Page 214 of The Hopelessly Bromantic Duet
I snort at the blatant lie. “He sneak-attacked me the first time we played. Do not let that British understatement fool you, Jaybird. He’s vicious. Completely savage on the flippers.”
“I don’t know what you mean. I’m rubbish at it,” Jude says drily.
“Duly noted,” Jason says.
I love the camaraderie, but I can’t live here—time to level up. The pre-concert music and the hubbub of the crowd give me a buffer as I lean in closer to Jason and speak in a low voice. “I wanted you to know the real deal. This started as a fake romance. Our agents asked us to pretend to date and stuff for a bunch of reasons.”
Jason’s eyebrows shoot into his hairline, and his eyes twinkle with delight. “This sounds like one of your books.”
Jude smiles as if he’s glad we’re all in on the secret. “Doesn’t it?”
“But it...” I pause to glance at Jude, then take his hand and thread our fingers tightly together as I open the secret to my friend. “It became real. Very, very real.”
Holy shit. I thought that would be hard... but all of that was remarkably easy to say.
Maybe it’s simpler to be honest with the people you care about. Once it’s done, you don’t have to worry as much. I feel lighter than I’ve been in a long time. My head was stuffed full of my own secrets. It’s good to set some free.
Jason checks out our linked hands. “Looks very, very real to me.”
“It is,” I say.
“It absolutely is,” Jude seconds.
I settle back in the chair and enjoy the hell out of Stone Zenith’s show. The charismatic star rolls through some killer love songs, and when the show nears its natural end, the electrifying rocker tells us he has a special guest for us.
Then he announces that Lettuce Pray is in the house, and William Halifax takes the stage.
29
ONCE UPON A TIME
Jude
William enthralls the fans for a trio of tunes, the entire arena rocking out to his music. When he croons the ending of his hit “I Said Someday”then holds the mic to the audience, the crowd joins in to sing the final line back at him: “And I said someday, we will meet again.”
He strums a long, lasting chord on his guitar. William thrusts an arm in a rocker salute. “Thank you, Las Vegas. You’re brilliant, and I love you madly.”
He takes a bow, then heads to the wings, where Stone yanks him in for an embrace. I turn to TJ. “Let’s go backstage. VIP tickets are good for something.”
Five minutes later, security takes us to the surprise guest’s green room.
William’s eyes light up the second we step through the doorway. “It’s the London crew! How the hell are you fuckers?”
“Fantastic,” I say.
Especially because William looks . . . different.
Glowing. Vibrant. With a sweat-slicked face, he strides across the room and wraps me in a hug. “So good to see you,” he says, warm and bright.
“Thanks for the heads-up, mate,” I say, ribbing him.
When he lets go, he mimes zipping his lips. “Stone made me swear to secrecy. NDA and all,” he says, then turns to TJ, giving him a fond once-over. “You look terrific. Like, you’re all happy and shit.”
“Sounds about right,” TJ says as William drags him in for a hug too.
Once they separate, I stare at William. “So, what the hell are you doing here? Surprising us like that.”
“Oh, you know, playing a show. Having a good time. Celebrating one week of sobriety.”