Page 54 of Reality With You (Arden Beach #1)

“I don’t know why, but I’m nervous. No, that’s a lie. I do know why. I’ve performed at a hundred weddings, but this one’s different.” When he regarded her with a questioning dip of his brows, Lennon explained, “Because I know the bride, and it’s going to be on TV.” And you’re here.

Dylan had no idea yet that the song was about him.

They always were.

“Come on, you sang in front of Raquel and Oscar. This should be a cakewalk. Or … a cheese walk.” Dylan sent her a little smirk as he popped a piece of gruyere in his mouth.

Lennon stared at him, then snort-laughed. “Wow. That joke was a cheese walk.”

“But it made you laugh.”

She rolled her eyes, but inside, warmth curled around her heart.

A feeling she’d carry into her performance.

The bride and groom’s arrival kicked off the celebration.

Thankfully, the party was significantly tamer than their last. Lennon gritted her teeth through Kelsey’s toast and the dinner that followed, grateful the topics at the wedding party’s table never strayed into dangerous territory.

She glanced at Dylan across the ballroom a few times, catching him laughing with a table of athletes he knew. She recognized some from the party.

Lennon couldn’t help but wonder if any of them had been the reason his drink was spiked. Had it been one of the bartenders, or had one of the guests dropped it in their own drinks and accidentally included Dylan’s?

Or not so accidentally.

After the couple’s first dance, serenaded by a famous R&B singer with three platinum records who was another one of Chad’s friends, Lennon slipped out to the hallway to warm up her vocals. She had about fifteen minutes to prepare before she was due on stage.

During the lip buzzing portion of her vocal warm-up, Avery came around the corner, searching the hall. The short train of her lace column dress dragged behind her. When her eyes landed on Lennon, she stopped.

“Hey, Mrs. Mormont,” Lennon said with a playful smile before keying into Avery’s tense body language. “Everything OK?”

“Hey, Lennon …” Avery fidgeted with her new wedding band as she approached her. “I need to talk to you about something.”

The filet and champagne Lennon had at dinner churned in her gut. “If it’s about the party, we can talk after the wedding—”

“No, it’s not that.”

Lennon took a breath, steeling herself. “OK. What is it, then?”

“I’m so sorry, I just found out. I wish they’d told me sooner. Maybe I could’ve done something about it—”

“Avery.” Lennon stepped closer, placing a hand on Avery’s arm. “What happened?”

Avery’s brows dipped over dark, sorrowful eyes.

“I was told there were some scheduling mix-ups and miscommunication between the event coordinators and the film crew, and they’ve had to shift a bunch of things around,” she explained, frustration underpinning it.

She frowned as her voice softened. “They told me there’s no time for your performance. I’m so sorry, Lennon.”

It took a moment for what she’d said to sink in.

“Are you serious?” Avery gave a slight, solemn nod.

“Oh,” Lennon managed to get out as her brain struggled to process it.

The shock, then disappointment, came in swift and hard like a pin pulled on a grenade behind her ribs.

“Are—are you sure? I mean, I don’t mind squeezing in later—”

“I asked. They said it isn’t possible without throwing everything else out of whack.

I don’t know—I’m not in charge of anything.

They’ve planned it all. I tried to argue with them, but they won’t budge.

” Avery shook her head like she was at the end of her rope.

Like perhaps this wasn’t the first thing that had gone wrong with the show.

“Maybe you can sing it for us another time? Maybe when we get back from our honeymoon.” Her brows curved upward, her tone hopeful.

Some other guests joined them in the hall, but their presence barely registered. Lennon nodded, forcing a smile through the shell shock. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. The important thing is that you have a great night.”

Avery returned her smile, but it was a mixture of gratitude and sadness.

“Avery!” Carol Anne grabbed Avery’s attention over Lennon’s shoulder. Avery flinched. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. We need some shots of you with the sponsors before they leave.”

Avery sighed as she shut her eyes, the glow that should be radiating from a bride on her wedding day cast in shadow.

Lennon wasn’t the only pawn whose desires seemed to have been sidelined for the show’s priorities.

She and Avery exchanged a look of solidarity before the latter reluctantly left to answer Carol Anne’s summons.

Lennon buried her face in her hands to keep herself from screaming. This can’t be real.

