by Dee J. Adams
He gave her a barely there smile because he probably understood her dodge. “Did you think you’d make it in?” he asked, taking a sip of his hot cocoa. He looked cucumber cool as he sipped his drink and circled a sensitive spot with his thumb—midthigh—that had her wanting his hands all over her.
“I hoped I would,” she admitted. Casey had to focus on the conversation. “I didn’t have the support I’d hoped to have when I first mentioned the idea to important people in my life. But ultimately, not having that support made me stronger in the end. So I guess it’s a good thing.”
His smile faded and he set his cup down. His warm palm cupped her upper thigh. “I was very lucky in that respect. My family was very supportive. I’ll admit, they talked me into it, but I didn’t tell them until after I’d sent in my video.”
“Why?”
“We’re not big fans of the limelight. I just thought this was a good way to chase a dream.”
“You don’t think being a songwriter puts you in the limelight?” Casey asked. She couldn’t help the skepticism in her voice.
“It’s the singers who are usually in the spotlight. Not the songwriter.”
“You don’t see yourself ever singing one of your own songs? Like Ryan?” She shifted a fraction and he took advantage of her parted thighs. Their gazes locked and she couldn’t miss the extra heat in his eyes.
He licked his lips. “Maybe. I don’t know. I just like the idea of creating music and hearing the finished product from someone else. I never considered myself a performer.”
“But you sing your songs as you write them, just like we all do. You have perfect pitch. You don’t think that makes you a performer?”
“Maybe to an extent. I don’t know. Let’s just say I don’t see myself playing to tens of thousands of people like all the singers here do. Sure, I can carry a tune, but I think it takes more than that to make it to the top.”
“Like what?”
“A larger than life personality helps.” He shrugged. “Not sure I’ve got that in my back pocket.”
He was so wrong. He actually had a lot of larger than life qualities, but listing them on television might get her tossed from the show.
“Why are you smiling?” he asked, taking another sip from his mug.
Instead of saying what she wanted to say about one particular larger than life quality of his, Casey answered his question. “I think you have a wonderful personality.”
“Oh yeah?” He leaned in close until his warm chocolate breath wafted against her lips. His index finger hovered right at the crease of her thigh and she barely sucked oxygen into her lungs.
“Absolutely,” she whispered. “Of course it’s not going to stop me from winning this thing.”
He pulled back, his eyes sparkling. “Is that a challenge, a throw-down maybe?”
“Not at all.” She sipped her drink. “Just a fact.”
“Really?” His hand disappeared and he turned her stool so they faced each other. He locked his legs between hers. Another ripple of sexual awareness shot through Casey from her thighs—where his warm hands palmed her—to straight up her center. “How about a little wager?”
“What kind of wager?” Casey kept her drink in her hands to keep from touching him the way she wanted. Even if part of her wanted to torture Jeff, she really didn’t love the whole country weighing in on her relationship with Brendan.
“If I win, you go out with me when it’s over,” he said.
“And if I win?” she asked.
“You go out with me when it’s over.”
She laughed, nearly spit out her drink. “That’s the same thing. What’s the point?”
His face turned serious. “The point is that we go out after this. Without the cameras, without the audience. You and me with nothing in front of us or behind us.”
She shook her head. “There’s always going to be stuff behind us.” She meant Jeff, but maybe he was thinking about Hawaii. Or possibly the show. Not that it mattered. “Neither one of us can change our pasts.”
“True, but we can move on and choose our path for the future.”
She agreed with that. “Isn’t that why we’re here?”
He nodded. “It is. Yes, it is.” He lifted his mug and gestured she do the same. “Here’s to forgetting the stuff behind us and moving forward. Here’s to making new friends and keeping them around for a long time.”
Casey clinked her mug into his. “I’ll drink to all of that.”
Chapter Fourteen
Week four began with another stupid challenge, although this time the prize actually appealed to Brendan. A seventy-inch flat screen TV. That baby was as sleek as any machine he’d ever seen. But as he’d done with all the other prizes up for grabs, Brendan intended to tank the contest. He kept his eye on the main prize and kept his focus on the weekly song. Sure the daily and weekly prizes were awesome, but winning them took time and effort…things he didn’t have if he wanted to write a great song.
Not that he felt confident he’d win this challenge anyway, not when it involved karaoke. Ugh. That little pastime had never been his favorite.
The remaining celebrities, Ryan Tedder, Carrie Underwood, Rihanna and Seger, served as judges and the best/most entertaining contestant won the TV. He didn’t expect to win, nor did he want to. Casey, Dante and Jack, the other remaining finalists in the house, all had better singing voices, which worked fine for him.
A glass floor had been built eight feet over the pool and made a spectacular stage for them to perform. Underwater lighting flashed all different colors and lit up the outside and their performances from beneath their feet along with the standing lights around the yard.
For once, the producers let them practice the challenge before actually taking part in it. Maybe they realized the dangers of a completely cold performance at this stage of the game.
Thanks to his brothers’ clues, he already knew who his celebrity singer would be and had the night to think of something before he got the official word tomorrow. Getting those clues gave them a leg up on writing something that might fit their intended singer. Guessing wrong meant potentially starting over or giving a major tweak to the existing piece. Brendan laughed softly to himself, thinking back on Danny’s clue.
