Page 70 of Going All the Way (Knights of Passion)

Chapter Twenty-One

Aloud poundingon the condo door roused Stacia from her funk. She glanced out her bedroom window and saw a red mini Cooper in the driveway. Sophie. She should have known. Sophie had been calling and texting for the past several days, getting increasingly demanding and urgent. Then silence. When she heard nothing from Sophie was when she was most dangerous.

Stacia debated about ignoring the door but then she heard the jiggling of the handle and the door opened. She went to the top of the stairs. “No one’s home. Please leave a message after the beep. Beep.”

Sophie brushed her hair out of her face, while balancing a beverage tray and bag in the other hand. She looked up the stairs. “Bullshit. Haul your butt down here or I’ll drag your ass down.” She tossed her purse and keys on the hallway table, the clattering of keys echoing up the stairs, reminding Stacia how empty everything seemed now.

She went back into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Reflected in the mirror was a pale, drawn face, dark circles under her eyes, and lanky unwashed auburn hair. She ran a hand over her hair, then finger-combed it into a ponytail. She debated putting on lipstick and makeup, and resisted the lifelong urge to always dress and appear perfect. Screw it. Her life wasn’t perfect and neither was she, not anymore. Sophie could take it anyway. Stacia had comforted her friend through many break-ups in her life.

“Are you coming down or am I coming up for you? I have Bavarian cream and a vanilla chai.”

“Beast,” Stacia said, walking down the stairs with as much dignity as she could muster.

Sophie stood at the bottom, her shock reflected in her face. She opened her mouth a couple of times, then muttered, “Shit. I knew I should have brought the Southern Comfort.”

“Southern Comfort got me into this mess. It certainly won’t get me out of it.” Her heart twisted at the memory of that first night, that perfect night before it had all gone to hell.

“But you won’t care so much.”

“Maybe not, at least not until I have the hangover and the heartache.”

Sophie shoved the chai into her hand and led the way into the kitchen. She all but heaved Stacia onto a bar stool and waved a Bavarian cream donut under her nose. “Eat this. Looks like you need it.”

Stacia glanced at her once favorite comfort food, but the thought of eating it only churned her stomach. She pushed it away. “No thanks. I’m not hungry.”

Sophie pushed it back. “Eat it or I’ll shove it down your throat. When was the last time you ate anything?”

She shrugged and glanced at the clock. “I don’t know. What day is it?”

“Unbelievable. You always said no guy is worth this moping. Is Jason Friar really worth it? After believing that news story? Screw him.”

Stacia’s shoulders slumped. “Been there, done that, got the scars to prove it.”

“Okay, so he’s an ass who doesn’t deserve you moping around here for him. You did everything for him, all but turned him into a media darling and the baseball comeback player of the year. This is how he repays you?” Sophie was really getting her mad on, anger raging through every word.

“It’s the job, Sophie. We fix them, then move on. That’s the drill.”

Sophie grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “So, what happened?”

Stacia glanced up through watery eyes. “You know what happened.”

Her friend shook her head. “You need to say it.”

Stacia yanked her hand out, the sympathy almost more than she could bear. “Exactly what you warned me against. I fell in love, okay? I fell in love with Jason Friar. I got confused between the job and reality. I was a fool.” A stupid, blind fool.

Sophie walked around the breakfast bar and gathered her friend in her arms. “You didn’t screw up, honey. He screwed up by letting you go. He’s the fool, not you.”

Stacia allowed herself a few moments to grieve, but the comfort was not the same. All she felt was the way Jason had held her after her father’s phone call, the way he wiped her tears, then the way he stood up for her and made love so sweetly to her. “It was real, Sophie. He really did love me.”

“How could he not? You did everything for him.”

“No, it wasn’t like that. He never wanted me to do anything for him; he loved me despite some of that.” And she lost it, destroyed by the media. She, the image consultant who was supposed to know how to handle the media. Hoisted by her own arrogance.

Sophie sat on the stool. “So, what happened? Was it the article?”

Stacia paced, tears drying. “I’m not sure. I don’t think so. He kept ranting about betraying him.” She continued to pace, sipping the chai. Then she stopped, snapping her fingers. “Of course! How stupid could I be? He thought I was using him.”

Sophie’s eyebrow furrowed. “I don’t understand. Why would you use him? What would you have to gain?”

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