“What?”
“You could totally come back to North Carolina. My property is pretty secluded. No one would have to know you were here.”
Matt’s immediate reaction was to say yes, but he reconsidered almost as fast. “I couldn’t do that to you, man. You have no idea what it’s been like. I’d hate to have the paparazzi climbing all over your house and property. It’s not fair to you.”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure. I have a ten-foot privacy fence around the property and a gate at the driveway. There are security cameras all over, and I’d make sure the place was stocked so you wouldn’t have to go out for a while.”
“Dude…paranoid much? What’s with all the privacy?”
Aaron chuckled. “I’m making a healthy living now, and this house is an investment for me. I put every bell and whistle into it that I ever dreamed of, and I want to protect it. And besides that, I really do enjoy the privacy. It’s kind of fun making the locals wonder what’s behind the fence. And it looks like it will work to your advantage too.”
“You’re talking as if you wouldn’t be there.”
“I’m getting ready to head over to London for a couple of weeks for business. I figured you might enjoy a change of scenery in a place no one really knows you.”
Matt chuckled. “You forget we both grew up in the same town. The same town you’re currently living in. People know me.”
“You haven’t been back here since the day after we graduated high school. No one’s expecting to see you here.” Aaron paused. “Come on, Matt. My offer stands. You find a way to get here undetected, and I’ll make sure you have peace and privacy for a couple of weeks. What do you say?”
It was so tempting. He was about to say that when he realized the car had pulled up to Mick’s building and was heading to the underground parking garage. “Listen, Aaron, can I call you back in a little while? I’m just pulling up to Mick’s, and I need to know my options before I pull a disappearing act.”
“Okay,” Aaron agreed. “But promise me you’ll think about it.”
“I will,” he replied and then paused. “And, Aaron?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
Matt shut the phone down and slid from the car as soon as it came to a stop. He was immediately whisked up in a private elevator to Mick’s office on the twenty-fourth floor. It was late in the day, and only Mick’s assistant was in the office.
“He’s waiting for you,” she said softly with a smile—the kind of smile that said I’m so sorry.
He was beginning to hate that smile.
Closing the door behind him, Matt strode across the room toward Mick’s desk and sat in the chair facing him.
“Did anyone give you trouble downstairs?” Mick asked.
Matt shook his head. “I don’t think anyone followed us here, so—”
Before he could say anything more, Mick slid a newspaper across his desk toward Matt. “This isn’t good.”
Great. More bad news. Picking up the paper, he scanned the article, his ire growing with every word. “This is bullshit!”
Mick nodded.
“So…do something!” Matt yelled. “Get Cheryl on the line! Release tapes! Do whatever you have to do to prove these bastards wrong!”
“Already working on it,” Mick said calmly. Almost too calmly.
“But…?”
“But,” he began, “this just means you’re going to be thrust into the spotlight even more around here. You need to leave town and lay low for a while.”
His conversation with Aaron immediately sprang to mind. And while he hated the thought of having to pack up and leave like a thief in the night, obviously it was his only option.
“Look, Matty, I know this all sucks, but it is what it is. It’s been hard enough trying to reel in this media circus when it was just about you. Now they’re going after the band and trying to screw up your reputation as musicians. I can’t allow it. It’s not fair to the guys.”
“What about me?” Matt snapped. “So because this stupid show flopped, it’s okay to call me out as a fraud in every aspect of my life? How the hell is that fair?”
“Okay, let me rephrase that,” Mick said patiently. “It’s not fair to any of you. You know we dealt with similar bullshit when Riley was working on his solo album. The press had a field day with him for a while, claiming he had no talent without the band.” He shrugged. “Now it’s your turn.”
“Yeah, but—”
Mick cut him off. “We’re already working on releasing tapes to prove you can sing, that no one’s singing or playing for you. The producers of the Broadway gig aren’t being cooperative, but luckily we had people there recording you and taking video during a lot of your rehearsals, so we can show you were the one singing the whole time. We’re going to say it was just…stage fright or an illness that made you sound…”
“Like shit?” Matt finished for him.
Mick grinned. “There’s no point in calling it anything else, is there? The fact is, you sucked. You know it, I know it, and everyone who saw the damn thing during those three days knows it. So why sugarcoat it?”
He hated when the man threw logic at him.
“All I know is that I don’t want anyone questioning the integrity of Shaughnessy.” He held up a hand to stop Matt before he could say anything. “I hate that you’re going through this, kid, I really do, but you guys worked your asses off for far too long to let something like this take you down. I need to do damage control, and to do it quickly and shut down the rumors, I need you out of the way. You’re a distraction right now.”
Again. Logic.
Matt waited a minute and let his knee-jerk hissy fit calm down before he spoke. “Have you talked to the guys? What are they saying?”
“Riley’s going to do the late-night talk show circuit starting next week. You know it’s a topic that’s going to come up, so he’ll do what he can there. We’re putting out press releases, and I have people who owe me favors. This whole thing should die down in the next couple of weeks.”
