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“I’ll put all my energy into making that happen.” Hunter shot Melody a fond look. “But now I’ve got to get going. Dinner later?”
“Ah, sure.”
“I’ll pick you up at six.”
When Hunter left the control booth, Nate turned on Melody. “What the hell is going on between you two?”
“Nothing. We’re just friends.”
“And Kyle?”
Melody toyed with her phone. “Kyle and I need some space.”
“That’s the last thing you need. Have you forgotten that you two are going to be parents? When do you plan to tell him about the baby?” Nate saw the excuses gathering in her eyes and shook his head. “I’ve invited him for Thanksgiving. You’ll be surrounded by family. We’ll all be there to support you. Plan on telling him then.”
“But that’s only three days away.”
“The sooner the better.”
“So tell me what happened with Ivy at the AMAs last night. She looked out of it.”
“Apparently she’s been addicted to painkillers on and off for the last eight years and recently suffered a relapse. Mia stayed behind in LA while they figure out the best way to handle things.”
“Trent is meeting with Javier today.” Melody’s features wore a worried expression. “Do you think he’ll postpone her album?”
“The way things have been going, it might be a good idea to push it out until later next year. She needs to focus on getting clean again.” Nate thought about his plunge down the rabbit hole of drug and alcohol abuse and didn’t envy Ivy for what she had to look forward to. “I’m off to get some work done.” He leaned over and kissed Melody on the forehead. “Give what I said about you and Kyle some thought before you head off to dinner with Hunter tonight, okay?”
Melody nodded and Nate left to make some music and figure out what he was going to do about Mia next.
* * *
Early Tuesday afternoon, Mia was in her bedroom at Ivy’s LA house, sorting through recipes and planning the shopping list for her Thanksgiving dinner with Nate and his friends when the door burst open and Skylar plunged into the room with Riley on her heels.
Since she’d returned from dropping Nate at the airport the day before, Mia had either been holed up in her room to escape the thick tension filling the house, or popping in every couple hours to check on Ivy. So far, her sister hadn’t shown much interest in anything besides binge watching Pretty Little Liars on Hulu.
“You bitch!” Skylar shrieked, her wild eyes fixed on Mia.
“What?” Mia stared at her dumbfounded, unsure what Skylar and Riley were doing in Ivy’s house, much less Mia’s room.
Ivy must have let them in. Why couldn’t she understand that she was supposed to cut all ties with these two? They were the ones who’d been supplying her with the prescription drugs. Mia jumped off her bed as Skylar advanced toward her.
“You have some nerve,” Iv
y’s friend said in a threatening tone.
Mia glanced from Skylar to Riley. “You need to leave. Now.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Riley piped up. “We know it was you.”
Mia shook her head. “It’s not just me. My father wants you to stay away from Ivy, too.” But she could tell the two women weren’t listening to her.
“Haven’t you sponged off your sister long enough?”
These two were the most clueless women on the planet. “Sponged? Do you have any idea what I do for Ivy?”
“Well, you don’t write her music. That’s for sure.”
Skylar’s words made Mia go cold. Everyone who knew the truth behind Ivy’s songwriting worked awfully hard to keep it hidden. Neither one of these two was trustworthy enough to be told such a damaging secret.
