Page 36 of Game Plan

Branch chuckles. “Hell, maybe you did. Seems like things got super interesting for you at some point.”

I eye the new coffee maker that Poppy sent me, then shove a Keurig pod into my old machine. I’m not awake enough to figure that thing out. “I’m not awake enough for your bullshit. What time is it?”

“One.”

I flinch, taking in the sun shining through the window over the sink. “It’s one in the afternoon?”

“Yes.” He chuckles again. “I called just to give you shit, but now I’m curious—and concerned. You never sleep this late. Hell, you’re up first thing even with a hangover.”

I sort through my memories of last night, but they’re hazy. I have vague memories of signing a stack of magazines my agent sent over last week, of a fire alarm going off because I burned a frozen pizza, and doing push-ups in my bedroom in hopes of exhausting myself so I could sleep.

At four o’clock this morning.

“Couldn’t sleep,” I mutter, grabbing my coffee and taking a cautious sip.

“You couldn’t sleep because you were off getting engaged?” he asks. “And you couldn’t even tell your best friend? Or your sister? We’re hurt.”

His tone is teasing, and it has me rolling my eyes.

“Yeah,” I say, nodding my head. “I picked up dinner and fell in love with the girl in the takeout window. Engagement was the next logical step.”

“So, I hear.”

“What are you doing today, anyway?” I ask, taking another sip of my breakfast. It’s just enough to start cutting through the fog to make me feel like a whole human again.

“Throwing you a bachelor party.”

“Can you just … stop?”

He chuckles. “I know it’s just clickbait, but I take it that you haven’t seen the headlines out today.”

My stomach tightens. Oh shit.

“I was up early this morning making a coffee cake for Layla, and the news anchor was talking about your engagement.”

I flinch. “My what?”

“It seems Exposé broke an exclusive story this morning that you’re engaged.”

“What the fuck?” I set my coffee down so I don’t spill it all over me. “Obviously, I’m not getting married. Why would they run that?”

“Probably because when I tried to go to their website to read the article, it had crashed. Apparently, you’re very popular today.”

Fuck me. I clench my teeth and blow out a heavy breath because I know exactly where this started.

“Maybe I’ll tell people I’m engaged.”

“Kylie.” I shake my head, pissed at myself for letting my guard down. “I had an interview with Kylie from Exposé a couple of days ago. We were talking about … I don’t even know how she led me there, but it was something about being in a relationship. And we joked that it might be easier to just say I’m engaged to get people off my back.” I groan. “She took it and ran with it.”

“Well, it’s all over the media now so expect some calls.”

I tilt my head back and sigh.

This is the last thing that I want to deal with today. Or ever. Most headlines can be ignored because they don’t matter. They just exist to make someone—not the subject of the gossip—money. But this rumor does matter because it’s not a dead end. It’s not like I was seen at the beach with Sunny. Great. Who really cares? But if I’m engaged, there’s more to know. Who is the girl? When did it happen? Are there pictures?

Do I have a fucking statement about it?

My phone chirps with an incoming call, and I pull it away from my face long enough to see the screen.