POW!
“Daddy, stop,” I wailed.
“You hush up now, child,” Daddy barked. “I’ll deal with you later.”
Lyfe made a dash toward the back glass door. Unfortunately, the next buckshot shattered the damn thing before he could reach it, but that didn’t stop him from diving straight through it and out into the Georgia snowstorm—in his birthday suit with Daddy still hollering and chasing after him …
Buuuuuzzzzzzz!
Corona Banks jumped a foot out of her chair and then slammed her diary that she’d been reading shut. It took another half a second for her to realize that the buzzing was coming from her desk phone. Not wanting the call to go to voicemail, she quickly snatched up the receiver. “Banks Artists Agency, this is Chloe.”
“There you are! What on earth are you still doing at the office?” Margo, her assistant, hissed into the line. “You’re supposed to be here at Rowan’s place for the E! interview. We’re all waiting.”
Corona sprung up out of her chair. How on earth had she forgotten about that? She glanced over at the calendar and there in bold black lettering was indeed this afternoon’s interview. “I’m on my way. Stall them.” She slammed the phone and then glanced back down at the stack of diaries on her desk. She needed to find a new hiding space. The floorboard that she had concealing her stash had been suspiciously moved, and she had a growing fear that someone had found her treasure trove.
With no more time to think about the possible spy, she jammed the books back into her briefcase and rushed out of her New York office. She had more important things to deal with right now than daydreaming about a decade-old love that had never had a chance.
Chapter 2
Corona rushed up the stairs to the SoHo apartment in a pair of fresh-out-of-the-box Louboutins. While she went through the fruitless exercise of berating herself for running late, she had long ago accepted the fact that in all likelihood she would be late for her own funeral. It wasn’t that she was lazy or didn’t plan ahead of time—she just had a tardiness gene somewhere in her DNA. At least that was her excuse and she was sticking to it.
“Is everyone still here?” she asked Margo the moment she bolted through the front door.
Relief washed over Margo’s face at the sight of her boss. “Oh, thank God. The film crew has been here for over an hour. They were just talking about doing the interview without you.” She rushed over to help Corona out of her A-line Mischka coat to reveal her snow-white Gucci pantsuit. “Nice,” Margo said, her eyes widening appreciatively at Corona’s immaculate fashion sense.
“Thanks. I can’t have my fiancé show me up. Call me vain.”
“All right, Vain,” Margo said, shooing her toward the living room. “You just get in there before Rowan starts reenacting his Hamlet soliloquies from his Shakespeare in the park days.”
Corona smiled. No one loved a camera more than Rowan James. Heralded as this generation’s most bankable movie star, Rowan lived to be in the public eye. He instinctively knew his best angle and lighting at any given moment. While Corona thought of herself as attractive, she couldn’t say that she and cameras had the same love affair.
Inevitably, her plump apple cheeks would look too big or her doe-shaped eyes would make her look like a deer caught in the headlights. It was the oddest thing. When people met her, they would always toss out the backhanded compliment that she was more beautiful in person.
“Hurry,” Margo kept shooing her. “He’s getting ready to thank God and the Academy.”
Corona laughed, brushed her thick hair behind her ears, and marched into the apartment’s large, open living room with a ready-made smile. “Hello, everyone. I’m so sorry to have kept you all waiting,” she announced, with her voice all syrupy sweet. “Things were crazy at the office.”
Rowan James turned his dark head, and his glowing blue eyes lit up at the sight of her. “There’s my baby now.” He stood up and drew Corona into his arms before brushing a sweetheart kiss against her upturned face. “Glad you could make it. I hope this isn’t a dry run of what you’re planning to do to me at the altar,” he joked with just a tinge of seriousness.
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Corona joked back with a playful wink.
K. D. Hardaway, a trailblazing celebrity reporter with womanly curves and high volume, corkscrew curls, popped up out of her seat and thrust out her hand. “The lady of the hour. We’re so happy that you could finally join us. I personally have been dying to meet you.”
Corona went to accept the woman’s handshake, but at the last minute, the exuberant woman abandoned the idea and instead threw her arms around her like they were long lost friends.
“You know the whole world is hating on you now, right?” the woman informed her.
Corona didn’t but she supposed that she should be grateful for the update. When she pulled back, K.D. kept a tight hold of her right hand. “Let’s see the rock, honey. Bam!” The reporter dipped her knees and dramatically flung her head back. “Well, all right now! Ha!” She turned toward her lone cameraman. “Ed, we don’t need a close-up on this one. I think the folks down in Texas are busy trying to get the glare of this diamond out of their eyes right now.”
Corona smiled sheepishly while Rowan swung his arm around her shoulders and thrust out his chest. “Nothing but the best for my Chloe.” He pried her hand from the reporter and then pressed a kiss just above her ring. “Honest to God, she’s the best thing that has ever happened to me,” he boasted.
K.D.’s perfectly arched brows damn near stretched to the top of her hairline as she gave them snaps in a Z-formation. “Well, all right now!”
Rowan laughed and pulled Corona even closer.
“So the entertainment world has their new power couple,” K.D. announced, winking into the camera. “It’s all good with me. It’s about time someone knocked Will and Jada off their throne.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Corona said, shaking her head. “My work is behind the cameras.”
“Exactly! That’s where all the power is, girlfriend. Don’t play.” She held up her hand, signaling for a high five.
Corona gave Rowan a look that asked whether this chick was for real or a caricature of every sister-girl role that she had ever seen in rom-com movies rolled into one.
He responded with a quick shrug.
“Don’t leave me hanging, girlfriend.”
Corona finally threw her hand up against K.D.’s which caused her entire arm of silver bracelets to start jiggling like crazy while she cheesed with a smile that could rival The Joker’s.
“So while we still have a few minutes, why don’t you tell our audience how you two met? Was it love or lust at first sight? Give us the dirt.”
Corona opened her mouth to answer, but Rowan quickly cut her off.
“I’m not ashamed to say that I
