She shrugs. “Me neither.”
I give her a quick hug, then pull her up to standing. “Come on. You can sleep in Josh’s room for a while. I’d offer my bed, but . . . well—”
“Your sheets are covered in the evidence of Liam’s luuuuurve?”
I screw up my face. “Angel—”
“The salty seed of his desire?”
“Stop.”
“The sticky-whiteness of his everlasting devotion?”
I clap my hand over her mouth. “Stop talking or I’ll hurt you. Seriously.”
She giggles as I lead her into Josh’s bedroom. It’s not super-tidy, but Josh isn’t a slob. Living with me has rubbed off on his sense of cleanliness.
Angel looks around. “Hmmm. The Josh Cave. Interesting.”
I pull back the quilt and urge her to get in. “I saw him change these sheets yesterday, so you’re pretty safe.” After she settles in, I pull the sheet up to her chin and stroke her hair away from her face. “Try to get some rest. I’ll let you know when the boys are back with the food.”
As I go to stand, she grabs my hand. “Elissa . . . ?”
“Yeah?”
She looks down at my hand as she strokes it. “I feel like I owe you an apology as well.”
“What for?”
“Ever since we met, I’ve been shoving my magical wedding and hottie fiancée down your throat. I even made you come dress shopping with me, for God’s sake. I’ve been a total asshole. I hope you don’t hate me.”
I laugh. “Actually, I love you, despite thinking you’d stolen the man of my dreams. You’re just that adorable.”
“Well, yeah. Tell me something I don’t know.” She blinks a few times, then her eyes drift closed. “I just want you to know that I’m glad you and Liam have found happiness with each other. You’re both amazing people, and you deserve it.”
Before I can tell her she deserves happiness, too, she’s asleep.
EIGHTEEN
WORKAROUND
Four Days Later
Pier 23 Rehearsal Rooms
New York City
“Angel! Liam! is way! To your left!”
“Over here, guys! Please! Over here!”
“Can we get a few words?! How are you today?”
“Angel, have you really forgiven Liam for making out with another woman? Is the wedding still on?”
A burly team of security guards parts the rabid media throng, which has completely blocked off the entrance to our rehearsal space for the fourth day in a row. Yet again, vans and equipment trucks are everywhere, and it’s brought traffic in front of our building to a standstill. Add to that the dozens of passionate fans who believe screaming at their idols will save their relationship, and it’s safe to say our current address is West Bedlam Street, Crazytown.
Before I even have to ask, Josh is on the phone to the local precinct to get the cops on-site. He knows the drill by now. We might have to live with this madness, but we can at least keep it a little more under control.
Angel and Liam push through the crowd with as much composure as they can, but I notice they’re both finding it more difficult to keep up the charade these days. Especially Liam.
“You guys okay?” I ask as I usher them inside the foyer and lock the glass doors behind them.
“Just great,” Liam says through gritted teeth. He smiles and flips the bird to the photographers, who are now pressing their lenses against the glass. “Haven’t punched anyone out yet, which I’m claiming as a win.”
Angel grabs his arm and pulls him up the stairs. “Yeah, but you’re getting that look that means you’re close to it. Just chill, dude. is can’t go on for much longer. When the buzzards fly away, we’ll magically fall out of love with each other, go our separate ways, and start macking on people we actually want to bang.”
I notice her eyeball Josh at the end of the hall when we reach the top of the stairs.
“Do you have anyone in particular in mind when you say that?” I ask.
“No,” she says with a flick of her hair. “Just general people. No one you guys know.”
Josh glances over and gives her a tilt of his chin. The smile that spreads across Angel’s face is brighter than the sun. Josh frowns at her. For all his bluster and bravado, I don’t think he ever truly expected Angel to think twice about him, and he probably believes she’s only paying attention to him now as a practical joke. I’m tempted to let him know that Angel finds him hot, but it’s much more fun to watch him squirm.
“See you guys in the production meeting,” Angel says, not sparing me and Liam a backward glance as she heads over to talk to my bestie.