by Carina Adams
Peaches blinked, as if what I’d said was absurd, and turned to Randy.
The old man rubbed his chin with thumb and watched me thoughtfully. He knew every word was a lie. He also knew I was hung-over.
I could feel his judgment. Not because of the tales I weaved. He was upset because I’d gotten so drunk I’d crashed at Soiree again. He expected better of me and I knew it.
“Peaches and I have a lot to do for her show tonight and not much time to do it. We were surprised when we walked into the costume room earlier, that’s it. We both know how misleading some things can be.” He pushed himself out of the chair. “If you don’t need us for anything, we need to get ready.” He was almost out the door when he turned to look at me. “Sorry for any miscommunication. We’ve been here working for hours.”
They knew Cady hadn’t just shown up to check on me. Her damn car had been in the lot when they’d arrived. And in case they were clueless like me and didn’t know the rolling pile of junk belonged to her, the fact that she’d managed to walk straight to the costume room, bypassing all the others, and not run into them once on her quest to find me gave it all away. I hadn’t save the day; I’d just lit the pyre.
Double fuck.
“You just getting home?”
I slammed my truck door too hard and shook my head in irritation as I stomped up the walk toward the front door. I wasn’t in the mood for Reid or his shit. Asshole knew I’d been out all night, not that he’d done anything to stop it. He was the one who’d left with Brooke, after all.
“I was at the studio,” I snarled back as I glared at the bag in his hands. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where he’d been the night before. Or with who. “Where the fuck were you?”
He cocked a brow and held up the bag. “This is for tonight,” he glanced at his watch. “The girls will be here any minute.”
Shit. The girls. I’d been so distracted by everything that had happened in the last hour I’d forgotten all about Boston.
I stopped beside him. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”
“Jesus,” he leaned away from me. “You hung-over or still drunk?”
“Little bit of both,” I grumbled as I walked toward the house. “I need a shower. I’ll be right back.”
“You don’t have to come,” he called after me. “I can take them myself.”
I didn’t stop walking. “Ten minutes.”
“Take all the time you need. I don’t want to smell that all day.”
I was showered, dressed, packed, and back out front in less than fifteen. The three of them were already in Reid’s truck, ready to go. The girls had piled into the back so I slid into shotgun. The short ride to the train station was filled with Violet’s excited chatter, yet Cady barely said two words.
I needed to get her alone. We had to talk about what happened the night before. And that morning.
Reid never left her side, though. Not while we waited to board, not once we were on the Downeaster, and not while we walked around the city. Her hand was either in his or his arm was slung around her.
Every time he touched her, I wanted to kick his ass. When she smiled up at him, I contemplated murder.
It was pure torture.
Between the hell she put me through, and worst hangover known to human kind, I was miserable. The only reason I survived was because I wanted five minutes alone with her to figure shit out.
When Violet suggested we retreat to our rooms and get ready for the night, I agreed. My thoughts were all over the place. I needed to set my mind right.
At check-in, I got thrown for another loop.
“Only three keys?”
Reid smirked and lifted his chin in Cady’s direction. “Two of us are sharing.”
I hated him in that instant.
While we waited for the elevator to come, I tried not to stare at the two of them, cuddled up together nice and cozy. Yet I couldn’t look away.
“Did you get Brooke home safe and sound last night?”
Cady stiffened, uncomfortable. Reid’s eyes narrowed in anger. Violet, on the other hand, was shocked.
She turned her body toward Reid as the lift arrived. “Brooke?” Her voice was full of ice. “That’s who you were out with?”
He waited until the four of us were locked inside the tiny space before he answered. “No. I ran into her at a bar.” He narrowed his eyes at me over Cady’s head. “She’d had way too much to drink so I took her home.”
“Brooke, in a bar? Yeah, okay.” Violet scoffed, as if it was the most unrealistic thing she’d ever heard. “What’s the real story?”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I’d love to know the real story.”
Cady’s cheeks got red.
“No story,” Reid assured Vi with a shrug. “A friend called me for help. I went. That’s it.”
“Whatever,” Violet sighed. “If that’s how you want to play it.” The doors opened onto our floor and she grabbed Cady’s hand and tugged. “We’re going to go get ready. See you in an hour. Right back here.”
Cady didn’t put up a fight, either in a hurry to get away from me, or desperate to avoid the situation.
As soon as they were around the corner, Reid turned to me. “Drink?”
“Hell, yes.” Screw sleeping it off. Hair of the dog was what I needed.
Five minutes later we were in a booth at the hotel bar, bourbon in hand.
“I took her home. That’s it.”
I nodded and let my eyes drift around the room. I didn’t believe him. Not completely. There was always more with Brooke. It was never just a ride home, just a phone call, or even just a smile. I could name more than one time when he hadn’t just taken her home.
She’d had the two of us twisted up in knots for years. It didn’t matter what had been said or what had been done. In the end all of us had lost—friendships, trust, ourselves.
I didn’t want to have this conversation again with him in this lifetime, let alone in a half-empty bar where anyone could hear us. But I knew he wasn’t going to let it go.
