Chapter 6

6

"There you are," Melissa, Sadie's next-door neighbor and best friend in the world, said as Sadie climbed the stairs to her porch. Melissa had been sitting on the porch swing, waiting for her.

"Hey!" Sadie ran over to her and gave her a hug. "When did you get back in town?"

"Just about an hour ago. Mom says hello and to tell you she loves you and if you don't come visit soon, she's going to think you forgot all about her."

Sadie was laughing as she rolled her eyes. "Your mom is always being so dramatic. As soon as life calms down, we'll go for a visit."

Melissa's mom, Rachel, had been Sadie's mom's best friend and had lived next door until a few years ago when she fallen for a man who lived in Befana Bay and had moved up to Washington, leaving her house to Melissa.

Sadie unlocked her front door and waved Melissa inside. Instantly, Cosmo, her brindle- colored Lhasa Apso came running toward her, his tail wagging and his tongue hanging out. He launched himself at her, paws out, and bounced off her leg, seemingly unfazed when he toppled over backward and then hopped right back up.

"You goof," Sadie said, reaching down to pick him up. "Did you miss me? I wasn't gone that long, was I?"

Cosmo bathed her face in kisses and then started to whine as his body wiggled uncontrollably.

"I know. I know. You need to go out." She put him down and led the way to the back door. As soon as she opened it, he darted out, watered his favorite bush, and then rushed back in. Cosmo wasn't one for hanging around outside by himself.

"Your dog is such a nut," Melissa said, reaching for a treat in the jar right next to the back door.

"That's what I love about him." Sadie filled Cosmo's food dish even as he ran off with his treat. She knew he'd be back in seconds to wolf down his dinner. Then she looked at Melissa. "Are you hungry? I'm making pesto chicken pasta."

"If I wasn't, I am now." Melissa walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge like she owned the place. She pulled out a bottle of pinot grigio. "Wine?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Sadie said with a chuckle.

After Melissa poured the wine, the worked as a team to put dinner together, and when it was finally done, they sat at the table with hot garlic bread, their chicken pesto pasta, and fresh glasses of wine.

"To friends who cook," Melissa said, clinking her glass to Sadie's.

"To friends," Sadie corrected and smiled at her.

"Okay," Melissa said. "Spill. I've been dying here. What's going on with the record deal?"

"Oh man," Sadie said, shaking her head. "You have no idea what you've missed." Melissa had been gone for two weeks, and Sadie felt like she'd lived a lifetime since she'd last seen her friend.

Her friend looked deadly serious when she asked, "Do we need more wine for this?"

"Yes," Sadie said solemnly even though they both had full glasses.

"I'll keep the bottle on hand," her friend promised. "Now, start with the audition. How did that go?"

Sadie launched into the entire story about how she'd flirted with King before they sang together and then how he'd bolted when he'd realized who she was. She covered the scene at the brewery, when she'd run into him on the trail, and then finally their day of working together in the studio.

Melissa sat back in her chair, looking stunned. "You're saying that King McGrath is the Kevin? The guy you met in Westhaven?"

"The very same," Sadie said. Melissa had been the one person that Sadie had told about Kevin and about how heartbroken she'd been when her father forced her to move to Salem.

"That's… crazy," she said, her eyes wide. But then a slow smile claimed her lips. "This is going to be the greatest love story of all time. Met as kids. Bonded over childhood traumas. Ripped apart by circumstance. And then a decade later you reunite and cut a hit record. Add in the enemies-to-lovers trope, and the movie is going to be off the charts. You need to get Cameron and Miranda on it ASAP."

"I think you've had too much wine." Sadie took a bite of garlic bread as she eyed her friend. "Good thing you don't have to drive home later."

"I'm not drunk… yet." Melissa sighed softly. "Look at you… destined for an epic love story, and here I am, still wondering if I'll ever find Mr. Right. Or even Mr. Right Now."

"Does that mean you broke it off with Linus?" He was the guy she'd been casually seeing for the past couple of months.

"Yep." She gave Sadie a look that said she was one hundred percent over it. "I found out he's dating his stepsister."

Sadie choked on a bite of pasta and coughed until her eyes watered. "I'm sorry," she finally sputtered. "Stepsister?"

"Yeah. I guess their parents were married for a couple of years when they were teenagers, and good old Linus has had the hots for her ever since. He told me, ‘You're a nice girl, Melissa, but I have to follow my heart.' More like follow his wanker. Jackass."

"So they aren't stepsiblings anymore?" Sadie asked, knowing that was hardly the point.

"No. But still." She jabbed her fork into her pasta as she shook her head. "I'm the worst at picking men."

"True," Sadie agreed. The one before Linus had wanted Melissa to enter a thrupple with his best girlfriend, Charli. And the one before that had wanted her to quit her job, sell her house, and then fund a backpacking trip around the world while he contributed nothing. "I think you need me to pick the next one."

Melissa raised her hand and said, "I'm in. Nothing can be worse than this last year of losers."

"It's a deal." Sadie winked at her and dug into her pasta.

