Break The Bed(14)

He didn't like it at all.

He liked that he'd hurt Sabrina even less.

"Go and check on her, would you?"

"Again? She sounded annoyed the last two times."

"Tell her- tell her I need to go over the talking points. Tell her I'm nervous."

He was bloody nervous! But not about the show. The whole Sabrina situation was starting to eclipse everything else. Even talk shows.

Nick watched as Marley left the room, hoping to God that Sabrina would be more responsive this time. He couldn't have blown it with her out of spite. It just wouldn't be fair.

The first bloody woman he'd ever wanted for real. And he’d blown it. She was slipping through his fingers.

All because of his big mouth. Well, if she wouldn't talk to him he'd make sure to put his mouth to better use.

He'd talk to the rest of the world instead.





Chapter 26





Sabrina





Sabrina heard a soft rap at the door. She went to investigate, leaving the safety chain latched. She sighed when she saw who it was. And she knew exactly who had sent him.

"Not now Marley, okay? I'll see you downstairs in an hour to go to the taping."

"He's really nervous up there."

"Have you ever seen Nick Falcon nervous, Marley?"

He stared at her through the crack in the door. She knew he wasn’t fooled, but was too polite to call her out on it. She was still wrapped in her bathrobe.

She'd been dozing in bed all day, contemplating a move to Sri Lanka.

Anyplace other than LA. Or London. Or home.

Marley shrugged and mumbled "Couple 'a times."

She shook her head.

"He'll be fine. Tell Nick-"

Marley looked at her hopefully. She felt a bit like kicking a puppy when she shook her head again. He was just so sweet. She had trouble believing he was related to Nick.

He was just an innocent bystander.

"Yeah?"

"Tell him I have every faith in his abilities."

She gently closed the door in Marley's face and crawled back into bed. She'd checked her email twice already. No one had mentioned the scandal. But that didn't surprise her.

Nobody ever brought up gossip to the subject’s face.

Maybe if she had a close girlfriend, they would be on the phone right now hashing it all out. But she didn't really have anyone to talk to. She'd never made a lot of time for socializing and this was the result. She was alone in this.

Sometimes it seemed like other women thought she was too serious. She wasn't sure if it was her ambition or the way she looked. Either way she hadn't gotten a lot of invites to hang out since- well, ever.

She'd always told herself she didn't mind. But that was a lie. She did mind.

She was tired of it.

She was tired of being alone, of always having to stand on her own two feet. Her parents had taught her early on that she had to be strong. They found out they were both sick when she was very young. They knew they wouldn't be around to protect her for long. But every now and then it would be nice to lean on someone else, even if only for a little while.

She sighed. If she got out of this situation with her career and sanity intact, she was going to make a change. She'd say yes to the next person who asked her for a date. Or the next woman who asked her for coffee. If someone asked, she was going for it.

It didn't matter who it was. She had to let go of control a little bit. She had to unwind, open up and stop being so cynical.

If she could find the courage.

Sabrina finally pushed herself off the bed and slipped the robe off her shoulders. She turned on the shower and inhaled the steam, letting it wash over her face. She'd never spent an entire day in bed before. Not even when she got the flu as a child.

There was something wicked about it.

She smiled suddenly, lathering herself up.

It would be much more wicked if there was someone in the bed with her.

For just a minute she imagined it was Nick. Just wrapped up in the covers with her, skin to skin. But that would just lead to more trouble.

Then again, everyone already thought she'd slept with him already…

Maybe she should just give in. At least her curiosity would be satisfied.

And then she’d move to Sri Lanka.





Chapter 27





Nick





Nick tried repeatedly to draw Sabrina into conversation during the limo ride over to the studio. She had smiled at him politely and became immediately absorbed in her Blackberry, tap tapping away with her perfectly manicured nails. They were buffed and neatly trimmed but without polish.

She was a class act, through and through.

"You don't like lacquer?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You don't wear a lot of makeup or nail lacquer."

"Oh."

She stared at her hand briefly.

"It doesn't seem worth the bother. Or time."