“Talk about dodging a bullet. Avery doesn’t need Lennon’s bad luck tainting her wedding,” a haughty voice remarked. Some people snickered.

Lennon slowly lifted her head toward Kelsey. “What did you say?”

The other women—Tana and two others Lennon didn’t know—abruptly stopped laughing as their attention snapped to Lennon. Candace also stood off to the side, but she was quiet. They all glanced between her and Kelsey.

“Nothing,” Kelsey said, not even bothering to look at Lennon.

Lennon approached her. “If you want to say something about me, say it to my face.”

Kelsey raised her eyebrows, acting stricken. “I don’t have anything to say to you,” she retorted with a small laugh, looking back at her friends as though Lennon were unhinged.

“You always have something to say, Kelsey.”

Now, Kelsey looked downright annoyed. “Do you get off crashing parties and attacking people for no reason? For God’s sake, you couldn’t even let a bride enjoy her own bachelorette party. I heard you dragged her away while she was trying to have some fun.”

“She was being taken advantage of,” Lennon corrected. “The cameraman was practically salivating.”

“That’s not what I heard,” Kelsey retorted. “She told you she didn’t want to leave.”

“She wasn’t fully coherent.” Lennon looked to the pregnant bridesmaid hanging on the outskirts of the small group. “Candace saw how out of it she was after I brought her upstairs.”

Everyone turned to Candace, who started like a deer in the headlights under the sudden attention. Cradling her belly through the dusty rose dress, she glanced at Kelsey before her expression flattened. “She was just a little tired. She rested for a bit and then went back to the party.”

Shock jolted through Lennon. Remorse briefly flashed across Candace’s face, but she recovered quickly, averting her gaze.

“Sounds to me like you were jealous of the attention she was getting,” Kelsey suggested. “Is this little attack on me now because of Dylan? Are you still jealous we got together at the party?”

Lennon pinned her attention on Kelsey, fire surging through her. “Forcing yourself on someone isn’t the same as hooking up, Kelsey.”

“ Excuse me? ”

“Whoa, whoa, now that’s out of line,” Tana said, stepping between them. Stern eyes narrowed on Lennon. “You’re taking it too far.”

“I didn’t force myself on him.” Kelsey put on a show of being affronted. “Dylan took me to his room. He couldn’t get me upstairs fast enough.”

Lennon shoved her tongue in her cheek as she huffed a sardonic laugh. This bitch. She opened her mouth to retort, but something Kelsey said stuck in her brain, piercing through the cloud of fury. “You’re lying,” she said. “Chad told me he saw Dylan go upstairs by himself.”

“Well, obviously, he was wrong. Or he didn’t want to upset you.

” Kelsey crossed her arms and canted her head, eyes narrowing.

“If you were so concerned about what he was doing, where were you? What were you doing? Or maybe I should ask, who? Someone else who could get you your next career opportunity or be your meal ticket since the famous baseball player husband didn’t work out? ”

“You’re really going hard on the whole gold digger thing,” Lennon noted. “Makes me wonder if you’re projecting.”

“I don’t need anyone’s help,” Kelsey said—a touch defensively. “But I guess you’re saying those rumors about you sleeping your way into a record deal aren’t true, then, either?”

Lennon scrunched her brows together. “What rumors? What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m just saying, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.”

Lennon dropped her voice low. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Oh, I’ve known plenty of girls like you, Lennon ,” Kelsey said, standing tall with the others at her back.

“You’re two-faced. You go around playing the innocent victim, trying to make everyone feel bad for you when you’re the one who’s lying and desperate for attention.

You took advantage of Avery to get on this show, then your ex-husband to get more screen time.

No one’s even seen you trying to do anything with your music since you got here.

You’re riding everyone else’s coattails because you can’t get any opportunities to stick on your own.

” She took a step toward Lennon. “I see right through you.”

Lennon stepped toward Kelsey, locking eyes with her. Her nails dug into her palms. “I see right through you , Kelsey . You’re a liar trying to stir up drama in a desperate attempt for relevance because you have nothing else to offer. You’re full of shit .”

Kelsey scoffed. “No wonder that record label fired you. Why would anyone want to work with someone so hostile and obsessed with playing the victim? Honestly, it’s sad. It’s becoming more and more clear why Dylan left you.”

