Chapter 16
Ronan checked the time. “The concert’s about to start, so I need to head to the stage. Do you want to come with? Or would you rather stay here?”
Emma glanced first at the large crowd, closer to the stage, then at the relatively deserted area in which they stood, and finally at Ronan with a do-you-really-need-me-to-answer-that look on her face.
“Right. Stupid question.”
People drained Emma’s energy, and large groups especially so. He was actually surprised she’d been doing as well as she had.
“It was,” she said matter-of-factly.
He chuckled. Others might have been put off by her directness, but he loved her more for it.
“It’s going to get loud,” he warned. “You may want to move farther back.”
“How loud?”
“I didn’t get a decibel reading, but loud enough.”
She considered it, then nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
“I’m full of good ideas.”
She turned to him, eyebrow raised. “Since when?”
“Ouch!”
Now, it was her turn to laugh.
“I’ll come find you once the show’s done.” He started to turn away but then stopped and looked back. “Don’t go home.”
The look on her face told him that was exactly what she’d been planning on doing. “Fine,” she relented. “I won’t.”
“I’ll see you in a bit.” He jogged off.
—
Katy had done everything she could to avoid Ronan since her run-in with him, hiding out in a bathroom, then keeping tabs on where he was in order to stay as far away as possible.
Doing so had put a real crimp in her plans for the night. She’d sneaked into the party with two goals in mind. The first, to wiggle her way back into Ronan’s life, but that seemed like a nonstarter now. And the second, to meet people who could give her career a jump start.
Achieving either would have been enough for her.
While she’d been able to weasel her way into a few conversations, she hadn’t met anyone in a position to help her.
Wait, she thought. There had been that one guy she’d been talking to before Ronan dragged her away. Victor, from…
She couldn’t remember from where exactly, but someplace in Europe.
It didn’t matter. What was important was that he’d said he was a film producer.
She stood on her tippy-toes and scanned the crowd.
“Aha!” she declared upon spotting him.
She downed the last of her fourth—fifth?—champagne, set the glass on a nearby table, then worked her way through the attendees. She realized she was a bit tipsier than she’d thought, but she wasn’t worried about it. She was always sharper after a drink or two.
As she neared Victor, she paused a few feet away to assess the situation.
Victor was talking with two older men and one young woman. From the way he was focusing most of his attention on the latter, Katy had no doubt that he was interested in her.
That would not do.
She stepped next to him, slipped her arm through his, and put on a playful smile. “There you are.”
Victor looked over, annoyed, until he realized who she was. He then smiled, surprised. “I thought maybe you had left.”
“Not at all. I’m sorry for the confusion before.”
“With your boyfriend?”
Looking sheepish, she said, “Ex-boyfriend. I’m way out of his league.”
“But not out of mine, I hope.”
She squeezed against him. “Not at all.”
He grinned. “I’m glad to hear it.”
The lights began to dim, and over the speakers from the stage a voice said, “Ladies and gentlemen, the Con Cons!”
The stage lights flashed on, and the four-member band began to play, drowning out the possibility of any further conversation.
Katy removed her arm from Victor’s and placed it around his back so that her hand lay low on his waist.
He glanced curiously at her, then put his arm around her, his hand firmly planted on her ass.
She smiled to herself. Goal two was very much in sight.
—
Billy, Stone, and the rest of the crowd cheered as Mari Chen finished belting out the last note of the number one song from her last album.
She beamed and waved, then raised the mic back to her mouth. “Thank you, everyone! And thanks to Bruce, Tom, Danny, and Teresa of the Con Cons for letting me join them for a little bit tonight. And most important of all, happy birthday to our wonderful host, Damian Leon!”
As Damian stepped onto the stage, the band started playing a jazzed-up version of the “Happy Birthday” song, and Mari led the crowds as they sang along.
Ronan wheeled out a multilayered cake to center stage. As soon as the song ended, Damian pretended like he was going to blow the candles out, then at the last second pulled out a handheld electric fan and used it to do the job instead.
The crowd cheered again.
Mari handed the mic to Damian.
He grinned from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling, and brought the mic to his mouth. “What an unforgettable evening, am I right?”
The partygoers hooted their agreement.
“Don’t worry,” Damian continued. “I’ll keep this short. A huge thanks to my all-time favorite band, the Con Cons! And to the incredible Mari Chen for adding her amazing voice to the festivities.”
More cheers erupted from the crowd.
“Most of all, thanks to all of you for helping me celebrate another trip around the sun. But the evening is just getting started. DJ Anthony Ortega will be taking over music duties, and I expect all of you to take a turn on the dance floor. Oh, and make sure you get a piece of this cake, because there’s no way I’ll be able to eat it all myself! ”
The crowd laughed, then cheered again as Damian gave them a wave and handed the mic to one of the stagehands.
