Breaking Free by Cara Dee Read Free Book Online Page A

Despite that the whole idea was for him and Sophie to show themselves in public, he was glad when he deduced the media barely covered cities that weren't on Hollywood's radar. Only fifty-something visitors had shown up when the charity event had reached Berlin last week, and Tennyson could handle fifty.
    Standing up, he called Tyler again as he picked out a new shirt.
    "Yes, sir?" Tyler answered.
    Tennyson pretended he didn’t hear the "sir" and said, "This sounds big." He placed his phone between his shoulder and cheek and drew one of his ties between his fingers. Too fancy? He preferred casual, but when it came to art, he could never be sure. "What the hell are the publicists thinking? It's not some damn art piece we're donating. It's fraud. We're not really together, for chrissakes."
    "I'm afraid I'm only the messenger," Tyler said apologetically.
    Tennyson grunted and ignored the tie. "Did Sophie really confirm?" He pulled on a pair of gray pants and went with a black button-down. It was as fancy as he would go unless it was a blasted red-carpet event.
    "She did, yes."
    Glorious. Tennyson was already wishing the day could be over.

Chapter 6
    "What about this?" Sophie bit her lip and faced Daniel, who was sitting on the floor surrounded by fashion magazines he had no interest in.
    He was probably incredibly bored, but he was being a good sport. "Not slutty."
    "Oh, okay. Good." Sophie spun around to face the mirror again. Another good purchase. The simple, dark purple wraparound dress with three-quarter sleeves would go into the "keep" pile.
    "You could wear it tonight, you know." Daniel tapped his watch. "The car will be here in twenty."
    Sophie tilted her head at her reflection and figured Daniel knew best. She used to consider herself knowledgeable when it came to fashion, but that was before she learned what the world thought of her.
    Tacky cunt. Spoiled bitch. Slut. Ungrateful. Naïve. Stupid. Worthless.
    It hurt. Even after Daniel had spent two hours comforting her, giving her advice, and assuring her she could fix her reputation, it hurt. But she put a smile on her face instead because that was more beautiful than sadness. It wasn’t like she had any shoulder to cry on, anyway.
    It was dawning on her that her friends back home weren't what one might call true friends. Perhaps she'd always known on some level, but it left her fucking lost now. Lost and questioning everything.
    She'd never been a stranger to "modest," either. Hell, she'd made sure to dress down rather than up when she went to dinner with Tennyson that first time. Yet, it didn’t stop her from starting from scratch. Every single piece of old clothing she'd owned was now gone.
    "Do you remember where I put my new makeup?" She eyed the floor, which wasn’t remotely visible for all the magazines and new clothes she'd bought.
    "Brooklyn couldn’t stand the mess, so she organized it and placed it in your bathroom while you were on set earlier."
    Oh. That was nice of her. She would have to thank Brooklyn later.
    Heading into her bathroom, she went with simple—her motto now. Mascara, lip balm, some shimmer for her cheekbones, and she was done. It was weird. It usually took her at least an hour to get ready.
    She felt a little naked, but Daniel assured her she was on the right track.
    "Did you come up with any terms I could Google?" she asked, slipping into a pair of matching ballet flats. "For when I need to find outfits, I mean."
    She'd bought some twenty fashion magazines at the airport in Denver because she wanted all the help she could find.
    "Yeah. And for the record, Sophie? Just 'cause I'm gay doesn’t mean this fashion shit is my thing." He leaned against the doorframe and winked at her. "I leave that to my man."
    "Oh my God, like I don’t know that." She chuckled and waved a hand. "The search words?"
    "Understated and chic. Can I be excused now, Ms. Former Diva?"
    She found a lip gloss and tossed it at him.
    "Ha!" He laughed and moved toward