“Wet dream.”
Eric had simply nodded. “Paradise.”
Rihanna. He knew for two reasons. First, When Danny had been about fifteen, he’d woken up because of a wet dream about Rihanna and he’d never lived it down. They’d all been camping in the backyard and his confusion and subsequent wet spot had given them all a lesson in the male reaction to mental stimulus. Second, she was from Barbados, which they all considered paradise. So, yeah, it helped having brothers who’d always carried a torch for Rihanna and Brendan was pumped that he’d be working with her a second time.
Now he just had to get through this damn karaoke night and get to work.
Dante picked Andy Grammer’s song, “Honey, I’m Good.” He’d even worn a black leather jacket, maybe in hopes of summoning Grammer’s success. The rest of them couldn’t help but bop to that number-one hit. Jack picked “Animals” by Maroon 5 and showed off his tattoo sleeve with a black tank top. His performance had them all chair dancing. Casey chose Megan Trainor’s song, “Dear Future Husband.” Wearing tight black leggings, black stiletto heels and a flowing hot pink shirt, she looked like the rock star she should be.
As each person sang, the rest of them sat on stools behind them so the camera caught everyone’s reactions. Because they’d all grown closer over the last few weeks, there wasn’t much animosity as they each performed. If anything, Brendan felt a sense of support from his fellow contestants. This challenge was about winning a TV, not the week, and since this was more for fun, they enjoyed the music and took the opportunity to cut loose.
At one point during Casey’s song, she strutted to the opposite side of the stage and stomped to the beat of the crescendo in her sky-high heels. A spotlight hit her and she l
ooked like a goddess when she finished the song, one hand high in the air and her hip cocked, grinning so big that Brendan’s heart fell hard and fast right then. He’d never known anything like the immeasurable pride filling his chest. No, she might not belong to him, but he wanted her to. He wanted to sit down at a piano with her and make music then he wanted to take her to bed and make love.
She was a shooting star and he liked that he knew her before, because this was just the beginning for her. The audience was going to go crazy. This one little karaoke song might very well launch her into the big time.
Casey walked back, breathing hard, and held out the mic as he stood for his turn.
“You have to do that move tonight,” he told her. “That was awesome.”
“No way!” She shook her head, laughing. “That was just for us. I’m counting on the fact that they won’t have time to edit it in the show.” She put the mic in his hand. “Go on. Your turn. Don’t forget to give the camera an ass shot. It’s looking mighty fine in those jeans.” She sat on the stool he vacated and flipped her hair over her shoulder with a twinkle in her eyes.
Brendan forced himself to look away from her dazzling smile and walked out to center stage. The longer he knew Casey, the more she surprised him. Or maybe she was psyching him out.
He nodded for the music. He’d purposely gone old school with his choice for a couple of reasons. One, he’d stick out as the only singer that hadn’t picked something contemporary, which would probably throw him out of the contest. Two, he picked an artist that meant something to one of the judges. “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger was one of Seger Hughes all-time favorite songs. In a little known fact, Seger actually took his name from Bob Seger over two decades ago when he’d started his career. Brendan had learned that pretty quickly because his wife called him by his real name…Mel. His boss’s Bob Seger collection was the other giveaway. Picking this song assured a loss with Seger mainly because his boss hated when people tried to cover his idol. In Brendan’s mind, it was just another little way to make sure he won Seger’s vote honestly and not because of any relationship they had. With little chance of winning this challenge, Brendan let loose with all the heart and soul a Bob Seger song deserved.
The small audience of judges, producers and crew seemed to enjoy the show and when he finished, he got the same round of applause and level of excitement as everyone else who performed. Maybe he hadn’t stunk up the place after all. He just had to recreate it later tonight.
The group broke for dinner since tonight’s show was going to be a live event. Again. The live shows were doing well enough to warrant them weekly and though Brendan couldn’t say he was getting used to them, at least they didn’t terrify him as much. Casey informed him during the meal that the song he picked also happened to be her ringtone. Brendan took that to be an omen.
Less than two hours later, they returned to their backyard stage. The sun had dropped and the lights looked incredible coming from beneath them in the pool.
“You going to do your stomp?” Brendan asked Casey as they took their spots.
“No. I told you that was just for us before. I don’t even know what I was doing.”
“But it was great. Look, if you don’t do it, I’m going to steal it. I’d hate for you to lose because I took your moves.” Whereas Casey had looked like a sex goddess the way she owned the stage, Brendan would look like a class-A geek. It worked if he wanted to lose.
“Be my guest,” she said.
Steve came over and stood at the edge of the stage. “Okay, we’re about ready to start. Remember, we want to see you guys do exactly what you did for the rehearsal. Cameras will be expecting the same performance.”
“Awesome,” Brendan muttered. “I will get to see you do it again.”
“No, you won’t. I don’t care what the cameras are expecting. I’m not doing it,” Casey whispered.
“Rebel,” he whispered back.
