“But that’s not fair,” Sadie muttered.
“Whoever told you this business was fair?” Chuck said, dashing back to his position beside camera A as if he hadn’t just totally ruined her big moment.
“And rolling!”
Tasha delivered her line again and Sadie mustered up an excited smile in response. “I choose...” She closed her eyes for a moment.Damn it, I don’t want to do this.She opened her eyes and met Max’s nonchalant gaze. “Max Brody.Of course.Who else would I pick? Thank you, everyone!”
The glare of the lights as Sadie made her way off the stage made it impossible for her to see Max’s reaction. But she could just imagine his smug, entitled smirk—and it made her more determined than ever to win it all.
Out in the hallway, she felt a hand on her arm and turned around. Cruz McNeil, who she’d never spoken to, was standing behind her. “You’re one of the top contenders already,” he saidin a just-between-us voice that gave Sadie a thrill. “All the judges think you’re definitely something special. Myself included.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. McNeil!” Sadie said, feeling her cheeks flush with happiness. He squeezed her upper arm again.
“Please. Call me Cruz. And, see you around.”
As Cruz walked away, Sadie saw Max approaching her, his assistant, Landon, in tow. Max was the only contestant who had his own personal assistant, of course. But not even his arrogant expression as he passed her without a word could dampen her mood. She was going to have to figure out a way to work with Max, but that was a problem she could deal with another day. Today, Sadie sang all the way back to her dressing room.
3
Max
Nashville, Tennessee
December 8
This is not a good idea.” Sadie clenched and unclenched her hands, her freshly manicured nails leaving half-moon marks in her palms.
Max, standing beside her, let out a short laugh. “I don’t have bad ideas.” He had a good five inches on her, though less when she was in heels like she was right now. Still, he leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Don’t you trust me?” His tone was playful.
“Obviously not,”Sadie hissed in return.
Max wasn’t sure precisely what he had done to piss Sadie Hunter off in the short time they’d known each other. He wasn’t thrilled about being paired up with her, either. She seemed insecure, inexperienced, and had the energy of abuzzing bee when the first pollen of spring arrived. He wished she’d relax, because her nervousness was awakening the stage fright Max had suffered from since he was a kid.
Sadie shifted to put a wedge of space between them, absentmindedly tugging on the hem of her miniskirt, which was quite short and only hit mid-thigh.
“Stop fussing. You look beautiful,” Max said. He stared straight ahead as he said it, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Sadie turn to look at him. His heart may have been beating like hummingbird wings, but he was skilled at hiding it behind his charming smile, which he now put on.
Max’s good looks were his suit of armor, and he reminded himself that’s what people would notice. He worked to slow his racing heart, picturing himself doing the thing that had been an antidote to his stage fright and anxiety for years—knitting.Cast on, stitch, stitch, stitch...
He imagined the needles, cool and smooth, clicking softly in his hands as he finished a row, the feel of the yarn as he held it against the needles so as not to lose his stitch. His mom had taught him after the time he froze onstage at age eight, forgetting his lines as one of the critical players (Pig #3) in the elementary school’s production ofThe Three Little Pigs. She had said it helped her back when she was performing, and sure enough, it had become his go-to stress reducer over the years. He kept it a closely guarded secret, because he didn’t really want to be known as “Max Brody, Nashville prince and knitting aficionado.”
Max glanced at Sadie again, distracted by her tugging on her skirt. Wardrobe had spiffed her up, but they had also given her half an outfit: the miniskirt that showcased her long, tonedlegs and the sheer tank top that skimmed her curves. She wore it well, but Max wasn’t sure she could pull it off—she couldn’t stop fidgeting from one foot to the next, practically toppling over in her mile-high heels. He raised an eyebrow and avoided saying what he was really thinking.
“What?” Sadie asked, turning her blue eyes on him. He hadn’t been feeding her a line when he said she looked beautiful. But she was also so high-strung that he was relieved today was a “one and done” for the two of them, and then he would be free to go solo for the rest of the show.
“What’s the matter?” Sadie asked again. A slight sheen of sweat covered her forehead.
Man, she looks as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.“Not a thing, sweetheart.”
Sadie looked like she had more to say, but then Cruz McNeil came up behind them. Max watched as Cruz brushed Sadie’s long brown hair off her bare, fake-tanned shoulder, his fingers lingering on the spaghetti strap of her sequined tank top, but didn’t say anything. It was none of his business, really, if somethingextrawas happening between Sadie and Cruz.
It was against the show’s rules, of course, but that hadn’t stopped past judges and show contestants from getting cozy. Besides, this was Nashville. Anything could happen here in the pursuit of “making it” in the business. However, he hoped Sadie would keep her wits about her. One of them blowing it could mean the end of the road for the other as well.
“How are we feeling?” Cruz asked, coming to stand in front of them.
“Feeling fine.” Max gave Cruz a confident smile and tuckedhis hands into his jean pockets. “We’re all set. Thanks to your coaching yesterday.”
Max may not have been Cruz’s biggest fan, but thanks to Tasha’s recent reminder about the starmaking producer, he knew he had to play his part and suck up as needed.
