Taking Something (13 page)

“So are you jacking around?” Gia asked, breaking the tension.

“I don't think so,” I answered her honestly. I'd really planned on working. I couldn't screw up what I had with Sadie, at least not until the album was finished and it was time to say “
Adios.
” But as Gia took her usual seat on the leather sofa and pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around them, I wasn't so sure. “How are you going to spend your two days of freedom?”

“Freedom? You think because Sadie's gone I don't have to work? I wish.”

“She's a slave driver, huh?”

“She's just got a lot going on. Her 'manager' is pretty much just a figurehead. I'm the one who schedules everything for her.”

I laughed. “You should really get paid for that.”

“I really should,” she agreed. “So how's it coming?” She pointed at the sound board.

“It's not. Yet,” I joked, wagging my eyebrows.

“Seriously? How old are you again?” She chuckled. “I meant how is the
album
coming.”

“Ahhhh...yes,” I said with a devilish grin. “The album. Pretty good.”

“Good to hear.”

“You wanna grab some lunch maybe?” I suggested, needing a break from the studio. Sadie thought I had a lot work to do, but I was actually pretty caught up.

“I don't know,” Gia hesitantly replied.

“It's just lunch, Gia. Not a date.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “But I'm picking the restaurant.”

“Deal.”

“S
O WHAT'S
next?” Gia asked as we finished up our lunch at the little Mexican restaurant she'd picked out only a few blocks from the studio. “You said the album was close to being done. Got any other prospects?”

“No offers yet.” I shrugged. “I think Hollace is waiting to hear the finished project before he offers me another gig. I'm hoping his son will say he wants to work with me.”

“Is that what your meeting was about?” she asked, referring to the night we'd met up at the bar.

“Kinda. We were talking about the duet you shot down. I convinced him that Sadie would be a good fit.”

“That's good. It should make her very happy.”

“I think so,” I agreed. “It's a great song.”

“Sadie is probably beside herself to sing with Landry.”

“Why do you say that?”

“She's always had a thing for him,” Gia informed me.

That explained Sadie's flirting that night at the party and her constant “My boyfriend, Nick, is so great,” spiel.

Is she using me to try and make Landry jealous?

That might be a good bit of information to keep locked away for the next time Sadie spouted off about me being interested in other women. A con's job is to utilize any and all information to make his mark vulnerable, right?

“She hasn't mentioned it.”

“Of course she hasn't.” She laughed. “Why would she tell her boyfriend about her teenage crush?”

“True,” I conceded. “Were they ever a thing?”

“If you ask her, yes. If you ask him, hell no. She tried very hard to get with him though. To the point of showing up half naked in his hotel room and leaving him very descriptive voicemails about what she could do for him.”

“Why'd he turn her down?”

“Do you really have to ask?”

I shook my head. Sadie must have always been a little clingy and demanding.

“And how exactly are you privy to all this information?”

“Sadie was—is—my best friend, Nick,” she said, almost as if she were convincing herself instead of me. “I know a lot of things.”

“You, Miss Grayson, are full of knowledge.” I leaned forward, resting my arms on the table. “What other scandalous secrets are you hiding from me?”

“Wouldn't you like to know?” She placed her arms across from mine and leaned in.

“Very much.” Our eyes were locked as I reached out to touch her hand, knowing that it probably wasn't a good idea to touch her but needing to nonetheless. “How about you? Any scandalous secrets hiding in your closet?”

She leaned back against the booth, pulling her hand from under mine and letting out a heavy sigh. Just like that, the girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders was back. And just like that, my concern with what had happened to her was back with a vengeance. Something major must have happened to her and that fact was starting to eat me alive. But she didn't want to tell me. I think that hurt worse than not knowing. She didn't trust me with her secret.

“I was kidding,” I quickly said, wishing I hadn't caused the look on her face. “I promise I wasn't trying to pry. Just joking around.” I knew how she felt about talking about her past. I never should have mentioned it.

“It's okay,” she claimed, but the way she tugged her lips between her teeth told me it was anything but. “The truth is”—she swallowed hard—“I do have a few skeletons in my closet, but they need to stay put. For everyone's sake.”

“I think that's enough skeletons talk,” I suggested. “Lord knows I've got a few too, and today is not the day to talk about them.” I gave her a wink. “Wouldn't want to ruin our date.”

“This is not a date,” she said sternly, biting back a smile. “But it is a very enjoyable lunch outing with a
friend
?”

That wasn't the first time she'd referred to me as her friend. Normally, I would have been disgusted to be categorized as such, especially since the more time I spent with Gia, the more non-friendly images popped up in my head. But I knew we would never be able to be anything more. At least with her on my side—so to speak—I'd be able to get through this thing with Sadie.

“Yes,” I said, accepting it, knowing there really wasn't much else I could do. “Friends.”

We finished up lunch and Gia drove me back to the studio.

“Thanks for lunch,” she smiled. “It was fun.”

“Got any plans for later? We could meet up for dinner. Continue the fun,” I chuckled.

She looked for a second like she might just say yes, but my hopes of spending more time with her were shot down. “I can't. Sorry. I've got plans,” she informed me.

“A real date?” The question fell off my lips before I had a chance to bite it back, and I could hear the envy accompanying them.

“Something like that,” she snickered. “I'll see you in a day or so. When Sadie gets back.”

