How to Steal Your Best Friend's Fiancé (How to Rom Com Series Book 2)

by London Casey

  I got applause before I even started to sing.

  That’s how bad Liam sang.

  People were happy to see him climb off the stage.

  When he did, he didn’t walk away.

  He stood right there, looking up at me.

  My eyes looked down at him.

  Oh, I was angry.

  But I was also slightly excited.

  Liam nodded. The smile on his face…

  I thought about Jon.

  Of all people and of all times.

  And maybe not just Jon.

  I thought about the others too. The other guys I had dated in my lifetime. Not a single one of them knew that I had once wanted to be a singer. Or that I could play guitar.

  “Are you going to sing or what?”

  The voice jarred me back to reality.

  I looked to my left and the guy behind the equipment had his hands opened, wondering what I was going to do.

  It would have been nice to sing with music playing… but…

  I shut my eyes and took a deep breath.

  “I’m Emily,” I said into the microphone. “And I know this will sound better than what was just up here.”

  Everyone laughed.

  That eased the tension inside me.

  I glanced down at Liam and mouthed sorry.

  He clutched his chest like I had just stabbed him in the heart.

  I moved away from the microphone and cleared my throat.

  This was it. Now or never.

  If I froze up on this stage I would never sing again for sure.

  It made me hate Liam even more.

  Even if I was smiling because of him.

  I opened my mouth and let out the first note and I could hear it reverberate through my body and the club.

  And it was not the most perfect note ever either.

  But I didn’t stop.

  I started to sing.

  Like really sing.

  It was me, the stage, the microphone, those semi-dark purple lights which were actually comforting, and a room full of strangers. Except one. One person I knew. One person I couldn’t look at because I knew he was smiling at me and that would make me feel way too good about myself. Because at the end of the night, no matter how well I sang, I would crawl into my bed, in my apartment, and be alone with my thoughts.

  The song turned a little sad. The notes were depressing. They were loud and long.

  But they worked.

  The feeling that went through me was just…

  I hated to be cliché, but I felt alive. I felt like I had woken up from a nap that had been lasting years.

  I touched my chest and felt my heart racing and my body vibrating as I sang the last note. I shut my eyes and stepped away from the microphone to let the note fade away.

  Then I stopped singing.

  And nobody did a thing.

  It was so quiet in the club you could hear the sound of a bottle cap hitting the bottom of the trash can behind the bar.

  Liam let out a cheer and the rest of the club exploded into cheers and applause.

  I covered my face with my right hand and hurried off the stage.

  I was smiling, almost ready to cry.

  The second I got off the stage and saw Liam, something came over me and I lunged at him. He caught me mid-air and spun me around as he hugged me.

  “Em, that was fucking amazing,” he said. “That was just like old times. You are so fucking talented, babe.”

  I laughed and threw my head back.

  Everyone was still clapping for me.

  When Liam put me back on my feet, his hands touched my sides.

  And he held me. He squeezed just enough to tell me he wasn’t going to let go.

  As we stood there in front of nothing but strangers, Liam never felt more like the opposite of a stranger in my entire life.

  He looked like he had something to say to me.

  I knew I had something to say to him.

  Before we could speak our minds - and heart - someone called my name.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Liam

  I wasn’t sure what the hell was about to happen.

  Emily’s attention moved from me to somewhere else.

  That somewhere else turned out to be someone else… times three.

  It was the three women who sang on stage before her.

  Even though my attention had been on Emily all night, my memory offered me three names. Carla. Faye. Robin.

  I took one step away from Emily and smiled.

  She was living the moment up. Which she should have rightfully been doing. For once in her life she was doing something for herself. It didn’t come down to money, business or success. Not to mention this was her hidden gift to the world. Now if only someone had given her a guitar to go along with the singing…

  “Emily, right?”

  The three women faced off with Emily.

  “Yeah,” Emily said.

  “I’m Carla. This is Faye. And this horrible person over here is a traitor. But you can call her Robin.”

  “And this is why I’m leaving the group,” Robin said.

  She had curly red hair that bounced when she spoke.

  “Don’t listen to them,” Faye said. She had a big smile, big eyes and black hair pulled back into a bun that was messy and off centered. “We wanted to introduce ourselves. Forgive us for interrupting your date here.”

  Faye looked at me and smiled.

  “Liam,” I called out. “I’m her manager. Any questions go through me.”

  “Manager?” Carla asked. Her blonde hair and blue eyes threatened to light up the entire place.

  “He’s joking,” Emily said. “Liam’s not a manager. He’s my… he’s…”

  Emily looked at me.

  I quickly threw a smile on my face. “Can I buy you all a drink?”

  “Oh, that sounds good, but the traitor has to go,” Carla said.

  “Stop calling me that,” Robin said.

  “It’s a joke, Robin,” Carla said. “Chill.”

  “Uh, you three are really good,” Emily said to diffuse the awkward tension. “Your voices together are just…”

  “We need yours,” Faye said.

