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I sighed. “You know I’ll do it.”
“I know,” he said. “I’m glad you came to that conclusion sooner rather than later and didn’t make me beg this time.”
I glared at him. “You’re an ass.”
He hopped off his barstool. “And you’re a great friend.”
Sometimes, I wished that wasn’t the case. I didn’t let many people into my circle, but I was loyal as hell to those who were there. And somehow, I counted Ali as one of them, at least for as long as I was partnered with her. Afterward… well, I guessed I would just have to see what happened.
“You’re going to need to coach me on what to say. I don’t want to say anything I shouldn’t.”
“Positive, vague nonanswers.The Nightly Showis getting a sneak peek at you and Carlita as some of the celebrity partners, so as long as you don’t give away any of the other partners, you’ll be fine. Oh, and don’t mention the contestants by name. The reveal show is airing the day after your segment onThe Nightly Showairs. Your and Carlita’s appearance should build buzz for the reveal.”
“Positive, vague nonanswers,” I repeated. “Kind of like the answer you just gave me?”
Grinning, he clapped me on the back. “Exactly. Just don’t give away any of the finer details.”
I shook my head. If I didn’t like Evan, I would have hated him in that moment. “When is the show being filmed?” Though the show aired late at night, I assumed it was filmed during the day like most of the similar shows.
He wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Tomorrow.”
“Dude.”
“Sorry, man. They had a cancellation at the last minute, and we took the slot. Eleventh hour, I’m telling you.”
Ali
Frowning, I looked at the text again, making sure I had understood it correctly. Trenton was cancelling our rehearsal for the following day, saying something had come up.So much for rehearsing until I was happy with the performance.
“What’s wrong?” Georgia picked at her salad.
I pushed mine away. I’d eaten more salads in the past month than in the past year combined. It was tough, trying to maintain a healthy diet while living in a hotel, and ready-made grab-and-go salads were the easiest option. I considered asking Georgia if she wanted to go in on an Airbnb so we would have a kitchen, but I hadn’t had time to look into it. “Trenton canceled our rehearsal.”
“Really?” Frowning, she speared a cherry tomato. “That’s not like him.”
“Actually, I wouldn’t know.” I would have pegged him for being more reliable and not one to flake out on me, but I hadn’t known him that long. I didn’t want to admit it, but my feelings were hurt. He had seemed like he cared about my success, but that bit with “I’ve Got You, Babe,” proved he was a much better actor than I was. I hoped I hadn’t misjudged him.All the more reason it would have been better not to have duets.I didn’t like depending on another person, especially for something so high-stakes.
“I wish you could come with me to mine,” Georgia said, “but I imagine it’s against the rules.”
The guidelines we’d been given didn’t explicitly say we couldn’t invite fellow contestants to our rehearsals, but most probably wouldn’t want to, anyway. After all, it was a competition. Georgia and I had quickly developed trust, though, and we would never do anything to sabotage one another. “It’s probably not a good idea,” I said. “If Trenton gets free, I want to be available.”
“Good thinking. But too bad, because I really want you to meet Brandon.”
Georgia wouldn’t come right out and say it, but I got the impression poor Walter was feeling the effects of dementia. Brandon was Walter’s grandson and Walter’s manager. Unofficially, he was the older man’s caretaker. I would have lost my shit if my partner needed a caretaker, but Georgia didn’t seem to mind. She was a better person than I was.
“Why do you want me to meet him?”
She blushed then tried to play it off by clearing her throat, as if that would distract me from that fact that her face was turning as red as the tomatoes in her salad.
I grinned at her. “You like him!”
“He’s nice, and I have much more in common with him than Walter,” she explained. “So I spend most of the downtime talking to him.”
“Because you like him,” I reiterated.
“I do,” she wailed, covering her face. “I feel like I’m back in middle school with a big fat crush.”
It was a stark departure from her single-and-ready-to-mingle rhetoric from before. “Aw,” I teased. “Georgia and Brandon sitting in a tree, K-I-S—”
