Half Empty

by Catherine Bybee

  Wade removed one of the guitars from its stand and walked over to a stool to perch his butt. He strummed a few chords and tightened a string to bring the instrument into tune.

  He started the opening riff of a melody that had been drifting in and out of his head for over a month. Even though he’d been on tour and busy with sold-out arenas for the better part of eight months, he still found himself writing new music. He didn’t think touring and creating were exclusive to themselves, so he always had new stuff in the works.

  He hummed a note, changed the rhythm, and then repeated it again. “I’m gonna make you smile . . .” He changed a chord, sang the verse again. He did it half a dozen times more before he grabbed a piece of staff paper and wrote the music down.

  Time slipped away, and in what felt like minutes, the door to the studio opened, and Ike sauntered in.

  “Do you ever stop?”

  Wade glanced up. “I’ll stop when I’m dead.”

  “Not if Vicki has anything to say about it.”

  “What is my mother up to now?”

  Ike leaned against the wall. “I’m not supposed to tell you.”

  Wade dropped his smile. “I pay you.”

  “Right. So . . . there may or may not be a Texas-size barbeque planned for this Saturday to welcome you home from your tour. A band—that doesn’t include you in the headline—lights, dance floor, a side of beef, several chickens, and at least one pig is on the menu. Anyone you’ve ever met in your life that hasn’t asked you for money was invited.” He paused. “And some that have asked.”

  Wade put his guitar aside and narrowed his eyes.

  “By anyone I’ve ever met, would that include a certain ex–female friend that Vicki still has lunch with whenever she’s in town?”

  Ike looked away without comment.

  “C’mon, Ike . . . you’re supposed to have my back.”

  “I told her it was a bad idea.”

  He and Jordyn had broken it off before he started his tour. Not that it had been that long, or deep, of a relationship. This was why he didn’t date close to home. Too damn complicated when it ended.

  “I need to shut this down,” Wade said as he stood.

  “That might be a little hard.”

  “Why?”

  “Jordyn’s band is the entertainment, and the invitations have already gone out. Caterers are set and paid for.”

  Irritation scratched his skull. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

  “I didn’t hear of it until I came home.”

  “Then you should have called me.”

  “It wouldn’t have changed anything.”

  That’s where Ike was wrong. “I would have flown to Barcelona and drank sangria for a couple of weeks. Found a dark haired, Spanish speaking, salsa dancing cutie to spend my time with.”

  “Well, unless you can bring said cutie to the barbeque, I’d plan on a romantic intervention between your mother and your girlfriend.”

  “Ex-girlfriend.”

  Ike shook his head. “She doesn’t seem to know just how ex that is. You might have to remind her.”

  Reminding women it was over had been the theme of his dating life since he signed with his first record label. Before fame, if he wasn’t feeling it, he simply said so. Now, there was begging and pleading, which were sometimes followed up by screaming and yelling. Jordyn had begged and pleaded. She also kept in close contact with his mother. He couldn’t take any blame for introducing them. No, Jordyn and her band were on a local circuit that played at Jo’s tavern and dance hall. A place he often went to blow off steam and have a good time. It was local enough to have neighbors that saw him often enough not to act starstruck when he walked in the room. Most of the time he felt like just another cowboy, tilting back a beer with his friends. He’d had hopes that he could return and find Jordyn hooked up with someone else.

  Guess that wasn’t going to happen.

  “Saturday, you said?” An idea started to form.

  “Yup.”

  Three days.

  “You’re chasing me,” Trina said as she answered the phone. The thing rang at nearly the same time it had the night before. Wade’s name popped up and made her smile. She’d thought about calling him twice during the day, and then life distracted her to another closet, and in this case, another safe for the locksmith to crack open.

  “Guilty.” His voice was pure southern charm.

  “Why?”

  He paused. “That’s a complicated answer.”

  “Try.” She sat looking out the second story window at the rain falling in steady sheets.

  “Do you want the short answer or the long one?”

  She wasn’t looking for a compliment, and a long answer would seem as if she were. “The short one.”

  “Okay, then. You’re not chasing me.”

  Not the answer she had expected.

  “Oh.”

  “I have more reasons.”

  “No, no . . . I asked for the short version. I bet a lot of women chase you.” As in hundreds.

  “They do.” That might have sounded cocky, but Wade said it with an exhausted sigh.

  “That must make it hard on your girlfriends.”

  He chuckled. “Funny you should say that.”

  “Why is that amusing?”

  “What are you doing this weekend?”

  Trina stopped watching the rain and moved to the edge of her bed. “I’m still in New York, working my way through this massive house room by room, why?”

  “Can I tear you away?”

  “Are you asking me out?”

  “Are you ready for that?” He sounded hopeful.

  Maybe when she wasn’t standing a room away from Fedor’s bedroom. “I’m not sure.”

  “Then I’m not asking you out . . . I’m asking for a favor.”

  “What kind of favor?”

  “I need a decoy date.”

  “A decoy what?”

  “Don’t say no. Just hear me out.”

  “I haven’t said no and you haven’t explained anything.”

