by Marie Harte
They had plans to meet Iris on Wednesday, late afternoon. Elliot and Rose had insisted she take the day off early, eager for Sadie to make a great impression on Gear’s family.
“It’s like you’re all throwing me at him,” she complained to Rose as they worked behind the counter serving customers.
“We like him for you,” Rose said. “He’s nice. Joe likes him too.”
“Joe met him once.”
“We both heard how Dad ripped him a new one at family dinner.” Rose’s dimples were showing. The brat. “He survived. Ava was really impressed.”
“You talked to Ava?”
“Well, Elliot’s accounting always needs a balance. He uses words like true love and dramatic flair and oh my God, amazeballs,” Rose said drily, causing Sadie to chuckle. “Ava’s more grounded.”
Rose wiped the counters, saying no more.
“Well? What else did Ava say? Because she and Landon like him, but Dad didn’t seem to.” And that still bothered her.
“Dad doesn’t like anyone. And let’s face it, no man will ever be good enough for his princess.”
“Um, you married Joe.”
“I mean you, doofus. You’ve always been Daddy’s little girl. We knew it would be tough for him to let you go.”
“Now hold on. I took Gear to dinner. That’s it. There’s no letting go.”
“What are you so scared of, Sadie?” Rose asked, her voice soft. “Gear really likes you, Elliot said, and I see it every time he’s with you. You like him too, don’t you?”
“I guess.”
“You guess?”
Sadie wished they’d get busier so she’d have an excuse not to talk to her sister. “He, um, gave me his house key. And I’m going to give him mine.”
Rose’s eyes grew huge. “Really?”
“Yeah. It’s no big deal.” So she kept telling herself. “We hang out a lot. And he has a hot tub. Now I can use it whenever I want. He said.”
“Sadie. You’re going to give Gear a key to your apartment?”
Sadie nodded, feeling hemmed in.
“Why?”
“Because he… I…” She grabbed the soapy rag from Rose and finished wiping everything again. “I don’t know. I like him, okay? And it scares the piss out of me.”
Rose gave her a hug, and Sadie held on. “Oh, sweetie, let yourself fall for the guy. It’s okay to love someone.”
“I did before.” Sadie pulled away, missing her sister’s calm the moment she did. “Adrian messed me up.”
“And to be honest, you haven’t had a lot of luck after him. But I don’t think you’d let yourself.”
Sadie frowned. “You’ve been spending too much time with Ava. That’s what she says.”
“She’s right.” Rose patted her tummy. “I got lucky with Joe. I had only dated a little bit and had some nice but not great experiences. Then I met Joe and fell in love. It’s so worth it to have someone special in your life. Come on, Sadie. Give Gear a shot.”
“I don’t know.” She felt sick at the thought of losing Gear. “He’s almost perfect. We argue. We talk. We laugh. He’s great in bed.”
“And nice to look at.” Rose grinned. “I’m pregnant, not dead.”
“Hussy.”
Rose laughed.
“We’re moving kind of fast,” Sadie said. “It scares me, because I like him so much. Adrian and I dated for years, and he crushed me.”
“Do you think Gear will cheat on you?”
“Hell, no. Not if he wants to live.”
“Okay. There’s that.”
Sadie sighed. “And he had the same thing happen to him. Sahara slept with his best friend.”
“And they were engaged, right?”
“Yeah.” Looking at their histories, Sadie knew she and Gear had so much in common. “It’s weird. Sometimes it feels like he was tailor-made for me. But I don’t trust that feeling.” I don’t trust myself.
“I like him. Elliot and Ava like him. And you love him.”
“Love?” She scoffed, secretly horrified that she did. “Love made me weak. It’s good for you and for Ava. But it hasn’t worked for Elliot either. I think we’re the unlucky-in-love types.”
“You can fight it, but at the end of the day, where do you want to be? Making cupcakes, or hanging with Gear? You always say you’re the boring one. But have you felt bored lately?”
“Not lately, no.”
