He looks horrified. ‘No! Why would I do that? I barely know the guy.’
‘But you said you’d “take care of him”.’
‘Yeah. As in bribe him to move to a hotel on the other side of town. Far away from you.’
‘But then why wouldn’t you let us cancel thejob,so to speak?’
‘Because I had no clue that you thought you’d hired me to do a hit on someone,’ he says, adjusting his hat and stuffing a hand in one of his jeans pockets. ‘Besides, he’d checked out of his room by the time my assistant got round to it, so I figured problem sorted.’
‘Well, what are we talking about?’ she asks. ‘Why were you so angry with us?’
Yes. Wouldn’t we all like to know?I’m not the only one in the group leaning forward. Matteo grips my hand even tighter.
‘You, disappearing on me for our date after we’d…’ His gaze travels the length of the group. We’re encroaching on their space. ‘After we’d said all that stuff to each other. And then suddenly wanting to cancel this gig for my’ – his cheeks are burning red – ‘for my BIG birthday.’
What?
Hank’s chin dips down. ‘Jeez! I admit it. I was looking forward to you girls playing at my party, and I got real upset that you wanted to cancel. And I had no idea why.’ He gives Liberty an earnest look. ‘I like you, Liberty. I really, really like you.’
My hand flies to my mouth.Oh, my effing word.We got this whole thing all wrong.
‘You’re Eddie from Talent Star?’ I gasp. ‘This isyourbirthday party?’
He nods.
‘And you go by another name because…’
‘To safeguard my privacy and to keep fame-hungry wannabes at bay. Yes, ma’am,’ he finishes for me. ‘It’s hard to know who you can trust these days.’
Isn’t it just?
I think the penny is about to drop by the way Liberty is looking adoringly at him. ‘I never made our date because I fainted when I found out you were a hitman, and by the time I came round, it was too late.’
‘So,’ Hank Junior-slash-Eddie says, ‘you’re still into me?’
Liberty’s cheeks redden.
‘Even though I’m just a boring billionaire talent promoter… and not a hitman?’ He chuckles.
Liberty squeals and leaps into his arms. I think he has his answer.
‘Excuse me,’ asks Big Mand, interrupting their embrace. ‘How big is this BIG birthday exactly?’ She gives Tash a pointed look. It’s like she’s thrown a lit match into a box of fireworks. It releases all the built-up tension as we crack up, howling with laughter.
‘I’m forty,’ he says, holding Liberty close. ‘That too old for y’all?’
Liberty shakes her head. ‘You might be older, but it doesn’t mean you’re old.’ She reaches up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his lips. ‘I’ll just have to make sure I always keep you feeling young.’
‘On that note. Haven’t you ladies got a show to do?’ he says.
‘Come on, girls. Let’s show these fellas just how entertaining we can be.’ Liberty swivels on her high heels, bum cheeks wobbling like jellies beneath her ridiculously short hot pants. She blows him a kiss over her shoulder, a silly grin spreading across his face.
As we walk away, I glance back to see him and Matteo shaking hands and patting shoulders. Two striking alpha males. Two sizzling hot specimens of?—
‘CONNIE!’ yells Ged from his private cabana. ‘Over here!’
We walk over to see Ged and Liam in a state of exhilaration. ‘You’ll never guess what!’ Liam yells as we all gather round.
‘You’re the bestbestwoman in the whole world!’ gushes Ged, clamping his hands together over his heart. ‘Thank you so much. It’s been a dream come true. We couldn’t have wished for a better end to the pre-moon.’