This was killing him. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss the complacent look off her face. He knew now that he had made a serious miscalculation on that first telly appearance. He was really struggling to gain any ground with her, no matter how thick he poured on the charm. She simply shut him out, no matter what he did.

Worse yet, he'd hurt her. Why didn't she just yell at him some more and get it over with?

Then he could get around to making it up to her.

But she'd just gone back to what she was doing, not even looking out the window to check out the sights.

"Have you been to London before?"

She shook her head without looking up. Damn it. Obviously she was determined to hold him at arm’s length.

They rode the rest of the way in silence. She didn't say a word as she followed him into the studio.

When he went on he was ready. He'd made sure to tell Graham ahead of time to bring up the new girlfriend angle. Now he was starting to wonder if it had been a mistake.

Use it or lose it, Nicky-boy.

He walked onto the set with a big smile.

Too late now.

Graham didn't waste a lot of time before getting to the point. Nick had already plugged the tour, mentally ticking off all of Sabrina's talking points. Now it was time to lob the ball back into her court.

"So, I hear you have a new lady. Tell us Nick, is it true?"

He shook his head sadly. "No, mate. I wish that were the case. The lady in question is not interested in me."

Graham laughed.

"Are you serious? I can't believe that the great Nick Falcon has woman problems."

"That's just it, mate. She doesn't believe that a guy like me could be a good bet."

"A good bet for what- boyfriend? Husband?"

"If I would be so lucky."

Graham shook his head.

"You've been down that road before, Nick. Three times to be exact."

"Yeah, but this is different. Those were really just long one-night stands. This girl… she's the real thing. Besides, I've finally got… what do you call it? Oh right. I've got maturity."

The audience laughed. He sighed in relief when they went to break. It had gone well. He was certain that Sabrina would be impressed with him now. He walked to the wings expecting to see a smile on her face. Instead she looked pale and tired.

"I fixed it."

She shut her eyes and slowly shook her head in exasperation.

"What is it, love? Aren't you glad I set the record straight?"

"No Nick, you just made it worse. It doesn't matter anyway. Just focus on the music. This is about you, not me."

"Of course it matters. You are a great rep. I've never had better."

"That's nice of you to say."

She didn't believe a word of it. Not that he blamed her. He couldn't give up though.

"So does that mean you'll have dinner with me?

She shook her head.

"Come on love, I promise to get us a tour bus instead of flying all over Europe."

That had her attention.

"Really?"

He leaned in close and smiled at her. She looked so adorably hopeful.

"IF you have dinner with me. We can even take the bloody boat back to NY. A private train car back to LA. No more flying sweetheart, I promise. Just have dinner with me."

She smiled at him sadly.

"Another time, Mr. Falcon."

"Nick."

"Alright. Nick. I'm just going to get a cab back to the hotel. I'll see you later."

She looked so defeated. His sexy little spitfire was gone. He felt a knife twisting in his gut. It was his fault. All his fault.

As usual.

"But you will have dinner with me. Another time. After the concert."

She smiled but it looked painful.

Her voice was soft as she murmured "Whatever you want."

A few days ago that answer would have made him ecstatic. Now it just made him sad.

And then she was gone.

He was staring blindly out the window of the limo when he got the text.

You win. My room. Twenty minutes.





His heart started pounding. Had she just-

Dear god. She had.

But they were stuck in traffic.

He practically lunged forward to knock on the glass partition.

Marley looked alarmed as the driver rolled down the glass and looked backward at him.

"I'll give you a thousand pounds if you can get us to the hotel in fifteen minutes."





Chapter 28





Sabrina





It was exactly twenty minutes later when Sabrina heard the knocking on the door. She'd just showered again and changed into leggings and an oversized shirt. She thought briefly that she must have lost her mind. She didn't care anymore though.

Her mind was made up. It was time to get this over with so they could move on.

"It's open."

The door opened and Nick stood there. He looked so handsome in his interview suit. He looked a bit nervous. She smiled to herself.

Rock stars did get nervous after all.