A Beautiful Star (Beautiful Series, Book 5) by Lilliana Anderson Page A

menu for spring. On top of that, I have to go to Paris for two weeks for some patisserie research. So, if you can be patient, it will be in four Fridays from today. Can you handle that?”
    I admit that I’m a bit taken aback by the length of time between dates, but I can understand a work commitment. “Yeah, I’d love to.”
    “Great. I’m so sorry it can’t be sooner, but I hope the cupcake scored me some brownie points there.”
    “Brownie points, cupcake points, either way, it definitely worked,” I smile, even though he can’t see it through the phone, I hope he can at least hear it in my voice.
    “OK. Can I call you while I’m away? I’d like to still be able to talk to you if you don’t mind.”
    “Why would I mind?”
    “Well, there was a picture of you with that movie guy online again today. So I’m just making sure I won’t be interrupting anything,” he says, his words probing for some sort of an explanation.
    I close my eyes, the sweet taste in my mouth suddenly becoming sour as I realise that as long as Jonathan is in my life, then everything I do in public will end up being photographed.
    “I’m not dating him, Brad. He was trying to get me to write an article on him but I said no. He does seem a little insistent on trying to be my friend though,” I explain, feeling bad that he had to hear about it from a news source.
    “Like I said the other week, we aren’t exclusive so, really, you can see whomever you like. I do however, want us to be honest about this kind of thing. So if things change between you two, just tell me, and I’ll back off.”
    “I don’t want you to back off, Brad. I’m not dating him. I can promise you that. If I was, I would tell you, I don’t like stringing people along.”
    “OK. Well, I’ll call you, and when I get back from my trip, I’ll see you,” he says, moving the conversation back to more pleasant territory. “I’m thinking we can go to the Botanical Gardens. There’s an open-air movie that happens every spring, so I’ll return in perfect time for it. I thought we could take some food, have a picnic, watch a film, you know, have fun.”
    “Sounds perfect.”
    “Ok. See you then.”
    Then I hang up the phone and look into the empty box, moving my tongue around my mouth as I wish there was another cake inside to get that sweet taste back that I had before Brad brought up the subject of Jonathan. As I place the package in my waste paper basket, I pull up the search engine on my computer and search for the popular celebrity news sites, and sure enough, there is an image of Jonathan and I having brunch together at the Hyatt yesterday.
    Rolling my eyes, I scan the caption below it, wondering what lame story they’ve come up with this time, but instead of becoming annoyed, I end up smiling when I read, Official sources comment that no relationship exists between Masters and Haegan, insisting they are only friends. I don’t know that anyone will actually believe the official comment, but at least he’s putting it out there–that’s one more tick in the very short pro column for Jonathan.
     

Chapter 13
     
     
     
    So, what was inside the box?
    I find the text message from Jonathan waiting for me on my phone when I check it after work. I’d spent the entire day getting the boy band article finished since I’d lost so much time the day before at the hands of Mr Tinseltown on the receiving end of my next text.
    Me: a severed thumb
    Jonathan: Ouch. Just wait. Tomorrow it will be an ear.
    Smiling, I tuck my phone into my bag then head home to my parent’s house to collect my things and head back to my place. Besides the secret photos that are being taken whenever I go out, I haven’t actually noticed any paparazzi hanging around these days, so I’m feeling a lot safer about being there on my own.
    “Your father won’t be here for dinner again,” my mum tells me after I’ve walked in the front door. “So if you’d like, we can get some take