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Emma couldn’t think of anyone who would have recognized her. On top of that, Caleb and his family were the only ones to know that Sophia had let her stay.
Then her thoughts came to a screeching halt and her heart hammered against her ribs with the strength of war drums.
There was one person who might know.
Emma’s eyes lifted and she glanced in Sophia’s direction. “My manager,” she whispered.
Sophia turned around, her concern deepening. “You don’t think she would do that, do you?”
“I think Rachel is capable of anything as long as she thinks she’s going to get something out of it. If she thought that some good publicity would dredge up interest in an otherwise dull news segment, she’d send someone.” She moved across the room and stood beside Sophia.
“Do you recognize him?”
Emma shook her head. “But that doesn’t mean anything. They all look the same. They all hold a camera in my face and steal pictures. It’s their job. If there’s only one, then it’s likely she’s got him in her pocket. He won’t tell anyone else because he wants the story.” Emma groaned. “I can’t believe she did this. I told her I was coming home.”
“It’s like you said. She’s doing this because she thinks she’s got your best interest at heart.”
“Yeah,” Emma said. “And I think it’s about time she suffers the consequences for going against what I’ve asked. Her contract is going to be up soon. As much as I appreciate what she’s done for me, I’m going to make it perfectly clear she will no longer be my manager if this is what I have to look forward to.”
“That sounds fair to me,” Sophia said. “Someone who works for you has to toe the line, you know?”
“Exactly.” They watched Mateo and Ruben march the reporter to his car. The man wasn’t happy about it, but at least he didn’t linger. “I think I’m going to have to leave sooner than I planned. I don’t want him drawing more attention.”
Sophia’s look of understanding was all Emma needed.
24
Caleb
Six months later
Agood day was when Caleb didn’t have to interact with anyone—including his own family. Daniel, and even Charlie, had stopped asking him about Emma, but even if they hadn’t, he wouldn’t have given them anything. It was none of their business if he was in communication with Emma.
Still, that didn’t stop Charlie from telling him any update she got about Emma. Spring turned into summer and then fall. The days were shorter, colder. If Caleb had his way, he wouldn’t have heard a single thing about the tour coming to a close. From the sound of it, there were only a couple more concerts coming up. Maybe when the tour was over, Charlie would finally drop her fascination with Emma Hart.
He sat in the quiet living room, thankful for the chance to be alone. Everyone else had gone out to the fall festival that wastaking place in the square. Well, everyone but Daniel. His older brother remained the aloof man he’d always been.
But what did Caleb expect? Daniel was the giant of the family. He was big and burly, and those who didn’t know him might even been a little scared of him. Ironically, Daniel was probably the kindest of the lot of them. He was what Caleb considered a gentle giant.
The only people he spoke to out of turn were his own family, and that was because he knew them best. He was the one Caleb knew he had to avoid if he didn’t want to get an earful about how he lived his life.
He’d already shared his opinion of Caleb’s situation regarding Emma. And he only continued to dig his heels in whenever Caleb refused to listen. Eventually, he’d lose interest.
Or at least Caleb hoped he would.
The door burst open and Charlie entered, followed by some of the sisters-in-law. “Can you believe it? I thought for sure that when she announced her new album, she wouldn’t have it ready until next spring. But she said it will come out at her last concert during this tour.” Charlie’s excited chatter filled the entryway. Her eyes locked with Caleb’s, and she looked away.
Margot laughed. “It sure sounds like you’ve become her biggest fan.”
Charlie waved a dismissive hand. “I’m definitely not her biggest fan. I just really like her music.”
“She doesn’t even write her own lyrics,” Caleb said as he got to his feet. “What is there to like about someone like that?”
Charlie scowled at him. “You realize a lot of singers don’t write their own music. That’s normal.”
“And a lot of singers write their own stuff, too. So who’s to say what’s normal and what isn’t?” He shook his head as he left the room. He didn’t have any reason to be mad at his kid sister. She hadn’t done anything to hurt him. And yet with her insistenceon sharing every single tidbit of information about Emma, he’d grown to resent her.
It was her interest that had him digging for information on his own. When it was dark and everyone had already gone to bed, he’d pull out his computer and type in her name.
