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you.”
    “Why?”
    “He wants to get to know you better.”
    “Why?”
    Drake laughed as he made his way to the
door. “Because he thinks you and Elle have a thing, and he wants to make sure
you won’t do anything to hurt her career, thereby damaging his label. He’s a
business man. His first priority is protecting his talent and their interests.”
    Caleb rolled his eyes. He didn’t care
whether the Spencer brothers approved of him or not. If he and Elle were
interested in pursuing a relationship, they would, regardless of what some
record executives thought. “Tell him I’m not interested.”
    “Ryan and Evan are great guys, trust me on
that. They love Elle. They want to protect her. If you want to be a part of
Elle’s life, you’re going to have to get used to her world. This might be a
good opportunity for you. Come on, what do you say? It’ll be fun, I promise.”
    Caleb would rather hit the gym and watch a
game on TV, but if going to this party would give him insight into the people
who made up Elle’s inner circle, he would take the bait. “Okay, I’ll get one of
the boys to take us so we can have a few drinks. What time do you want me to
pick you up?”
    “Make it eight and pick me up at the
office. I’ve got a late meeting.”
    “You got it. See you then.”
     
    ***
     
    Elle walked into Jimmy’s on Caleb’s arm,
feeling calm and steady in spite of the pushy reporters and patrons trying to
take her picture and stick a voice recorder in her face as they fired questions
at her about her upcoming album and tour. Having Caleb’s hand wrapped around
hers, reminding her he was there for her as he edged people out of the way, made
her feel safe and cherished, a feeling an army of bodyguards couldn’t evoke.
    “Thanks again for being here tonight,” she
said. Spotting Drake’s brother, Lee, behind the bar, she smiled and waved.
    Caleb gave her hand a squeeze. “You don’t
have to thank me. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be. Hell, I’m a huge
fan. How lucky am I to get front row seats to all these intimate concerts?”
    Elle laughed, flattered that he counted
himself among her fans. “It’s hardly a concert, just a song or two to get some
feedback on my new material. That’s probably why Evan was front and center last
night. He wanted to gauge the crowd’s reaction.”
    “I doubt that was the only reason he made
an appearance.” Caleb led Elle to a table in the back. Security personnel had
been stationed nearby to keep anyone from trying to get too close to Elle.
    “He’s not giving you a hard time, is he?”
The last thing Elle wanted was for someone to scare Caleb off before she had a
chance to get to know him.
    “He invited me to a stag he’s throwing for
a friend tomorrow night.” Caleb smirked. “I guess he wants to figure out what
I’m all about.”
    Elle dropped her head into her upturned
palm. “Oh God, I can’t believe he’s doing this. I’m sorry. I’ll talk to him,
tell him to back off.”
    “You don’t have to do that.” He reached for
her hand just as a photographer snapped their picture. “I told Drake I’d go to
the party.”
    “Why would you do that?” she asked, trying
to ignore the guy edging past the doorman and trying to look inconspicuous.
    He was one of her least favorite paparazzi.
He thought she and every other public personality owed him a living, and his
dogged determination made Elle uneasy. He was unscrupulous and didn’t think
celebrities were entitled to personal lives. If anyone could break the story about
what had happened with Ricky, it would be him.
    “I have no problem if they want to dig a
little deeper. Like Drake said, Evan and Ryan are only trying to protect you. I
can respect that.” When Elle didn’t respond, Caleb followed her gaze to the
reporter. “You know him?”
    “Unfortunately.” She tore her gaze away
from Donny, hoping he wasn’t there to intrude on her time with Caleb. She’d
been looking forward to