  “What?” Emily asked.

  I smiled bigger.

  Inside my head, I was clapping for Emily.

  “Before I get accused of anything again,” Robin said. She touched her stomach. “I’m pregnant.”

  “Oh, wow, congrats,” Emily said. “How far along?”

  “Far enough,” Robin said. “My husband and I had been trying for a long time. That’s a whole other story I shouldn’t just start telling a stranger.”

  “You do that a lot, Robin,” Faye said. “You chase people away.”

  “Why do you think Kyle likes being tied up?” Carla asked.

  I laughed. “What?”

  “Nothing,” Robin said. She looked at me with a stare that was as fiery as her hair. “Got it?”

  “Got it,” I said. “I know nothing.”

  Robin looked at Emily again. “Because of our situation at home, I’m not going to be able to sing with the ladies anymore.”

  “Hence her being a traitor,” Carla said.

  “She wants to be a mom,” Emily said. “I respect that.”

  “Don’t take her side,” Carla said.

  “She already did,” Robin said.

  “Wow, we are off topic,” Faye said. She reached for Emily’s hands. “Listen to me. Emily. We sing all over the city. Mostly for fun. We have a handful of paying gigs too. We’ve done weddings and private parties. We avoid the costumes.”

  “Costumes?” Emily asked.

  “There are rich pervs who will pay big money to have you dress up like their favorite celebrity,” Carla said. “Then they get drunk and get all handsy. No way.”

  “Oh,” Emily said. “Right.”

  My mind flashed images of some Wall Street asshole sitting in a chair, calling Emily close to him, his h
ands touching the back of her legs…

  I took a breath.

  Calm down, Liam.

  “What we’re getting at is this,” Carla said. “We’ve seen a lot of shows. Especially here.” She leaned closer to Emily and I. “Faye is banging the bouncer.”

  Faye slapped Carla’s arm. “Don’t say it like that.”

  “Well, you are,” Carla said.

  “It’s true,” Robin said.

  Faye looked at Robin. “Maybe you are a traitor.”

  “Hey,” Robin said. “You told us you like roleplaying with Dozer.”

  “Shut up,” Faye said.

  She touched her cheeks.

  Emily looked at me again.

  I shrugged my shoulders.

  “Okay, now she thinks we’re crazy,” Carla said.

  “I do not,” Emily said.

  “Yeah, you do,” Carla said. “You just gave your hunky boyfriend the eyes. So now you want him to make an excuse to leave.”

  I laughed. “Hunky?”

  “What?” Carla asked. She looked right at me. Blue eyes and all. “I call it as I see it. Robin is willing to give up singing to have a baby. I’m going to miss her. But I can’t wait to hold that baby. Faye likes having Dozer carry her around… preferably to the bedroom. And you… you’re hot enough to set off the sprinkler system, Liam. If I didn’t feel the sexual chemistry between you and Emily, I’d probably make some cheap, cliché, dumb blonde moves on you.”

  “And what would those be?” I asked.

  Emily swatted my arm. “Really?”

  “Emily,” Faye said. “Here’s the deal. You’re the best singer we’ve ever heard. Tonight was Robin’s last gig. We want you to sing with us.”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Do you speak for her?” Robin asked.

  “Sorry,” I said. I touched Emily’s arm and leaned in. “I’m going to go to the bar and get us a drink. Meet me there in five minutes.”

  Emily nodded.

  I left her alone, smiling ear to ear.

  I looked back and watched as the crowd of people began to swallow Emily up.

  But I could still find her. Still see her.

  Not a single person in the place mattered more than she did.

  We stood outside Emily’s apartment.

  She touched the doorknob and then pulled her hand away really quick.

  “Do you want to see something?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I blurted out.

  I was ready to do anything to keep the night from ending.

  “Follow me,” Emily said.

  We skipped going into her apartment and walked to the end of the hallway.

  She took stairs that were so old, it made them into one giant echo as you climbed them. It reminded me of the kind of stairwell that would be in a horror movie.

  She walked. I followed.

  And we ended up at the door to the roof of the building.

  “Oh, no,” I said.

  “What?” Emily asked.

  “Are you going to push me off the roof?”

  “Shoot. You figured it out.”

  Emily stood at the door and I stepped up to the top step and stood inches from her.

  “Did I hurt you, Em?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You want revenge on me?”

  “Definitely,” she said.

  She smiled.

  I smiled.

  The stairwell was mostly dark.

  We both had a few drinks at the bar, not that that was any excuse for what was going through my mind and body. That would not be some kind of reasoning for…

  “Don’t get too close to the edge,” Emily said.

  She opened the door and stepped out to the roof.

  I curled my fists tight and shut my eyes for a second.

  What the hell are you doing, Liam?

  My internal voice was confused. As was I.

  I moved out to the roof and looked around.

  “This is kind of my secret place to hide from the world,” Emily said.

  She looked back at me and her hair danced across her face.

