Wright that Got Away, page 20
“Never enough hats.” He opened the back door to let me inside.
“Look, don’t make fun of me,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him as I slid into the back. “I like the hats.”
“Then, we’ll buy you more in LA.” He stole a kiss from me before closing the door and jumping into the passenger seat next to his brother.
“We?” I asked with raised eyebrows.
Campbell turned around, shooting an arched eyebrow right back. “What? You think I’m bringing you to LA, and I’m not planning to spoil you?”
“There was no talk of spoiling.”
“What’s the point of having all this money if I can’t spend it on you?”
“Well, I don’t know. But I don’t expect you to spend any of it on me.”
“I know.” He winked at me and turned back to the front.
“All right, kids. We’re set,” Hollin said as he pulled out of the driveway.
The boys bantered and fought over the radio station—Hollin opting for country and Campbell wanting anything but—until we pulled up to the private airport terminal.
I hopped out of the back, lugging my bag when another car pulled up alongside us. Nora waved from the driver’s side. She hopped out onto her characteristic four-inch heels and threw her arms around her brother.
“I’m going to miss you.”
He laughed and hugged her tight. “Shrimp, it won’t be forever.”
“I know. Not as long as last time or the time before that, okay?” She gestured to me. “You have to bring Blaire to Morgan’s wedding.”
“We will be there for your big Wright wedding at the vineyard.”
Nora smiled and nodded. “Good. It’s the biggest wedding I’ve ever done. Even at my internship. Do you know how many friends the Wrights have?”
“I have some idea if that pool party was any indication,” I said.
She shook her head. “This is going to make that look like nothing.”
“But she’s going to kill it,” Weston said, coming around to the other side with nothing but a duffel bag and a guitar.
“Is that all you have?” I asked in dismay.
He shrugged. “I’m used to packing light. Figure we’ll just be in the studio all week anyway.”
“I overpacked,” I whispered to Campbell.
He cracked up. “Maybe a little.”
“Have a great time,” Nora said. “And bring West back with you, too. I don’t want to have to find another roommate.”
West grinned down at her. It was not a friendly roommate look in the slightest. It was one that said he was this close to kissing her, if she’d only let him. “I’ll be back, Nor. Before you know it.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. “Better be.”
Hollin grumbled from the trunk about my luggage, breaking the spell. We all hurried back to help him get everything out. Campbell said his good-byes, and then we walked into the private terminal. I handed all my luggage off and then walked through our own TSA check. Then, we were escorted directly onto our own private jet.
“Holy shit,” West whispered behind me.
“No kidding.”
I’d flown private exactly once, and that was when we’d taken the Wright plane into Dallas for the Cosmere concert. That had been a plane full of my friends. This was just for Cosmere.
“The record label sent it for all of us,” Campbell said.
The rest of the band was already on board with drinks in their hands. I dropped my bag and took a proffered glass of champagne. West held his hand up, declining the drink.
We settled into our seats with Campbell at my side. My phone dinged right before takeoff.
Have so much fun and come back soon!
Oh, Honey. She was really going to miss me.
Taking off now! Talk in a few hours.
And then we took off as smoothly as anything I’d ever been on. The flight was full of laughter and, of course, music. Everyone had an instrument with them. Even Santi had drumsticks and banged on anything he could find. I joined in with them at the chorus of “Rooftop Nights,” which I knew entirely by heart now.
“Girl, you’ve got some vocal cords,” Viv said, punching me in the arm.
I laughed and shook my head. “No way. I am mediocre at best, but singing is fun.”
“She did chorus all four years of high school,” Campbell said. “It’s a losing battle. She never sings for me.”
“I sing,” I said defensively. “I just don’t want to make my career out of it.”
Viv smacked Campbell’s foot. “Well, leave the girl alone. She can sing in the shower for all I care. I’m just giving her a compliment.”
“Ay, mami, I’d listen to you in the shower,” Santi said with a wink. Campbell threw a pillow at his face. Santi died laughing. “I did it for the reaction. Your boyfriend is a possessive motherfucker. I hope you know that.”
Campbell looked ready to get to his feet, but I put my hand on his chest. “Santi, I think you have your hands full with every other female in Lubbock County.”
He sat back and twirled his drumstick. “Sí, doesn’t feel like a problem to me.”
The rest of the band laughed, and the next couple hours disappeared in no time. By the time we landed at LAX, I could tell that Campbell wanted to go straight to Michael’s to try to work everything out, but Viv refused.
“We will all go to see him Monday morning before we go into the studio to record. Go home and rest.”
Campbell sighed. “Fine. See you Monday.” He clapped hands with West. “You sure you want to stay with Santi? I have plenty of room.”
“Yeah, I have some friends in the city, and they live near him. It’ll be good to see them.”
“All right. See you Monday then.”
We watched them go and then went to Campbell’s driver. He didn’t have pushy siblings here in LA to pick him up.
“Are you missing Hollin right now?”