Matt jumped to his feet. “You have favors and you’ve waited until now to call them in? What about when it all hit the fan for me? Why the hell weren’t you doing anything about it then?”
Mick nearly leveled him with a glare. “You wanna know?”
Matt held his ground. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.”
Slowly Mick came to his feet. “Because this Broadway thing was your own fault. I warned you not to do it. You’re not an actor, Matty. You’re a guitar player. You’re great at backup vocals, but you’re not a front man.” He threw out his hands. “You did this for your ego and you weren’t going to listen to anyone who didn’t think it was a good idea. This was all on you.”
It was on the tip of Matt’s tongue to tell Mick to go to hell, but he refrained.
It was obvious Mick knew exactly what he was thinking. “You can cast me as the bad guy all you want, but it’s not going to change anything. I want you to get out of town for a while. Let’s say a month. I’ll call you when the smoke’s cleared. Okay?”
“Like I have a choice?”
“Sure, you have a choice. Stay in town and keep getting harassed. Become more of a joke than you already are.” He shrugged. “And know you’re the reason your bandmates are going to go down with you.”
It was one thing to be defiant when he was only hurting himself. There was no way he was going to take Riley, Dylan, and Julian down with him. No matter how much he wanted to stick it to Mick.
Raking a hand through his hair, Matt nodded. “Fine.” He turned and headed toward the door.
“Where are you gonna go?”
He stopped with his hand on the doorknob and faced his agent. “Probably better if you don’t know. The fewer people who know, the better. Right?”
Mi
ck gave him a sympathetic look. The first one he’d ever seen on the man. “It’s not forever, Matt. You know that.”
“Yeah” was all he could say. Pulling open the door, he stepped out and shut it quietly behind him.
Now he just had to figure out how he was going to get out of the city and to Aaron’s without anyone knowing.
* * *
Vivienne Forrester was on top of the world. Spinning in her office chair, she giggled with pure glee at the current turn of events in her life. For years, she had been blogging and freelance writing for any online site that would let her, and now all of her hard work had finally paid off.
As of ten minutes ago, she was officially an assistant editor for Modern Lifestyle, an online lifestyle magazine. All of the food and restaurant trends, reviews, and blog posts were now her domain, and she couldn’t be happier. No more doing it all on her own and hoping for a site to pick up her work; now Vivienne was in charge of picking the topics and which posts were going to be used.
“Yay me!” she squealed and gave herself a final spin. When she stopped, the room was still seemingly in motion, so she gave herself a moment to let it all come to a stop before she stood. “Aaron,” she said and immediately turned to pick up her phone. “I need to call Aaron.”
When her parents retired and decided to move back to her mother’s birthplace, Paris, Vivienne had been thrilled for them. What she didn’t realize was how they were pretty much retiring from being active in their children’s lives too. It had bothered her a lot at first, but Aaron had pointed out that it was only fair for them to live the life they wanted and that he would always be there for her.
And he was.
Honestly, she couldn’t have asked for a better brother.
Scanning her phone, she pulled up his number, hit Send, and then waited, bouncing on her feet the entire time.
“Hey, you’ve reached Aaron. Leave me a message and I’ll get back to you…”
It was the third time this week she’d gotten that message and she was starting to get concerned. She knew he was leaving for London next week, but he hadn’t mentioned he’d be unreachable until then. “Hey, it’s me again,” she said cheerily. “You’re starting to freak me out. Please call me back. I have exciting news for you!”
She hung up the phone and looked around her office—her home office. It was another perk to the new position. As a freelance writer and blogger, she was able to write from home; with her new position, she’d get to keep doing so. Although right now it didn’t feel very perkish. There was no one there to celebrate with her, no one to laugh and smile and jump up and down with.
Although, if she were honest, there wasn’t very much room for jumping up, down, or anywhere right now. There were boxes lining all of the walls of her home, and in another week, she’d be loading them onto a truck and moving across town to her new place. This was all part of the new beginning she’d been hoping for, and it just sucked that she had no one readily available to share in her excitement.
While trying to decide what to do about her brother, she checked the day’s news online. Local stuff wasn’t really of interest, but checking out sites like USA Today and MSN helped her see what was trending and what she could use for Modern Lifestyle.
Where in the World Is Matty Reed?
The headline rang out above a picture of Matt shielding his face as he walked into what Vivienne assumed was his apartment building. Scanning the article, she saw that no one had seen him coming or going in three days. Some reports were claiming he was simply hiding out in shame, while another source was stating that he was brutally depressed because of all the negative publicity.
Vivienne shook her head. “Seriously? This is all over a failed musical?”
She couldn’t easily comprehend it. Being in the public eye the way Matt was had never been something she’d aspired to. No, thank you. Working behind the scenes was more her style. That’s why the magazine was the perfect job for her—even if it meant she worked alone a lot and sometimes didn’t see people for days.
“Okay, no pity-partying for me,” she murmured. “I’ll just make a couple of calls and organize a girls’ night out to celebrate.”
