Just as I’d always suspected, it’s absolutely, one hundred percent true that girls really do like bad boys. Guys who seem a little unpredictable at times. Maybe even a little rough around the edges.
I went straight from Ezer’s meltdown regarding my wild night on the town with Dougall to the studio where Tinsley was waiting with my red Christmas-themed Starbucks cup, and it was obvious there’d been a power shift. I reached for my drink without bothering to confirm it was mine. And from the way she’d looked at me, well, I was clearly in the driver’s seat.
She sat on a stool, legs crossed at the knees, and waved her cell phone at me. “Surprised you even showed up after a night like that.” Her voice was a little sharp and high-pitched, but I didn’t respond.
I took my time sipping my Peppermint Mocha, which, by the way, is the number one trick to having power. Not the sipping the Peppermint Mocha part but the making her wait part. The thing about power is, you have to own it and use it in order not to lose it.
Then, when I was good and ready, I looked at her and said, “I thought Ezer deleted all that.”
Her lips pressed together as her eyes appraised me in a whole new way. “He can’t delete my screen shots.” She frowned at her shoes while I did a little fist-pumping victory dance in my head.
Tinsley Barnes took a screen shot of me!
It was all I needed to hear.
I looked around the studio and shrugged, like it was no big thing. “We should probably get started. I’ve got a slew of interviews and a photo shoot lined up after this, and then of course we’re shooting the show tonight.”
She cleared her throat, brushed a hand through her glorious hair. “Ready when you are.” And it’s been nothing but sweet, sweet music ever since.
Except when it wasn’t.
The first couple of takes were awful.
Then we gradually went from truly awful to just plain bad. Until somewhere near the end of the session, we’d reached a point where we didn’t feel like covering our ears and screaming in order to drown ourselves out, which is pretty much when Ezer arrived, listened to a few sets, and told us to call it a day and meet back tomorrow, same time and place.
Which brings me to today.
Not only did we sing the song the entire way through without a single flub, but there was no mention or sign of Mac Turtledove, which probably means Tinsley is committed to moving on to bigger and better things—namely, me.
It also marks the first day since I arrived that we’re not filming a new episode of the Twelve Days of Dashaway Christmas Countdown, since Ezer says they have enough footage to piece something together and everyone deserves a night off.
All of which is reason enough to celebrate. Which is why I’m throwing a party.
It’s all part of the plan to take my relationship with Tinsley to the next level. Tonight’s the night I’m going to kiss her.
Despite all the time we spend in the studio and Tinsley’s increasing appearances on my show, where she’s mostly required to laugh at my jokes and look really cute, we’re never alone long enough for me to show her how I feel about her. Ezer is always right there, which makes it impossible to so much as hold her hand when his beady eyes are always watching us like the world’s most annoying chaperone.
Well, tonight’s the night when all of that changes.
When Tinsley sees what I have planned, there’s no way she’ll be able to resist me.
We’re just wrapping up for the day, both of us gathering our stuff, when I casually say, “Oh, hey, I think I might’ve mentioned I’m having a little get-together tonight. If you’re not busy, you should stop by.”
Tinsley looks at me sideways, turning away as she mumbles, “From what I heard, it’s hardly a get-together.”
She’s right about that. It’s about as far from a get-together as one can possibly get. I put my entire team to work on planning, organizing, and making sure everything’s perfect. It’s costing me some serious bank too. But if it earns the kind of rewards I’m after, it’ll be money well spent.
Still, I just shrug and say, “Feel free to swing by around eight.” Thereby following the number two rule of playing it cool, which is to not look too excited about anything, ever. Better to just sit back and assume all good things are coming to you. Which is exactly why celebrities rarely smile in selfies—they know it’s far better to look bored than excited.
But when she doesn’t reply or even acknowledge that she heard me, I realize for the very first time that she might actually choose not to come by.
Which would defeat the whole purpose of throwing an elaborate party.