“This was published today.” I stare at the headline: Small-town love for big country star.
Big country star? I almost laugh at that if it weren’t for the pictures staring back at me. Photos of Gavin, Penny, and me at The Mad Batter this past week appear on the screen. They didn’t even bother to blur out Penny’s face. She’s there for all the world to see. More pictures of us on the sidewalk as Penny grabs my hand. This is ridiculous.
I read the text on the website, fuming.
Rising star and Knox Bentley’s protégé, Sutton Wright, has found love in a small town. While we know from her social media accounts that Sutton moved to Everton to be closer to Bentley Records, something tells us that decision was made more with the heart than the mind. Tell us what you think. Is this single dad good enough for our Country Sweetheart?
“What the actual fuck?” I roar. A million thoughts run through my mind, the primary one being that Gavin isn’t going to like Penny’s picture being on the internet one bit.
“They don’t know Gavin or Penny’s names yet, but it’s only a matter of time. For all we know, another site has already published them.” Knox’s grim expression tells me this is just the beginning.
“What do we do?”
“Unfortunately, not much,” Harris says. “We can’t control the media.”
“I hate this,” I slump back against the couch and look at Ainsley.
“It’s hard. It sucks,” she shakes her head. “I went through it when Knox and I first started dating, and I’ll admit it wasn’t pretty. This is nothing compared to how brutal they can be,” she points at the screen.
Ainsley continues speaking, “I’d talk to Gavin, though. Let him know what’s going on. That is his daughter, and that’s what worries me the most in this situation. He’s a single dad, and I’m sure he wants to protect his daughter’s image from the world.”
I nod and sigh. “Why do they even do this? What’s it to them what I do in my personal life?”
“It sells papers. You’re the most observed rising star at the moment,” Knox says. “It doesn’t help matters that you signed a contract with me after all the controversy I’ve been in the last couple of years.” His lips press into a straight line.
“Gavin is going to flip. If it were just me, that’s one thing, but to post pictures of the two of them…” I trail off. I know this career calls for zero privacy, but I wasn’t expecting this so soon, or for Penny to get caught up on it.
Harris’s phone pings, and he looks down, frowning. “There’s another one.” He holds his phone up to show us the alert. It reads similar to the first post.
“So they have photographers camped out in Everton?” I ask.
“Probably. Two country stars and a label living in the same small town. It’s an easy target. The other day they published a picture of Ainsley with Lia, saying they had planned to get pregnant together.”
My head whips toward Ainsley. “I’m not pregnant,” she shakes her head. “They just make assumptions. Take one picture at the wrong angle, and boom, I’m going to be mother of the year,” the sarcasm drips from her words.
“Goodness.” I cover my face. This could be a deal-breaker for Gavin. He’s protective of Penny, with good reason. I wouldn’t want my own child to be exposed for all the world to see.
“Can you email me those links and any others that come up?” I look between Knox and Harris.
“Of course,” Harris responds. He taps on his screen. “Sent.”
“Thanks. I need to talk to Gavin. This involves him as much as it does me. I chose this path, but he didn’t, and it isn’t fair to get pulled into it by being associated with me.”
“This will get better,” Harris assures me.
“Yeah, but in the meantime, their privacy is disrupted. The last thing I want is for Hadley to come back to town and try to take Penny away from him because of this,” I speak the fear that’s swimming in my head.
“That won’t happen,” Knox shakes his head.
“We don’t really know, do we?” I lift my eyebrows. “I need to call him and see if he can talk. He has to hear this from me and not someone else who stumbles across it while searching the internet or social media.” I stand and thank them.
My good mood has been deflated, and I feel like I have a gray cloud pouring down on me as if any minute I’ll be struck by lightning.
Ainsley walks me to the door and pulls me in for a hug.
“Knox and I went through this. It was really hard,” she admits. “It almost broke us apart, but it’s possible to overcome it, and it does get better. It may not seem that way now.”
“Or you get used to it,” I counter.
“Yeah.” She nods, pinching her lips together. “The media loves to scrutinize what’s new. These sites want to be the first to share the juiciest news, even if not that juicy, so they can drive people to their sites. It’s what they live off of. After a few weeks, news of you and Gavin will be set aside and replaced by the next couple splitting up or hooking up.”
I know that what she’s saying is true, but no amount of planning prepares you for this. No music lessons, meetings, or conversations really train you to read about your personal life online.
“The thing is, you didn’t have a child to protect.” My lips straighten, and anger fumes inside of me like a raging fire. I won’t let this career ruin my happiness. It’s why I signed with Bentley Records in the first place; they honor happiness.
Gavin
I’m filled with confusion when I pull into Sutton’s house. As soon as
