Things Lost In The Fire (23 page)

“YOU’VE BEEN avoiding me.”

“For the last time, I have not,” Sadie defended, looking up from the game of Scrabble to eye her best friend. They sat together on the floor of her living room, passing time in the only way that didn’t involve cable or the internet. “I’ve just been…out of it.”

Tess sighed, completing the word “foxy” on the board. “Look, I know the last few days have been hard to swallow, but it is what it is. You can’t hole up inside this house and wallow forever.”

“Sure I can,” Sadie replied. “As an artist, I think holing up inside is a perfectly respectable life choice.”

“There’s an entire world out there, honey. A world that desperately wants more of you. And not just the scandalous parts, either. They want your music.”

Sadie toyed with her selection of wooden letters, knowing her friend was right. “I know. And I’m trying, I promise. I just need some breathing room.”

“But you let Brody in before you even called me,” Tess pointed out, her voice flavored with frustration. “I know you said Valerie was the one who leaked the story to the press, but I still don’t trust him. And this bullshit about him helping you find out who shot the asshole that tried to rape you…I just don’t buy it.”

Sadie felt her face redden at the mention of Brody. “I want to know the truth, Tess.”

“Yes, but—”

The doorbell interrupted her thought, causing both of them to turn around and face the front door. Sadie started to rise but Tess motioned for her to stay put. “I’ll get it.”

She went to the door and looked through the peep hole, only to let out an annoyed sigh. Throwing open the door, she glared at the visitor. “Speak of the Devil. What the hell do you want?”

“A million dollars and a private island in the Caribbean, since you’re asking.”

When Sadie heard Brody’s voice, she leapt to her feet and stumbled toward the front door. She came up beside her best friend, not so gently shoving her out of the way. Her eyes met his with a flustered smile. “Hey.”

Brody’s teeth flashed in that cocky grin, sending her insides twisting. “Hey, McRae. Your bulldog almost scared me away.”

“Ha. Ha.” Tess crossed her arms as she stood behind Sadie, eyeing Brody with intense dislike. “You still didn’t answer my question, buddy.”

Brody’s gaze didn’t leave Sadie as he responded. “I desired to speak with Miss McRae.”

A shiver ran through Sadie that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room. “Come in.”

Tess frowned but said nothing as Sadie gave Brody an awkward hug, somehow needing to solidify her trust in him. Maybe it wasn’t perfect, but she needed to show Tess that he was welcome.

“Would you like something to drink?” she offered, all but pulling Brody into the room. He chuckled and shot a look at Tess.

“If you’re offering. You know what I like.”

“Beer.” Sadie grinned, breathless and dizzy. “One sec.”

She disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Brody standing beside Tess. Tess glared at him distrustfully, as though fighting back every urge she had to tear him to pieces.

In the kitchen, Sadie’s hands shook as she opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of Stella. She set it on the counter and twisted off the top, biting her lower lip to keep from panicking. This was the first time Tess and Brody were in the same room since that first night at The L.A. Rock Lounge. Already she could feel the sparks igniting in the air and prayed they could be civil long enough to not kill each other.

As she re-entered the living room, she watched them carefully. They both stood in silence, arms crossed and eyes averted. That was better than going for each other’s throats, she supposed.

She extended the beer to Brody. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

Tess gritted her teeth and grabbed Sadie’s arm. “Can we talk for a second. Alone?”

Sadie nodded, shooting Brody an apologetic look as Tess dragged her back into the guest bedroom. She shut the door and turned to Sadie.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this, honey. I just don’t.”

Sadie wrapped her arms over her torso, hating that Tess didn’t understand. “Well, I do. He’s my friend.”

“He
was
your friend, and even back then I never understood what you saw in him. He’s trouble, good and dangerous. And he has only ever looked out for himself. What makes you think he’s changed?”

“He promised he wouldn’t go to the press, and he didn’t,” Sadie defended.

“But he did tell Valerie, didn’t he? He went to her looking for a story and look what happened. Big shock.” Tess threw up her hands in exasperation, even as sympathy softened her face. “Look, I’m just trying to protect you.”

Sadie frowned. “I know. And I love you for it. But please, trust my judgment on this. He’s not going to hurt me.”

“Are you sure?”

Doubt sunk in and wallowed in Sadie’s gut, sending an unwelcome frost over her skin. She shook her head and forced it away. “Maybe not a hundred percent, but close.”

Tess nodded. “All right. Let’s grill him on those last few percentage points and make sure he’s legit.”

Sadie managed a small smile. “Okay.”

As they headed back into the living room, Sadie spotted Brody admiring the sunset view of the city out the patio doors. He turned when he heard them approaching, his eyes catching hers. She inhaled deeply at the slow way he smiled at her, like she was the only person in the room. How did he manage to do that?

She motioned for the dining table. “Do you want to sit down?”

“Sure.” He took a seat, prompting her to sit across from him. Tess went and grabbed their wine glasses and the bottle, bringing both to the table. She slipped into the chair beside Sadie and refilled their glasses.

“Don’t expect another beer unless you behave like a good little dog,” Tess remarked to Brody with a sly grin, enjoying the comparison far too much.

Brody laughed. “Calm down, Tess. I’m not here to shake things up. I just wanted to see Sadie.”

Sadie blushed and passed her wine glass back and forth between her hands. She chanced a look at him. “Did you have more questions for me?”

