Page 70 of Wine & Whiskey
“Okay, I promise not to keep things from you.”
After a few minutes, he tries a new subject. “How was the meeting about your trip?”
Her face lights up. The first sign of her normal, happy self he’s seen all night. “Good! The early reviews are strong, so they’re expecting a lot of coverage at the premiere.”
“What will we do exactly? I have no idea what to expect.”
“I have to walk the red carpet to be interviewed and photographed. Then, the whole cast and crew watches the movie together. There’s usually a party afterward. It opens across the country on Friday.”
He winks and lays his hand on top of hers. “You Hollywood types go all out, don’t you?”
“You have to build excitement so people will want to go and see it. I know I’m supposed to be nonchalant about it, but I’m pretty excited.” She entwines her fingers in his, her face glowing with enthusiasm. “This is the kind of thing I dreamt about as a kid, and I can’t believe I actually get to do it. I’m happy you’re going with me. I love sharing it with you.”
“Thank you for asking me.”
“We’ll leave on Tuesday, because I have a wish event in Missouri for a little girl in remission from leukemia.” Pink flushes across her cheeks, and she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “She’s having a Shae birthday party, and I’m going to surprise her when they sing and bring out the cake.”
His heart races at her modesty. She’s popular enough to be a party theme and almost too shy to tell him about it. “I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.”
“Yeah, I love doing stuff like this. I think I have more fun than the kids do. Anyway, the premiere’s on Wednesday, and the rest of the week I’ll do the talk show circuit. Gail surprised me; she was able to finalize the agreement for me to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.”
“It’ll be wild to see you on the big screen and then TV.”
“That’s why I said it’s a dream.”
After finishing his drink, he takes his plate and glass to the sink. Max walks in rubbing his hand across his forehead. “Carter’s back. We’ve got a problem.”
She squeezes his hand, offering an uncertain smile, trying to comfort him. “I’m going to say good night to Carrie. I’ll see you upstairs.”
* * *
Returningto the house a few minutes later, she stops at the raised voices coming from Nick’s office.
“You’re distracted, and Juan took advantage of it. Others are going to try the same thing if you let this slide.”
A shudder rocks her body, and she wraps her arms around herself, trying to banish the coldness creeping over her. All of Carter’s earlier mischief is gone, replaced with pleading worry.
“I’m not distracted. Brett fucked up, and now we’re stuck cleaning up his mess.”
Her heart aches at Nick’s words. He sounds tired, a rare hint of uncertainty tingeing his tone.
“Yeah, you lost two big shipments, and Ricky was almost killed. This is going to be hard to recover from. You’ve got to hit hard and send the message you’re one hundred percent focused.”
“I don’t have anything to prove. Juan ran home scared, and if he tries to come back, he’ll be taken care of.”
She should walk away, stop listening to their argument. She doesn’t want to know this, doesn’t want to think about the dangers of his business or what they have to do to survive.
“Listen to me. You look weak. Everyone knows your head’s not in it. Shae’s sweet and all, but you can’t let her ruin everything we’ve worked for.”
She freezes at the mention of her name. Carter blames her. Wants her gone.
“Leave her out of this. It has nothing to do with her.” Anger and hurt twist through Nick’s voice.
He refuses to let her defend him, and now he’s in the same position, standing up for someone he loves, fighting those who are against them.
“If you don’t do something, the threats are going to keep coming. You can’t let her be the reason you’re destroyed. You need to get your mind off that girl’s pussy and back on your business before—”
She jumps at a loud pop followed by a crash and glass breaking.
