Page 46 of Between Takes
Chapter Sixteen
“Do you remember that time you tried to steal the frogs before biology class?” Amusement shone in Ryan’s eyes.
Shaun shifted in his seat, avoiding my intrigued gaze. Bet he regretted asking me to join them now. Or at least wished he’d eaten his meal faster. Both Ryan and I had finished a while ago. Shaun had been too busy talking Ryan’s ear off.
“You were convinced that the teacher was only trying to freak us out and we wouldn’t actually dissect them, so they must have still been alive.” Laughter overtook Ryan then, and I happily sipped my lemonade until he gathered himself. Meanwhile, Shaun studiously cut up a piece of broccoli.
“He screamed when he opened the fridge to find fifteen dead frogs.” Ryan sputtered with laughter again, and I joined him.
For the first time in five minutes, Shaun met my gaze. More like glared at me. My sides and cheeks hurt from laughing so much.
“You never did tell the teacher what you planned to do with them.” Ryan sobered with that, sitting back in his chair and considering Shaun with something like remorse.
Shaun cleared his throat and placed his cutlery on the table. “It was for the best, anyway. I landed my first modelling job the next week and I would have been plastered in bruises if that scheme had worked.”
Shaun and Ryan shared a meaningful look, the type that communicated messages. I swear I wasn’t jealous. I just couldn’t pull silent communication off with anyone, not even my siblings. Must be nice to know someone that well.
Shaun reluctantly met my curious gaze. “I was going to let them loose in my father’s clothes. The asshole could never be bothered to hang them up.” Disgust deepened his voice.
Understanding widened my eyes. It hadn’t even been a week since he’d confided in me. For some reason, I’d assumed his father hadn’t beaten him, but thinking back on it, I’d misunderstood. My heart twinged at the thought of Shaun being attacked by the one man who was supposed to teach him how to grow up right.
“I’m sorry I didn’t try to stop you. Assumed Lily would put a nail in that plan before you got anywhere near the biology lab.”
“I’m pretty sure she was in LA by then.” Shaun muttered the words, but they lacked the hurt I’d come to expect whenever he talked about Lily.
“Oh yeah, lucky sod. You know, James still won’t let that go.” Ryan’s amusement dimmed slightly.
Shaun frowned. “He always did have an inflated ego for a guitarist.”
Ryan tilted his head. “I mean, I kind of get it. Your little cousin signs a major record deal and you can’t even keep a band together. It would have stung me too, I’m sure.”
“I really doubt that. You always had a clear head, unlike James Tyler. I loved her, but I wasn’t even remotely jealous.”
Ryan laughed, a head-thrown-back-and-sliding-low-in-your-seat kind of chuckle. “She hooked you up with the right people. Of course you weren’t bloody jealous.”
My ears perked up at that. I’d heard the rumours, of course, but hearing rumours and having it confirmed were two different things. Shaun considered me from the corner of his eye. Ryan pressed his lips together, his eyes widening slightly, as if he’d spilled a state secret.
“I can’t exactly judge. I’m only here because my sister knew your agent, remember.” I liked to think it was because I was the best person for the job, but facts were facts, after all. Whether I was a match for Shaun Martin or not, my connections got me here.
Shaun smiled and I watched as the tension drained from his face. When he looked at me like that – like he didn’t have a worry in the world and it was all because of me – our unsteady start faded away. He was too handsome for one man, too handsome to be my boss. It was hardly fair.
“If the gossip rags ever confirm that story, you can blame that waiter.” I pointed to a woman with white-blond hair who had spent a good part of the last hour walking past our table at a snail’s pace. “I signed an NDA, but there’s nothing stopping her from selling ‘Shaun Martin, Frog Thief’ the moment we leave.”
Shaun and Ryan glanced at the woman. Clearly, I was in the presence of two pros when it came to surreptitious looks. She didn’t have a clue that two of Wales’s hottest creative talents were considering her like she was a threat to their freedom.
Maybe I should stop it, actually. Could I stop it?
Before I could give it too much thought, I stood and made my way towards the bar where the manager stood, his head bowed over a book. He wore a tailored suit and had his dark hair swept back. With his head bowed, I couldn’t place his age, but I assumed at least forty.
“Mona, you don’t have to. I’ll get Sherry to handle it,” Shaun said, trying to call me back to the table. I held up my hand and continued.
“Excuse me,” I said, not giving myself time to pause and think.
The manager’s head snapped up, and his glasses slipped down his nose. He righted them with a quick hand then gave me a cautious smile before his gaze flicked towards Shaun. “How can I help?”
“Your waitress has been watching us a little too closely. My boss and his friend are having a private catch-up and I’m concerned she might have overheard some things they’d really rather remain private. Do your staff sign NDAs?”
The man swallowed, his gaze moving between Shaun and Ryan, who I’m sure were watching our interaction closely.
