Page 28 of The Bodyguard
“You’ve watched my show?”
That seemed to startle her. As if it was unthinkable that I would. “My housekeeper likes to watch it. Sometimes it’s just on the TV when I turn it on.”
“Oh. Right. Anyway, what I do on TV is play a character.”
“Hello? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure it’s a reality TV show. Emphasis on the wordreality.”
Brin shook her head. “You don’t have a clue. The Cowboy Princess is a role. Of course I don’t drink champagne all day. Of course I don’t faint at the sight of flat shoes. Of course I don’t shriek with horror at the discount shoe rack.”
“I saw that episode. Shrieking was involved.” I peeked under the table. “And those don’t look like discount shoes.”
She shifted, as if she was hiding her shoes from me. “Okay. Fair enough. But people have expectations about me I have to meet. Shoes being one of them. And also…sometimes I can’t help myself.”
She actually looked chagrined, which was adorable. “So you really won’t eat a cheeseburger?”
“I learned that weight is power. And maybe now that I’m leaving the show I can eat one every now and then, but that doesn’t mean I liked to be bullied into it.”
“Fine. I concede to that. Wait, you’re leaving the show? I thought it was popular.”
She shrugged casually. “It is, but I’m ready to move on.”
I leaned back in the booth, assessing her. She was deliberately not meeting my eyes.
“Because of this stalker? The one I saw on TMZ? I figured it was some story to create buzz for you and the show, but you reacted pretty strongly when I suggested as much yesterday.”
“I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Tell me.”
Slowly she shook her head.
“I don’t think…” She stopped talking when Grace came back with her wine. I watched as Brin smiled at the girl, which made Grace blush. Obviously Grace was aware of Dusty Creek’s most famous citizen.
Brin waited until Grace left and then took a sip of her wine.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s nothing, really,” she said with a shrug of her shoulder.
I couldn’t tell if she was lying, and for some reason that bothered me.
“Then why did you come back? Dusty Creek must seem awfully small after spending years shuttling back and forth between Dallas and LA.”
“Well, I don’t know if you know, but Ronnie and Clayton are officially engaged again. And I’m planning their wedding. Not just any wedding. The wedding of the century! An event like that doesn’t just plan itself. And Ronnie doesn’t know this, but I’m also thinking of throwing another engagement party. Something to remove all the bad memories.”
Yeah. Some pretty fucking bad memories.
“What you told me about that night was true, wasn’t it?” I asked. Because I couldn’t not. It was like running my tongue over a sore tooth. It only made the ache worse, but I couldn’t seem to stop. “You saw them. Together.”
My feelings for Betty had faded surprisingly quickly. Quickly enough that it made me question what I’d had with her. How could any of it have been real if she’d been lying the whole time?
But the betrayal, the lies, the abuse of trust. That had hit way harder. Much deeper.
“I’m sorry,” Brin said. “I didn’t mean to drag up bad memories.”
I shook it off. “That’s all she is, a memory. So, you’re back for the wedding and then what?”
I had to change topics. She was looking at me. Like she used to when she was a kid. Like I could move the heavens and the earth. Like I was some type of invincible god when I was so far from that. It’s just that there was something to be said for having Sabrina King believe in you.
“Then I don’t know. Everything is on hold until after the wedding.”
