Hiding Out in Hollywood (Celebrity Love)

Chapter Eleven

I know you're still thinking things through and don't want me asking about your personal life, but I think you'll want to talk about this.

It had been a quiet morning until Emily's world came crashing down around her when she received the text from Wally. Other than a few brief replies and a couple of emails after he had asked for edits to her column, Emily had been sidestepping communication with him since their conversation at his house. To Wally's credit, he'd stopped asking her to comment about Cory and Jesse's song, even though it was now a radio single—something Emily discovered when her phone had lit up with texts from well-meaning friends who'd expressed their disgust over it. If there were any recent posts on Wally's site about Cory, Jesse, or her, Emily was blissfully unaware. She'd been on a full-out media and social network blackout since reading Wally's story about Cory and Jesse's song, and Shelby had been warned not to tell her if her name popped up in a headline.

Life was just easier when Emily turned a blind eye to the tabloid drama and focused on the good in her life with Raine. That meant continuing to sneak smiles and stolen touches with him when she could during their yoga class, and hiding away with him at his house and her apartment. She had scrambled to get research and writing done for Zeeked during the day, and had spent almost every night at his place with him over the last week. They'd binge-watched an entire season of Homeland and she'd left him in the dust three of the four nights they'd had an ongoing pinball battle on his vintage arcade pinball machine. Raine still hadn't said anything about going public with their relationship, and Emily had seen no reason to think about it again. Keeping things quiet meant no one was intruding into their lives.

Until she received Wally's message, that was, when the very thing Emily had been dreading since the day Raine had asked her to stick around after class and have coffee showed up on her phone. Emily's mouth felt as though it was stuffed with cotton as she stared at the photo accompanying Wally's text. In it, she was sitting on her yoga mat, next to Raine. His head was turned to her, and the moment that had been captured by someone's camera appeared to be mid-conversation. She analyzed her expression. Did she look like she was talking to the guy she was dating, or could they pass as only acquaintances? Was she leaning in toward him at all? And Raine—what did his facial expression say? She zoomed in on the photo until the pixels blurred, then zoomed out again.

Don't freak out, she thought. There's nothing incriminating here. And there wasn't, really, the longer she looked at the photo. They were just two people in a yoga class having a conversation. That's exactly what she would tell Wally if his message meant he thought she was involved with Raine.

She inhaled sharply and held her breath, then typed a reply to his text. Confused. What would I want to talk about? It's a photo of me in my yoga class.

Wally wasted no time texting back. Look closely at the guy beside you.

What about him? she wrote.

His reply came almost immediately. He's Raine Kingston, and he's right beside you.

Yes he is. And? He's in my yoga class.

Her phone rang a moment later and she saw Wally's number pop up on the screen. A curse tumbled from her mouth. She had to answer his call, and he knew it. If she didn't, he would know she was avoiding talking about this, which would make the photo of nothing look like something. Once he had her on the line, though, she'd have no choice but to comment.

"Damn you, Wally," she growled. She answered his call on the fourth ring.

"Yes?" She didn't even bother with a hello.

"So?" Wally asked.

"So?" she repeated.

"What's the scoop with Raine? Is this who you're seeing?"