I sat back, spun my glass on the table, and attempted to act like nothing he could say or do would bother me. Nothing could be further from the truth. He’d taken Brooke home and now he was going to spend the weekend with Cady in his arms.
The idea of jealousy disgusted me. I’d never understood wanting something someone else had so much that you turned bitter inside and let hate rule your actions. Maybe it was a byproduct of growing up with a silver spoon, having everything I’d wanted handed to me. Or maybe I just didn’t care enough about anything.
At least, not until I’d seen Reid kiss Brooke for the first time. That had made me see red. I’d wanted to kill my best friend.
The knowledge that Cady was his now made me feel the same way. The reasons behind the emotions were what I couldn’t figure out. I didn’t know if my mind had gotten so twisted that I wanted her simply because she was a challenge and I knew I’d never have her, or if I was so fucked up that deep down I was a selfish prick and hated that Reid got something I didn’t.
“Brooke misses you.”
A month before, hell even a week, I’d have been relieved to hear it. I’d missed her, too. I’d prayed to God, plead with him, to help me turn things around, to get my life back. Now I didn’t know what I wanted.
“She tell you that after she begged you to take her home?” The question surprised me.
“It wasn’t like that.”
“I don’t care.” I didn’t know if it was the truth or not. “We’re done. She’s all yours.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “She was never mine and we both know it.”
I snorted. “Then you and I have vastly different memories.”
“Fucking someone doesn’t make them yours. Or this would be an entirely different conversation.”
Uncomfortable, I looked away. “She loved you just as much as she loved me.”
“And you loved her enough to marry her. You spent the summer bur
ied in a bottle, and now you’re done. Just like that?”
“It’s been months. She left me, remember? We were hours away from our vows and she left. I didn’t run out on her.”
“That day. What about others? You got cold feet.”
“I made a mistake.”
“You screwed Liv.”
“Once. It happened once.” I snapped.
“Brooke was extremely insecure about the women who worked at Soiree. You knew how much she hated Glitters and that she worried about you partnering with her. Yet you fucked her anyway. And tried to hide it.”
“I did,” I agreed. “It was a shitbag move. One I made right. Livie left Soiree and I tried to fix the mess I’d made.”
“No, you may have asked Liv to leave so you could try to save your marriage, but she’s still part of your life.”
“Yeah, she is.” I gripped by glass hard, angry. “Because as much as I loved Brooke, and would have done anything to fix my relationship with her, Livie is family. Giving up on my family was never an option. Brooke asked for honesty, even though she never gave it to me, and when I bared my soul, she assured me we were fine. She waited until the night before our wedding and fucking ran away.”
“You slept with another woman.”
“Fuck you.” There was a time Brooke had slept with both of us. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
“Brooke is just as miserable as you are. Her view is that you cheated and never cut ties with your mistress. You think she lied to you and then embarrassed you on purpose. You both need to get over yourselves. Forgive and forget or let go and move one. Either way, you need to talk to her.”
“Yeah,” I scoffed. “Because that went so well last night.”
Reid took a long sip of his drink. “She was drunk. And not prepared to see you. Cady didn’t plan it well.”
“Cady didn’t plan what well?” My voice was like ice.
He finished off his drink and shrugged. “She’s trying to get you two back together.”
“Why in the fuck would she do that?”
“You’d have to ask her.”
Oh, I planned on it. I was going to have a long chat with Cady about meddling in other people’s business. And tell her to stay the hell out of mine.
“She’s not wrong,” he continued. “You two need a push.”
I finished off my drink, threw a twenty on the table to cover a tip, and left.
Cady and Violet were in the hall waiting for an elevator when I stepped off mine. Surprised I muttered the first thing that came into my mind. “It hasn’t been an hour.”
Vi laughed and shook her head. “No. It’s amazing how fast you can get ready when you put on makeup like a regular person and wear normal clothes.” She grinned. “We decided to pregame in the bar.”
Vi always looked good. She possessed an almost exotic-like natural beauty that she’d inherited from her mother. On any given night at Soiree, she used makeup to enhance it, which made her seem almost whimsical. A true fantasy. When guests requested her they often referred to her as the most beautiful woman they’d ever seen.
Tonight though, she’d attempted to downplay her looks with minimal makeup. The top of her hair had been pulled back in a vintage style and eggplant colored curls she rarely let show cascaded around her shoulders. A simple navy blue dress with white polka dots and red heels completed her look.
Cady, on the other hand, was stunning. Violet could have been dressed in full costume and danced half naked in front of me and I wouldn’t have been able to pull my eyes off Cady.
She’d also chosen a retro outfit, going with black high waist wide legged pants paired with a red three-quarter-sleeved sweater and black and white heels that gave her an inch of extra height. Her makeup was also simple, yet perfectly applied. Her hair was down and wavy, yet not overdone.
I forced myself to look at Violet again. “You both look fantastic.”
“We weren’t sure what to wear, but wanted to fit in.”
“It’s perfect.” I motioned at my jeans and plain black tee. “I need to go change or you’re going to make me feel in adequate.”
