Ardent Strangers: An Ardent Strangers novel (Ardent Strangers series Book 1)

by Samantha Kately

  Nathaniel curses to himself.

  “Are you going to tell Eve about this morning’s letter, Nate?” a man says, his Japanese-American accent lighter than I’d imagined. I clutch the edge of the archway and peek around the corner. Agent Hamada sits at the furthest corner of the table amongst the other agents.

  Behind Hamada, Nathaniel stands at the coffee machine with his back turned. “No.”

  Aaron, who is closest to me, rocks in his chair. “You’re sure?”

  Nathaniel turns slightly, but I still can’t see his face. “You heard Evangeline. She wants to see the competition through until the end. How can I deny her that?”

  “But Laura said—”

  “To hell with what Laura said. Who wants to be caged up in a house for an indefinite length of time? I could show Eve the letters, I could scare her. But why? What for? Sure, she’d probably pull out of the show, but why let Laura pull all the strings? If she thinks I’m going to let her control Eve and I because she holds a grudge against me, well…”

  “Grudge?” says Hamada, laughing harshly. “If I recall that office party last year, you slept with her and acted as if nothing had happened an hour later.”

  I hold back a gasp.

  Hamada continues, “Did you see her face when you returned to the party? I’ve never seen anybody that bitter.”

  Beside Aaron, Hunt nods, his gaze disapproving as it moves to Nathaniel.

  “And how do you know that?” Nathaniel asks.

  “I was assigned to you for the night. I don’t know if you remember, but I stood outside your office door the entire time you and Laura were in there. When you exited it was as if you hardly knew her at all. You began mingling with the guests, drinking at the bar. The next day at work she was still livid, but you were too busy to notice a thing.”

  Nathaniel slams his mug onto the bench and turns to Hamada. “Was I really that much of an asshole?”

  There are grunts from the agents around the room.

  “Oh, that’s brilliant. But in my defense, I never led her on. I told her that everything had to remain professional between us once we walked out that door. I thought it did for a while. Sure, she hinted at the prospect of something more from time to time, but I never had any intention of letting that happen again.”

  “I think she was in love with you,” Hamada says.

  “Laura?” asks Nathaniel. “No.”

  Aaron winces. “Hamada’s right. I confronted her once. I asked her straight up, “Are you in love with, Nate?”

  “What did she say?” Nathaniel asks, a little shaken.

  “She never said a thing. The devastation in her eyes was answer enough.”

  “Now I do feel like an asshole. Still, she went behind my back with that contract for Evangeline. Laura had no right. That was personal. And the drones she took…”

  “Do you think that’s why Laura slept with Damo?” asks Brewster.

  “She did? When?” asks Nathaniel.

  Aaron winces. “A few months back. Damien and I thought it better to keep you in the dark after we realized she’d probably done it to make you jealous. I’d never seen Damien so annoyed.”

  “Was that before or after Beth broke up with him?”

  “After.”

  “Didn’t Laura proposition you too, Az?” asks Brewster.

  “And Dominque,” Aaron says.

  “What the hell?” growls Nathaniel. “Was she trying to go through my group of friends to get back at me? Did you go there, Az?”

  “Dominque did.”

  “Well, that’s no surprise.” Brewster laughs. “Although I bet Laura was in for a shock. Dominque’s the kinkiest son of bitch I know!”

  “Yeah, don’t remind me,” says Nathaniel, shaking his head. “So, Az, did you sleep with her?”

  “Nope. I was kind of seeing Skyler at the time. Laura knew it, too. The woman seemed to make it her business to know everything about everyone.”

  “Skylar?” asks Viv. “As in Skylar the judge on Original Star?”

  Aaron grunts.

  Brewster leans across the table. “As in Skylar who you hooked up with a week ago?”

  He slept with Skylar! I can’t believe he would do that. For all his talk of waiting and vowing to win me over in the end, he’d never intended to be faithful.

  Viv grunts low. “If Evangeline knew all that, Aaron…” She stands and leans across the table. “Is that what I should expect, a lying cheating—?”