He nodded. “I was just thinking that. I was here all alone for so long that I got used to it. But it feels so much…less without them now. I already got used to them making fun of me all the time again. It’s weird how fast you can get used to something.”
The drive into Hollywood Hills took about an hour, and my jaw dropped at the enormous homes we passed before pulling to a private gated entrance.
“Campbell,” I whispered with wide eyes.
“Yeah?”
“You didn’t tell me that you lived in a gated community in Beverly Hills.”
He was quiet for a second before asking, “Does it matter?”
“No,” I said automatically. “I just don’t think of this when I think about you.”
“And you don’t think that is part of the reason this is so easy?” He ran a hand back through his hair. “Cosmere’s rise to fame has been amazing, but they’ve been full of people, specifically women, who are interested in me because I have money and celebrity status. With you, I’m just me. I didn’t want this to be what you see when you see me.”
“Well, that isn’t going to change, but maybe a heads-up would have been nice,” I said on a laugh as we were let through the gate and circled ever higher through the hills.
We finally came upon his house, which was admittedly smaller than some of the mansion homes we’d passed on the way but it still had to be a few million dollars. I’d been joking about Jensen’s house, and then here he was, with something smaller but easily ten times as pricey. Fuck, I really had not considered how much of a celebrity he actually was. I’d seen him perform to a packed stadium and gotten fifty million views on one video with him in it, and still, it hadn’t clicked until I saw this house.
I blinked at it as the driver unloaded my luggage to carry inside. Campbell came around to my side of the car, lugging my camera bag on his shoulder.
He laughed at my expression. “It’s just a house, Blaire. Let’s go inside.”
He took my hand and guided me to the front door. I pulled out my phone and did a walking tour of the house to show my friends later. No one was going to believe me otherwise.
The interior was a dream of charcoal, velvet, and polished bronze. Everything was lush and evocative and entirely primal male. There was no way in hell that this had all come together on its own. It looked like a master class in interior design. From the artsy collection of guitars to the set of Grammys just casually displayed next to an antique record player, it screamed musician. As if he lived and breathed his art.
I sent the video to the group chat I had with Piper, Annie, and Jennifer. Then a separate one to Honey. My phone dinged immediately with texts of oohs, aahs, and oh my Gods!
Honey sent back heart eyes with a quick, You’re never going to want to come home now!
I laughed, silenced my phone, and pulled away to live in the moment. “Wow, Campbell.”
“Yeah. I might have had some help. I wanted it to feel like me, but I had no idea where to start. English recommended the designer. She normally works in New York but came out for my house.”
“It’s incredible.”
“Thanks. I’m pleased. English is coming in tomorrow. Have you decided what you want to do?”
I had been thinking a lot about what I wanted. We could continue to keep our relationship a secret. But I was done with that. I was tired of living in the shadows. I didn’t want anyone to think that Campbell was on the market still. He was mine. And I knew that it would come with consequences for the world to know that, but I was ready.
I glanced over at him with a coy smile. “I have.”
“And?” He arched an eyebrow.
“I’m tired of hiding. We lived our entire last relationship without anyone knowing. I don’t want that a second time.”
“You know it will be…complicated?”
I nodded. “Yes. Complicated with you is better than simple or easy with anyone else.”
He smiled then. A real, uninhibited smile that said I had said exactly the right thing. “Good. I hoped you’d say that.”
I stepped up to the full set of glass windows along the back wall and admired the rectangular pool set into the hill just below eye level. But the real beauty was the endless Hollywood Hills on display. It was a treasure.
Campbell wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me in close. “I dreamed about you being here.”
I turned in his embrace and laughed. “No you didn’t. You never thought we’d ever talk again.”
“That’s why it was a dream,” he said, bumping his nose gently against mine. “I never thought it would be a reality.”
“And now that it is?”
“I don’t ever want to wake up.”
Then he kissed me, and we both forgot the entire world existed.
30
Blaire
English showed up at Campbell’s house the next morning. She was relatively tall with stick-straight blonde hair and wore a white suit that screamed powerful woman.
“You must be Blaire!”
“That’s me.”
“I’m so happy to finally meet you. I hope you and Campbell don’t mind that I brought my fiancé with me. He wanted to see the famed Hills.” She whispered behind her hand, “He’s so New York.”
I laughed. I had also never seen the Hollywood Hills. So, I understood what her fiancé must be feeling. Though I was clearly a Texas girl through and through. “I don’t mind. I’m sure Campbell won’t either.”
“All right.” She turned around and yelled, “Court Kensington, get your ass over here.”
The passenger door popped open, and one of the hottest guys I had ever seen in my entire life stepped out of the car. My eyes rounded, and I had to keep my jaw from dropping. He was nearly six and a half feet tall with striking good looks, piercing blue eyes, and a suit that molded to his body. His stride looked more like a predator come to feast on his prey. And like you would be happy to let him do so. I had friends with money. I was dating a bona fide rockstar. But I’d never seen anything like Court Kensington.
English laughed when she saw my expression. “Oh yeah, he kind of has that effect on people. It’s the old, old money, I think. They drink the Kool-Aid.”
