The Austen Playbook (London Celebrities #4)(78)
“Only indirectly.” A slight stiffness was creeping over her, that protectiveness where Griff was concerned. Sabrina had made her opinion of him frank enough in the past, and Freddy doubted she was going to be singing a different tune now.
She wasn’t.
After giving her another hard stare, Sabrina groaned. “Oh, God. You’re sleeping with him.” She shook her head. “Considering the resounding deficits of his personality, character and manners, and everything he’s said about you in the past, he must be bloody amazing in bed to put that look on your face.”
“Oh, he is. But that’s not why I l-like him so much. And there’s nothing wrong with his character or his personality.” Freddy skipped over the manners aspect. She was completely lost over Griff, but she wasn’t delusional. He wasn’t exactly Britain’s answer to Emily Post.
Sabrina hadn’t missed the slight hesitation before that “L” word. The spark of concern in her eyes deepened. “You’re not...getting in too deep, are you?”
Suddenly, Freddy could understand a little more why Sabrina slammed down a barrier the moment Freddy mentioned her relationship with Ferren. “Every day, I think I’m in as far as it’s possible to go.” She spoke slowly. “And then I find we’ve swum a bit farther, and I can’t imagine the tide is ever going to turn.” Coming back to herself, she lifted one shoulder. “Despite everything that’s going wrong, in some ways I feel so lucky right now.”
Sabrina tapped her nails against the plastic cover of her phone. “I don’t want to be rude, but your judgment where men is concerned hasn’t always been the best.”
Freddy’s head jerked. First of all, Sabrina could turn that accusation right around and direct it at herself. And secondly—“Are you seriously throwing what happened with Drew Townseville in my face?”
“No, of course not. You were a baby. It’s not your fault that piece of shit took advantage. But you do have a track record of falling for pretty faces and words, and tumbling into infatuation with dickheads. And it never lasts. I just—don’t want you to invest too much and get hurt.”
Her body taut, Freddy considered her response. “I don’t think there was anything wrong with testing the waters, enjoying my feelings, especially when I was younger.” Her eyes met Sabrina’s. “This isn’t the same. It’s...more.” So very much more. “And if you hadn’t noticed, I’m a grown woman. If I end up getting hurt, I would still never regret falling for him. I’m not going to hold back on investing in him just because there are no guarantees in life.”
Sabrina sighed. “But Ford-Griffin. He’s such a—”
“He’s loyal, and he respects me, and he treats me well.” Freddy should have left it at that, but her family insisted on believing she was incapable of making the right decisions without their input, and the frustration bubbled over. “Which is more than you can say about Ferren.”
Sabrina went equally rigid. “I told you—”
“Yes, you’ve told me quite a lot of things about Ferren,” Freddy said with a sharp edge. “And about Griff. And I’m sorry, but our opinions differ drastically as to which of us is investing unwisely in a man who’s really a bit of a shit.” Once she’d started, she couldn’t seem to stop. “I don’t think you’re in a position to make sweeping statements about—about enduring love. In the very beginning, I thought you and Ferren were like this romantic ideal, but no matter how good it might be with him at times, he treats you and everybody else like crap the moment he doesn’t get his own way. He’s reckless, he’s selfish, he does not care. And I love you so much, and you’re worth so much more than that.”
The silence that followed was broken only by their jagged breaths. They stood staring at each other, with clenched fists.
Sabrina’s eyes were bright. She parted her lips, started to say something, and then turned on her heel and walked away.
Freddy stayed there motionless on the grass for so long that the time ran out, and she had to literally sprint back to The Henry. They were using prop swords onstage today and unless she fancied decapitation by blunt blade, this wasn’t the time to test Maf’s patience.
The rest of rehearsal proceeded smoothly enough, but with taut undercurrents everywhere. Freddy felt as if they were all balancing on a wafer-thin high wire that could snap at any moment. Maya kept darting glances at Sadie between scenes. She definitely had the look of someone who’d done something wrong, knew she was going to be found out, and was waiting for the axe to fall.
Dylan was flirting, which was normal, and Ferren was brooding, which was alarming. If he was starting on a downward spiral, the crash was always spectacular. One day; he just had to hold it together for one more day.
Mid-afternoon, Sabrina and her team came in to see the interior of the theatre. Sabs was always careful not to cause disruption whenever she filmed on location, but several of her crew were less conscientious, and Maf gripped her hair in both hands when a cameraman crashed about with his equipment. The commotion threw Maya off her stride and she stumbled over a line, and Sadie quivered with sadistic amusement.
Sabrina and Ferren locked eyes, and Ferren’s expression underwent a complete transformation. He leapt from the stage, landed at Sabrina’s feet, and took her hands in his. She looked up at him between her lashes.