Page 25 of Trouble Walked In

She turned to watch Renic survey the room. His smug delight shifted to horrified disbelief in slow motion.

She smiled sweetly at him. “Enjoy your stay.”

Chapter Eight

“You can’t be serious,” Renic said, stunned. He felt like a fool with his arms filled with sheets and pillows in the middle of a war zone. “What the hell happened in here?”

Lizzie smiled her sweetest, most irritating smile. “You already know, Renic. After all, you used my plumbing issues as an excuse to wiggle your way in here like a snake. Now you can sleep with them.”

Renic dropped the sheets and pillows on the bare mattress and rubbed his nose. “The stench in this room is nothing like roses.”

“Sleep with the windows open.” She squared her shoulders.

He gaped at her. “It’s fifty degrees outside.”

“There’s blankets in the closet. Or you could go back to the Budget Inn.”

She was being entirely unreasonable for no good reason as far as he was concerned. “Why are you doing this?”

“Think about it, Renic. Think real hard. Maybe an answer will bite you in the ass.” Lizzie stalked toward the door.

He followed, determined to get her on his side. “You can’t still be this mad at me after three years.”

“I didn't realize my feelings came with an expiration date.” She opened the door with more force than necessary. It banged on the wall and rebounded into her shoulder. “I have to let you stay here because you were right. I do need the money. But since you tricked your way in I don’t have to make it comfortable. It’s really low, by the way, to take advantage of someone when they’re down like that, but I guess I should have expected it from you. However, I agreed to host your event, and I honor my obligations, so you can stay. But if you think I’m going to let you weasel your way back into Della’s life choices, you’re crazier than a chicken on crack.”

She strode out into the hall and let the door fall behind her.

Renic caught it before it closed and pushed through after her. “Hey, wait a minute.” The infuriating woman refused to even slow down. “Lizzie! We need to talk.”

He caught up just as she reached the top of the stairs and managed to grab her arm.

She spun around at the touch of his hand and yanked her arm away. “No, we don’t.”

“Dammit, will you just listen for one second?”

“No.” The stare she leveled on him was cold enough to instantly freeze fire.

“Look, you and I both know Della’s going to ruin her life if she runs off like this.”

“If you and I are on the same page, then there’s something wrong with the page. You’re a fox at the hen house ready to take it apart board by board, and I’m not lettin’ that happen again. Once was more than enough.”

Her Southern accent thickened, which made it difficult to concentrate. He loved the soft burr of it, but it was a signshe’d lost control of her temper, and he really wanted to have a sane, rational discussion with her, not a fight.

He rubbed his face. “We want the same thing. Why can’t you see that?”

“Everything you do is for your own benefit, not hers. Della’s your rising star. This tour is the biggest one she’s ever done. I’ve seen the list. The venues are insane. I bet you’re leveraged to the hilt to make this tour happen, which means your little label is worth next to nothing if she doesn’t show up. That’s why you're here. So no, we do not want the same thing and we arenoton the same page. I want Della to be happy. You want Della to perform. You don't have her best interests at heart. I do. We’re nothing alike.”

His jaw was so tense it was starting to ache. She was right about the finances. Damn the woman and her insight. But she was wrong, too. “Yes, this is the biggest tour I’ve ever put together on my own. But I didn’t do it for myself, or even for Self Evident, although it does mean a lot to the label. I did it for Della, because she wanted a big splash. Whether you want to admit it or not, I care about Della. I care about all of you. I always have.”

She opened her mouth to say something he was sure he wouldn’t enjoy, so he cut her off before she got the words out.

“Do you really think she’ll be happy here in the middle of nowhere cleaning toilets the rest of her life? Come on, Lizzie. This place was your idea, not hers. She’s only here because it’s whereyouare.”

Lizzie raised her chin in the stubborn way she had when she thought he was full of it. “She’s here because she doesn’t want to bethere, doing what you want. When she’s ready, she’ll go back.”

“She can try. But if she misses this tour, she’ll be blacklisted by every venue we were scheduled to play. Her crew willbe long gone, and the fact that she dumped them will keep others from wanting to work with her. She’ll have to start over, without any goodwill, without the backing of a label. With nothing.”

Lizzie stepped down a stair. “We started that way once. We can do it again. At least we’ll do it together, withoutyoutrying to split us up.”

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