you okay?”
“I just realized you could be right,” she answered, lifting her head back up. “He’s said as much himself.”
Shelby raised her eyebrows. “He’s said that to you? That’s nerve.”
Emily sat up in her chair. “When I started dating him, he told me he didn’t mind the entertainment media because any press that kept him relevant usually meant better album sales.” She traced the rim of her mug with her finger, then looked at Shelby. “Do you ever just want to hide from the relationship choices you’ve made?”
“I think the only time you don’t want to hide from them is when you find the person who’s right for you.” Shelby gave her a weak smile.
“Well, if Cory’s not right for me, and Jesse definitely isn’t right for me, I guess that means I’m just not cut out to be a rock star’s girl.”
“I wouldn’t look at it like that.”
She wasn’t sure she’d heard Shelby correctly, given her suspicions about Jesse and Cory. “How would you look at it, then?”
“I’d say they’re not cut out to be with a talented, intelligent, and caring girl like you.”
A woman close to their table snickered and whipped her head around. “You’re calling this one intelligent and caring?” she asked. “Personally, I’d call her a hussy.” The woman’s eyes narrowed when she cast them on Emily. “How do you live with yourself? If you don’t care about Cory, give another girl the chance to make him happy. He deserves it after both you and Cady have left him so devastated.”
Emily didn’t even flinch. She watched the woman stalk off toward the coffee shop exit, then took a sip from her mug and looked at Shelby. “So back to what you were saying about things not being so bad?”
Shelby stared at the coffee shop door. “There are a lot of crazy people in this town.”
“And the one thing they all have in common is obsessively reading entertainment news. I’m starting to understand why celebrities run from the paparazzi.”
“Some of them do,” Shelby said. “And some of them use it to boost their careers. Unfortunately for you, both Jesse and Cory seem to be in that last camp.”
Emily took another drink of her latte and looked out the window. “I don’t know what to do, Shel. It’s not getting better.”
“We’ll figure something out,” Shelby answered. “That much, I promise you.”
Chapter Twenty-One
It was ten o’clock on Thursday night and Emily was sequestered inside of her apartment. She sat cross-legged on her living room floor in what Kundalini yoga called easy pose, while also lightly pressing the tips of her thumbs and index fingers together. She breathed in deeply, then exhaled, getting ready for the next exercise.
She raised her arms, about to begin breath of fire, but lost her focus when her phone alerted her to a new text message. She glanced over at it, next to her on the floor, and read the message on its screen.
I keep thinking about what you said the other night. Can we talk? Still miss you.
It figured Cory would choose right now to text her. Peaceful was not something her life seemed meant to be, even when she was alone in her own home.
She looked away from her phone and focused on the yoga exercise. Her text alert sounded again.
I’m doing a surprise solo acoustic show this weekend at the Hotel Café. Please come?
“Of course you want me to come,” she muttered. What could guarantee him more press just before his album release than her showing up to his intimate acoustic show?
She pushed her phone out of her reach. If he couldn’t let her live her life in peace, she could at least try to enjoy the rest of her yoga exercises.
And why do I have to do this alone, instead of at my favorite yoga class? Oh that’s right. Because if one of Cory’s fans was there—and they seem to be crawling out of the woodwork these days—they’d probably knock me over with their rolled-up yoga mat by “accident.”
She turned her attention back to her yoga DVD and saw she was an exercise behind. She pulled her legs beneath her to sit in rock pose. She’d gotten through two more exercises when her phone rang.
“That’s it! You’re going off.” She stood up to retrieve her phone. When she picked it up, though, she saw it was Shelby calling her.
She tapped the screen to answer it. “Thank you for not being Cory.”
“Don’t tell me he’s bugging you again?” Shelby spoke in a