Page 144 of See You There

“Lia, you have that radio interview with KATL.”

“Yes, right. I’m coming.”

Beau looked between the two of them and belatedly seemed to realize he’d interrupted. “I’ll just wait over there.”

“I’m sorry…” Dahlia began.

“Don’t be. Go do your job.” Luke leaned forward and brushed a kiss against her cheek. “And don’t forget to have some fun.”

Dahlia stared at him dazed for a moment, but then she looked to Beau. Her eyes darted back, and Luke saw the uncertainty in them. “Go. Come find me later if you have time.”

Dahlia’s shoulders relaxed. “I will.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Dahlia hadevery intention of finding Luke when she was done. However, she was needed for one interview after another before Simon rushed her to the car for the first after party. She scanned the crowd looking for any of the Blooms, but there was no sign of them. Had he tired of waiting and left?

Dahlia would give anything to take her heels off. Her feet were throbbing by the time they’d gotten to the second party, but the movie had been a hit. Now wasn’t the time to worry if her feet would ever function properly again.

She’d sent Hannah back to the hotel in a car an hour ago. Her sister wasn’t used to the hectic pace, and Dahlia was counting the minutes until she could join her. She pressed her fingers above her eyebrows, careful not to disturb her makeup, trying to alleviate the pressure building.

“Hey, babe!” Chandler slung an arm around her shoulder.

Dahlia forced a smile. She thought she was done with him. They’d said their goodbyes at the last party. He’d been wasted then, and judging by the drink in his hand, his condition had only gotten worse. He was sweating scotch.

“Is that a good idea?” She nodded to his drink.

“I’m fine. Why are you always such a downer?”

Chandler was drunk. More drunk than she’d ever seen him.

“Can you believe it?” He yelled in her ear. “Can you believe what they’re saying out there?”

Dahlia kept her smile fixed in case anyone was watching as she tried to get the heavy weight of his arm off her. “Seems like people really like it.”

“We didsogood, Lia. I know we had our problems, but you and me… We made a good fucking movie.”

Dahlia wanted to get away from him. She scanned the crowd, looking for Beau. Chandler was happy at the moment, but with him this intoxicated, combined with god knows what he’d taken… She was worried his temper would flare, causing a scene.

“It was,” she said soothingly. “Maybe we’ll work together in the future.”

Dahlia moved as if to walk away from him, but he crowded her, forcing her backward several steps until her back bumped the wall. To her dismay, she realized he’d backed her into a corner out of the main line of sight of the crowd.

“Hey!” Chandler slurred. “I want to talk to you about something.”

“Another time, Chandler, I need—”

Chandler grabbed her hand and towed her into one of the dark alcoves, practically pushing her into one of the rounded banquettes. He slid into the booth, crowding her even more. Dahlia could smell the sour stench of sweat and liquor radiating off him and struggled not to make a face.

“Can we talk another time? I still have people I need to talk to.”

“I just want to apologize,” he whined, catching her off guard.

“You don’t need to apologize, Chandler. We had our differences, but it’s over now.”

“Not that. I mean, yeah, we should have fucked, it would have made things more fun, but I’m talking about the whole casino thing. Getting shot. I’m sorry about how it all went down.”

Alarm bells rang in Dahlia’s head. What was he saying? She pushed him back slightly as he leaned over her, more she suspected because of his unsteadiness than to intimidate her. Chandler flung his back against the banquette, his arms wide, and pushed his sweaty hair off his forehead.