Page 38 of Searching for Sadie
"Wait. You're married to Liam James," Sadie blurted out. She knew Liam James had recently moved to the area, but she was not expecting to meet his wife at a random book club.
"No. We’re not married, but we're together. We've been together for a while now."
Sadie's mind was running a hundred miles a minute as she thought back to a story she remembered coming out about Liam at the end of his last tour. He's been photographed kissing a woman, this story stuck out to her because while most people were more concerned if he was gay or not, since his last partner had been a man. She was more intrigued by the fact that he was kissing a fat woman, and it would appear that it was the woman before her.
"Oh my gosh, are you the woman from the photograph?"
The energy in the room instantly changed. Poppy's eyes drew together and Hannah scoffed. Fuck. That was not the right thing to say. She was just so surprised. After that and the tour Liam had left the public eye to work on his new album.
"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to make it weird. I just remember that. I work in the music industry... well, I did, and it just meant a lot to see a photo of someone like Liam James with someone who looked like me."
Lexi smiled at her and the energy in the room seemed to return to normal.
"You worked in the industry?" Lexi asked her as her and Kate each made a plate and then came to join them at the table.
"I did. I worked for Neon Mountain Records at their studio. Mostly as an assistant producer, but I'm a songwriter."
"Are you really?" Poppy asked with a grin stretched wide across her face. "That's so interesting."
Sadie nodded as Hannah poured wine, when she got to Sadie's glass Hannah paused waiting for confirmation that she wanted wine. Sadie nodded and Hannah poured her a glass of rosé.
"Thank you."
"Sadly, no wine for me," Poppy said as she opened her bottle of water.
"You'll have to come over once Liam is done setting up the studio. From what he tells me it's top of the line. It looks fancy," Lexi said with a shrug.
"Oh my gosh! I would love to!" Sadie exclaimed. "Do you know what kind of board he installed?"
A familiar wave of joy washed over her. She had missed making music, even if what she'd been doing at the label wasn't making her own music or giving artists her songs, she'd still been around music and the people creating it.
Lexi laughed before taking a sip of her wine. "I have no idea about any of that, but you should come over. I'm sure he'd be able to tell you all about it."
"So, if you were working in music, what brought you to Mystic Falls?" Hannah asked.
"Uhhh," Sadie said before downing her glass of wine. Remembering all of this was like a slap in the face. "It's kind of a long story."
"We got time," Poppy said, settling into her chair.
The promo had dropped, so she could at least say she was on the show, she just couldn't share anything else. And looking around at this group of women, something about them made her feel safe. Like maybe they would be there for her. The weight of carrying this burden alone was pulling her down, and she knew it. Maybe it was time to let people in. Letting Lucas in had proven to be a good choice.
"Have you ever heard of Before First Sight?" Sadie asked.
"Yes," Poppy said, almost salivating.
Hannah smiled and gave her head a little shake. "Don't let her exuberance scare you."
"It's okay," Sadie said before taking a deep breath. "Well, I'm on the upcoming season, I can't talk too much about it, but I can say it wasn't a good experience for me."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Lexi said, compassion filling her voice.
"I can't tell you much, because of NDA's and bullshit like that, but clearly, I am here single, jobless, and alone... so do with that information what you will."
"Ugh, that sounds awful," Lexi said as she started to unwrap her sandwich.
"It was," Sadie said as she started to unwrap her own.
This sandwich isn't what she was expecting when Poppy had said her husband made them. It was a toasted fresh baguette with fresh mozzarella, tomato, arugula and a balsamic drizzle. "Your husband made these?" Sadie asked in surprise.
