Jake Barrett, number sixteen on People Magazine's current list of Most Beautiful People, opened his front door wearing gray sweatpants that left not enough to the imagination, a Dallas Cowboys jersey older than me, and Adidas flip-flops over white tube socks. It was like Ava Scott had made me a promise about bursting my celebrity bubble, then shifted the universe to keep it.

"Ava," Jake said, stepping onto his welcome mat that read COME BACK WITH A WARRANT. He wrapped his arms around her, exposing a hole in the jersey's armpit big enough to fit my head.

"You smell." She pushed him back a step. "I told you to take a shower before we got here."

He strained his eyes, looking down at the spot on his wrist where a watch was not. "What time is it?"

"Ten forty-five," she said.

He groaned. "God, it's so early." He raked his fingers through his wild brown hair and finally noticed me standing on the step behind my boss. "Well, hello there. What's your name?" His eyes were bloodshot and heavy.

"Jake, this is Lucy from my office," Ava announced.

He flashed his superstar grin. "Hello, Lucy."

I gave a small wave.

"She's very unimpressed to meet you," Ava said, flashing a knowing smile at me over her shoulder. Then she pushed him aside and led the way into his foyer.

His house was beautiful. Chocolate wooden floors, high ceilings, and stone archways. But wow, he needed a housekeeper. Ava knelt down and picked up a lone pink sparkly stiletto off the floor and dangled it off her fingertip. "I don't even want to know," she said, tossing it against the wall by the door.

"You missed one hell of a party last night, Ava," he said, scratching his chest and yawning so wide I could count his fillings.

She pointed toward a hallway. "Please go take a shower and put on decent clothes."

Jake put his arm around her waist. "Wanna come wash my back?"

Her face soured. "Gross."

He laughed and kissed the side of her forehead. "Give me five minutes."

She held her nose. "Please, dear god, take ten."

"Make yourselves comfortable!" he called, walking toward the hallway.

"The camera and lighting guys will be here at eleven!" she yelled.

"Yes, ma'am!"

I looked at Ava when he was gone. "Camera and lights?"

She nodded. "For the video."

"Whose idea was that?" I asked.

"Audrey's."

I shook my head. "You can't advertise a live video with a full-production ad clip. It needs to be casual and definitely unedited."

She thought for a second. "You know, what? You're exactly right." She pulled her phone from her purse and tapped the screen. "I'm going to call Maurice and cancel."

"Will I get in trouble?" I asked.

"I'll take the blame if Audrey's mad. We'll add it to my list of transgressions." She laughed, then spoke into the phone. "Hey Mo, it's Ava..."

While she was on the phone, I helped myself to a tour of Jake's living room. There was a black baby-grand piano in the corner and overstuffed leather furniture centered around the largest flat screen TV I'd ever seen in my life. It was mounted on the stone fireplace, up above the mantle that held three CMA awards and, holy shit, a Grammy.

I walked into Jake's massive kitchen. I'd only ever seen anything like it on the Food Network. The Food Network kitchens were much cleaner, however. Jake's marble countertops were covered with beer cans and half-eaten trays of stale-looking wings and wilted fruit. Beyond them, his refrigerator caught my eye. It was large and steel with a touch screen that covered one of its French doors. For a second, I wondered if it might actually be Optimus Prime's culinary sister. On the front was a magnet holding a picture. The magnet had a chicken on it, and the photo was of Jake kissing the cheek of another woman with graying brown hair.

"It's a chick magnet." Jake's voice behind me almost made me yelp.

I grabbed at my chest as I turned around. His hair was wet and standing up in a thousand directions. He was wearing nice designer jeans and a black T-shirt that was so tight it clung to all the reasons he was in People Magazine. "You startled me," I said, panting.

"And that's my mom," he said, pointing the photo.

How sweet, I thought. "Really?"

He laughed. "No. That's Loretta Lynn."

I looked at the photo again. It was Loretta Lynn.

"Where's Ava?" he asked, looking around the kitchen.

"I'm here." Ava walked into the room and dropped her purse on the lone clear spot on the counter—next to a full laundry basket and a half-eaten bowl of fruit salad crowned with a woman's pink bikini top. "The camera crew is canceled."

He held up his hands. "Then why did you wake me up?"

"Lucy's going to shoot it on her phone," Ava said.

My eyes widened. "I am?"

"Sure. Tell him what to do," she said, pointing at Jake.

He stretched his arms wide. "I'm all yours, Lucy. Direct me."

Oh boy.

I cleared my throat. "OK, well, where are you most comfortable in the house?"

Jake cocked an evil grin and winked at me.

"Oh my god," Ava said with a groan. "The bar. He's most comfortable at the bar out back by the pool."

