plan, to forget about the past and try to make up for it in the future?”

  Sitting back, I consider her words. “If I could go back and tell my past self how important Camilla would become to me, I would and I’d kick my own ass. Hell, I’d even go as far as just telling myself I don’t have to be a jerk to be successful. To hold true to my values and the way I was raised.”

  The interview ends and will be aired tonight. Katie and I shake hands. I see Dick in the back looking red and angry that I just did this type of interview and never asked him about it. Walking up to him, I get the first words in.

  “You’re fired. My lawyer will have the documents delivered to you tonight.”