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“Or, maybe... is there something you’ve never done before, but always wanted to do? A hip hop dance class? Knitting? Archery? Or, maybe, is there something that scares the crap out of you, but you could conquer it for the article?” I gasp. “Yes! Isabel! You’re about to play a superhero! That could be our angle. ‘Isabel Randolph. A Superhero Onscreen. All Too Human in Real Life.’”
She’s visibly elated with that last pitch. And suddenly, we’re caught up in enthusiastic brainstorming that concludes with our decision to go skydiving together, even though she’s terrified of heights and they’re most definitely not my favorite thing.
“Oh, Isabel,” I say. “I bet the conversation we’re going to have after you’ve faced down a gigantic fear will be the best interview of your life.”
“Wow, Georgina. Reed told me you’re CeeCee’s favorite, and I can see why.”
“Thank you. That’s so nice.”
“How did you meet Reed, exactly?” she asks. And, instantly, I can tell she’s wondering if there’s something going on between Reed and me.
“Through CeeCee,” I say smoothly. “CeeCee assigned me to write for the River Records issue, as well as for Dig a Little Deeper, so, I met Reed backstage at the Red Card Riot concert. Actually, my boyfriend was super jealous about me hanging out with RCR. He was worried I was going to run off with C-Bomb—their drummer.”
Isabel visibly relaxes when she hears the words “my boyfriend” come out of my mouth. Which pisses me off, actually, even though that was my intended effect. She’s engaged, for fuck’s sake! And isn’t Reed nothing but a brother to her now? Why should she be relieved to find out the reporter hanging around River Records for the summer has a jealous boyfriend?
“Well, C-Bomb is hot as hell,” Isabel says. “I can see why your boyfriend was a bit worried there. I’d certainly do him.”
How about you stick to your fiancé, hon? “Naw, my boyfriend is even hotter than C-Bomb. He doesn’t have anything to worry about. Not regarding C-Bomb or anyone else.”
Isabel looks pleased. Very, very pleased. Which, again, pisses me off.
“How did you meet Reed?” I ask. “You know, way back when, for the first time?”
She sips her drink. “Through a mutual friend.”
And that’s it.
She says nothing more.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. That’s strange. If the mutual friend who introduced Reed and Isabel was CeeCee, as I’m thinking she means, then why not name CeeCee to me, seeing as how I just now said I met Reed through CeeCee? Wouldn’t it be a natural thing, given the circumstances, for Isabel to say, “What a coincidence! I also met Reed through CeeCee, the same as you!”?
Hmm.
The investigative reporter inside me is suddenly awake and very alert.
“Who was the mutual friend?” I ask casually, trying not to sound like I feel—like a hungry shark smelling blood.
Isabel pauses. Ever so briefly. “Josh Faraday. Have you met him? He’s around here somewhere. He’s one of Reed’s best friends.”
Liar. “Yeah, I met him earlier. How did you know Josh?”
She sips her drink again. “From the party circuit. I met Reed at one of Josh’s parties.”
“And the rest, as they say, is history,” I say brightly.
“Yep,” she replies.
“Life can be crazy that way. You never know when someone you meet at a party will be in your life for years to come.”
“So true.”
Okay, seriously now. What the fuck is going on here? Kat didn’t seem the least bit confused in the pool when she told me, quite clearly, that Reed had brought Isabel to one of Josh’s parties, as Reed’s guest, and then told Josh she was a “rising star” and “someone to watch.”
My mind is whirling. Clacking. Processing. Isabel just lied to me. There’s no doubt about that. And, based on what I saw in that photo of Justin Timberlake, I’m almost positive Reed’s lied to me, too, about the very same topic. But, why? Why, why, why to all of it?
I take a long sip of my drink to hide my scowl, before saying, “I think CeeCee is a person like that for Reed. You know, someone he happened to meet at a party and then she unexpectedly became a deeply important person in his life. Well, correction. He didn’t ‘happen’ to meet her. Reed actually told me he crashed CeeCee’s fiftieth birthday party to get her to write about Red Card Riot’s debut. But the fact still remains, after that one encounter, they’ve been genuine, great friends ever since.”
“That’s a great story,” Isabel says.
And that’s it again. She doesn’t say another word. She doesn’t say, “Hey! I was at CeeCee’s fiftieth birthday party!” She doesn’t say, “Hey! Wait! I just remembered that’s the party where I met Reed, not a party thrown by Josh!” And she certainly doesn’t say, “You want to hear something crazy? My future husband, Howard, was at that same party!”
