Page 85 of A Ballad of Betrayal and Beauty

“He says he has proof, but what that is, I have no idea. It’s a legal nightmare. Basically, we need to show that we did in fact write those songs and . . . well, it’s not exactly an easy process. Plus, because it broke in the news, even if we can prove he’s lying, the damage is done. We might never be able to repair our reputation. Venues are already canceling shows . . . It’s a mess.”

“I’m so sorry, Joel. That sounds awful.”

His eyes flick away from mine. “I don’t mean to dump on you. This isn’t exactly the second date I had in mind.”

I skim my fingertips along his creased brow. “Your troubles are important to me.”

“Really?” he asks.

“I may not be able to offer any legal advice, but I’ll try and support you, whatever comes your way.”

He nods then falls silent for a few minutes, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the curve of my hip.

“I’m mad at my best friend.”

I blink, and our eyes meet briefly.

“I’ve never been mad at him before but—he took off. He’s been my best friend since I was seventeen years old. We’ve been through everything together. Forming the band, finding a studio exec to sign us, touring together, recording,” he says low. “All of that and”—he avoids my gaze for a moment—“muchmuchmore, and he just takes off when we need him the most?”

“Where did he go?” I ask.

But Joel shakes his head. “No idea. We live together. He took my car and drove off. I spent all of yesterday looking for him. Then I didn’t want to go home and be alone?—”

“You’ve been downstairs with Doris all night?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

I frown. “And you don’t know where he went?”

Joel rolls onto his back and stares at my ceiling. “That’s the worst part. It’s making me think that maybe I didn’t know him as well as I thought. What if our whole friendship has been a lie?”

I wrap my arm around his torso and squeeze, laying my head on his chest. “I don’t think that’s true. He’s probably as overwhelmed as you and scared. He’ll be back.”

“Being in the band . . . It’s been a dream come true. I’m so incredibly lucky, and I can’t help but feel like I’m being punished. Like maybe because I was a jerk as a teenager, this is all just the universe’s way of balancing itself out.”

“I understand what you mean. I feel like I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop. That any moment everything’s just going to go to hell.”

He grasps my chin and forces me to look up at him. “Is that why you pushed me away?”

I shrug. “A lifetime of experience has taught me that I’m not worth the trouble. That I’m not worth anything.”

His beautiful brown eyes hold mine. “That’s not true. You are wortheverything.”

“You hardly know me,” I whisper.

“That doesn’t mean you don’t have worth or dreams.”

“I haven’t had dreams in a long time.”

He bites his lip. “What was your dream? What did you want to do when you were sixteen?”

A smile tugs at my lips. “I wanted to be an actress. I was desperate to be Grace Kelly. Everything seemed so romantic and extravagant.”

His lips split into a grin. “I could see you up on the big screen.”

Now that I’ve said it, it seems to pour out of me. “I guess I thought that if I was a big Hollywood star, someone, somewhere, would love me.”

His brow creases. “You’veneverhad someone?—”

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