Page 123 of Spark

He gasps. “Holy shit, KC. Congrats.”

“Not so loud, dude.” I look around to make sure nobody’s lurking too close to overhear. “I just need to get the—” I covertly point to my ring finger, and Savage’s face lights up.

“If you ask her during the finale,” Savage whispers, “I know for a fact Nadine would buy you the—” He points to his ring finger. “That’s what she offered to do for me during our first season. I turned her down, but you wouldn’t have to do that.”

I remember that from when it happened. Savage said he didn’t want to propose on TV. He wanted to do it in private. Plus, he didn’t want anyone paying for his future wife’s engagement ring. He wanted to spend his own damned money on that.

“The idea wasn’t for me,” Savage continues, cutting through my wandering thoughts. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t go that route, if you want to get her a big, fat you-know-what for free.”

Savage makes a whole lot more money than I do, thanks to the show and all the side gigs that have flowed from it,and I greatly appreciate him being non-judgmental about the disparity in our financial situations. Compared to the world at large, I’m a baller, thanks to the success of our band and my various sponsorships and endorsement deals. But the fact remains, Savage’s bank account dwarfs mine. Hence, his sprawling, beachside home in Malibu that didn’t cause him a moment’s pain to buy with cash vs. the modest, three-bedroom home I stretched to buy in North Hollywood with a mortgage.

“I’d want to buy the thing myself, just like you did,” I say. “And I wouldn’t want to do it on the show. Maybe at a party, with all her friends around. I think she’d really like that. Oh! Her birthday’s coming up in a couple weeks. I could do it then.”

Savage contemplates that. “Her birthday is Titus’s, too, though. Maybe you shouldn’t mix all that together.”

I pull a face. “Adrian Savage, are you becomingwiseon me? What the fuck?”

He chuckles. “Hey, a broken clock’s right twice a day.”

I peek over at Ruby again. She’s still happily immersed in animated discussion with Laila, who’s now showing her what appears to be a sonogram photo. “I must admit,” I whisper, “now that I’ve got the idea, I want to do it as soon as possible. I can force myself to wait till after the finale, so Nadine can’t get her grubby little paws all over it. But that’s as long as I’m willing to wait.”

“Nadine would absolutely find a way to use it in the show. I’m sure she’d make Cooper look like the ultimate victim.”

I roll my eyes. “Talk about lying and scheming. Nadine’s next level.”

Savage agrees. “Hey, what about doing it at a birthday party for me? The finale will air on my birthday. Did you see that?”

“No, Imissed that.”

“Laila could throw me a party here that night, right after we shoot the live taping. We could all come straight here from the soundstage, and you could do it that very night.”

Excitement rockets through me. “Holy shit, Savage. Yes. You’re sure you wouldn’t mind sharing your birthday with Ruby and me like that?”

“It’d be the best birthday present you could ever give me.”

I hug him and pat his back. “Thanks for everything, man. Not just about Ruby. For my life. For making me who I am today. I wouldn’t be standing here without you. Maybe not here at all.” Savage’s expression tells me he knows what I mean. When I got injured in college and it became clear my football dreams were done and dusted, my will to keep going and care about pretty much anything was touch and go for a while.

“I owe you the same debt,” Savage whispers. “When I first came to live with Mimi, I would have run away if it weren’t for you and Kai living down the hall and making me feel cool. But especially you.”

“Youwerecool. I’m sure you popped out of the womb cool.” I grin at his reaction. “I love you, brother.”

“I love you, too. Can you believe this is how our lives have turned out?”

I shake my head and laugh. “No, sir. I cannot.”

“Okay, guys,” Ruby calls out, clapping her hands. “Unless anyone else has some major life news to share, we need to get started with the writing sesh now. I’m honestly starting to freak out.”

“Really?” Titus deadpans. “I hadn’t noticed.”

We resume our seats and start looking through our notes, in whatever form. But before we get too far into the process, Titus says, “Actually, as long as we’re sharing life updates?—”

“Titus!”

“This will be quick, Ruby. Calm your tits.” He returns tothe group. “I broke up with Stephanie. That’s not a major life thing, but still.”

“What happened?” Kai asks. “You were just meeting her parents a week ago. And you were a monk for her through the entire tour.”

Titus shrugs. “When I met her parents, everything went downhill from there. They didn’t approve of their precious daughter dating a musician with ‘so many horrible tattoos,’ even a successful one, and I didn’t approve of me dating someone who gave more of a shit about her parents’ opinion of me than her own.”

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