Rose nodded. “And you smile more. Oh, you’re still a terror with our customers. Theo keeps begging to work the front with anyone but you.”
“The punk.” She grinned. Friggin’ Theo.
“But we’ve seen the changes in you.” Rose hugged her again. “I know you hate talking about mushy stuff, so thanks for bearing with me. This is the last thing I’m going to say about this—you love him. When you can accept that it’s okay to love again, to open yourself to joy and pain and everything that comes with it, you’ll truly be happy.”
“That was totally mushy.”
“I know.”
“And your dimples are showing. Ack. I’m going into the back.” She walked away on the heels of Rose’s laughter.
She found Elliot fighting with a stubborn mound of dough. “Did you put Rose up to the talk out front?”
Elliot paused and looked up at her. “What talk? What did I miss?”
She groaned. “Never mind.”
“Did she give you the ‘you love him’ talk? Because I was supposed to go first, but she pulled the I’m pregnant card, thinking it would mean more coming from her.”
“What? You’re all ganging up on me?”
“Sadie, you’re a mess.”
“Takes one to know one.”
“Yeah, it does.” Elliot pointed a dough-covered finger at her. “I’ve messed up a lot in my life. And being a screwup with relationships, and gay, ain’t easy in this family.”
“Who cares if you’re gay?”
“Dad does. Did. He’s over it now, but my point is we all try to be like Mom and Dad and their perfect relationship. They loved the crap out of each other. Now we have Rose and Joe. And even Cousin Ava has a guy she’s keeping. That’s a high bar for the love-challenged like you and me.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Adrian hosed you over. I mean, cheating on you with your best friend? And don’t give me that crap that you and Annette weren’t close. You like to lie to yourself about it, but she was your go-to, and she turned on you. I can’t imagine what that’s like. Oh, but you know who can? Gear. Your boyfriend. The guy you’re gaga over and won’t admit it.”
“What do you people want from me?” Sadie wanted to pull her hair out.
“We want you to stop being such a weak, scared, girlie girl and tell the guy how you feel.”
“Me? Why shouldn’t he tell me first?”
“So he’s never said anything about how he feels about you?”
She tried to think how to answer that.
“Ah-ha! What did he say?”
“Well, uh, we were at the gym a week ago. And he, all casually mind you, said he loved me.”
Elliot gaped. “And?”
“And what? I went for a run on the treadmill, and we never talked about it again.” No, we only talked about making babies. She wiped sweat off her forehead.
“Are you nuts? A man that fine tells you he loves you, and you go running? Did you even say it back or acknowledge he said it at all?”
“No.”
“No. You’re so stupid.” He glared at her. “Stop letting Adrian ruin your life.”
“This isn’t about him.”
“Of course it is. You had your heart broken. Treason, betrayal, you were cuckolded.”
“Okay, stop.”
“And now you’ll never trust a man again. It’s
so sad.”
“Well, guess what, Elliot? You don’t know everything. Gear and I exchanged house keys.”
Elliot stared at her. “Willingly?”
“Yes, willingly. What? You think I shook him down, demanding his key? He asked me for mine first.”
“And he told you he loves you. Anything else?”
She didn’t want to tell her brother, of all people, details about her sex life. “I like his parents.”
“Dad liked him.”
“Really? Were we not at the same dinner?”
“He did. For Dad, that’s approval.”
“He used the word defiler.”
“And it was true. So what?” Elliot pounded the dough. “You’ve got a shot at something most of us would kill for. I’ve been trying forever to find someone. You all think I’m not able to commit. I just can’t find the right guy to commit to. You’ve got Gear. In the words of Sadie Liberato, don’t be a pussy. Go get what you want.”
“Really? Quoting myself at me?”
“Hey, it fits. Now quit fooling around and—”
“Um, Sadie?” Rose stood in the doorway. “I think you’d better come out front.”
Elliot and Sadie shared a glance. Rose sounded upset.
“You okay?” Sadie asked her.