  “I can see why,” I said. “This is quite the view.”

  “You should come to the edge,” she said. “I won’t push you. I promise.”

  Maybe you should. Before things get…

  I wasn’t even sure how to finish that sentence.

  I walked by chairs, tables, lights… a full setup like an outdoor living room.

  “This is perfect up here,” I said.

  “I know,” she said. “The building isn’t the greatest. My apartment isn’t the biggest. But up here… it makes it all worth it.”

  Emily leaned against the edge, which was about waist height for her.

  I crept closer to the edge and looked over.

  I wasn’t afraid of heights, but from this high up, it was impossible not to feel a little jittery.

  There was another view that was better to me. Another view that made me even more jittery.

  I glanced at Emily. “Tonight.”

  “Tonight,” she said.

  “Carla, Faye, and Robin.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll forget them.”

  “You said Faye gave her number to you?”

  Emily nodded.

  “Are you going to call her?”

  “It’s not like I’m calling someone for a date,” Emily said with a laugh.

  “Wait,” I said. “Don’t dismiss it, Em. That’s a big deal. Music. Singing. That’s your thing.”

  “Liam…”

  “Come on,” I said. I leaned against the edge of the building with my left side so I could face Emily. “Don’t just let that pass you by.”

  Emily shook her head.

  She pushed away and I refused to let her get away that easily.

  I gently grabbed her arm and pulled her toward me.

  Now what?

  “Liam, please don’t.”

  “What? Tell you the truth?”

  “There is no truth.”

  “Yes, there is. There’s always truth, Em.”

  “This is why I didn’t want to do that tonight.”

  “Why not? You’re an amazing singer. You always have been. Nobody is saying you have to give up your life for it. But you have people who want to sing with you.”

  “So what?”

  “You get something for yourself,” I said. “And you’re damn good at it. I’ll be there for every show, Em. Okay?”

  “Stop.”

  “I’m serious. I’ll be front row, singing along…”

  “Liam, please, don’t ever sing again,” she said.

  “Ouch.”

  “You know you suck.”

  “And you know you’re a great singer,” I said. “I don’t want to tell you what to do… but this…”

  “This is the past, Liam,” she said. “That’s the thing with us. We’re the past.”

  That felt like she punched me right in the heart.

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “We were the past. But this is now. Right now.”

  “It was one night,” Emily said. “We had fun. And we weren’t even supposed to be doing that. I feel like-”

  “Did you enjoy it?” I asked. “Singing?”

  “Of course I did.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “There is no problem,” she said. “You’re making it one.”

  “I’m just trying to help.”

  “Did I ask for your help?”

  I sucked in a breath. “Damn.”

  “See my point?” Emily whispered.

  “Yeah, I do. I’m overbearing. I’m a pain in the ass. I get in the way. I push at you. I fight through your stubborn walls…”

  “And I didn’t ask for it,” she said.

  “But I can’t help it, Em. I have to…”

  I caught myself inching closer to her.

  And she wasn’t inching away.

  That meant we were both getting clos
er to one another…

  My head and heart battled louder than anything I ever heard or felt in my life.

  Yet my version of peace was just one life changing decision away.

  “Em…”

  Her lips moved but she didn’t say anything back to me.

  The door to the roof flew open with a bang.

  Emily jumped away from me.

  I shut my eyes and hated myself. For a ton of reasons.

  “Hey, Buzzy,” Emily said.

  “I can’t believe… oh… sorry.”

  I watched as a young girl froze in place, looking between Emily and I.

  Emily’s cheeks were flushed.

  “Buzzy, this is Liam,” Emily said. “He’s, uh, my friend…”

  Friend.

  I moved away from the edge of the roof. I gave a quick wave.

  “Liam, this is Buzzy,” Emily said. “She lives in the building.”

  “This is a great spot up here,” I said. “Sorry for crashing it.”

  “Are you two on a date or something?” Buzzy asked.

  Emily and I both laughed.

  “I was just getting ready to leave actually,” I said. “Have to get some sleep. Work in the morning. Be careful growing up. Sometimes it’s a trap.”

  “I can’t wait to grow up and move out,” Buzzy said. “Then I don’t have to listen to my mother.”

  “Well, my advice is to do well in school and take care of yourself,” I said. “Which you probably don’t want to hear from a stranger.”

  “Exactly,” Buzzy said.

  I laughed.

  I looked at Emily.

  Emily mouthed sorry to me.

  I nodded.

  I put my hand to my ear to signal to Emily that I would call her tomorrow.

  She nodded back.

  As I walked toward the door, Buzzy went to Emily for a hug and started to vent.

  That was Emily.

  She was always helping people. Taking care of others. Sometimes to her own detriment. Most of the time she’d end up hurt.

  I couldn’t get the image of me and her closing in on each other out of my head.

  What the hell was I thinking?

  What the hell was I going to do?

  Why the hell couldn’t I fight back feeling something for Emily?

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Emily

  I did leave the apartment on time.