Her friend however, looked down at her phone and frowned.

"What is it? Is your mom texting or something?" Sadie asked her.

Her friend shook her head and then bent over her screen, making her dark curls hide her face.

"Mel? What's going on?" Sadie asked.

When Melissa lifted her head to look at Sadie, she looked apologetic.

"What—"

"Here." Melissa shoved her phone at Sadie. "Look at the headline."

Sadie's eyes instantly fixated on the picture staring back at her. She frantically scanned the online article for a publication date, and when she saw it was just five minutes ago, she wanted to vomit.

Because right there on the front page of the largest gossip blog in Hollywood was King McGrath kissing some barely-legal girl. She pressed a hand to her stomach, trying to curb the nausea.

"Sadie?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah?" she answered without looking at her friend. She was afraid if she did, she'd start crying, and that was the last thing she was going to do over some fledgling rock star who appeared to have a taste for groupies.

"Want me to kick his ass? Cause I will. I'll grab my car keys right now and— Hell, I'll call a taxi and head over there right this minute and give him the knuckle sandwich he deserves."

"Knuckle sandwich? What are you, eighty?"

She laughed. "That's what my grandpa used to say when he was warning boys away from my mom. Or so he says."

Sadie felt Cosmo move so that he was leaning against her leg. It was something he always did when he wanted to give her comfort. She reached down and pulled him into her arms. "Mama's okay, sweet pea. Just another day where a man is being gross."

"I'm sorry, honey," Melissa said. "That stinks."

Sadie waved her comment away. "There's nothing to be sorry about. It's not like we're anything other than singing partners." She let out a sardonic laugh. "I mean, it was only today that we cleared the air between us. There's no relationship to speak of."

It's not like she had a right to be jealous. Though she could be icked out by the age difference. Sadie handed Melissa her phone. "Let's stop talking about King McGrath and browse that dating app you have. Maybe we can both find someone."

"I'm one hundred percent on board with that," Melissa said, beaming at her. "But first, let's finish dinner and move on to dessert so it won't be so grim when we start looking at the options out there."

Sadie smirked. "That's the spirit." She gave Cosmo a kiss on his head before placing him back down at her feet. Then she pushed the rest of her dinner around while Melissa inhaled her pasta and told her all about the celebrity sightings she'd had while she was in Befana Bay. Apparently they were filming an epic fantasy series that featured a coven with dragon familiars.

"I could really use a dragon familiar," Melissa said with a wistful sigh. "Can you imagine me riding in on one to my next date? That'd be badass."

By the time dinner was over, Melissa had managed to pull Sadie out of her funk that had set in after seeing King splashed all over the tabloids, and she was humming to herself as she dished out a couple pieces of pie.

"What's that song you're singing?" Melissa asked as she made coffee for them both. They'd finished off the wine, and since they both had to work tomorrow, they'd opted not to open another bottle.

"Huh?" Sadie grabbed the pie plates as she blinked at her friend.

"You're humming something. What is it?"

"Oh." Sadie chuckled to herself. "It's the song King and I are working on. I was just… I dunno, enjoying the melody I guess."

"I really like it. Can you sing it for me?" Melissa asked.

"Seriously? Now, without the music or King here?"

"Yeah, why not? Your voice is gorgeous."

Sadie bit her bottom lip. "Okay, but only if you tell me how awesome I am afterward, ‘cause I don't think I can take another blow to my ego tonight."

Melissa laughed and raised her hand. "I swear to the goddess."

"Okay, you asked for it." Sadie cleared her throat and started to sing. Immediately, Melissa's emotions washed over her, making Sadie's skin prickle with both jealousy and awe. Her friend was proud of her but envious of her talent. But then suddenly, Melissa's mood turned wistful and melancholy as Sadie started to sing about lost love and second chances. Regret washed over Sadie, and she couldn't help but wonder who was on Melissa's mind.

When the song was over, Sadie looked over at her friend and caught her wiping away a tear. "Melissa! Why are you crying?"

"It's… beautiful, Sadie. Absolutely beautiful. That's all." Melissa flung her arms around her friend and hugged her tightly. "I am soooo proud of you."

Sadie let out a soft chuckle, hugged her back, and said, "Thank you. I hope everyone else likes it as much as you do. Otherwise, it's back to the drawing board for me."

"Oh, they will," she insisted. "Trust me."

"I'll try." Sadie really wanted to believe it, but she preferred to keep her expectations in check. If it all went to hell, she didn't want to be caught flat-footed.

They sat in the living room on the couch with their pie and coffee as they browsed the dating site.

"Look, Sadie. This guy says he has a twin," Melissa said. "And he's hot AF."

"Is his twin on there, too?" Sadie asked jokingly.

"Let's see." She did some digging and came up with his profile. "Yep. We should message them. If it works out, we could end up sisters-in-law."

Sadie had mostly been kidding about finding someone to date on the app, but the guy was hot, so… "Message them. Let's see if they're up for a double date."

Melissa cackled. "Oh, this is going to be fun."