—
Sweetie, take a blanket instead of standing there shivering and have a seat.” Tasha was sitting outside by her heated pool, looking gorgeous and serene, surrounded by flawless landscaping.
Sadie did as she was told, relieved that Tasha had clearly heard the nasty rumors and she didn’t have to relive any of it by explaining.
“Sadie, Iknowthis is hard. I have been where you are, many a time. Some people insist pictures never lie, but picturesdolie. They almost always lack context, or are given context by the people who stand to earn money from them.”
“It really wasn’t what it looked like,” Sadie said. “All I wanted from Cruz was for him to be a professional mentor.”
“Cruz is many things, but professional is not one of them. Genuine, by the way, is not one of them, either. Max Brody, on the other hand—”
“I really don’t want to talk about Max,” Sadie said, looking away.
“Really? I thought Max would be the one bright spot in all this. Surely, he knows that photo is absolute hogwash?”
“No, Tasha.” Sadie paused. “It’s over. Believe me.”
“I don’t, actually.” Tasha’s expression was gently stern. “Max is not one for—well, you know him. He’s pretty guarded. But when you’re around, it’s written all over his face: he has fallen head over his cowboy-booted heels for you. That’s the plain truth, whether you want to believe it or not.”
Sadie tried to protest but Tasha halted her with another pointed look. “It’s been obvious since the moment he laid eyes on you—which, by the way, I witnessed. He tried to shrug it off, but I’m inclined to say it was love at first sight, songbird.”
Sadie shook her head. “We just don’t work together, okay? Max refuses to ever stick around long enough to deal with any of his emotions, and I’m not exactly dealing with mine, either. My gran died, and I didn’t even tell him!”
Tasha put her hand to her heart. “What? Sadie, when did this happen? I’m so sorry, I know how much your gran means to you. Please say it didn’t happen while we were on tour, and you were afraid to ask for time off, because—”
Tasha’s eyes widened with empathy as Sadie explained that it had happened the night of theStarmakerfinale and she hadn’t told anyone except Amalia. “But then, at Stagecoach, I made a mistake: I told Cruz. I was having a hard moment, and he witnessed it, and I trusted him. And it totally torpedoed things between Max and me. I hadn’t even told him.”
“Oh, Sadie,” Tasha said, taking Sadie’s hand. “I feel for you. We work together, yes, but I’m also your friend. You know that, right?” Tasha continued. “That means I’m here for you. And I’m not going to let this industry make a meal out of you.”
Sadie knew that this was a person she could trust. She had a friend, and a mentor—two roles she should never have looked to Cruz McNeil to fill.
“I’m such a fool,” Sadie said. But Tasha shook her head.
“Okay, let’s lay some ground rules of our friendship. There is no negative self-talk—you and I both know the critics and the naysayers can take care of that for us. The second rule is we talk about hard things. Okay?”
Sadie nodded.
“Third rule: we speak the truth. And the truth is, I cannot let you throw away your relationship with Max over something like this. Because that boy has itbad. And you do, too. Just look at you. You’re not just grieving your gran, I know that much.”
Sadie sighed. “Tasha. In accordance with rule number three, I have to tell you that my relationship with Max has beennothing but a publicity stunt. Yes, we did start to develop real feelings, but Max has a bizarre way of showing it these days.”
“Sadie, if this were only a ruse, he wouldn’t have had any reaction at all. He’d be sticking around because there wouldn’t be any big-ass emotions for him to avoid. Don’t you see?”
“Maybe. But it’s just too late,” Sadie said.
“Fine, maybe this relationship of yours started out as a publicity stunt—which a lot of people onStarmakerdid suspect, by the way. But it is not a stunt anymore. What’s between you isreal.You’re going to let Cruz McNeil get in the way of that?”
Sadie pulled the blanket tighter around her. It was getting late in the day now, and the sun was sinking behind Tasha’s tall hedges. The massive yard was decorated for Christmas, with feather wreaths tied with big red bows on every surface that would hold one, evergreen garlands entwined through the many pergolas, and the lights inside the pool slowly and mesmerizingly fading from red to green to white.
“Yes, we have had some special moments,” Sadie reflected. “But it’s over now.”
“You’re going to give up just like that? This isn’t the determined, ambitious woman I spent four months of this year touring with.” Tasha’s expression was serious, her words affectionate but stern. A lot like the way Gran used to talk to Sadie. Sadie now felt her eyes filling with the tears she had been hoping to shed earlier that day.
“It’s okay, let it all out.” Tasha leaned forward and rubbed her back.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Sadie said.
“Sotellme the whole of it,” Tasha countered. “Everyone in this town can’t be trusted, but youcantrust me. And letting it all hang out is what friends are for.”