I laughed. "All right. Outside is good." I looked at Jake. "We need to shoot two different videos to post on two different days, so can you grab another shirt?"

"Here." Ava reached into the laundry basket and tossed over a fleck of fabric I wasn't sure would even fit me. "You can wear this one."

He shook out the blue T-shirt. "This one has a logo on it." It was a Bud Light brand.

"Then here." Ava threw him another shirt, rolling her eyes. "And I swear, I'm sending Happy Maids over here as soon as they're available."

"Oh, I love this one," Jake said. The shirt he was holding up was red with white letters that read HUG DEALER. He grinned at me. "The ladies love it."

"I'll bet they do," I replied. "You ready?"

He gestured for me to go first. "Lead the way."

Ava huffed and grabbed his arm. "She doesn't know where she's going, you dumb idiot."

He laughed. "Oh yeah." He draped his arm over her shoulders. "It's a good thing I'm cute, right?"

"You're impossible," she said.

I followed them down a hallway to a door that led out to a huge open concrete patio. There was a large pool with a waterfall and built-in hot tub. Next to it, a gas fire pit was still burning, probably from the night before. Surrounding it were wooden chairs on one side and an arched stone wall covered in throw pillows on the other. To the left, in front of what appeared to be a raised stage, was the bar Ava had suggested. It was littered with half-empty liquor bottles, paper plates, and...a guy asleep on a barstool.

"Jake, who's that?" Ava asked, her hand on her hip.

He just shrugged and held his hands up.

Clearly frustrated, Ava looked around. "Lucy, why don't you shoot the first one at the fire pit, and I'll get rid of the drifter and clean up the bar for the second one."

"OK," I said.

Jake and I walked over the stone wall. He reached under the fire pit and the flames went out. "I'm going to hate to see that gas bill," he said.

I pointed to the edge of the wall. "Jake, why don't you sit here, so I can get the pool in the background."

He sat down among the mix of teal and yellow pillows. "Here?"

"Perfect," I said, pulling my phone out of my purse and navigating to the video camera. "Dang it. I wish I'd brought my tripod for this thing."

Jake perked up. "I have one. It's in my bedroom. Hey, Ava! Run to my room and grab the tripod for the phone. Lucy needs it for the video!"

Her eyes doubled. "I don't wanna."

He waved her off. "There's nobody in there. It's in the corner behind the recliner."

"Should I hose it down with disinfectant first?" she asked, her face sour as she walked back toward the door.

"Ha. Ha. Ha," he said flatly with a smirk. When she was gone, he looked at me. "She secretly loves me."

I nodded and turned my palms up. "Doesn't everybody?"

He pointed at me. "You and I are going to get along just fine, Lucy. How do you like working at Record Road?"

"Working for Ava's great," I said.

He flashed me another moneymaker grin. I was surprised there wasn't an award on his mantle for that too. "And Audrey?"

I didn't respond.

He held up two fingers to his temples like horns and hissed.

I burst out laughing.

"She's damn good at her job though," he said.

"Absolutely," I agreed.

He settled back against the pillows. "So about this video. What do you want me to say?"

I held up my phone to check the lighting. "It will be short. Maybe twenty seconds or so. Just be casual."

He put his feet up on the bench and laid down.

"Not that casual," I said with a laugh.

"You have to be very specific with him. Use small words," Ava said, walking over and handing me the tripod.

Jake sat back up and flipped up his middle finger toward her. She laughed and walked back to the bar.

"Just say, 'Hey this is Jake Barrett. I'm having a release party for my new album...what's it called?" I asked.

He scowled. "You don't know the name of my new album?"

I cringed. "I forgot."

"The Gun Show," he said, flexing both of his biceps.

I burst out laughing. "Oh yes. How could that slip my mind?"

He kissed his right bicep. "I'll bet you'll never forget again."

"Feel free to push him in the pool!" Ava shouted.

Those two. They were fun.

"Just roll the camera. I've got this," Jake told me confidently.

"OK." I held up my cell phone and centered him in the middle of my screen. I clicked the record button and nodded slightly.

"Wait," he said, holding up a finger.

I stopped the video.

"Ava, when's the party?" he called out.

"Not this Saturday but the next at six. But don't say that in the video. Say 'this Saturday' instead. And you'll be recording at seven before you get drunk and act like a moron."

"Are you trying to confuse me? Am I supposed to say six or seven?"

"Seven," she and I answered together.

He nodded. "Got it."

I clicked record again.

He waved to the camera. "Hey, guys. Jake Barrett here, coming to you from my backyard. I wanted to let you know, I'm having a party here next Saturday...shit."

I stopped the video. "This Saturday," I corrected him.