“Yeah. But Sahara Blankenship is out here, and she wants to talk to you.”
Elliot plucked his hands from the dough and raced to the sink. “Oh my God. Go, go. But wait until I get out there to talk to her. And please, do not, under any circumstances, hit the woman in our shop. Keep your hands to yourself.”
Sadie walked out with Rose, curious as to what Gear’s ex would want with her.
As usual, Sahara wore tight-fitting clothing: a dark-brown skirt over leather boots that must have cost a fortune. She had on a cream-colored sweater that showed off her assets and blended with her light-blond hair. She looked like any guy’s fantasy and was surrounded by several cameramen keeping their distance to get the full shot.
Joy.
“You guys don’t have the right to film in here,” Sadie tried.
“They can film me wherever I go.”
“But they can’t film me for TV.”
Sahara smiled. “Sure they can. And why wouldn’t you want them to? Sofa’s Spookville is pretty popular. We can only help draw in customers.” So saying, she went to the pastry counter and chose a few treats. “To go, please.”
Sadie held her thoughts to herself and grabbed Sahara’s treats while a crowd gathered in the store, watching. Behind her, Rose and Elliot watched as well.
She felt like an albino gorilla on display. Ignoring the sense of dread building and wishing she had ice water to toss at these schmucks, she smiled. “That’ll be ten bucks.”
Sahara paid, but when Sadie returned her change, the woman closed a long-fingered hand over her wrist. She tugged Sadie closer, and Sadie went along because she didn’t want to look like the bad guy. She towered over the petite Sahara, and God knew her looks couldn’t compete.
“So you’re Gear’s new girlfriend.”
Sadie tugged on her hand, and Sahara’s nails bit into it. “Please let go.”
“Uh-oh,” Elliot said behind her.
“You’re his new girlfriend?” Sahara laughed and released her, but not before leaving nail imprints on Sadie’s hand. “What could you possibly offer Gear that I can’t?” Before Sadie could answer, the woman’s eyes welled with tears.
“Sweet Jesus, seriously?”
“He was mine. I loved him so much.” Sahara wiped her eyes, but somehow kept her makeup from running. Sadie was impressed despite not wanting to be. “I would have given him anything. But he didn’t love me enough.”
Sadie glanced at the people around, many of them staring at Sahara with both fascination and empathy.
“Tell him… Tell him I want him to be happy,” Sahara said, her breath hitching.
“I will.” Sadie wanted nothing more than to pop this woman in the face again. “But you know, you could still have him back.” Knowing Gear, this couldn’t be further from the truth. But Sadie wanted to play.
Sahara froze, her gaze narrowed on Sadie. “Oh?”
“Well, it would mean breaking off with B-Man. And you know, admitting that you cheated on Gear and basically made up all that crap about him with some other woman, all so you could swindle him out of his shares in the show.”
And the cameras kept rolling. To Sadie’s delight, she saw many in the crowd holding their phones up to record, so no matter what the network edited out, others would have copies of the entire conversation.
“That’s all a lie.”
“Not what I heard.”
“Oh? When was that? When he was in bed with you, wishing you were me?”
“Oh no, she didn’t,” Elliot whispered super loudly.
Sadie leaned close to Sahara and whispered, “How’s your face feel, Eve? I thought I’d smacked you into next week at the party.” Then she pulled back and gave Sahara a wide smile. In a louder voice, she said, “It’s too bad you’re such a conniving backstabber. If you were as pretty on the inside as you are on the outside, you’d have a stellar show. Now all your talent is leaving, and you’re stuck with a man not half as good as Gear. Oh, and I’m not talking about B-Man in bed. I mean your new front man, the mechanic. Fido or something.”
Sahara’s eyes glowed with hate. “I knew you looked familiar!” She turned to the crowd. “She hit me. She’s the one who punched me at the Halloween party. And Gear was in on it.”
“Huh? Now you’re blaming me for hitting you? So first I stole Gear, then I smacked you? Or is it the other way around?”
