《Hiding Out in Hollywood (Celebrity Love / ChickLit) ✔》Chapter Fifteen
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Two full days of silence. Or at least it would be in less than half an hour, something Emily realized as she climbed into bed on Thursday night and looked at the time on her phone.
She hadn't heard another word from Raine since he'd answered the first text she had sent him after seeing his Awake in the City appearance. Emily knew his days were probably one interview and photo shoot after the next to promote next week's movie premiere, even if she wished he'd found a minute somewhere in his day to reply that he missed her, too.
Not that she knew for certain he was doing a flurry of press—it was just something she'd assumed from Raine saying he was in New York for a press junket. Since seeing his interview, Emily had avoided reading anything online beyond what she posted to Zeeked, and she hadn't been anywhere near a TV. If Raine had been asked about his dating life by other interviewers, she didn't want to know. She was jumpy enough waiting for Wally to lace into her with more questions, which he so far hadn't done.
Emily leaned over to put her phone on her bedside table when it began buzzing in her hand. Her breath caught, hoping it was Raine, even though it was late in New York. If he was headed home tomorrow, she reasoned, he could have finished up any press he'd had to do today and might not have an early morning. She glanced at the phone's screen.
It was Wally.
She hesitated, her finger hovering over the answer call button. It could be better to ignore him and pretend she was asleep. Emily didn't really want to know if Raine had said something during another interview that would be a reason for Wally to interrogate her, or if Kami was hounding him again.
Then again, if there was a rumor swirling out there, stopping it before Wally published something wouldn't be a bad idea.
She answered her phone. "You know it's almost midnight, right?"
"I thought you were a night person," Wally said. "Nice hello, by the way."
She made a face at the phone. "Hello stops after ten o'clock, and I'm a night person planning to get up for a morning yoga class. What's going on?"
He cleared his throat. "I need you to tell me something."
She groaned. "I knew a call from you at this time of night couldn't be about anything good."
"You don't even know what I want to ask you about," he pointed out. "Why do you assume it isn't good?"
"Because nothing good ever comes from calls at this hour, and because lately when you've asked me to tell you something, it's involved my personal life. I swear I'm hanging up on you if this is about that photo again."
"Easy," he told her. "It's not about that particular photo, but I did hear from Kami tonight. She sent another email."
"Fantastic." Emily flopped back against her pillows. "Can't wait to hear what she's feeding you this time."
"Calm down, diva," he teased. "This one wasn't about you. I ran a couple of stories this week about a woman Cory's been spotted out with, and Kami claims she's the woman in the photos I posted. Since you know her, I thought I'd ask you."
"She contacted you to identify herself?" Emily couldn't stop the incredulity that crept into her voice.
"You're surprised?" Wally asked. "You're the one who told me she was looking for fame and glory."
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"No," she admitted. "I'm just having a hard time wrapping my head around anyone deliberately feeding herself to the wolves—no offense."
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Despite his words, Wally sounded amused. "You're right, though. I've never had someone own up to being a celebrity's mystery date. It's usually someone who knows the person who sends that info my way. I guess that's why I feel like I need confirmation."
"It's her," Emily said.
"That was fast. Did you already pull up my site?"
"Nope, but I don't need to. She told me a couple of days ago at yoga that Cory had asked her out for drinks after she'd met him out somewhere."
Emily didn't go into the details about Kami meeting Cory at the same club where he and Jesse had performed their song. Yes, he'd already written a story about it, but she didn't want to remind Wally of the song's existence and be asked for her response to it again.
"You knew she was going out with him?" It was Wally's turn to sound incredulous.
"I think everyone who was at yoga that day knew since I heard her talking about it with other people after class."
"You realize I could have gotten a major leg up on Tinseltown Buzz if I'd had this info when you found out? Why didn't you tell me?" Wally's tone left no question that he was annoyed.
Emily rubbed her eyes. "Because I'm your fashion columnist, not your informant. And according to your own website, Cory's out with a different woman pretty much every night of the week. Him hanging out with a fame seeker is hardly news."
"Says the fashion columnist," Wally replied.
"The fashion columnist who's already in bed," she told him. "If it makes you happy, send me the photo and I'll confirm it's her, but I'm going to sleep right after I do."
"Check the front page of my site. The photo from today's story is there."
"And?" Emily prompted.
"And what?" Wally asked.
"You're welcome. Oh wait—you didn't thank me for helping you with your dirty work."
If he replied, she didn't hear him. She tapped the screen to end the call, then opened Wally's site on her phone. It didn't take long to locate the photo of Kami and Cory that accompanied a post. In it, the two of them sat together in a restaurant, holding hands while reading from the same menu. She wore a low-cut black top, her makeup and hair photo-perfect as always. His hair was its usual state of rumpled chaos, which Emily supposed had something to do with why women found him charming. It was hard to remember why she'd once fallen for him, even though their time together had been only a few months ago.
She opened a new text to Wally. Yeah. That's her.
He wrote back almost immediately. THANK YOU. Sweet dreams.
Emily closed the text. She was about to close Wally's site, too, then paused, studying the photo of Kami and Cory again. Her eyes moved down to skim the story.
A new romance for C-Samp?
Well, well, well. Our favorite playboy musician is up to his old tricks... or is he? Reports from Sunset Boulevard put Blistering Twilight singer Cory Sampson out with the same mystery brunette three nights in a row. Photos sent our way confirm the two had drinks at Bar Marmont on Tuesday night, then were spotted together catching a show at the Roxy Theatre last night. Hair bands and fun must have been on the menu tonight, since they popped in to Saddle Ranch for a bite to eat. No word yet on if Cory tried to impress or possibly horrify his dinner companion by riding the mechanical bull.