"I know. Do it again."

I clicked record.

He started speaking. "Yo, this is—"

Ava cut him off. "You're not allowed to say yo, Jake. Try again."

I stopped and restarted the recording.

"Hey, guys. Jake Barrett here. I'm having a party this Saturday, and you're all invited to watch live. Tune it at seven p.m. to join me and my friends as we celebrate the drop of my newest album, The Gun Show"—he paused to flex—"in stores and available online everywhere this Friday." He pointed at my camera. "Saturday, right here at seven. I'll see you then." And he winked.

I was surprised, shocked actually. "That was really good."

He slowly dusted off his hands. "I'm a pro, honey."

"A pro would've nailed it on the first take!" Ava called. She'd successfully moved the mystery man asleep at the bar over to a lounge chair by the pool.

"You're so mean to me, Ava!" he cried dramatically, making his voice crack with emotion.

I laughed and played the video back on my phone. It was good. I got up and walked to the bar to show Ava for her approval. She bent over my shoulder and watched. "He cleans up pretty well, doesn't he?"

With a short sigh, I nodded. "Yeah."

As if on cue, even though there's no way he could've heard us, Jake Barrett stripped off his black T-shirt. The sky opened up, and heaven's glorious light shined down. I almost dropped my phone. "Holy smokes," I said under my breath.

She fanned my face. "Jake, put your clothes back on. You're going to give Lucy a stroke, and I really don't want to have to hire a new web person."

If my face wasn't already red, it was then. I wanted to crawl behind the bar.

Jake laughed and put on his red shirt. He pointed to the text across the front. "Does Lucy need a hug?"

I held my hand up to stop him as he walked toward me. "Lucy is just fine."

He hugged me anyway. Oh my.

"Come on, let's get this done. If he hugs you too long, you might catch the pink stiletto's cooties," Ava said, pulling him off me.

I shot the second video. His spiel was almost a carbon copy of the first, but we filmed it at the bar instead of the fire pit. And besides the new shirt, Jake also wore his signature brown leather cowboy hat that Ava had found discarded in the grass by the pool.

"Is that all you need?" Jake asked when I tapped the stop button on the video.

"I think so," I said.

Ava held out her hand. "May I?"

"Sure." I handed her the phone, and she played back the clip.

"What's the plan for Saturday with the video?" he asked me.

I looked at Ava. "Has Audrey given you any specifics?"

She crossed her legs. "She's been planning to have a full production team here for it, but I think I'm going to cancel them too." She held up my phone. "You're onto something, Lucy. This is good. Feels like a home movie. It needs to be like this at the party as well."

"I agree," I said. "I think that's why Jana Carter is having so much success with her videos. It's like she invites the fans into her home."

She flashed me a grin. "That's exactly the angle of reasoning I plan on using with my sister. I'll also nail down the specifics about what she wants to shoot."

Jake raised his hand. "I'd like to play a song. We're going to have all the equipment set up for that anyway."

I drummed my nails on the bar top. "Might be kind of hard with the acoustics. I'll test it out this week and see how the sound comes across on the video."

"Perfect," Ava said.

"Will I see you Saturday?" Jake asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll be here." I looked at Ava. "I was wondering...can I bring someone?"

She turned her eyes and cut her eyes at me. "Like a date?"

"Maybe."

Jake and Ava sang a melodic "Ooo" at the same time.

I hid my face behind my hand.

"Who is it?" Ava asked. "Anyone I've heard of?"

"Maybe," I said again.

She pointed at me. "It's Humphrey Bogart, isn't it?"

I'd almost forgotten about that, but of course, Ava of Golden Hollywood wouldn't. "Yes."

"You're dating him? The Adler guy?" she pressed.

"Adler," Jake said. "Do I know him? Sounds familiar."

"Adler Construction," she said.

He nodded. "Oh yeah. They're everywhere."

I held up my hands. "It's not that serious. We've only been out a couple of times, so please don't make a big deal out of it."

Jake hooked his arm around Ava's neck again. "What makes you think we'd make a big deal of it? We'll be on our very best behavior."

I didn't know Jake that well, but I was sure that didn't mean very much. I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair. "Oh god."

"Of course you can bring him," Ava said. "And Jake's hungover right now. He won't even remember this conversation by next Saturday."

Jake nodded. "That's true."

I pulled my phone back out. "Can I make one more request?"

"Go for it," he said.

"Can I fangirl and get a selfie to send to my dad?" And everyone else I've ever known in my whole life.

Jake smiled and took the phone from my hand. "Only if I get to take it."

He held the camera high in the air and aimed it out our faces. "Cheers!" he said, kissing me on the cheek as he snapped the photo.