ALEXANDRA hissed into her phone.

“Where are you, Eva? I’m down in the lobby. You may want to get down here so we can leave before a crowd forms, dear.”

She rushed past people milling around in the hotel lobby. For now, the huge shades that covered a third of her face, and the big floppy hat with the purple wig tucked underneath were low profile enough not to attract major attention. She ducked around behind a leafy front of a plant and waited.

“Ha! You sound tense.”

“Maybe I should have waited in the limo.”

“Beauty takes patience, darling,” Eva cooed.

“I don’t have any patience at the moment, Evangeline Reese, and things are about to get ugly. I just got out of a game-changing meeting with the label. They’re taking over everything! They even want to push the release date back to squeeze in more promo time. I’m ready to punch something! Maybe someone. Anyhow, get down here soon if you can.”

“Will do.”

Before Alexandra hung up, she heard a familiar voice behind her that said, “Well, I’d better make sure I stay out of arm’s reach if you’re looking for a punching bag.”

The familiar Southern drawl stunned her. She spun around, eyes widened under the large sunglasses.

Holy fuck.

“What the hell are you doing here, Wilkes?”

“Throwing caution to the wind, my love,” he answered, dragging her into his arms in a tight squeeze as though they were still together.

Alexandra forcefully pushed away from his chest and gave him a disapproving scowl. “Really, Wilkes? I mean seriously? What part of ‘I won’t marry your low-down, cheating ass’ did you not get? Now you think you have a right to show up here?”

On the phone, Eva gasped. “Is that Wilkes? Here in Tucson? What in the name of—Lexxi Rock your life is quickly becoming my favorite soap opera. I’m coming down right now!”

Eva hung up and Wilkes dropped to bended knee in the middle of the lobby in front of everybody, drawing the attention Alexandra had been desperately trying to avoid. She peeked around the tall houseplant and noticed several people were now peering in their direction to see what was going on.

“You can call it whatever you want, Lexxi,” Wilkes replied. “I’ll follow you into the sunset, and it’ll never be the end for me. I had to come and see you. God, I wish I could show you how good it is to see your smile.”

“This isn’t a smile, Wilkes. This is distress…and I’m sure you’ve practiced that little speech of yours, so you can save it!”

She hissed a warning for him to stop. The rascal boldly grabbed the hand she tried in vain to jerk away from him.

“Lexxi, baby. Don’t make me beg,” he crooned.

His eyes glistened. His voice was smooth and raw like whiskey, but he didn’t hit a single sincere note, not in Alexandra’s book.

“I guess trying to make a fool of me by cheating on me wasn’t enough for you. You have to come back and make a fool of yourself now, too!”

Alexandra was already having a shitty day, with no time for Bash, or Dad now that he was out of the hospital, and the label was now about to put a cookie cutter around her and keep her on a leash. Her soul belonged to the devil now, with that contract with the label hanging over her head.

I don’t need this crap from Wilkes on top of everything else.

She snatched her hand away again and turned to leave, only to come face to face with a freelance photographer who had some run-ins with her in the past. He snapped a picture, a candid shot of Wilkes in the background holding his pose on one knee and Alexandra’s face twisted in contempt or blurred with surprise—she wasn’t entirely sure how it looked but she could imagine. All she knew was he caught her off guard. Already she could damn near hear the sordid headline likely to accompany the image. Growling, she pushed past him too.

The elevator ahead dinged, and out walked Eva. “Where’s the asshat?”

The photographer chased after her as she rushed toward Eva, the light from his camera flashing incessantly for pictures of Alexandra and Eva in one shot.

“Please leave us alone!” she begged him. Well, the plea was directed at both the photographer and Wilkes.

She and Eva hurried towards an exit at the end of the corridor, avoiding the main entrance of the building. Her driver was outside, ready to take them to her father’s house. She threw up a hand to hide her face, simultaneously holding up the middle finger in frustration.

The photographer taunted her. “C’mon, Lexxi. I’ve got to make a living too. You don’t have to be a bitch.”

He laughed as he said it, probably hoping to get a visceral reaction from her. She wanted to strike him, but this was more of the same normal she had come to know in Los Angeles. Taking photos along with the usual low blows was his job, and being in the public eye was part of Alexandra’s job. She just wished that today he wouldn’t have made her job that much harder, with Wilkes only adding fuel to the fire by capitalizing on the publicity.

Before she could get in the limo, Wilkes made his way beside her again. He dropped an arm over her shoulder and said, “I know you don’t want to make a scene in front of everybody, do you? I just want to talk to you.”

“Make a scene!” she screeched.

The camera flashed again and she squeezed her eyes shut in frustration.

I just want to leave.

“Come on, Lexxi. We have to get out of here,” Eva said in her take-charge tone.