  Wade blew out a breath. “Hear me out, don’t interrupt until I’m—”

  “I haven’t interrupted you.”

  “You just did.”

  Trina grinned.

  Silence.

  “Are you still there?”

  “I’m not interrupting.”

  Wade chuckled. “My mother has decided a welcome home party is in order since I’ve been on tour for so many months. Lots of food, people, a band . . . dancing. You still owe me a two-step.”

  She opened her mouth with only a peep.

  “Eh, I’m not done,” he cut her off.

  Trina bit her lip.

  “Lots of people. Good people. You’d like them. Mainly old friends and neighbors. A few of my staff and people I’ve worked with. Anyway . . . there is one guest I’m not very happy about Mom inviting.”

  Trina waited for him to finish. Her mouth closed.

  “Jordyn and I dated last year for a brief time. We called it off before I left. I’m not completely sure how she convinced my mother that she should be at the shindig, but convince her she did, and now I’m in need of a decoy date to help me out.”

  This sounded all too familiar. Decoy wife, decoy date. What could possibly go wrong? Trina glanced at the adjoining door to Fedor’s room.

  “Are you there?” Wade asked.

  “I’m not interrupting.”

  “I’m done. You can interrupt now.”

  Trina closed her eyes, shook her head. “No.”

  “You can interrupt, I don’t mind.”

  “No, Wade. I don’t want to be your pretend date. I’m sorry. I know I owe you a favor after running off to the Bahamas to give me a few days’ reprieve from my friends, but lying to your friends and family about us . . . I can’t do that again.”

  “Again?” he asked.

  Trina caught herself. “At all. I can’t do it.”

  Silence.

&
nbsp; She choked another apology inside her mouth.

  “Then come as my real date.”

  “Wade.”

  “I’ll teach you the two-step. You’ll meet people outside your circle that won’t hit on you since you’re my date. I have a very big house with plenty of rooms. No expectations. If you want to stay in town, I’ll arrange it. Please say yes, Trina. I really want to see you again.”

  That last line caught in her chest.

  She couldn’t imagine a Wade Thomas party.

  “When is this Texas-size blowout?”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Do you always answer a question with a question?”

  “Saturday. The party is on Saturday.” He sounded hopeful.

  Trina scanned her bedroom again. There was a whole lot of work to do, but maybe one day off wouldn’t hurt.

  She really hoped she wasn’t going to regret this. “Fine.”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes, Wade. I will be your date. No expectations. Like I said, I’m not sure I’m ready.”

  Did he just whistle? Trina was certain she heard a high-pitched squeak over the line.

  “I have never worked this hard for a first date in my whole life,” he said.

  “I think you’ve already said this. Besides, it doesn’t feel like a first date.”

  “It sure doesn’t. But it will, little lady . . . it will.”

  “Save his office for Monday,” Trina told Avery. She stood in the foyer of the Hamptons estate with a small suitcase at her feet. Boxes filled the halls as a testament to the dent they had made in the short week they’d been at the house. Two safes, both found behind paintings, had been cracked, revealing a significant amount of dollars, euros, and rubles, along with a stack of gold coins. Why Fedor felt the need to have so much money on hand would remain a mystery. The locksmith had blown out a whistle when the first safe was opened, prompting Trina to ask the man to leave the room once the second safe was cracked so she could see the contents without an audience. The large safe in Fedor’s back office was the only one left to crack, and Trina wanted to wait until there was a bodyguard standing by. Lori’s boyfriend, Reed, was arranging just that for the early part of next week.

  “Wade Thomas . . . really?”

  Trina set her sunglasses on the bridge of her nose and smiled with sarcasm. “I’m a big girl, Mom, I’ll be fine.”

  Avery narrowed her eyes. “You’re vulnerable. Especially this week.”

  “Am I some kind of wilted flower, dying in the corner?”

  “There have been tears.”

  “Not many. Besides, I need to stop by the office while I’m in Texas, and the cemetery. Wade’s party will be a nice distraction from all of that.”

  “Can one ‘stop by’ Wade’s home from yours?”

  “It’s actually not that bad. He’s south of Austin, so about a two-hour drive.”

  “Just be careful.”

  Trina placed her purse over her shoulder. “I should say the same to you. I’d feel better if we had a guard around here now.”

  Avery blew her off. “Because so many people show up at the door trying to rob the place?”

  “No, because Kevin, the key man, started salivating when he saw the gold in the safe.”

  “Which is already at the bank.”

  “Still . . .”

  “You’re being paranoid. This house has been vacant for almost a year with all this stuff sitting here.”

  Trina sighed. “Okay, fine. But watch your back when you leave.”

  “I won’t have a neon sign over my car telling the world I’m carrying thousands of dollars’ worth of watches when I take them to the auction house.”

  Avery had embraced her new job and had appointments all over Manhattan throughout the weekend. Normal business hours didn’t apply when the two of them waved around the kind of money Fedor’s estate would likely fetch. And that was just with the stuff filling the walls and closets. Shopping real estate agents was high on Avery’s list, and what better time to check them out than during the many open houses that took place over the weekend?

