by Remy, Cate
“Neither did I. I told her so and asked her to leave. She tried to kiss me.”
Tracy glanced up from her coffee. She experienced a falling sensation in her stomach. “Did you let her?”
“No.”
The falling sensation gradually faded away. Tracy reached for her fork to pick up some of the scrambled eggs.
“I moved on,” said Deacon. “She knows now.”
The breeze made tiny little ripples in her coffee. Tracy chewed thoughtfully as she watched the ripples disappear. “If you still have feelings for her, I don’t want to be caught in the middle, even if we are just pretending to date.”
“I wouldn’t do that to you. Rita and I are over.” She caught the finality in his tone and believed him.
“What happened yesterday, those kisses at the beach and in your dressing room...” She fumbled for the right words. “It wasn’t acting.”
“No. I said I was attracted to you and I meant it.”
She met his gaze. Her pulse rose. She knew the caffeine in the coffee hadn’t had a chance to give her a jolt yet. “This has to be purely business between us from now on.”
“If it’s about my ex—”
“I’m not concerned about Rita anymore. I just can’t afford to let things get more personal between us.”
“I don’t know why you feel this way.” He let his voice trail.
There were several reasons. He was a hot rock star with a career that would only keep growing. She had a completely different lifestyle. There was no way they were compatible. Plus, taking care of her aunt was a huge priority. It was the main reason why she got into this crazy agreement with Deacon in the first place. “Please just respect how I feel,” she said, then ate in silence.
Deacon got to his feet. “If that’s what you want. I better get my stuff to go to the next stop on tour.”
Relieved that the conversation was over, Tracy pushed her chair back to stand. “I should, too.”
He reached out and touched her shoulder. “I wanted to come find you and apologize.”
The warmth of his hand reminded her of last night. Tracy battled between lingering under his touch and shying away.
“Thanks for the apology.”
He dropped his hand from her shoulder and they were separate again. “I’ll walk you into the hotel.”
She allowed him to do it. On the way, she caught their reflections in one of the windows. They walked close to each other, as though they were a real couple. It would have been hard for anybody to tell that none of this was real.
So why did the emotions swirling inside make her feel like this was anything but fake?
Chapter Nine
Nashville, Tennessee, August
Deacon spent the next two and a half months on tour. He didn’t think it would help at first, but the travel seemed to spark his creative drive to write more songs. Or maybe the spark had something to do with Tracy.
It hurt that she turned him down back in June. He wished she would tell him why. She seemed like she was holding something back. However, they still had an agreement. If she was professional enough to complete it, he could do the same.
She had traveled with him to the famous sights at each tour stop. They went to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, where Tracy wore that knockout swimsuit again. Then, before he performed a concert in Charlotte, North Carolina, they toured the Biltmore Estate so she could see the architecture.
At Ash’s urging, they visited different tourist spots as a couple. This continued in every state they visited, including Maryland, where they indulged in too many servings of Chesapeake crab cakes.
Deacon liked Tracy’s natural curiosity for visiting new places. He also admired how she always was ready to take photos of the locals in their element. If he didn’t know any better, it almost felt like they were truly dating.
One afternoon, before his concert in Nashville, they toured the Museum of African American Music. Deacon’s phone rang while he was waiting for Tracy outside of the museum gift shop. He knew who it was without even looking at the number. “Hey, Ash, we’re just leaving the museum. What did you need?”
“I saw something on Photogram. I don’t like it.”
“You should lay off social media for a while. They say it’s not healthy to look at all the time.”
“It’s not healthy for your career, you mean. Pictures are surfacing of Rita marching from your dressing room when you were in Miami. I guess one of the security guards or stage crew took a picture and sold it to Celeb Zone. There are also pictures of Tracy looking sour that night.”
Deacon got mad. He knew the lengths people would go to for money and to chase celebrities, but he hated how Tracy was the one affected. He got up from the bench to find a quiet corner so other museum visitors couldn’t eavesdrop on his phone conversation. “Let it blow over. That issue has been resolved.”
“How many times do I have to tell you? That’s not what it looks like to your fans and followers.”
“They don’t know the truth. I can’t stop people from gossiping if that’s what they want to do.”
Ash gave a long, weary sigh. “Just to be on the safe side, I think you and Tracy better take this to the next level.”
“Meaning?” He looked to the gift shop and saw Tracy standing at the cash register. He liked the quirky way she paired her girly orange sundress with her tomboy sneakers.
“You’re a big boy, Deacon. The next step in dating is...”
A couple walked in front of him, wearing matching t-shirts. They canoodled. The man’s tee read Hubby and the woman’s read Wifey. “You want me and Tracy to get married?”
“You don’t have to go the whole shebang. A proposal will do. Buy her a ring and let her walk around flaunting it. Then take a couple’s selfie with her showing the ring off and put it on Photogram”
“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you? It’s the craziest thing I ever heard.”
“Crazy enough to go viral. Everyone loves a good love story.”
Deacon’s mind reeled. Buy Tracy an engagement ring? Ask her to marry him, but not be a real proposal? She’d never go for it.