  “Viv,” Aaron says, walking over to her. “If I obviously disgust you this much, why invite me into your room?”

  Viv and Aaron are together! That was fast. My heart sinks. I have no right to be hurt. This is like Johanna again. Aaron sees me with Nathaniel and finds a way to forget.

  Viv slumps back in her chair. “I don’t know. I was bored. You’d been publicly dumped. I thought, why not? But if I’d known there was Skylar, too…”

  Aaron grinds his jaw, stands, and leans across the table to Viv. “Well, guess what? I never hooked up with Skylar. I told her no. But thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  If he hadn’t said that, I would have been quitting the band.

  Viv smiles awkwardly. “Aaron, I didn’t know.”

  “That’s great,” he grumbles, returning to his seat.

  “I don’t see why you’re upset,” Viv states. “You’re still moping over Eve.”

  “I’m not moping. I’m fine.”

  “Are you? Then why did you do that to Nate this morning while we were all sparring?”

  “Closure.”

  “Right,” Viv snaps, then turns to Nathaniel. “And what about you?

  “What about me?” Nathaniel asks, eyes narrowed.

  “Have you cheated on Eve, too?”

  He scoffs. “No.”

  Viv’s gaze shifts to the archway. I’m about to duck out of sight when she winks at me. She returns to her interrogation. “What about in the future, Nate? Can you honestly say you won’t be tempted?”

  “Have you met Evangeline?” he says. Viv looks up at him nervously as he lowers his voice, “She is the sweetest thing to ever have happen to me. I would never jeopardize that.” He leans down to her, and although I only see the right side of his face there’s no missing the anger in his smile. “Don’t ever question me like that again. Especially about Evangeline.”

  “Understood,” Viv says. But when Nathaniel’s back is turned she smiles at me.

  “Thank you,” I mouth back, grateful for the inside scoop, while another part of me is unthanking her for upsetting Nathaniel.

  Viv gives an imperceptible nod my way, and I take that as my cue to enter. The kitchen is huge, kitted out with pot racks hanging from the ceiling and herb pots above the window sill, with more dark timber and cream walls. But it’s the rustic wooden table and the agents sitting around it that makes the room feel smaller. They have become so engrossed in planning tonight’s security that no one notices I’m here.

  Nathaniel has returned to his spot by the windows, standing at the coffee machine. It’s the most casual I’ve ever seen him, a black t-shirt that shows off the colors of ink and the firm muscles beneath, black sweat pants and bare feet.

  Aaron looks just as casual—white singlet, shorts, bare feet—but there is nothing casual about his manner. I might have missed something, but it’s as if he’s returned to being the agent in charge of the operation. “So, Viv, your principal tonight will be Eve. When we’re on stage position yourself off to the side—behind the left curtain would be best.”

  She grunts her agreement.

  Aaron turns to Agent Hunt. “Hunt, keep yourself posted at the foot of the stage. And if anything happens in the audience Brewster and Hamada will take care of that. You and Viv will need to grab Eve and run her to the safe room.

  “Which is?” asks Hunt.

  “Emma’s office. Brewster, could you look after the recon for that?”

  Brewster nods, sipping his coffee. “Who’ll be posted there d
uring the show?”

  “Emma’s organized some of the studio’s security for us.”

  Agent Hamada, who has been sitting quietly at the far corner of the table, looks up from his phone. “I really think you and Eve should withdraw from the show, Nate. That letter this morning—”

  “Shh!” Viv whacks Agent Hamada on the arm. Everyone’s attention falls to me.

  “What did the letter say?” I ask huskily.

  Nathaniel’s tenses, and as he turns my mouth drops in horror. In the few hours since sunrise he’s managed to earn a whopping bruise that puffs up his cheekbone.

  I cross the room and pull a bag of peas from the freezer. He flinches as I place them on his cheek. “What happened, Nate?”

  “That would be me,” Aaron says behind me.

  I turn, wishing I could advance on Aaron, but I’m still holding the make-shift compress to Nathaniel’s cheek.

