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Chapter Eleven
Andrea
Andrea and Charliehad spent their entire Christmas holed up in their apartment or working in Rebel PR in order to keep their minds off their hometown drama. For once, it was Andrea who had to play good cop when Charlie ripped Nicolette a new one for interfering in Rebel Racers business when she was entrusted not to. It was one of the few times, Andrea had heard Charlie raise her voice and when Charlie asked Nicolette if she wanted to be sacked, their former classmate burst into tears.
It had taken that emotional outburst for Charlie to spill the beans to Andrea and tell her all about Noah and her dad and all that shady mess and Andrea had just let Charlie cry on her shoulder and fed her ice cream and alcohol, hanging up on all the calls Noah had been blowing up her phone with.
They had a sombre Christmas, just the two of them on the couch stuffing their faces with selection boxes and watching movies. JJ had even stopped by to spend Stephen’s day with them, offering to take them to some tropical resort to unwind but they declined because they still had work to do even if they were running on chocolate and carbs.
Charlie was still in contact with the factory back home getting stuff sorted for testing and signing all the paperwork before they all travelled and Andrea was in constant contact with the record company, going over the finer points and agreeing to some deadlines while networking to get some air time and interviews for the band.
Andrea herself was also doing a stellar job of ignoring all the damn voicenotes Declan was sending her. Listening to his voice all the time was like a kick to the stomach but she kept on listening to them because she was a goddamn idiot.
Hey Andi, it’s me...it’s Declan...look...umm...oh for fuck sake...can you stop ignoring my calls and texts and just me...stop ignoring me...we need to talk and you blanking me isn’t working. I can’t concentrate with all this hanging over us...just talk to me Andi... Come on, please.
The please had almost broken her resolve and she had lingered with her hand over the call button before she tossed the phone aside, trying to stop his pained tone from playing over and over in her mind. She wanted to focus on getting things in place and helping Charlie get her head straight before she had to get on her flight in a few weeks for testing.
On one of the nights after Christmas, when Charlie was up to her eyes in work, Andrea had agreed to go for dinner with JJ so Charlie could have some peace. And she loved Joshua James like another brother and was happy to be wined and dined for an evening if he meant she just got to be in his company.
Now she sat across from JJ in the ridiculously expensive and hard-to-get-a-table restaurant, the envy of many a woman and man in the room as JJ smiled at her with his Hollywood smile and charm.
She sipped on her wine, wishing it was a nice cold beer and laughed when JJ reached over and took her glass, sliding his own bottle of beer over for her to drink.
“You can’t take me anywhere,” Andrea said laughing as JJ just continued to smile.
“I would ask the waiter to bring us a pitcher of beer if only to see your gorgeous smile. My two favourite ladies have been rather subdued the last few weeks.”
Andrea flashed him a sad smile before taking a sip of her beer. She had told JJ a little of what went on, if only to get a man’s perspective but Charlie needed to vent because she and adored her father and since he was now deceased, there was no way for her to have it out with him and get it off her chest and she was struggling to cope with that.
Her little drama with Declan paled in comparison.
“You have that adorable scrunchy face you get when you are thinking too hard, darling.”
Andrea rolled her eyes at JJ, who leaned across the table and took her hand in his, the flash of camera’s going off a thing Andrea had gotten used to when she hung out with JJ, it didn’t really bother her that much anymore.
But she wondered what Declan would think when he saw the pictures, of her all glammed up and sitting across the way from JJ, him holding her hand. Would he be jealous or would he think even less of her than he already did?
“Don’t make yourself sound cheap, Andi.”
That’s exactly what he had said when Andrea had told him that she enjoyed being in JJ’s company and they were just friends. She liked walking red carpets and just being with a male friend where there was no pretence or expectations.
“Jesus Andi, you’re in love with this Declan.”
Of course, JJ would see through and get to the bones of it. But she was still gonna try and deny it.
“I was...I might still ...” Andrea huffed out a breath as she patted JJ’s knuckles with the hand he wasn’t holding. “I think I might be as bad as Charlie. I’m holding onto feelings for a boy who didn’t even like me...how sad am I?”
“It’s not sad, darling. He hurt you but you still remember the good times. If your Declan was pretending the whole time then I surely have competition for an Oscar.”
Maybe JJ was right...maybe she should hear Declan out and finally put the ghosts of their past behind them. It would make it easier on the band, hell even Rhys would feel better if the two most important people in his life were not at loggerheads all the time.
She could be friends with Declan, right?
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Andrea lifted JJ’s hand to her mouth and pressed a kiss to the back if his hand. The actor quirked his brows in amusement as the cameras went wild again.
“Ugh,” Andrea said with an exaggerated sigh, letting a smile curl up her lips. “Why is life so unfair? Why did the universe send you to me and then just mock me by making you love penis? Life is so cruel!”
JJ barked out a laugh so loud that the diners who had not been watching them were now staring at them. Water leaked from JJ’s eyes and that made Andrea laugh so hard until the waiter arrived with their mains and gave them a look of disdain that had them both laughing again.