  “Go, enjoy your party while I slave away at the office.”

  Trina laughed and hugged her friend. “I’ll call when I’m back in town so you know I’m walking in the door.”

  “You’ll call when you finish with the party and give me all the details. Don’t be afraid to name-drop if you see anyone famous.”

  “Fine.” Trina pulled the arm of her suitcase and rolled it in front of her. “Oh, by the way, I left a message for Cindy, my housekeeper, to let her know we’re in town. If she calls back, have her and a crew come in on Tuesday to start working behind us, cleaning the rooms we’ve already tackled.”

  “On it!”

  “Thanks again.”

  “Go. I have stuff to do,” Avery teased.

  Avery stood on the steps and waved as she pulled out of the drive.

  Trina opted to drive herself to the airport, again to keep the amount of people coming and going from the property to a minimum.

  A weekend date at Wade’s home, with an ex-girlfriend and his mother . . . what could possibly go wrong? There would probably be a dozen other women vying for his attention. Trina looked through her rearview mirror as the Hamptons home disappeared. She was fairly certain no one was going to die, so how bad could it be?

  Chapter Twelve

  Wade opted for sunglasses and a baseball cap in an effort to keep his identity on the down low. He stood in the back of the crowd, waiting outside of baggage claim, where he’d told Trina he would meet her. When was the last time he’d stood in an airport to pick someone up? He couldn’t remember.

  He scanned the crowd, watching for the telltale sign of a cell phone turned his way. There were the kind of fans that noticed him in a crowd and would snap a sly picture, and then there were the people who walked right up, asked if he was Wade Thomas, and then requested a picture or an autograph. Seemed the pictures were the bigger request than his name on a piece of paper. Although he had signed plenty of boobs in his career.

  His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he reached to answer without looking at the name.

  “Hello.”

  “Wade?”

  He didn’t recognize the voice.

  “Depends on who is askin’.”

  “It’s the blonde pit bull.”

  He winced. Avery. “Trina did not tell you I said that.”

  “She most certainly did.”

  “Well, Miss Avery, I meant that out of my deepest respect,” he backpedaled. “Strong women run the earth.”

  “Keep kissing up,” she said.

  He laughed as he scanned the crowed exiting baggage claim. “What can I do for you?”

  “I wanted to make sure you didn’t send some flunky to pick Trina up at the airport.”

  “No, ma’am, I did not. I’m standing right here, waiting for her now.”

  “Huh.”

  “Anything else?” he asked, knowing full well Avery wasn’t done.

  “Yeah. Don’t mess with her head.”

  He opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off.

  “Don’t lie to her. Don’t tell her she’s the only one if she isn’t. Don’t be an asshole.”

  Wade didn’t think The Blonde Pit Bull was a worthy enough title for the woman giving him sass on the phone.

  “You’re a good friend, Avery. Trina’s lucky to have you on her side.” He really did mean that. Much as he was the one on the wrong end of the woman’s gun.

  “Uh-huh . . . right.”

  “I’m going to go out on a limb and say you really don’t like me, do you?”

  “I know your kind, and I’ve warned her. But apparently there isn’t anything else I can do.”

  From the crowd he saw a woman of Trina’s height with sleek black hair . . . his heart did a little two-step of its own.

  “I’ll take good care of her. You can count on that.”

  Yup, that was her. Th
ose dark eyes caught his, even through his sunglasses, and her lips spread into a smile. The feeling in his belly made his entire body warm.

  This was good.

  This was very good.

  Avery was saying something that he didn’t catch.

  “Ah-huh . . . sure. Thanks for your advice.” He hung up.

  Trina pushed one small, round designer suitcase in front of her as she approached.

  He wanted to kiss her. Wanted to throw his arms around her, spin her in a circle, and make her laugh with the silliness of it all.

  He hesitated.

  “Screw it.” Four giant steps and he gave in to the desire. He lifted her surprised frame off the ground, pulled her body flush with his, and dropped his lips to her ear. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

  “Wade!”

  He kissed the side of her head, opting for something less personal, considering he had yet to savor her lips.

  Yet, God willing, be the right word.

  Damn, she smelled good. Something exotic with a hint of floral. He pulled in a deep breath of her scent and savored it to memory.

  “Put me down,” she laughed.

  His sunglasses had twisted on his face and fell to the ground when he let her go. Her spice colored eyes peered into his. “You came.”

  “I told you I would.”

  He couldn’t stop smiling.

  “Okay . . . ohhh kaaay! This is good.”

  Her chest shook with her laugh. “You’re blushing.”

  “I’m a happy man,” he admitted freely.

  She looked to the side and back again. “Do you think we should get out of the way?”

  Wade followed her lead, found his glasses on the ground, and reached for her bag.

  “I can—”

  “But I’m going to,” he interrupted and placed the suitcase out of her reach. With his free hand, he reached for hers. Their first date was starting now, and he didn’t want anyone who might be watching to think for even a second that Trina wasn’t with him.

  They made it within a yard of the sliding doors of the airport before three giggly girls cut them off.

  “You’re Wade Thomas!”