Court straightened his suit and then held his hand out. “Hello, I’m Court. Thank you for allowing me to interrupt your meeting.”
I shook his hand and stared practically straight up. He was over a foot taller than me and gorgeous. Like, good for English! “No problem. Come on in.”
Campbell appeared then in a pair of jeans and an old band shirt. “English! Hey, you made it!” They hugged like old friends, and then Campbell shook Court’s hand. “Heard so much about you. Excited for you’re finally tying the knot.”
Court smiled, and I saw the depths of his affection for English in that one look. “We’re looking forward to it. Aren’t we, honey?”
English shot him a look. “It’s not fair that your brother eloped, and so now, I have to do the giant New York wedding thing. I already had the giant LA wedding. This one should be small. Can’t we be like Penn and Natalie?”
“Please don’t ever say that again.”
English snickered and winked at me.
“Plus, my mother would kill me,” he explained to the two of us.
“She’s the mayor of New York City,” English filled in.
I gaped. “Oh, that Kensington.”
He grimaced. “Yes, that Kensington.”
“Well, I’m sure it’s going to be beautiful.”
English smiled, and the fight left her. “It really is. Y’all should come!”
Court rolled his eyes. “Don’t overwhelm her. She met you one minute ago.”
“But seriously, there’s going to be, like, hundreds of people. You could definitely come.” Campbell and I glanced at each other, and then English laughed. “You know, once we get all of this worked out.” She gestured between us. “Speaking of, where should we sit? I am ready with a plan. If I can clean up Court Kensington’s mess of a reputation, I can do anything.”
Court snorted but didn’t argue. It must have been true.
Campbell directed us into the dining room. He had coffee made, and while he poured for Court, English got out a large notebook full of her blocky handwriting.
“Okay. So, let’s start with what you want before I get into what I have,” she said, snatching the cup out of Court’s hand and taking the first sip. He just shook his head at her and then poured another mug. “I know that when we talked last, Blaire, we were working out endorsement deals for your career. But since then, things have…changed.” She arched an eyebrow at the pair of us.
“Yes, we’re a couple,” Campbell said. “Which you probably guessed when you took Blaire on.”
“Obviously,” she said with a smile. “Half of the world already thinks that you are. The rest are hoping you aren’t. What do you want to do about that?”
Campbell threaded his fingers with mine and nodded his head. I swallowed. “I think we’re ready to go public.”
“Okay. Explain. How public? Make a TikTok video public? Be seen together at a gala public? Answer questions from paparazzi public?”
Campbell laughed at my horrified expression. “What do you think, English?”
“We should do what you’re most comfortable with. I would probably schedule everything to happen all at once.”
“You already planned for this,” I guessed.
She nodded. “I’m the best for a reason. Need to be ready for all contingencies.” She flipped the page over. “So, since you’re already known online, you’ll start with a video. Maybe you kiss on-screen. That sort of thing. That will release exactly a half hour before you appear at this event.” She tugged out a card and passed it to Campbell.
I glanced over his shoulder and read about the gala for music education in local schools. The letter was thick solid black card stock with embossed gold lettering. It was fancy.
Campbell groaned. “I’ll need a tux?”
“Obviously,” English said with a laugh. “We’ll send you to the event together. I’ll have handpicked reporters there to speak to you with specific questions to ask at the entrance. You’ll be prepared with answers from yours truly. And then it’s up to you. You can go quiet for a few weeks and just let it kind of die down and blow over. Which is probably your best bet. I see a lot of people go work the media circuit and be seen in clubs and such.” She cringed. “It’s a lot of wasted energy. Plus, it looks like a PR stunt, which you are not.”
“It sounds good. Though I didn’t bring anything nice enough for a gala,” I said.
English smiled brightly, and Court groaned, “Oh no.”
“I guess we’ll have to go shopping then, won’t we?”
Campbell laughed. “That’s a good plan. You think it will blow over?”
“You’ll get questions about your relationship for a while, but if you just let people know, make it firm but polite, and then don’t talk about it, it will be smooth and steady.”
“I didn’t realize this much planning went into a relationship announcement.”
English beamed. “It doesn’t usually, but that’s how rookies make mistakes. When you’re as famous as Campbell Abbey, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“All right,” I said with a shrug. What did I know about Hollywood?
“Now, Campbell, go show Court around. He’s fidgeting.”
Campbell stood and did as he had been told. “Just as bossy as ever, English.”
“Bossy girls get shit done.” She waited until they were gone, and then her smile dropped. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“What? You just had this whole plan.”
“And it’s a great plan. I made it after all. As long as you’re comfortable.” She put her hand on mine. “I know you love him.” I balked because I hadn’t even said those words yet. “He’s an amazing guy. I’m lucky to call him my friend. But dating a celebrity is scary. Trust me, I know. I was married to Josh Hutch once upon a time.”
I gaped at her. “The movie star?”
She nodded. “Yep. I want to watch out for you first. This will come down harder on you than him.”