  “Why would you do that?” I ask.

  Aaron shifts in his seat.

  “How could you?” I continue. “After everything you’ve discussed with Doctor Brown. Why is it that the people who supposedly care for him are the ones intent on hurt—?”

  “Evangeline,” Nathaniel says, turning me around to him. “It’s alright. I let him do it. I gave him a free shot to even up the stakes.”

  I feel sick. “What stakes?”

  “Partly you. But also because I wasn’t there for him when Damo died,” Nathaniel confesses. “I couldn’t even look myself in the mirror. I knew I was treating everyone close to me like shite—Az, Roger, Laura, my employees—but I was trapped in this angry bubble. It was me against the world.” Shame fills his eyes. “I might have tried to punch Az at the time.”

  Aaron grunts. “You were too drunk to actually land a punch on me, though. But I still count that as a personal attack.”

  It’s hard to believe that Nathaniel could have been like that. I don’t think he is that man anymore, and I don’t like this deal they have one bit. “So, did it even up the stakes?”

  “Well, I think it did,” Aaron says.

  Okay, I want to slap him.

  “And you’re alright with this?” I ask Nathaniel, glaring slightly. “Really?”

  “Don’t get me wrong, it hurts.” He touches his cheek. “But it was worth it.”

  I roll my eyes as he kisses my temple. I turn from him to Aaron. “I don’t think I will ever understand you two.”

  As Nathaniel’s arms tense around me, Brewster chokes on his coffee. Aaron stares at me with wide eyes. Hamada and Hunt share a look. And Viv, she looks as confused as I am.

  “Okay. What is it?” I ask.

  “Nate, was that the most freakish thing ever?” Aaron says.

  “Hell, yes.”

  “It’s like Damien’s in the room with us,” Brewster adds, and for a second I wonder if they sense a ghost. Impossible, but the air has turned eerie.

  “What?!” I ask as they all stare at me.

  Nathaniel pulls me back against him, tightening his hold.

  Aaron sighs. “What you just said, Damien used to say that on a daily basis. Although his version was a tad more colorful. But close enough.”

  Now I’m a little spooked.

  “And Eve?” Aaron says flatly. “Welcome to the family.”

  “Family? As in the inner circle of friends kind of family or do you mean real family?”

  “How does the name sister-in-law work for you?” Aaron looks a little sick, exactly how I feel given our history.

  “You’re brothers?!”

  As Aaron nods, Nathaniel says, “Adopted brothers, actually.”

  I frown, determined not to cry. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It would have only made your choice more difficult. Not to mention that talking about my past is not a favorite topic of mine.” Nathaniel grimaces. “You know that music video Az and I made as teenagers?”

  I nod, hating that video more and more.

  “Well, as soon as the police took a copy of it as evidence I was taken into child protection services. My grandfather was already living in aged care, so that left me with the prospect of a foster home. Aaron and Damien’s parents stepped in, filing for adoption so that I could return to Australia with them. The process moved surprising fast—Ryan Randall has friends in high places—and I never had to deal with my father again. It was the luckiest thing that could have happened to me, the kind of luck that only comes around once in a lifetime. Or so I’d thought.”

  “What do you mean?” I whisper.

  “Meeting you on the bridge, Eve.”

  Performance three

  Five contestants down and now it’s time to perform.

  I peek across at Aaron who is sitting atop the piano—not in that sultry way a jazz singer would sprawl herself across the surface—his posture is laid back, his arms on display thanks to the firm white t-shirt that is concealed by his acoustic guitar. He’s kind of hard to miss, especially when we have been made to match.

  I’m in white again. This time the organza floats like petals all the way down to my feet, showing hints of the short slip beneath. Ironically, Emma had declared my theme was to be an angel, while Aaron was aptly cast as…Aaron. I can see why. The second he looks into the audience the girls and women swoon and cheer, a few guys too. He doesn’t need to be anything else, he just is.

