TAINTED

Chapter 31

IVY

One Year Later...

The flight from Nashville to Montana was a lot longer than expected. A flight delay in our first connection in Atlanta put us way behind schedule, and we missed our second connection in Minneapolis. We finally arrived a day late in Montana, hand in hand with big smiles and vibrating with excitement despite a bad case of jetlag. Rhys grabbed our luggage from the carousel as he talked about how excited he was to finally spend some downtime following his first extensive stadium tour as an opening act for a famous country music artist. After Rhys and I left New York, we spent the remainder of the summer together in Nashville. When I started my first year of Journalism school in Mississippi, Rhys signed with a major record label and released his debut solo album. It blew up the charts with hit after hit, and he quickly became country music's next big craze. I was so proud of him.

The distance between us proved challenging, but no matter how busy Rhys was making music or with the press, radio stations, or talk shows, he travelled to Mississippi every weekend to see me. Soon enough, tabloids propelled photos of Rhys and me eating at restaurants, walking in downtown Mississippi, and hanging out on campus. At first, it was bizarre to adjust to this high-profile life with Rhys, my country music star boyfriend. I was just starting to get used to a life where Rhys Wyatt was finally mine. It took me a while to adjust to this new version of us – together and public with our relationship. Especially when Blaine came to Nashville for Rhys's album's launch party with his new French girlfriend, Jacqueline. Rhys and Blaine had made peace a few months prior, and I was happy Blaine had attended. At first, things were a tad awkward between us, but his girlfriend Jacqueline seemed like a very smart and friendly girl with a gorgeous head of shiny brown hair.

Their father, Reginald Wyatt, came too – despite his original distaste for Rhys's music career.  I had called him mercilessly and begged him to attend. Rhys and his father hadn't talked since Rhys dropped out of college. However, once Mr. Wyatt saw how talented and successful Rhys had become, he had no choice but to accept music was Rhys's future. His father's congratulations and acceptance meant everything to Rhys. 

Sometimes, it was hard with Rhys always in the spotlight – a country music sex symbol on display for the world to idolize. Girls may have loved him before, no doubt, but with his recent fame, gorgeous face, and raspy voice, let's say panties were getting thrown at him daily. Luckily, Rhys made me feel like I was the only girl in the universe, and I loved him for it.  

After I finished my first year of Journalism school, Rhys was signed as an opening act for a famous country musician and committed to a tour across Canada and the United States. And, of course, I went with him. For a girl who hadn't travelled much, I was sure doing a lot of travelling now that Rhys secured a huge twenty-five-stop tour.  Living on a tour bus for the past three months taught me to pack lightly and adapt to sleepless nights in cramped quarters. It's also taught me that Rhys likes to hog the blanket when he sleeps, and regardless of whether he plays football, he's a dedicated runner and wakes up every morning at the crack of dawn to get a quick run in, no matter where the road takes us. But despite every road bump we've experienced along the way, everything seems worth it when I see Rhys rocking out to a screaming crowd of adoring fans on stage.

I steal glances at him as I drive us into Moose Creek. With the darkening sky behind him, he looks undeniably gorgeous in a baseball cap, plain white t-shirt and charcoal grey pants. His expression on his scruffy face is content and relaxed; if I weren't focused on driving, I'd lean over and kiss him. He glances over at me with his cock-sure smile and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ears.

"I love you," he says, then leans back into the leather seat. "You are the best fiancé a guy could ask for. I mean hell, you agreed to drive so I could catch a few minutes of shut-eye before we get to the ranch."