He spotted her coming out of the gift shop. She flashed that pretty smile of hers at him, and waved. “Ash, I got to go.”
“I’ll leave you with this. Surveys say most women like princess cut diamonds.” His manager ended the call.
“Who were you talking to?” Tracy came up beside him, arms full of shopping bags. The air around her carried her sweet scent of coconut and vanilla.
He shoved his phone in his pocket. “My manager.”
A look of worry came on her face. “Is everything cool?”
“As a cucumber. You know Ash. He’s just calling to check on us.”
She appeared as though she wasn’t buying it. “Do we need to head back to the hotel so you can talk to him?”
“No.” He didn’t want to go to the hotel and see his manager. He wanted to spend as much time out with Tracy as he could before he had to even think about business and performing at the concert tonight. “We still have time to sightsee. What did you buy at the gift shop?”
She showed him the t-shirt she got with the museum’s logo as well as a coffee mug featuring a female trio of Motown singers. “The mug’s for my aunt. She loves Motown music.”
“Who doesn’t?” He tried to keep his tone light to prevent further arousing her suspicion that anything was out of place.
They walked to the car waiting for them and drove to the historic district of town. Deacon looked out the window at the rows of overpriced touristy shops. There was a place called Jubilee Jewelers. He remembered Ash’s recommendation of a princess cut diamond. “Tracy, do you want to get out and walk around with me?”
“Sure.” She left the shopping bags in the car and put on her sunglasses. Deacon casually strode alongside her as they window-shopped the stores in the square.
“This place is so pretty.” She turned in a full circle to take it al
l in. “It’s very Old World charm. I have to get pictures.”
“That’s why I wanted to come here.” Deacon gave a little laugh. It came out strange.
She paused, giving him a curious look. “Was that a hiccup? I have some water.”
“It’s no big deal.”
“Yes, it is. You can’t sing tonight with the hiccups.”
“I promise I’ll be just fine.”
“Something’s different about you this afternoon.” She gave him another doubtful look before she took out her camera and started snapping away at fancy storefronts with gilded letters, flowered vines and southern charm.
Deacon glanced at the Jubilee Jewelers store again. He couldn’t do this. Not today. He needed to think of a better way to ask Tracy to agree to a pretend proposal without sounding like a heel. Right now, his thoughts were all over the place. “Tracy, if you’re worried about me having the hiccups, we can go grab a soda at the old-fashioned drug store on the corner when you’re done taking pictures.”
His suggestion appeared to satisfy her. “Let me take a picture of us first in front of this store with the cute iron bench.”
He sat down beside her on the bench. She got in real close, her hair tickling his neck. She turned the camera lens their way and leaned in towards him. “Smile big.”
He grinned for the camera, but was grimacing on the inside. Tracy was a sweet and good woman, the kind who should not be with him under any circumstances, pretend or not. How was he going to pull off this next stunt without hurting Tracy or damaging her trust?
WHAT WAS WRONG WITH Deacon? Tracy had the thought on her mind for the next three days after they left Nashville and headed to Virginia for the northeastern leg of the concert tour. He had been acting funny ever since he got that phone call from his manager when they were at Museum of African American Music. It couldn’t have been simply another ordinary administrative phone call.
One the third day, Deacon invited her to take a morning boat ride along the Chesapeake. After renting a row boat for an hour, he paddled out from shore and let the peaceful currents and wind carry the boat farther out. The nice weather prompted other people to come out onto the water as well. Tracy caught some of them staring at her and Deacon. A few made not-so-subtle attempts to row their boats closer to get a better look.
“It got crowded out on the water all of a sudden, didn’t it?” She joked to Deacon.
He peered at the other boats through his sunglasses. “It’s because of all the sunshine.”
“Or it could be because they see another star.”
“Are you flattering me?”
She laughed. “I’m just saying people know who you are. Isn’t it why we’re out on the water anyway?”
He stopped rowing. “Actually, I wanted to get somewhere quiet so I can talk to you.” He moved towards her side of the boat. It rocked a little under his weight.
Tracy grabbed both sides of the boat and held on. “Be careful.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t tip the boat over.”
“Good, because I don’t want to go diving for my camera.”
He sat next to her on the bench. Today he wore shorts, and his knee brushed against hers. He put his arm around her back. The sun and his body heat combined to make her feel very warm. Another boat drifted by. The three passengers, two women and a man, waved at them. Or, rather, they waved at Deacon. Tracy supposed that was why he suddenly wanted to get up close and cuddle with her. He wanted to keep up good impressions he made with fans.
Deacon lifted her left hand and touched her fingers. She felt the small calluses on his fingertips when he traced the lines inside her palm. It’s all part of the boyfriend/ girlfriend act. She reminded herself as tingle started to go up her wrist.
“There’s something important I need to ask you.” He touched her ring finger while moving his head closer to hers. He spoke in her ear. “What do you think about us getting engaged?”
She gave a start, making the boat rock. She settled down promptly. “Excuse me?”