He took a sip of his beer, wishing Tess wasn’t staring daggers at him. It made it harder to think clearly. “Well, we can talk about it if you want to. But if you don’t, no pressure.”

“No, it’s okay. Please. I want to help.” Sadie’s fingers tightened over the glass as she fought back the sick feeling that swept over her. “I haven’t looked but I can only imagine the press has been reliving the scandal all over again.”

“You’re all anyone can talk about,” Brody told her, as if it was obvious. When he saw her face pale and that panic come into her eyes again, he cursed himself for being careless. “Not that most of it hasn’t been positive, of course.”

“That’s what I keep trying to tell her,” Tess added, looking to Sadie. “The public wants your music, and they want it bad.”

“They want the scandal,” Sadie corrected, though she only half-believed it. Her heart began to race as worry set in. “They’ll probably be disappointed by whatever music I put out from now on. I’ll be relentlessly compared to my parents and to the stuff I was doing under Piper Gray and it’ll all fizzle out in less than a year and then I’ll have nothing. No money, no fans, no music,
nothing
.”

Both Tess and Brody blinked at her, clearly taken aback by her neurotic fears. Because that’s exactly what they were, and she knew it. She was being stupid. So, so stupid.

“Okay, so maybe it won’t be that bad…” she added feebly, sipping her wine.

“You have a long career ahead of you, McRae. Just trust me.” Brody held his beer up in a toast, sincerity in his voice. When her eyes leveled with his, she felt some of his confidence fill her with hope.

“If you say so.”

Tess rose to her feet. “Why don’t I get dinner started?” She faced Brody, resting her hands on her hips. “I’m guessing you’re hungry.”

A hopeful grin crossed his face. “I don’t turn down food. Or another beer. I’m behaving.”

She rolled her eyes. “I suppose you are.”

As Tess wandered into the kitchen for a beer and to prepare dinner, Sadie looked to Brody with a shrug. “She’s coming around to you. Otherwise, she wouldn’t offer to cook you dinner. I’d say that’s progress.”

“What about you? Are you coming around to me?” Brody asked, enjoying the way she squirmed at the question.

“I guess. You’re nice enough. And you make a good pillow for watching movies.”

He snorted out a laugh. “Good to know.”

She smiled, feeling the worst of her nerves fade away. “Remember when we snuck in to see
Titanic
, and you let me cry like a baby on your shoulder when the boat sank and all those poor people died?”

He did, and realized he had always associated that film with her. Not just for the similarities between her and the compassionate Rose, but because of how she’d sobbed during those horrific scenes. It was the first time he’d ever taken care of someone other than himself. “It’s a depressing movie.”

“You made it better,” she told him, her hands tangled tightly in her lap. “Maybe I never said it then, but you made a lot of things better.”

“Likewise.” He finished off his beer and looked at her, determination in his eyes. “I want to keep doing that. Making things better.”

Her heart did a little flip. “I’d like that.”

F
OR SOME reason, the opportunity to ask Sadie more about the night she was attacked never seemed to come. Instead they laughed, talked, reminisced—lost in those long forgotten days he wished had never ended. Even Tess lightened up, joyfully bickering with him while Sadie looked on with nervous amusement, unsure if they were seconds away from starting a fight or hugging it out like old friends.

He enjoyed watching her. The way she twirled a strand of her hair around her index finger when she was anxious or thoughtful. How her sea-green eyes lit up with joy at the mention of music or of the mountains she called home. That little dimple she got in her cheek when she smiled, something so wonderfully girl-next-door that he was astonished no guy had swept her off her feet yet. She was bright and quick-witted when she wasn’t a nervous mess, and genuinely considerate of other people. It took all his focus to try and stay on task, to get down to the much-needed facts of what she had witnessed that night. His priority was to get to the bottom of things, but somehow everything else was getting in the way.
She
was distracting the hell out of him.

And now, she was fast asleep. She rested her head on her arms at the table, her eyes closed and her lips parted slightly as she breathed. Tess smiled at her affectionately, patting her on the back.

“Poor thing. I always forget she’s such a lightweight.”

Brody continued to stare at Sadie, amused. “We can’t all guzzle five glasses of wine a night like you.”

Tess’s gaze shot to his. “Don’t insult me. I can drink seven on a good night.”

He chuckled and finished off the last of his third beer. “I’m sure you can.”

She exhaled softly and toyed with her wine glass, as though trying to find the right words to say. “You were always more Sadie’s friend than mine, Brody. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know you.”

“You might’ve known me a little back then, but you don’t know anything about me now.”

Her brown eyes met his and held. “I know you’ve convinced Sadie that you want to help her. But at the heart of it, you’re a paparazzi. You make money off celebrities, and that’s what she is. Not to mention this is one hell of a big story. I just don’t believe your motivations are sincere or in any way noble. In fact, I’d bet they’re leaning toward the sleazy snake variety.”

Brody’s eyebrows rose. “First I’m a dog, now I’m a snake? Make up your mind, Tess.”

She pursed her lips in annoyance. “The point is, Sadie trusts you, which means I
want
to trust you. I’m just having a hard time getting over the whole slimeball reporter thing.”

“Fair enough.” He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table as he leveled his gaze with hers. “The truth is, I
am
doing this for a story. A damn good one, too. But it’s only one reason why I’m here. The other is that I care about Sadie and I’ve missed her. Maybe you don’t believe that, but it’s true. She matters to me, just like she matters to you. So the best thing we can do is join forces and both do our best to keep her happy.”