Violet snorted. “You, inadequate?” She winked. “I’ve heard the stories. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
It was harmful flirting. Banter between friends, something we’d done for years. Cady shifted her weight from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable. I ignored her, as hard as it was.
“Reid’s downstairs,” I told them as I headed to my room. “I’ll change and be right there.”
Vi shook her head. “We can wait.”
I motioned them to follow me to my room. I found it easily enough, held the door open for them, and then dropped my bag on the bed. I didn’t have to change much, just my shirt and shoes. I grabbed what I needed and shut myself in the bathroom.
Violet whistled when I emerged minutes later. I waved her off, slid on my shoes, and ushered them back out the door. Reid wasn’t in the bar anymore.
“Of course,” Vi chuckled playfully. “There’s always one who is never where they should be.” She winked and pulled her phone out of a hidden pocket as she started to back away, “I’ll call him. Be right back.”
Once she started to pace in the main lobby I spoke to Cady. “You look beautiful.” When I didn’t get a response I stole a quick glance. “You are beautiful.”
“Don’t try to suck up.” Cady’s eyes narrowed on me. “I’m pissed at you.”
“And I’m pissed at you. That doesn’t change how you look tonight.”
“You’re mad at me? Why?”
“Brooke is off limits.”
“So is my bed, but you’ve managed to make your way into it. Twice.” Her face fell and she covered her mouth with her fingers, shocked by her own words.
“Technically one was my bed. The other was the floor.” If looks could kill, I would have been dead on the spot. “And if we’d done anything more than sleep either time, this would be a very different conversation.”
“Thankfully we’ll never have to have that talk.”
I leaned toward her. “Never say never.”
“You did not just say that to me.” She stiffened and I knew I’d screwed up. “I don’t know how much you remember from last night, I don’t what was said between you two, but I know how it ended because I’m the one who dragged your miserable drunk-ass home. Brooke is my friend and she loves you, for some unknown reason. Since you’re my friend, too, I’m going to pretend this conversation never happened. Get your head out of your ass and call her.”
Guilt swarmed me as I watched her walk away. I was supposed to be mad at her. No, I reminded myself, was angry with her. She’d overstepped and I wanted to know why. I should have demanded answers, found out why she thought she could intrude in my life, especially in an area as untouchable as Brooke,
Twenty-Three
Cady
Violet looked up as I headed toward her and I smiled in an attempt to relax. I was not going to let that buffoon ruin my night. I needed to remind myself he was sad and many people didn’t know how to process emotion. Hell, he’d probably gotten everything he’d wanted his entire life and had never been taught to deal with disappointment. I needed to patient with him, not angry.
Violet stuck out her tongue playfully when I stopped next her. “Reid will be right down.”
I nodded, my mind still on Roman. Vi filled the time telling me everything she’d heard about the show we’d be seeing. Her excitement was infectious.
When the elevator doors opened and Reid finally stepped out, I did a double take. The man had been blessed with a face that made women stare, and he’d worked hard for a body that made mouths water, but I’d never seen him look more beautiful. Dressed in black jeans, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show of his tattoos, a light gray vest over it, and a dark gray bow tie with matching fedora, he was sexy as hell.
His eyes roamed over me slowly as he inspected me the same way I’d been wat
ching him. His lips spread in a slow, sexy smile that made my knees weak. I could barely breath as he sauntered toward me.
“Awesome. We’re out with the Bobbsey Twins.”
Violet’s comment was enough to pull me out of the trance I’d been in. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. “Huh?”
“Did you boys plan your outfits together?” She tugged on Reid’s vest playfully.
He appeared as confused as I felt. Then his eyes moved over my shoulder and he started to laugh. I spun, curious.
I’d been so busy trying to avoid him earlier I hadn’t paid attention to what Roman wore. His dark blue jeans, long sleeved dove button up, brown suspenders and matching bow tie were so out of character for him it was a shock to see. Lord, if he wasn’t drool worthy, I didn’t know what was.
“Look at you.” Reid grabbed my hands, pulling my attention back to him, and spread them wide so he could get a good view of my outfit. “Perfect.”
I shook my head. “I feel ridic—.”
He silenced me with a kiss. He dropped my hands, cupped the sides of my head, and leaned down into me so fast I hadn’t realized what was happening. For a stunned moment I didn’t respond, then I clutched the sides of his vest and got lost in him as his scent intoxicated me and his lips hypnotized me.
He pulled away before I was ready to let go.
“What were you saying?” Warm honey eyes bore down into mine.
I bit my lip. “I have absolutely no idea.”
“Good.” He stole another quick peck.
“Ugh,” Violet groaned playfully. “Get a room.”
“Can we go?” Roman asked, irritated.
I reluctantly let go of Reid and stepped back. He smiled down at me warmly and took my hand, winding my fingers in his. “Yeah.”
The seafood bar they led us to was small, yet the food was out of this world. We devoured our meals in no time and were waiting to pay when an older couple walked in. I didn’t do more than glance their way until the woman spoke Roman’s name.
He turned to the door, but Reid was already out of his seat, arms spread. “Gran.”
Rome shook the old man’s hand while Reid gave the woman a long hug. Then they switched spots.