“I thought that’d be your reaction. That’s why I didn’t say anything the other day back in Nashville.”
She had to tilt her head back in order to look directly in his eyes. His sunglasses made her see her own stunned expression. “So this is why you were acting funny. I thought you just had the hiccups.”
He didn’t respond with laughter. Instead, he lowered his head and took off his sunglasses to rub his eyes. “It wouldn’t be a real engagement. It’s just a ring. We’ll tell people we’re engaged and then when the tour ends we’ll quietly break it off. Ash suggested it to me.”
“Ash. Of course. He’s got a lot of ideas.”
“We have to keep trending with fans while I’m doing this tour. If it looks like our relationship is getting stronger, people will be more interested.”
“But they’re already interested. Your concerts have been selling out.”
“Because they’ve been following us on social media. All of our photos are going viral, Tracy. Think of this as just one more show to put on for them.”
Easy for him to say. He was the entertainer. She took her hand away from his. “I’m not used to being out in front of everyone. This is a lot of attention.”
“I know. I’ll make it clear to Ash if you don’t want to go through with it.”
At first, it sounded like a relief. Then again, her choice could mess things up and she could be the one responsible for sinking Deacon’s comeback. She didn’t want that, especially seeing how hard he and the band worked on their album and tour. He was paying her ninety grand. Would it really kill her to wear a fake engagement ring? She came to her decision with some amount of resignation. “I’ll wear a ring.”
He squeezed her shoulders in a small hug. “You are the best.”
She didn’t feel like the best. She felt like the worst kind of liar, one who profited from concealing the truth. Then she reminded herself of Auntie Olivia’s dialysis treatments and medical bills. Money was what she needed to pay for those things, not her feelings. The reality check took a little of the edge away from the guilt she felt.
“So what kind of ring do you like?” Deacon asked.
“It doesn’t matter. Nothing too fancy and definitely not expensive.” She pulled a ring off the fourth finger of her right hand and gave it to him. “This will help you with the ring size. Please be careful with it. My aunt gave one to me and my sister when we graduated high school.”
He carefully placed it in his shirt pocket. “I’ll take good care of it.” He returned to the other side of the boat and went back to rowing.
Meanwhile, Tracy watched the ripples on the water and the wind stirring up a small current. She wondered exactly what friction she was stirring up in her own life by agreeing to this decision.
TRACY RECEIVED HER engagement ring that night. Deacon had chosen a square cut chocolate diamond with a rose gold band. His manager Ash and a couple members of his security team were with him when he slid the ring on her finger when they went out to dinner.
“This is gorgeous.” Tracy moved the ring under the glow of the candlelight at the table. “And unique.”
“I figured you would want something different than the average princess cut diamond.” Deacon sat beside her while they waited for the server to bring champagne to celebrate.
“You did good. Although, this is a pretty big rock.”
“I wanted it to show up on camera.”
“It’s a good investment,” Ash piped in.
Tracy started to wish Deacon’s manager didn’t come to the restaurant with them. He reminded her of her eighth grade social studies teacher. The man was always around, hovering over her desk and observing every little detail of what she was doing.
After the server brought their champagne, Ash asked to borrow Tracy’s camera. “We need a shot of that diamond and of you two holding hands.”
She begrudgingly complied, holding her hand still atop Deacon’s while Ash tried to figure
out how her camera worked. He succeeded in getting up close shots of the engagement ring and pictures of her and Deacon clinking champagne glasses together with big smiles for the camera. Once he seemed pleased with his handiwork, he passed the camera back to Tracy. “Upload those pictures when we get back to the hotel. I want Deacon’s followers to see them ASAP.”
Deacon finished his glass of champagne. “Now that we got that out of the way, we can focus on the rest of the tour.”
“There is one other thing.”
Deacon groaned. “I hired you to help me, not work me to death, Ash.”
His manager paid no mind to the comment as he toggled through his cell phone. “The tour’s next stop is Buffalo. I’m planning a stop in New York City first, though.”
“Why?”
“To throw you two an engagement party.”
Tracy saw the look on Deacon’s face and had to say something. “Ash, don’t you think a party is a little excessive?”
“He doesn’t know the meaning of the word,” Deacon replied to her while he looked at his manager.
Ash held up his hands in mock defense. “You hired me to organize your life and help you make the big bucks. I’m just doing my job.” He got up from the table. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds to continue celebrating. Night-night.”
The tension in the air seemed to dissipate when he left the table and the security guards gave her and Deacon space. She sipped from her champagne glass. “I guess we’re off to NYC.”
“Guess so.” Deacon traced the rim of his empty champagne glass.
“New York has so many things for me to photograph.”
“Yep.”
Why was he being monosyllabic? She was going to ask if everything was okay when he rose from the table. “We better head to the hotel, too. I want to get some sleep for when we get on the road in the morning.”
Tracy left the restaurant with him, flanked by his security team. What made Deacon’s behavior change? Was he mad at Ash or was it something she said? All she said was she was excited to go to New York City and take pictures. What was so wrong with that?