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For those of you playing along at home with the C-Samp Dating Game, this is at least two more encounters than we've seen him have with any other woman since the end of his relationship with Emily Watts. The level of PDA was almost off the charts, even for him, and we have to wonder if we'll be seeing more of this one.
Why's that? Along with hanging out together at night, an alleged daytime sighting of the two of them strolling the shops on Melrose today suggests she might not be Cory's typical one-night (or in this case, three-night) stand. After all, the last time we saw him canoodling with his evening lady during daylight hours was when he began seeing the Em-Girl. This could be serious, Hood-lums.
Just a fling, or a little more zing? Guess we'll have to wait and find out.
Morbid curiosity took over. Emily scrolled down the page, looking for another photo of Kami and Cory from one of the other times they'd gone out. There was nothing on the front page of Wally Hood Goes Hollywood, so she clicked to page two and began scanning it. She stopped when her eyes landed on a photo and an article that were close to the bottom of the screen.
New York loves Raine Kingston, but who does he love?
Our favorite swoon-worthy Hollywood hottie touched down in NYC a couple of days ago to kick off some promo for his new film, After it All, in advance of next week's premiere in L.A. If you caught Raine Kingston's hilarious Awake in the City interview on Tuesday night, you'll know his longtime buddy, host Jackson Finch, busted him for a secret new romance.
Since then, we've been on the lookout for the new girl he was so cagey about. While we have our still-unconfirmed suspicions, we're curious about the raven-haired beauty Raine was seen brunching with at an outdoor café in Manhattan today. According to onlookers, the two spent about an hour laughing and joking over coffee, eggs, and French toast, and they left together in the same chauffeured car.
Who do you think The Raine King is dating? The woman in the photo, or someone back in L.A.?
Emily's phone slipped from her fingers onto the soft surface of her bed. With the screen still facing up, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the photo that was just below the headline of the story. Even though he was wearing sunglasses, there was no denying the photo was of Raine, sitting at a table. A familiar megawatt smile lit up his face. She didn't recognize the woman sitting beside him.
Not that I've met anyone he knows, outside of yoga and his restaurant friend, she reminded herself. But that was entirely her own doing, since she had insisted their time together be private. There were any number of people the woman could be, and if this were a normal world where Emily wasn't haunted by memories of the last time she'd been all over the tabloids, it was possible she would have already met her. She could be someone from the movie studio who was there for the press junket, or a stylist, or even a friend who lived in the city.
Emily wouldn't be the girl who assumed the worst. Not from an innocent tabloid photo, and especially not when the reason why she hadn't met most of the people who were part of Raine's world was entirely on her.
She also wouldn't jump to conclusions when it came to the multiple Kami and Cory sightings. Wally's story was probably already updated with Kami's name, which would give her the attention Emily was certain she had been looking for. If that was what Kami wanted out of Cory, then she'd gotten it. And if Cory was up to his usual tricks, then he would move on to another woman before the end of the weekend, which would give Kami just enough time to be recognized by a few people and bask in the glow of being a yoga class celebrity.
Emily rolled onto her side and pulled her duvet up over her shoulders. Nestling her head into her pillow, she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, trying to erase the articles and photos she'd just seen from her mind.
* * *
The first thing Emily noticed when she walked inside Bountiful Sun Yoga on Friday morning were all the whispers and giggles. She watched a small crowd form by the classroom door as a few people took turns peeking around the doorframe, into the classroom, and then saw them scurry out to the lobby to whisper to another group standing there. The two cups of coffee she'd had before coming to class may not have kicked in yet, but Emily didn't need to be fully awake to know something was going on. She just hoped whatever people were buzzing about had nothing to do with her.
Checking recent tabloid stories wouldn't hurt, she knew. Emily slipped into the women's bathroom and fished her phone out of her bag. She pulled up Wally's site first. A quick look at the first two pages of posts didn't turn up anything related to her. She went to Tinseltown Buzz next. There was nothing there, either.
Emily put her phone back in her bag and left the bathroom. She, at least, had the all-clear. Now to see what had everyone's attention.
She took off her shoes and then entered the classroom. It took less than a second for her to spot Kami near the front of the room, surrounded by a circle of excited women.
Enjoying her tabloid notoriety, Emily thought. She began making her way to an empty spot on the floor but then saw who was sitting to Kami's right. She recognized his hair and the cast on his ankle, along with the laugh that escaped his lips in response to something Kami said. He didn't need to turn around for Emily to know Kami had brought Cory to class.
There was no doubt about it—Emily was awake now. It wouldn't take long for Kami and Cory to spot her, which gave her only a few seconds to decide what to do.
Be an adult about this, she commanded herself. This class was her sanctuary, even if spending the next hour and a half in a room with Cory wasn't on her list of things that created peace and inner stillness. She would just sit as far away from Kami and Cory as she could and ignore them. If she made herself as inconspicuous as possible, then maybe they wouldn't acknowledge her presence.
Emily glanced around the room for another place she could roll out her mat. That's when she noticed it wasn't only Kami and Cory who were attracting people's attention.
Raine was back. And on a blue mat right next to him, leaning in close to show him something on her phone, was the woman from the photo on Wally's site. It took Emily five full seconds of staring to process that the woman had come all the way from New York to L.A. with Raine. Whoever she was, she sure looked cozy at his side.
Movement from Raine jolted a still-staring Emily back to her senses. She tried to whip her head in the other direction but wasn't fast enough. Her eyes met Raine's, and then she did the only thing she could think of.
Emily turned around and left the room.
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