Half Empty (First Wives, #2)(44)

But Trina was Avery’s go-to. They were alike in so many ways.

She clicked on her messages and pulled up Trina’s name.

I know you’re in the middle of the big party, just dropping a note to say that everything in NY went well. Fedor liked really expensive things.

She glanced up, saw her car, and fished for the keys in the bottom of her mom bag while she texted with one thumb.

En route to the house so call if you need to talk. Texting and driving in NY is just asking for trouble.

Avery pressed send at the same time something huge smashed into her side and threw her onto the pavement.

Her first thought was that she’d walked into something, or because she was on her phone, she’d become one of those YouTube videos of distracted people walking into a pond. But then she saw a boot coming toward her face, and she realized this wasn’t an accident.

She tried to move, covered her head.

Never in her life had Avery been kicked. The pain was unimaginable. She tasted warm salt in her mouth as she cowered on the ground.

Roll away!

Do something!

She tried, only her body was a heavy, solid mass that needed to lose a hundred pounds. When the next hit came, she lost the ability to think about anything.





Chapter Seventeen

“There you are.” Finding his way back to Trina’s side was like swimming through a sea of fans that found the exit door from the stage to his limo. Even his friends didn’t understand that he wanted his attention somewhere else.

As for Jordyn, the woman didn’t understand the words we’re over.

“There is someone here with me,” he’d told her.

“I heard,” Jordyn had said, looking over his shoulder.

Wade attempted to block her gaze in case Trina felt it.

Jordyn leaned in close . . . too close. “It’s okay, baby. We all have to have our diversions.”

“That’s not how it is.”

At that point, his mother joined the conversation to discuss how Jordyn was talking with a record label of her own, and wasn’t that exciting?

Wade stood there for a solid five minutes, trying to keep things nice, and when he turned around, Trina was out of his sight.

It took thirty minutes and a dozen conversations before he found her. At that point, he beelined in her direction to find her sitting on a straw bale, talking to Jeb.

He waved off a distant cousin and sat on the straw beside her.

“Hey,” she said with a genuine smile.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to walk across this yard with this many people?” he asked.

Trina shook her head. “Wasn’t hard for me . . . Jeb?”

“Never an issue.”

Wade reached over and took the beer Trina was holding and tilted it back.

She smiled but didn’t comment.

He realized two things at the same time. First, he liked that they had the comfort of sharing a coffee, or a beer, and second . . . the beer was nearly full and kinda warm. Trina had grabbed the beer to blend but had no intention of actually drinking it.

Somehow, that made him grin even more.

He scooted closer and didn’t bother handing the beer back.

“How did that go?” Jeb nodded toward the direction of Jordyn and his mother.

“Fine . . . it went fine.”

Trina lowered her chin and didn’t blink.

Wade coughed up the truth. “She’s having a hard time letting go.”

“Not surprising,” Jeb offered.

“Why is that?” Trina asked.

“She’s a singer wanting a record deal. Wade has a reputation with plenty of influence. There’s a lot of people wanting something out of him.”

“Like Jerry?”

Wade turned toward Trina.

“Sorry,” she retracted.

He sat up taller, narrowed his attention.

“He’s my agent, he’s invested.”

“Of course.”

Yeah, there was something in her eyes that told him there was more to her statement.

From the other side of the yard, the amplifier on the small stage let the crowd know that the music was about to begin. Up until that moment, a mix track of popular country music had been playing. Everything except Wade’s music, which was always his request when his mother planned events like this one.

“Welcome, everybody.” Vicki stepped to the microphone and grabbed the guests’ attention. “I just wanted to give a big thank y’all for joining us. It’s seldom my famous son is home and even more rare to have his attention when he is. Where are you, Wade?”

“Oh, geez.”

Trina took her beer back and pushed him off the straw.

People around them parted so that he could have a direct route to the stage.

He stood and reached out his hand to Trina.

She started to shake her head but he didn’t give her a chance. He took her hand and helped her to her feet. “C’mon. They won’t bite.”

“There you are,” his mother said.

He started up the stairs to the stage, and Trina dug her heels in. Instead of forcing her up with him, he lifted a finger, asking her to stay close, and let her go. He kissed his mother’s cheek and took the mic. “Howdy.”

A chorus of similar greetings were shouted back at him. “It sure is nice to be home, did y’all miss me?”