“Actually, there are ten bathrooms.”
“Oh, only ten bathrooms? You poor thing.” Sadie turned the corners of her mouth down into an exaggerated frown, which made Max laugh.
“I know it’s ridiculous. I can only imagine how this all looks to you.”
“It looks a little like my greatest dreams coming true,” Sadiereplied. “But what I meant is that I think it would have been a bit lonely to grow up like this. My family isn’t exactly huge, but our kitchen was small enough that even when it was only me, my mom, Gran and Grandpa for Christmas dinner, it felt like we filled the space right up. Our dining table was pretty tiny, especially compared to that boat-sized thing you have in there.” Sadie pointed back over her shoulder, and Max laughed again. Their dining table could comfortably fit twenty guests.
“There were a lot of touching elbows and getting your sleeves in the mashed potatoes when you tried to serve them,” Sadie added nostalgically.
“That sounds pretty great to me.” Max smiled as he pictured a younger Sadie with her long sleeves dragging through a bowl of potatoes. “Y’all cozied up like that for dinner.”
“It was,” she replied. “I know you were probably surrounded by a lot of people all the time, but they worked for your parents, right? No one was here simply because they wanted to be.”
Max sat quietly, his heart beating quickly again. Sadie stated the thing he had spent much of his adult life so far trying to reconcile. How you could feel so lonely when you were never alone.
All people saw was the extravagance of the Brody lifestyle. The majestic gates, the curated home full of expensive items, the number of staff necessary to keep the household running, the random people who popped in and out, taking all his father’s attention—including at times when Max had needed it most, like after his mom had died. It was partly why Max believed hissister, Becca—who had no interest in the music business—had gone to boarding school in England, and then never came back. It was also why he missed his mom more than ever. Maren had brought life and warmth to the house in a way no one else had since.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Sadie reached out from under her blanket and laid a hand on Max’s arm. “You know, I should probably go. I never planned to stay over, and we have to rehearse tomorrow.”
“First, you didn’t upset me, Sadie. You just pretty much nailed it,” Max replied. “And I want you to stay. It’s late. We can head to the studio together in the morning.”
There was a moment of silence between them, and then Sadie said, “I am pretty excited by the pajamas.”
Max let out a huge laugh, leaning his head back.
“Who has brand-new sets of silk pajamas, in multiple sizes, just lying around?”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Max replied.
Sadie chuckled, but then suddenly went quiet. Max turned toward her. “You okay over there?”
“Max... do you think we’re going to win?” she asked. The carefree Sadie from a moment ago was gone.
Max paused, then nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Really? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better, because I...” She shook her head, her voice shaky.
“Hey now, what’s going on?”
“This is it for me, Max. I’m done in Nashville if this doesn’t work out.”
Max took that in, realizing that despite their many differences,Starmakerrepresented the end of the line for both ofthem. It was the most vulnerable he had ever seen her. Suddenly, he wanted to fix everything.
He reached out to hold her gloved hand, and then gave it a little shake until she looked at him. “We’re going to win, Sadie Hunter.You won’t be able to leave Nashville, even if you want to. I promise.”
It was then he knew that regardless of how they came to be duet partners, or how much Sadie could get under his skin, or how frustrated he was with his own life, he would do whatever it took to keep this promise to her. He would find a way to pull off the proposal.
Sadie squeezed his hand in response. “Thank you for saying that.”
“It’s the truth, Sadie.”
“It’s the truth,” Sadie repeated, smiling at him. “Well, we should probably turn in. Early start tomorrow.”
“Yep, we have to keep our ‘instruments’ rested,” Max said, clearing his throat and giving her a wink. He set his hands on his knees, readying to get up. “Speaking of instruments, do you want a guitar?”
Sadie laughed. “You really are a spoiled Nashville prince.”
Max shrugged. “I already have a guitar. So if you want it, it’s yours. I’m serious.”
