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Ralph tilted his head and raked his eyes up and down Keith. “You look like shit.”
“Yeah, well…” He had nothing to finish off that statement. Clearly, Ralph was aware of what had gone down between him and Mickie. “There something I can do for you?”
“Mm-hmm.” Ralph pushed off the wall and strode Keith’s way. His shoulders were straight, and a cocky gleam shone in his eye despite the fact Keith had six inches and at least fifty pounds of muscle on him. “You can pull your head out of your ass.”
“You been talking to Ronnie?” he mumbled.
“What?” Ralph’s perfectly shaped eyebrows scrunched.
“Nothing. Look, Ralph, Mickie is lucky to have you in her corner, ready to jump in for her at any time, but this visit was a waste of your time. She made her choice. She’s back in Hollywood and playing the role of her life. Sucks for me, but what are you gonna do?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you should ask the bags under your eyes?” There was a decidedly bitchy tone to Ralph’s voice now.
Keith rolled his eyes and fought to keep his temper in check. “Look—”
Ralph held up a hand. “No, you look. I came here because my best friend is hurting just as badly as you are. Trust me. She’s eaten a startling amount of ice cream in the last twenty-four hours.”
As pissed as he was, the thought of Mickie in pain twisted him up inside.
“I need you to do something for me,” Ralph said in that bitchy tone Keith had come to recognize indicated he meant business.
With a sigh, he tossed the rag on the ground near a toolbox. “What?”
“I need you to pack a bag and meet me at the airport in three hours.”
Keith’s eyebrows must have his hairline. “Are you crazy?”
“No. I’m not. It’s for your own good. And for Mickie’s.”
“Why—”
“Ralph held up a hand. It’s not my story to tell. But trust me when I tell you you’ll want to be there. It’s important.”
With a sigh, Keith stared past Ralph into the parking lot. His siblings didn’t know, but he’d actually gone back to Mickie’s house a few hours after their blow up. She’d already gone. Probably for the best since he’d been drunk as a skunk and might have only made the situation worse, but he’d become so accustomed to sleeping with her, he’d just wanted one more night.
Now, the thought of seeing her again, well it was too good to resist.
There was one thing he knew for certain after two days of soul searching and berating himself for reacting like a caveman.
He was head over heels in love with Michaela Hudson. It wasn’t the acting job that had caused him to act like a complete moron, it’d been the intense fear of losing the perfection he’d found with her. But instead of acting like a grown up, and communicating his anxieties, he’d thrown a tantrum and ended up losing her anyway.
Now with her closest friend standing before him indicating there may still be a chance to redeem himself, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try. Hell, at this point he’d get on his knees and grovel if that’s what she wanted from him.
“Three hours?”
Ralph’s lips curved into a smile as he nodded. “I’ll text you the flight information.”
“Okay. There’s something I have to do first, but I’ll be there.” He held out a hand to Ralph.
The smaller man nodded, expression grave as he took Keith’s hand. “You better be worth all this trouble, Keith Benson. I don’t like seeing my best friend cry.”
He’d bet his year’s salary he hated hearing of her cry more than Ralph despised witnessing it. Keith cleared his throat. “I will be.”
“And if you manage to fix this shit, you better fuck her so good that she forgets I lied and told her I was working a job in New York this morning so I could come here.”
Barking out a laugh, Keith released Ralph’s hand. “Consider it done.” For the first time since he walked out of Mickie’s house two weeks ago, the crushing pain in his chest dissipated. He’d get Mickie back, no matter what he had to do.
“See you soon,” Ralph said before he headed toward his rental.
As he reached the car, Keith called out. “Ralph?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure. It’ll be glad to see Mickie smile again.”
As he packed a bag and prepared to spend a few days in LA, Keith’s mind spun through all the possible reasons Ralph wanted him there. Was something wrong on the set of the movie? Was Mickie regretting her decision? Was she struggling? Was her sobriety at risk? Or was she happy and thriving in a profession she’d been gifted at? Maybe that’s what Ralph wanted him to see. Perhaps he wanted Keith to have a chance to witness Mickie, or Scarlett, in action.