“Is this how you Hollywood types typically celebrate a birthday?” Stone asked Billy.
“Oh, no,” Billy said, straight-faced. “This is far tamer. For my last birthday, I had the Rolling Stones and the surviving members of the Beatles, followed by a flyover by the Blue Angels.”
“Is that all?”
“Tiny Fey was going to MC but had to cancel at the last minute.”
“That’s a shame,” Stone said. “Say, I’ve always wondered. Is Tina related to a certain former spy we know?”
“Ah, I can understand the confusion. She spells her last name with an ‘e’ and he with an ‘a.’ ”
“So, no relation then.”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“Too bad. I was just thinking—”
Before Stone could finish the thought, someone screamed.
—
Katy grimaced when Ronan rolled the cake onto the stage. She glanced to the side of the platform to see if Emma was up there with him, too, but she saw no sign of her.
Katy proceeded to scan the people in front of her, then slowly turned to get a look at the rest of the attendees.
“Something wrong?” Victor asked.
She turned back to him, smiling. “Not at all. I just remembered that a girlfriend of mine said she’d be here, but I haven’t seen her yet.”
“Girlfriend or…?”
She giggled and knocked him in the ribs. “Play your cards right, and maybe you’ll find out.”
“Then by all means, see if you can find her.”
Men were so easy, she thought as she continued to scan the area.
After a few more seconds, she located Emma, standing several yards behind the crowd, with no one else around her.
Adrenaline surged into Katy’s veins as she realized she might never get a better opportunity to make the woman pay.
Smiling again, she looked at Victor and said, “I think I see her. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
She reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek, before hurrying away to exact her revenge.
—
Emma could have done without most of the mini concert. She’d heard of the Con Cons but would have been hard-pressed to name any of their songs. And after what she’d heard tonight, she had no plans to listen to any more.
Mari Chen was another matter, however. When the singer had stepped onto the stage, Emma had nearly choked on her Diet Coke. She was one of her favorites, and Emma could hardly believe she was attending a party at which Mari was performing.
The only disappointing thing was that Mari only sang one song.
“Hey,” someone said from behind her.
Figuring it hadn’t been directed at her, Emma kept her attention on the stage, where a DJ was getting ready to take over entertainment duties.
“Emma!”
This time she turned.
Damian’s backyard was shaped like a giant L, with the largest portion directly behind the house, where the party was taking place. The short portion of the L ran along the side of the house and was home to Damian’s pool.
The two areas were separated by a tall hedge with a wide gap in the middle for passage. Standing in the shadows of the gap was the figure of a woman.
“Are you talking to me?” Emma asked.
“Is there anyone else named Emma around?”
“I have no idea.”
“For God’s sake,” the woman growled. “Yes, you. We need to talk.”
There was something vaguely familiar about the voice, but Emma couldn’t quite place it.
“About what?” she asked.
“Just come here, will you?” the woman said.
Assuming the woman needed help with something, Emma walked over. It wasn’t until she was almost to the hedge that she could finally see the woman’s face.
She stopped dead in her tracks.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I have something I need to give you,” Katy said, motioning for Emma to join her.
“You have nothing I want.”
“It’ll only take a second.”
Emma stared at her for a moment, then turned and started to walk away.
Before she could make it two steps, Katy grabbed her hair, yanked her back behind the hedge, and shoved her against the plants.
“What the hell?” Emma said, rubbing her head.
Katy leaned in and said through gritted teeth, “You fucked with the wrong person.”
Emma could smell the alcohol on the other woman’s breath. “What are you talking about?”
“Ronan and me.”
“What about you and Ronan?” Ronan had broken up with Katy months ago.
“I know it was you who turned Ronan against me,” Katy growled.
Ronan was the best friend Emma had ever had, the person she was closest to by a long shot, and the only person for whom she’d ever felt protective. Damn right she was the one who’d opened his eyes to Katy’s deceit.
“Leave me alone,” Emma growled as she shoved Katy away.
Katy stumbled backward, lost her balance, and fell onto the stone patio surrounding the pool.
“You bitch,” Katy snarled.
Emma looked down at her. “When it comes to you, I definitely am. And don’t forget it.”
She started back toward the party.
But before Emma reached the gap in the hedge, Katy scrambled to her feet and slammed into Emma’s back, screaming the whole way.
“Let go of me!” Emma yelled as they stumbled across the patio.
She tried to pry Katy’s arms off her, but before she could, the ground disappeared from under her feet, and the two women fell into the pool with a loud splash.