Sadie.
How could I forget? In less than forty-eight hours she'd be back and resuming her place—directly up my ass.

“Sounds good,” I lied. “I'll see ya. Oh, and Gia,” I said before I closed her car door. “I never did officially thank you for your help in the studio the other day. Well, not without pissing you off on the dance floor.” I paused to wink at her. “You've got a good ear. Your suggestions really did help Sadie's
song
,” I said, using the term loosely. “We make a pretty good team.”

“We kind of do,” she agreed with a grin as I shut the door.

I gave her a wave and ducked into the studio, disappointed. Maybe after a few more friendly outings she would trust me. I knew I could convince her to, but the thing was that, for the first time in my entire life, I wanted to earn someone's trust.
Hers.

And I had a problem. I knew myself well enough to know when a con was going sideways. My need to convince Gia I was a decent guy and earn her trust wasn’t about Sadie anymore. Not even a little bit.

It was about the little voice that sounded a hell of a lot like Lila in my head. The same one that pushed me to move from swindling money to earning it.

Fuck. I was developing a damn conscious.

How in the hell did that happen?

I had a sick feeling that I knew exactly how. It was nearly impossible to spend time with someone so completely humble and selfless and amazing without questioning what the hell I was doing with my life—and realizing that there were countless reasons that I deserved a self-centered diva like Sadie instead of a grown-ass woman with a gorgeously unforgettable and well-adjusted head on her shoulders.

I got back in the studio and threw myself into the work, refusing like hell to think about the beautifully breathtaking enigma that was Gia Grayson. It was all I could do not to beat my head against the mixing board.

“Honey, I'm home!” Sadie screamed as she walked into the studio. “Did you miss me?”

I pulled the headphones from my head and turned in my chair just in time for her to throw herself into my lap.

She looked awful. I wasn't even sure if she'd showered since she'd been gone and the dark circles under her eyes told me that she hadn't slept much. I was surprised that she'd let herself go out in public looking the way she did. Her hair was a mess, her makeup looked like it was coming off a two-day bender, and she was wearing sweatpants. Not the perfectly kempt girl I was used to seeing.

“Of course,” I told her, placing my lips on hers.

The truth? I hadn't really had a chance to miss her seeing as how she'd insisted we talk on the phone the night before for hours. It did give me a chance to take Gia's advice and get to know her. With the Continental United States separating us, there was no sex as a distraction. Although, she had tried to initiate phone sex on more than one occasion. Made me wonder what she'd left on Landry's voicemail all those years ago. If he'd saved those things, he could have really done some damage by leaking them to the press. The girl was a freak, and that was saying a lot coming from me.

“I feel like you're lying.” She leaned back, letting the look of jealousy—the look I'd become all too familiar with—wash over her face.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, ready to defend whatever nonsense she was going to throw at me today. “We just hung up the phone like eight hours ago. What could I have possibly done to piss you off in that short amount of time? That short amount of time that I spent the majority of asleep.”

“Remember when I asked you what you did the day before?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, remember how you told me you were working?”

“Of course I do. It was eight hours ago. Jesus, Sadie,” I huffed. “Do we have to do this every time we’re apart?”

“Apparently,” she said, pulling her cell phone up to my face. “When I see pictures like this on the Internet, it begs the question, Nick.”

I narrowed my eyes on the small screen. It was a photo from yesterday of me and Gia. At lunch. Laughing. It warmed my usually cold heart to see the look of amusement on her face and mine.

I couldn’t help but sneak another glance at my lunch companion’s smile. She had the kind of smile that lit up a room. She didn’t use it nearly enough.

“Well?” Sadie dropped the phone. “Explain.”

“It was lunch. We were hungry,” I said matter-of-factly. “Nothing more. Nothing less.”

“You looked like you had a really good time,” she stated, getting up off my lap and tossing her phone on the sofa.

I had to fight off a grin. Gia had a good time with me. I’d seen the proof and so had Sadie. I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined it or if I wasn’t the only one capable of faking my way through life. But that smile she wore in that photo was a genuine mid-laugh, ear-to-ear grin. And it did something to me.

Something that made Sadie’s catty crap grate even harder on my nerves.

I was getting so sick of this song and dance, but the show wasn't over yet. I prepared myself for another performance before getting up and pulling her into my arms.

“Look, baby,” I said, placing a kiss on the top of her head. “Gia stopped by the studio and then we grabbed a bite to eat. I don't really know my way around this city,” I reasoned. “If I were a gambling man, I'd bet all the money in my pocket that you sent her here to check up on me. Am I right?”

I looked down into her eyes and knew I had her.

“Maybe,” she answered. “But I didn't say, 'Hey, go check on
my
boyfriend and then take him out and show him a good time.’”

“Come on, Sadie. Give her a break. Give me break,” I added. “It was a lunch. Between friends, at best. Nothing for you to worry about. I'm yours, remember?”

Her shoulders dropped as she rested her head against my chest. “I know,” she agreed. “I'm being stupid. I know you aren't into her. Right?” she asked with a worrisome look.

“I'm not,” I said, needing to remind myself that I was not—could not—be interested in Gia. If for no other reason than to squash the insecurities Sadie had with her. Not to mention, my entire career was hanging in the balance. “Now, will you lay off the jealousy thing for a while? We've got a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it.”