“You didn’t have to.”
Chloe pressed her lips into a thin line. “Well, thanks for letting me know. Now you don’t have to worry about Greer using it against you when you two are having another pissing contest.”
Reid grabbed Chloe’s hand to stop her from standing. “No, Chloe. That’s not why I told you. I don’t give a shit about what Greer says.”
“Then why did you tell me?” she shot back, her eyes dark.
Reid opened and closed his mouth several times before his shoulders sagged in defeat. Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees and sighed. “Honestly? I never once considered keeping it from you, and not because of Greer or Drew or anyone else. I don’t know . . . It just wouldn’t have felt right to keep something like that from you, Chloe.”
Chloe pulled her hands free and stood. She threaded her fingers through her hair and squeezed her eyes shut. “This is so messed up.”
“I’m sorry.”
Chloe dropped her arms and shrugged. “For what? You told me what happened. The question is, why didn’t you tell Jess?”
Reid dropped his head in his hands and pulled in a deep breath, his exhale laced with a humorless chuckle. Slapping his hands on his knees, he pushed off the couch. “I don’t think either of us is prepared for that conversation.”
Chloe stared at him in challenge before nodding in acquiescence. “Okay.”
Reid walked with hesitant steps to where Chloe stood. “Another time?”
“Sure.” Chloe’s tone was clipped, annoyed.
“Please don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad. I’m just having a hard time understanding what’s going on with you.”
“Fair enough,” Reid answered with a nod. “I promise you’ll understand soon.”
“Okay.” Chloe turned for the front door and grabbed the handle. “Thank you for the housewarming gift and for telling me what happened.”
Reid swallowed and walked to the front door. Chloe’s dismissal was crystal clear. “You’re welcome.” Stepping onto the front porch, he twisted to the side. “I’ll see you in the morning?”
Chloe leaned against the doorframe and sighed. “Yeah. I’ll see you then. Good night, Reid.”
With a sad smile, Reid pulled his keys from his pocket. “Good night, Chloe.”
“Chloe, you need to come in a beat sooner,” Reid instructed.
Chloe ground her teeth together. It was the fifth time she’d messed up the intro. She was beyond annoyed. Reid eyed her before turning to the others and signaling to start over. Chloe adjusted her violin and pulled in a deep breath. Drew banged his drumsticks as he counted to four then began to play. One measure passed then Greer joined. Reid jumped in on the next. All she had to do was count to four. She closed her eyes and, just like the time before, she missed her intro.
“Damn it!” she hissed, dropping her violin from her shoulder. “I’m sorry, you guys. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Reid pushed the hair from his face and waved to the sound guy to take a break. Pulling his guitar strap from his shoulder, he walked over to Chloe. “Are you okay?”
“Clearly, I’m not,” she snapped before dropping her chin to her chest. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m just having an off day.”
“Why don’t we take a break? The lighting guys want to walk through some things for my song with Jack. Go back to the lounge or the dressing room I’m using and take a breather.”
“I’m sorry,” Chloe said again, feeling terrible for screwing up rehearsals.
Reid gave her a half smile, his eyes filled with concern. “Are you sick? Do we need to have a doctor look at you?”
Chloe sniffled, suddenly overcome with emotions. “No. I just need a minute to get my head right. I’ll be back in a few.” Without waiting for Reid to say anything, she scurried off the stage, nearly barreling into Josie.
“Whoa!” Josie yelped, twisting out of the way. “Where’s the fire?”
“Shit,” Chloe gasped, her hand flying to her heart. “I didn’t see you!” Her surprise melted into confusion when she realized who was standing before her. “Josie? What are you doing here?”
“The movie I’m working on is filming a scene at the Inglewood Cemetery right down the road. We broke for lunch, so I thought I’d pop over and say hi.”
Chloe pressed her palm to her forehead and gave Josie a shaky smile. “Hi.”
Josie looped her arm with Chloe’s. “So you wanna tell me what all that was about?”
“God,” Chloe groaned, pinching her eyes shut at the thought of Josie seeing her repeated screw-ups. “Let’s go back to Reid’s dressing room and see if there’s any alcohol.”