  He turns a fraction and shoots me a smile. He is loving this, and I am possibly loving this too—the energy, the anticipation of showing the world our new song. That’s until the lights darken across the stage and the air gets that static feel to it. As the audience fall silent and we cut to the live feed, my hands become clammy on the keys. Out of habit, I search for Nathaniel in the shadows of the audience. A child sits in his seat. Why is that such a shock? He told me he wasn’t attending. Laura will no doubt be watching, waiting for that next line of dialogue to use in her forthcoming letter. So Nathaniel’s not here and I have no one to sing to, no one to take away the nerves, my engagement ring swapped to my right hand.

  A line of people shuffle behind his usual seat, and as they take their places that hole in my heart lifts a little. Tasha, Penny, Quinn and Wendy wave up at me. Before I’ve had time to lift my hand from the keys, Aaron has waved to them. Somewhere along the way they’ve become his friends, too. It shouldn’t be a surprise with the amount of time we spend together, but Aaron is always there, like the boyfriend I never knew I had.

  The screen below the stage shows the live feed, with Dan Groen standing amidst the audience at the top of the stairs. A spotlight shines upon his silvery-blue suit as he says into the mic, “Yes, folks. We’ve finally come to the act that everybody’s talking about. But in all seriousness the producers here at Original Star would like to state for the record that last night’s footage of Aaron and Eve was not a publicity stunt. It was recorded and aired without their knowledge, and it is currently under investigation. Putting that aside, here is Ardent Strangers with their latest song, ‘Earthquakes.’”

  As much as I appreciate Dan putting the truth out there—Emma’s idea—I’m a little mortified that it needed to be said in the first place. Normally, I’d hide in such a situation, but I’m center stage. The darkness fades and shifts to a smoky grey, the spotlight falling upon me as I press down the first keys. The melody spins lightly under my fingertips, each note less intimidating than the last as a calm settles over me and Aaron takes the first verse, his voice edgy, emotional:

  “Red bricks falling down, I escape but you hit the ground.

  The sky is falling, the earth is moving,

  And in the middle there’s the two of us…”

  Pre-chorus:

  I sing: “Floor tremoring, dreams shattering all over the place.”

  Aaron: “You pick me up,”

  I sing: “I pull you back.

  While you say, ‘The only way out of here is if we could fly.’”

  Chorus:

  Aaron turns to me, strumming his guitar. “So I…give
you my wings,”

  “And you tell me to fly…” I sing, remembering Nathaniel dangling from the bridge, his words that I should save myself. “I reach out for you but you tell me goodbye. You should have known, I couldn’t leave you behind…”

  Aaron’s guitar takes over my piano part, and I’m left sitting there empty handed. His voice half-talks, half sings the verse again, every word under his command, as he sings:

  “Another tremor strikes; the fault-line splits between us.

  I see you falling, I see you choosing

  I cross the divide to get to you…”

  The pre-chorus begins again, drums and strings sound around us, and together we sing the words I wrote about Nathaniel:

  “Floor tremoring, dreams shattering all over the place.

  You pick me up,

  I pull you back.”

  He belts out, “While-I say, ‘The only way out of here is if we could fly.’”

  Every instrument pulls back. It’s just the piano and me, the soft tinkling notes that circle from high to low. Our voices drop to an almost whisper:

  Aaron: “So I give you my wings.”

  I sing: “And you tell me to fly…

  I reach out for you but you tell me goodbye,

  We sing: You should have known… I couldn’t leave you behind.

  And I fall,

  I fall for you…”

  The final chords sound beneath my fingers and Aaron’s melody floats away into the distance.

  Clapping, cheering… Who knows if there are standing ovations, because I’m not looking anywhere but the keys. Aaron jumps off the piano and takes my hand, leading me from the stool and pulling me into a hug. I move to center stage and the judges’ comments fly at me, and I barely hear a word of it. My mind keeps replaying the lyrics, at the obstacles determined to keep Nathaniel and I apart, or how I’d love nothing more than to wear his grandmother’s diamond on my ring finger, just like any other newly engaged woman.

  I smile tightly. Aaron’s hand has found a comfy niche at the curve of my waist.