Vivienne was scanning her favorite contacts when the phone rang. A big smile crossed her face as she answered. “Hey! You’re alive!”
Aaron chuckled. “Was there any doubt about it?”
“Well, you haven’t returned my calls, so I was beginning to wonder.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I had some…stuff to take care of before I leave next week. So what’s the good news?”
Stuff? It was so unlike Aaron to be vague. She’d address it later; right now, she wanted to share her news. “I got the assistant editor job!” she said excitedly.
“Viv, that’s awesome! I knew you would get it! They would have been crazy to give it to anyone else. I’m so proud of you!”
“So how about dinner? I was thinking we could go to that seafood place you like so much—you know the one where they have the lobster tails as big as your head?”
“Oh…um…tonight’s not good for me. Can I get a rain check?”
“What’s going on, Aaron?” she quickly demanded.
“What… I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t be like that,” she snapped. “First you disappear for a few days without telling me why or where you went, and now you’re passing on dinner. You never do that. Ever. So tell me what’s going on or I’m coming over there and—”
“No!” he shouted and then instantly softened his tone. “I mean—”
“Okay, clearly something is going on, so you can either tell me, or I’ll be there in no time to find out for myself.”
“Hold on,” he said, and for a minute, she could hear the muffled sound of him talking to someone. Aaron came back on the line with a sigh. “Pick up enough Chinese food for three and come over.”
“But…why can’t we go out and celebrate? Who’s the third person?”
“Viv, will you just trust me on this one? Pick up the food and we’ll talk when you get here.”
“You’re freaking me out, Aaron. Why are you so secretive?”
“Look, it will all make sense when you get here. I’ll call in the order, and I’ll see you soon.”
“But…” She never got to finish. Aaron had hung up. For a solid minute, Vivienne looked at her phone, unable to comprehend what had just happened. She and Aaron had no secrets from one another, and the fact that there was something going on with him was beyond infuriating.
“Fine,” she said, tossing her phone in her purse. “Enjoy the last thirty minutes of your secret because once I get there, I’m going to give you hell for it.”
Taking a few minutes to freshen up, she did her best not to let this get her down. There was a new job to celebrate, and no matter what was going on with her brother, Vivienne was going to keep her cheerful mood.
No matter how much she wanted to strangle Aaron.
Within minutes she was locking up and heading out to her car. Looking at her town house, she sighed. It wasn’t going to be a hardship to leave this place behind. Aaron’s property included a fabulous guesthouse that Vivienne had been renovating in a French country decor to make it her own. She was moving in next week while Aaron was away. If she were a more suspicious person, she’d say he’d planned it that way. But it didn’t matter. The house was amazing, and it was finished exactly as she wanted it.
It took less than ten minutes to reach Panda Gardens, and because she and Aaron were regulars and it was a Tuesday night, their order was waiting when she walked in. The drive to Aaron’s took only another fifteen minutes, and when she pulled into the driveway, Vivienne looked around to see if anything was out of place. Aaron had mentioned dinner for three, but there were no other cars in front of the house.
“No time like the present to find
out,” she murmured as she grabbed the bag and climbed from the car. The weather was perfect, she observed as she walked to the front door. Coastal Carolina in the spring was—as far as Vivienne was concerned—the best. Maybe she could convince Aaron to eat outside.
At the door, she didn’t bother knocking—she never did—but when she went to open it, she found it locked. “Okay, this better be huge.” With her hands full of Chinese takeout, Vivienne had no choice but to ring the doorbell with her elbow. It didn’t take long for Aaron to answer, an apologetic look on his face.
“I know, I know,” he said immediately. “I forgot to leave it unlocked.”
Without a word, Vivienne stepped around him and walked into the house.
“Viv! Wait!”
She glared at him over her shoulder but kept on walking.
Aaron caught up and stepped in front of Vivienne to stop her. “I don’t want you to be upset with me. I want to celebrate your new job, and it’s kind of hard to do that if you’re all mad at me.” He gave her a smile that usually guaranteed she’d forgive him anything. “Please.”
Rolling her eyes, Vivienne could only laugh. “Okay, fine. I’m not mad at you. But I am hungry, and there’s a lot of food here. It feels like we’re feeding a small army. So what’s going on? Who’s here?” As she walked into the kitchen, she looked around for signs of who was visiting.
Vivienne put the food down and immediately went to work getting out plates and silverware while Aaron got drinks for them. “Can we eat out back on the porch?” she asked. “It’s so beautiful out tonight.”
“Sure,” Aaron agreed.
Together they set the food up outside, and when there was nothing left to do, Vivienne looked at him expectantly. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“Aaron,” she groaned with exasperation. “Enough now. I picked up the food, I came over, and we’re ready to eat. Can you please just tell me who’s here?”
Behind her, someone cleared their throat.
A male someone.
Vivienne turned around and froze.
Matt Reed was standing in the open doorway.
One More Kiss Page 2