Her eyes pierced Wilkes with a glare fierce enough to peel off the top layer of his skin. If Eva had said anything to him now, he would likely end up on the floor in the fetal position, her distaste for him was so strong. Thankfully, she spared him the absolute degradation. Wilkes turned to Alexandra with sad, manipulating puppy dog eyes and an almost trembling bottom lip.

“All right, baby. You have someplace else to be. I won’t hold you up,” he said, backing down. “Whenever you’re ready to talk to me, I’ll be here. I’m staying at this hotel. Lexxi, you can call me anytime, day or night. I’ll wait for you. By the way, I know there’s someone else. I met him earlier today. I want you to know I understand and accept your need to explore other avenues. I can only hope you remember your way back home to me. I love you, Lexxi.” Wilkes turned away with a contrived, miserable expression.

Eva impatiently called Alexandra’s name again from the other side of the car where she waited with one foot inside.

Alexandra held up a hand to her, signaling for her to wait. She turned to address Wilkes. “Wait a minute. What do you mean you met him?”

Wilkes didn’t turn to face her. He played the photographer like a violin, acting like he was hiding his pain from her. For some reason, she remembered the day he called to propose, while she was still being Alex Roberts. She had refused him outright and told him there was someone else, but at the time, it was a lie.

So, what the hell is he talking about now, saying he ‘met him’?

Wilkes replied with a depressed sigh, eyes blinking sadly for the photographer when he said, “Before I figured out you were staying at this hotel, I thought you’d be at your daddy’s house. I stopped by there earlier, but ended up at the wrong house. I met the next door neighbor, Lexxi.”

“What? You met Bash?”

Crap. God, I hope this photographer doesn’t have a voice recorder on him.

Eva got in the car and slammed the door. It made Alexandra jump, startled by the sudden bang, but also floored by what Wilkes was saying. He met Bash, and he automatically assumed Bash was the man she had been talking about when she told him she had already moved on. True, Bash was the man she had in mind when she had said it, and now, even though she and Bash were still getting to know each other, it was reality. Still, she had to do what she could to protect Bash before all hell broke loose for him.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about, Wilkes,” she spat out bitterly. “Sebastian is a friend and my neighbor. Nothing more.”

Wilkes walked back to her and grasped her shoulders. “Honey, you don’t have to lie to me. I’m not angry with you. I told you I understand. I can see how a man like that might take advantage of your loneliness and vulnerability after finding out I was…with Lydia. I am truly sorry for putting you in the position of seeking out someone else for the fulfillment I never gave you. Lydia is in the past now, but I’m wise enough to realize I can’t take back that mistake. I have to suffer the consequences, and I’ll gladly do that to show you how much you mean to me. Just know that it’s killing me, killing me! Seeing you with someone who can’t possibly appreciate your level of…refinement. It’s probably only sex to him, sweetheart.”

Alexandra shook herself out of his clutches and sneered. “Nice try, Wilkes. Like I said, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She jumped into the back of the limo and slammed the door for effect. The driver took off, and finally Wilkes was out of her space.

“Why did you encourage him like that, Lex?” Eva asked. “You know he was only doing that for the publicity.”

“I don’t know…Gosh, I can’t wait for this day to end.”

“I can see that, lovey. What was he going on about?”

“Apparently he went to the wrong house earlier today when he was trying to get to Dad to find me. Guess whose door the bastard happened to knock on?”

Eva’s eyes widened to the point of ogling. “No!”

Alexandra nodded. “Yes. Sebastian Sullivan’s. Wilkes said he’s letting me ‘get it out of my system’ so I can eventually take him back. He’s delusional if he has his mind set on marrying me, and he doesn’t seem to understand the definition of the word no right now.”

Eva scowled. “This is why there are restraining orders, Lex. At some point you have to take responsibility for letting him anywhere near you.”

“You really think I’m encouraging him?”

“Well what the hell was that back there? You have to start treating him like he’s a crazed fan trying to get in your space, except he’s worse than a crazed fan. He doesn’t even buy your albums. Anyway, the point is Wilkes doesn’t deserve you! I just hope you don’t get suckered in by that cheap cowboy impression he puts on. He’s shameless. He’s fake. He’s using the situation to his advantage, and if you keep it up, he’ll be the reason you lose Bash. You don’t need him in your life, dear.”

Alexandra laughed in sheer amusement. “Are you serious? You should know you don’t need to warn me about Wilkes, Eva. There isn’t a chance in hell I’ll let that jerk weasel his way back into my life.”

Eva gave her a sideways glance. “That’s not what the last five minutes looked like, Lex. You’re already letting him in. I can see it in your eyes right now. Admit it. You felt some pity for his conniving little game just now.”

“I didn’t.”

“Well pardon me for getting all riled up at the very thought. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had about all I can stand of Wilkes. My vote goes for the boy next door. I’m totally Team Bash from now on.”

“You know where I stand with Bash, Eva.” Alexandra slumped back against the leather seats. “The closer I get to him, the more I feel all I’m going to do is open him up to the insanity that is my life.”