Page 12 of Until Then

Vienna: Oh, they’re heading on stage, but Ellie and Alexis wanted to wish you luck too. Annnndd to have me awkwardly remind you that they look forward to seeing EVERYTHING about the new season. I will definitely be refilling drinks in those scenes FYI.

I laugh. This is Vienna’s least favorite part of me being an actor. All the band wives binge the series, but unfortunately for my family—namely my sister-in-law—Wicked Darlingsdoesn’t shy away from the love scenes.

Me: Have fun. I’ll stream the concert later. Tell Rees not to fall off the stage.

Vienna: I’ll be sure to let him know you told him to have a great show.

I scroll back up to the picture of my nephew, grinning. Most of the summer was spent in Vegas while shooting was on moratorium.

I miss the kid. He’s hilarious, and I’m pretty sure he already has a girlfriend. Ever Knight, the three-year-old daughter of Parker Knight, my retired MLB pitcher buddy, is Jude’s obsession.

Rees and Parker became good friends since the lead singer of Rees’s band is Park’s brother-in-law. Naturally, Jude and Ever are shoved together often. I kind of love being adopted into a massive group of rockstar and baseball friends all because of my brother.

Dax Sage, the former first baseman for the Vegas Kings, even had me in his wedding line after he got involved in the community outreach program for athletics. I introduce kids to theater, Dax and some of his old teammates help get them involved in sports and even gaming.

They’re my people, and I’m glad they’re all my nephew’s people too.

It’s a good thing my brother is bringing the Jude man for Briar’s wedding next week. Fun-Uncle withdrawals are real.

“Something funny?”

I lift my gaze from the screen the same moment a woman with silver-blonde hair draped over her slender shoulders sways into the empty seat across from me. Eden Vaugn, social media darling with five million followers.

The woman I’ve seen off and on for the last three months. I’d call her more of a distraction, but the tabloids and Eden say girlfriend.

Who really cares about semantics, I guess. Distraction is what I’ve wanted for nine months, and distraction is what I got.

“My nephew. Got a cute picture.” I slip my phone back into my pocket.

Eden sips some of her sparkling water. “Have they figured out if they can fix his ears?”

Angry heat floods beneath my collar. “There’s nothing about Jude that needs to be fixed.”

She flicks through some images on her phone, sipping the water, oblivious to the frustration written in every plane of my face. “If I had a deaf child, I’d definitely get those implant things to fix the hearing.”

Her ignorance about the various causes of deafness is astounding. And, frankly, offensive.

“Jude was born without cochleae and auditory nerves,” I snap. “Ergo, cochlear implants wouldn’t work for him. Just because a person can’t hear doesn’t make them broken, Eden.”

“Hmm.” She hums and finally lifts her gaze, grinning as though my tone is lost on her. “So, did you finally get your tie and waistcoat to match my dress at the wedding?”

I bite back a groan.

Briar Madden has been a friend for years. We casually dated once, but it was clear soon enough that Briar and I connected much better in a friend zone than in something romantic.

In fact, I credit myself on being the one to secure her happily ever after. Tyrell, the showrunner for Wicked Darlings, met Briar when she came to the set to visit me.

She waited for me to leave the wardrobe trailer, struck up a conversation with Tyrell, and the rest is history.

When I invited Eden to be my plus-one months ago, she nearly split her skin. An up-and-coming fashion icon on social media being at the front table for Briar—a cosmetic, fashion queen—was nearly too much for her to take.

Now, things are different.

“Actually.” I clear my throat and adjust in my seat. “I wanted to talk about the wedding.”

Eden beams widely and gives me her full attention. “Same. How likely is it that we’ll be in bride and groom photos? You’re close to Briar and Tyrell, so I expect you’ll be in some. You have no idea how epic it will be to post me with Briar on my channel. It’s perfect.”

If only Eden knew how much Briar disapproved of whatever we had going on here.

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