“You didn’t steal shit. You’re nothing. You’re ugly and look more like a man than a woman should, anyway. I don’t know what he sees in you.”
“Ouch. That hurts coming from a shallow, mean-spirited, betraying witch.” Sadie shook her head, enjoying herself. “You came between best friends. Man, that is low.”
“Shut up,” Sahara screeched. “What would you know? You’re stuck in this crappy little shop, serving coffee and donuts.” She snorted. “You look as if you haven’t seen a hairdresser in ages.”
“Yeah, but it’s clean. Doesn’t a shower count for anything?”
She heard several in the crowd laugh.
“Say what you want. But Gear won’t want you for long.” Sahara shot Sadie a mean smile. “He’s already getting in trouble with a pretty redhead at that new gym he’s going to. I hear he assaulted her. That won’t go over well with fans, I can tell you that. Tell him he’ll be hearing from her lawyer. And from mine. I kept quiet about the abuse I suffered, but—”
“Lady, please. First of all, that redhead at the gym grabbed him. And we have witnesses. Oh, and the owner banned her from the place.” Go Mac. “So I guess I’ll be telling Gear he should sue her after all for pain and suffering. Oh, and trying to blame him for assaulting you? Unless you guys were living in a bubble and have the hospital reports to prove it, all you did by just accusing him of something he didn’t do—on national TV—is set yourself up for a slander lawsuit. And all of the people behind you have you on video. Why don’t you take your skanky ass out of my quality baked goods shop?”
“You haven’t seen the last of me.” Sahara gave Sadie the finger. “I’ll see you in court.”
“Well, before you do, make sure to get some touch-ups. Your boobs are sagging, and your forehead could do with some more Botox.”
Sahara stared at her, then flew into a rage. Sadie saw it coming and did nothing to stop the woman from darting around the counter to smack her in the face.
Everyone stared, the shop silent.
“Oh, Sadie,” Elliot cried, the drama on thick. “Quick, Rose. Call the police. Sadie’s been assaulted.”
The crowd started talkin
g in low murmurs, then grew louder.
All while Sahara stared at Sadie in shock, then in growing anger as she realized she’d ruined her chances at revenge on Gear. She screamed and cried and continued to whale on Sadie, who did no more than turn her head and try to protect her face from the crazy woman’s nails.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the camera guys pulled Sahara away.
By that point, police entered the scene and took statements, plus video for proof, and asked if Sadie wanted to press charges.
“I sure the hell do.”
Her face hurt a little. Not all that much, since the woman didn’t have much power behind that one open-handed slap, just tiny-girl rage and screams.
But making her lose it in front of her adoring public?
“That was epic,” Elliot whispered as he handed her an ice pack. “You’re my new hero. If Gear didn’t love you already, he does now.”
Sadie only knew she’d come too far to quit now. But what that would mean from Gear, she didn’t yet know.
* * *
“It was the punch heard ’round the world again, Katie. Today at Sofa’s, a popular bakery in Green Lake, Sahara Blankenship assaulted Gear Blackstone’s new girlfriend. No one could quite believe the scene.”
“I’m still wondering if this is part of the new show. Then again, this was crazy. You can’t make this kind of stuff up!”
“But if it was for the show, why didn’t Sahara’s team release the footage? We only have spectator videos of what’s taking the internet by storm. No, I think we’ve got some real girl drama here, Katie, and all over that hunky Gear Blackstone.”
Three days after Sadie had been assaulted, Gear stared in horror at his phone, still not comprehending how everything had gone to shit so fast.
He understood why Sadie hadn’t wanted to see him since it had happened. Jesus. She’d been attacked, on film, in her store. All the publicity she hated, plus a huge helping of Sahara.
He grimaced.
Even worse, she’d stood up for him, defending him, even after that April chick had tried blaming him for attacking her. The bald-faced liar. And that bit from Sahara about abuse? How could she sink that low? Brian thought Gear might come back to deal with that?