“I didn’t leave her. She left me.”

Everyone’s attention shot to Dylan. Kelsey’s face fell, her whole body stiffening.

Dylan forced his way through the crowd that had gathered, including a few cameramen, to stand beside Lennon. His arm brushed hers as he gave her a look of reassurance.

The feeling of gratitude that ballooned in her chest nearly stole Lennon’s breath.

“Lennon never did anything wrong,” Dylan stated before eying Kelsey, his expression turning cold.

“Our marriage fell apart because of me. She was always there for me, but I … I wasn’t there for her.

I didn’t know how to deal with my demons, and she paid the price for it.

” He glanced at Lennon again, his regret palpable.

“She’s one of the strongest, most honest people I know.

She gave me more chances than I deserved.

She finally couldn’t take it anymore. That’s on me, not her. ”

Glances passed among the crowd, guests mumbling to each other. Kelsey kept her arms crossed, her expression unreadable, but Lennon noticed the slight tension in her jaw and the way her nails dug into her bicep.

“You can apologize to her now,” Dylan told Kelsey.

Kelsey’s eyes widened infinitesimally. They flicked back to Lennon, and Lennon knew that if looks could kill, they’d both have dropped in that hallway.

Lowering her chin, Kelsey ran her tongue through her lips, then wore a remorseful expression when she lifted her head.

“I had no idea about your marriage. I’m sorry for assuming anything,” she told Lennon.

“I know there are always two sides to everything. I guess I felt protective over Dylan after everything that’s happened.

” She smiled softly at Dylan. “It’s hard to imagine you not being a great husband.

I think you’re probably being too hard on yourself.

It says a lot that you’re owning up to your mistakes and trying to be a better man. That’s really … amazing.”

Lennon stared at Kelsey, baffled by her switch-up. Talk about being two-faced. She rolled her eyes, exhaling a sharp laugh. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she said under her breath.

“Look, this is my best friend’s wedding.” Kelsey dropped her arms, flipping up her palms in a show of surrender. “Can we put aside our differences and focus on celebrating her? I’m not in the mood for drama tonight. No one here is.”

The weight of the crowd suddenly pressed in on Lennon. She met the stares of those gathered around them.

A chill spread through her as Lennon realized they were all looking at her as though she were the villain.

Tears stung the backs of her eyes, but she held them in.

She’d be damned if she was going to let them see her cry.

“Fuck this. I’m done.” Lennon ripped off the lavalier microphone hidden under the front of her dress as she grabbed her clutch from a nearby chair in the hall.

She pushed through the crowd, nearly knocking into one of the camera operators.

Behind her, she heard Kelsey remark, “There she goes, running away again.”

Lennon kept moving, knowing the fight she wanted to have would make her look worse.

The best thing she could do was remove herself, even if it made her sick.

As she crossed the ballroom for the quickest route to the front door, she reached into the back of her dress, trying to claw off the rest of her mic pack.

She scanned the crowd for Avery but didn’t see her. She’d explain and apologize later.

“Hey—where do you think you’re going?” Carol Anne jumped in front of her, clipboard clutched in her hand.

“I’m leaving.”

“No. Let’s talk about this—”

“I said, I’m leaving. Unless you want to talk about Dylan being drugged by someone at a party you were managing.”

For the first time, Lennon saw something akin to trepidation flash in the supervising producer’s eyes.

“That’s what I thought,” Lennon said. She shoved past Carol Anne, making her way out of the ballroom.

In the foyer, she handed the ball of wires and machinery to a confused assistant who happened to be passing by, then continued out the front door and down the steps. Stopping under the porte-cochère, she fumbled with the lock on her clutch to get to her phone.

“Lennon—”

She glanced back at Dylan jogging down the steps, then returned to fighting the clasp so she could order a car.

“You OK?” he asked as he stopped beside her.

Pressure built behind Lennon’s eyes again, heat flushing up her neck and ears.

When the clasp refused to open after a few more tugs, she let out an exasperated grunt.

She nearly chucked the entire clutch across the motor court but stopped herself as she looked around, afraid cameras were still watching.

“They didn’t follow us. I made sure of it,” Dylan said. She noticed his mic pack was gone, too. “Come on—I’ve got my car. Let’s get out of here.”