“Getting there.” The conviction behind the soft-spoken words surprised him and she looked ahead as if waiting for someone to contradict her. He wanted under her skin. Wanted to know what demons she had chasing her. The woman he met in Hawaii was a total rebel. Damn, he wanted this shit to be over already so they could pick up where they’d left off.
The show started for real and Steve introduced them and the songs they planned to sing. Dante lit the place on fire, Jack kept it burning and Casey blew it up. As she said, she didn’t do her stomp, but she still delivered an amazing performance, strutting across stage, her longs legs looking even longer in those massive heels. With her hair flowing all around her, she rivaled any and every rock goddess. All that pride he’d felt during the rehearsal filled him up a second time and nearly burst his heart.
He’d bet money that Dante and Jack were relieved they didn’t have to follow her. The only reason he didn’t mind was because it ensured his loss. Still, his palms slicked up and his pulse raced as his turn neared. Brendan tried to shake off the nerves and remind himself that this performance didn’t mean much. He was happy to lose the karaoke contest since not obsessing over it had given him more time for songwriting this week.
Not one of those platitudes made him any less nervous.
Casey handed him the mic as they passed each other on stage. “Dare you,” she mumbled. She was talking about that stomp on the raised part of the stage opposite them.
He laughed. “It’s on.” In that minute, the sparkle in her eyes meant the world to him. This was the woman he’d fallen for in Hawaii, the playful woman with a truckload of confidence and enough personality to fill a freight train. The woman who just put her heart and soul into a song and probably won a giant flat screen because of it.
The lights nearly blinded Brendan, but he smiled for the camera. “This is an oldie, but a song I think most of you will recognize.” The first few piano notes hit the air and Brendan dove into the song like a flat screen TV depended on it.
Right before the crescendo of the song he moved to the corner of the stage where Casey had done her stomp and he did a similar version. The roar of appreciation from his fellow contestants had him thinking he had a shot at winning that giant flat screen after all. Just as the music slowed, the floor shifted beneath Brendan’s feet. Losing his balance, he looked down as a giant crack split the floor and the whole piece split, buckled and broke. Chaos erupted. It was a slow motion disaster as everything on that end of the stage slid into the water. The amps and all the cables at the end hit the pool in a show of sparks brighter than the finale at Disneyland. Screams and shouts rent the air as Brendan lost his footing and slid, following all of it in.
Electrocuted. He was two seconds from getting fried. The microphone flew in the air as he reached for the edge of the stage and caught it. He got no traction on the glass. Every centimeter his fingers slid put him that much closer to his death. Sweat coated his skin and his pulse jumped like the wires bouncing with electricity over the water. The light show underwater combined with the sparks over the pool and created a surreal attraction.
A hand grabbed his wrist. His feet dangled inches from the high voltage water.
“Brendan!” Casey’s voice reached his ears over the din of the music and buzzing electricity. “Hold on!” She started tugging. His weight would surely drag her down with him. He gulped in air to warn her off when another hand grabbed his other arm and both people hauled him up.
Dante helped Casey reel him in and Jack was right there to aid Casey. Relief surged through Brendan as he landed stomach first on the remaining part of the glass stage, his heart still pounding like a drum. They didn’t waste time getting him to his feet and running for the stairs at the back that led down to poolside.
Shaken, Brendan stared at the pool and the sparks that flew from the live wires snapping from the broken stage. Producers yelled out orders and an arm circled his waist. Brendan met Casey’s wide, concerned eyes and pulled her closer, swallowing back his residual panic. Nothing like a near death experience t
o sober the moment.
Crap. He thought he’d already met his quota. A phantom pain sliced through his chest as he remembered the searing agony of a collapsed lung and the struggle to get enough air before help arrived. Brendan blinked the memory away when Casey squeezed him tighter.
Crew members ran around in a chaos they hadn’t seen since the day the light came down over Casey’s chair. So was this just really bad luck that two near-fatal accidents had happened within a span of weeks? Or was it something more? What would someone have to gain in hurting one of them?
“You okay,” Casey asked, her hand locked on his waist.
Not counting his runaway heart, sure. Nodding, he met her gaze. “Yeah.” He kissed her forehead, and didn’t give a shit that cameras were going to catch everything. “Thanks for catching me.”
Tipping her head back, she lifted an eyebrow. “I’d say we’re even…again,” she added softly. Because they’d saved each other twice now. Once in Hawaii and now during the show. “I couldn’t have done it without Dante and Jack,” she said for the microphones to hear.
“Maybe, but without you, I would’ve dropped right in. For a second, I thought I was going to pull you in with me.” It made him sick to think about it.
“No worries. I would’ve let go before that happened.” She grinned and Brendan smiled back. His chest tightened and a huge realization slammed him like a linebacker. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know enough about her or that they still had to compete against each other. It didn’t matter what his rational brain said, because his heart knew he loved her. Anyone who could joke after the last five minutes deserved a medal.
Or a giant flat screen television as it turned out. Along with Casey’s performance, her heroism in racing to Brendan’s rescue had earned her the top spot in that week’s contest. As far as Brendan was concerned, no one deserved it more.
Chapter Fifteen