He nods. “I tried to stop her, but we both know she won’t be argued with. Plus, the more she drank, the more attractive she found me. How could I resist?”
“Ohh,” Angel murmurs as she rests her head on my shoulder. “Josh has been lovely, but Lissa . . . you’re so soft. This robe is comfy. Let’s snuggle.”
She leans down and rests her head on my boobs. I hug her and glare daggers at Josh.
He at least has the sense to look regretful. “I’m sorry. She kept flirting with me until I bought her another drink. I’m a weak, selfish man.”
“Soon you’re going to be a dead man. We have rehearsal in two hours. Marco is going to kill both of us if she shows up like this.”
“I know. That’s why I brought her here, so you could help sober her up.”
I pull back and get Angel to look at me. “Hey, sweetie. How’re you doing?”
“Ahmtired. And Josh won’t let me have more beer. He’s mean. But pretty.”
“How about some coffee? And maybe some food to soak up the alcohol?”
I’m about to take her into the kitchen when I remember who’s in there. Oh, God, as if this situation wasn’t bad enough. At least he has the sense to stay hidden.
“Lissa?” Josh is frowning at me. “Why the hell are there men’s clothes on our couch?”
“Um . . .”
Then his eyes go wide, and Angel gasps at the same time. Sure enough, I turn to see Liam standing half naked in the kitchen doorway, looking like a Greek god, except for the dustpan and yellow rubber gloves.
“Hey, guys,” he says softly, as he looks between us. “Uh . . . we should probably talk.”
Before anyone has time to speak, Angel races to the bathroom and barfs violently into the toilet.
Half an hour and two cups of coffee later, Angel is bleary-eyed, but definitely more sober. Liam and I are fully dressed and have explained our whole story, including our nightly line runs to counteract his secret dyslexia. So far, Angel and Josh are taking it well, all things considered.
“You’re an asshole, Quinn!” Josh yells as he paces in front of the couch. Okay, I lied when I said he was taking it well. “Not only do you dump Elissa for this bullshit PRmance years ago, but then, when you knew you were having feelings for her again, you didn’t even think to warn Angel about the approaching shitstorm? How fucking selfish are you?”
Liam shakes his head. “Josh, I understand why you’re pissed—”
“Good. Because your actions have hurt two of the most amazing women I know, and if I wasn’t terrified of physical violence, I’d be kicking your ass all over this apartment right now!”
When he stops in front of Angel, she gently takes his hand. “Josh, please calm down before Liam squashes you like a bug. Also, you’re too loud. Could you grab me some painkillers?”
Josh throws Liam a final glare before heading into the bathroom. Angel rubs her temples, and when Josh returns with two Advil and a glass of water, she quickly swallows them down.
“Okay,” she says with a sigh. “So, I guess we need to figure out what to do, right? I’m not going to lie. The thought of breaking the contract gets me all kinds of excited, but we know that can’t happen. Not right now.”
Josh sits next to her and lays his arm along the back of the sofa. “So what’s the plan, then?”
“Personally,” I say as I grip my coffee cup, “I think the wise choice would be to pretend Angeliam is business as usual until the fuss from the alley pictures dies down. When the media circus packs up and goes home, we’ll work something out.”
Liam crosses his arms over his chest. “I don’t like having to wait, but I agree it’s probably for the best. I need to talk to Anthony about possible exit strategies, but he’s got his hands full right now. He’s already left six messages for me today. It seems we’ve had over two hundred interview requests since the press conference last night. This thing isn’t going away easily.”
Josh frowns. “So in the meantime, you and Elissa think you’re going to sneak around behind the scenes and sex each other up without anyone noticing?”
“Sex would be nice,” Liam says with a shrug, “but I’m not counting on it, no. I just know I’ve been away from her for six years and I’m not doing it for another damn day.”
“And you expect Angel to be okay with that?”
Liam glances over at Angel, who holds up her hands in surrender. “Hey, don’t look at me. As long as you two spare me the horny details, I don’t want to know what happens behind closed doors. Just promise me you’ll be extra careful. Everyone is going to be watching us like hawks from now on, and I already look like the clueless girlfriend. Even the slightest hint of another scandal will have the press swarming both of us like flies on roadkill.”
“I promise, we’ll be discreet.” He gives Angela warm smile. “Thanks for understanding.”