Oh, it was easy.

Being around Nate took barely any effort at all. More than once, I felt my guard slip away completely. It made for good songwriting. Vulnerability always created the best music.

Well, that and butterflies.

I seemed to have an abundance of both when Nate was in the room.

Every morning, he made me breakfast; every morning, I helped. That was four days of standing beside him with the scent of coffee and eggs in the air. Four mornings of listening to him crack stupid jokes and chew so charmingly obnoxiously. Cheeto would play at our feet or sleep on one of the barstools. Nate sneaked him bacon.

If I wasn’t careful, I would get used to this.

If I wasn’t careful, I would remember what it was like to have a real home.

Still, I couldn’t stay away.

I was already in the recording studio when Nate strolled in. I’d come to realize he didn’t really walk anywhere. He strolled. He swaggered. It was like there was a beat playing in his head that only he could hear.

Glancing up from the notes in front of me, I gave him a look. “Why are you still wearing your pajamas?”

He didn’t answer at first. Instead, he grabbed a bottled water out of the nearby fridge, uncapped it, and then took a long drink before rubbing his stomach.

His pajamas didn’t even match. The army-green plain T-shirt and blue plaid flannel bottoms definitely didn’t go together. Yet somehow, he made it work. And the deep green of the shirt made his eyes stand out all the more.

“It’s casual Friday,” he finally said, capping the water.

“You’ve definitely mastered the casual part,” I quipped.

Cheeto perked up the second Nate entered. He was curled up in a ball on the furry papasan chair in the corner. He was so small he practically got lost in all the fluff, but his triangular orange ears poked up like little beacons.

“Cheeto, my man,” Nate announced and went toward the kitten. “Give me five.” He held out his palm to the cat as if he really was going to give him five.

To my surprise, Cheeto put his paw in Nate’s hand, who, of course, swiveled his face around and gave me a smirk. “And you thought he would leave me hanging.”

“You’re a nincompoop.”

“Thank you.”

“It wasn’t a compliment.”

“If you say so, princess.”

He called me that pretty much all the time. I was never one for pet names. Or nicknames of any kind. Being called anything other than my actual name always felt somehow mocking.

I didn’t mind when Nate did it, though.

Just one more thing I was going to get used to but shouldn’t.

“So…” He pulled out the chair near me at the round wooden table and flipped it around so he could straddle it. “You still liking everything we’ve come up with so far?”

I glanced down at the sheet music, our notes, and ideas and nodded. “I actually really do. For the first time in a long time, I’m pretty excited about music again.”

The green of his eyes sparkled, white teeth flashing. “My work here is done.”

“Actually, it’s not,” I returned, dry. “But I think in a few more weeks, we will definitely have a solid draft and we can work more on recording. I’ll call Byron and get a small crew out here to start with the studio time.”

“About that…” Nate began, his voice becoming a little more serious.

My phone went off. “Hold that thought,” I said and picked up the cell.

“Hey, Seth,” I said into the line.

“I’m judging by the carefree tone of your voice you haven’t heard.”

He thinks I sound carefree? Whoa. I couldn’t say I felt carefree, but I definitely did feel a lot less frazzled. The second those thoughts went through my head, the rest of what he said caught up.

“What happened?” My voice was sharp. Nate’s eyes flew to my face, but I kept mine averted.

“It’s not life or death. Nothing like that.” He assured me quickly but added a heavy sigh. “However, it’s not good news.”

“Just tell me,” I half growled.

“There’s a new story going around in the press today.”

“What else is new?” I muttered, shifting uncomfortably.

Nate was in the background, telling me to put it on speaker, and I mouthed the word no at him.

“Considering the amount of time you’ve spent in the press lately, it’s not. I wanted to give you a heads-up, though. Today’s headline is grabbing some traction. It’s being circulated at a faster than normal rate, and a few copycat articles of speculation are popping up.”

The palms of my hands grew damp. Nerves bunched in the back of my neck.

“I know you don’t want to, but I think it’s time you put some serious thought into what kind of statement you want to release.”

My lips pressed into a firm, thin line. “This is about Will.”

“It involves him.”

Well, there went my less-than-frazzled demeanor. “Thanks for cluing me in. I’ll get back to you, okay?”

“Just remember, no one believes that tabloid BS anyway.”

I winced and didn’t bother saying good-bye. Instead, I disconnected the call, then went right to the web to find the newest headline.

It took all of two seconds. Seth wasn’t lying when he said it was going viral. All the blood drained from my face, leaving me lightheaded. Black spots swam before my eyes, making me blink.

Even the black spots couldn’t stop me from reading and rereading the headline.

Princess to Toad?

The Fall of Aerie Boone

The article wasn’t very long and included several unflattering pictures of me and a few better ones of me and Will. I felt my cheeks burn as I looked through it. I was in the press a lot. Sometimes it felt very invasive, and the speculation about me was usually so far off the mark.

But this…

Sources tell us that the marriage to Will Solberg was just a last-ditch attempt at salvaging her unraveling world and reputation. When we reached out to Will himself, he told us exclusively, “I love Aerie. So much so that I suggested we get married so I could protect her better.” <pauses> “But you can’t save someone who doesn’t want to be saved. I was more than willing to go the distance with her, but every man has his limits. The affair was mine. I might have been able to forgive it, but she wasn’t safe… and I can’t put my own health at risk.”

We asked for further details, perhaps a name… but Solberg, being the gentleman he is, declined to comment further. We can’t say we’d be as mum, especially after the new wife brought home an STD.

Seems Aerie Boone really has fallen from grace. We can’t help but wonder what Time Track Records was doing when they re-signed her. A toad on the payroll… But even worse? A toad with a raging case of warts.

I slammed the phone down on the table and brushed rapidly at the tears streaming down my cheeks. Thought was barely possible. The shock rippling through my brain and filtering down into my limbs was almost incomprehensible.

The entire article had been a slam piece… but those last couple paragraphs? The worst thing that had ever been printed about me.

Ever.

All at the hands of Will.

The chair nearly fell back when I stood abruptly.

“Aerie,” Nate said, concern thick in his voice. I’d forgotten he was here.

The reminder of his presence was like a right hook in my kidney. It made this even worse.

I ran from the room, ignoring his pleas to stop. I couldn’t face him, the article… not even myself.

Will hadn’t been lying when he said I’d regret this.