cleaned
up."
Landry joined them.
"You need ice and pain relievers. You're going to feel like hell in the
morning."
When the door closed behind
Landry, Audrey turned away, breathing deep. Hurt, anger, embarrassment, and
annoyance fought for dominance.
"What can we do to
help?" Irisa stepped closer, but still kept some distance.
"I need to go out
there and mingle and get people to talk about the clothes." Not at all
what she felt like doing. She could barely wrap her head around what had
happened.
Irisa closed the distance
between them and hugged her. "It'll be fine. We'll help. I've been
promoting your clothes for years. Jayne has worked with bands that have worked
with you, too. She can attest for how amazing the clothes look on stage."
"True." Jayne
smiled and walked toward the door. "Now let's sell those clothes."
Two hours later, the
party had ended, the models had gone home, and Audrey sat in her studio with
Renee, Irisa, and Jayne. "They ruined my show. All anyone wanted to talk
about was the two of them."
Renee glanced up from
rearranging some fabric swatches. "There's no such thing as bad
publicity."
"Really? Because the
domestic violence program's director didn't seem too thrilled with what had
happened. She said I'll hear from her by Monday. I have a feeling I can kiss
that partnership goodbye."
"You don't know that
yet." Renee was determined to be an optimist.
"I think so when
people are mostly going to be talking about how two famous rockers turned my
show into their own boxing ring. Screw the clothes, let's focus on the fact
that these two idiots have a new item to add to their feud." Seething,
Audrey scrolled through mentions of the fight from several media outlets.
"See? It's already happening that way. And the fact that I'm involved with
one of them? That my own boyfriend doesn't even respect my wishes enough to
control himself?"
"That's the real
reason you're angry." Irisa put her hand on her shoulder. "I love
Luke like he's my own brother. There have been times he's done things that make
me want to throttle him, but underneath it all, he really is a good guy."
"He wouldn't set out
to deliberately hurt you either." Jayne played with the heart-shaped
pendant dangling from her necklace. "I think you'll end up getting more
business. Most people who attended will feel sympathy for you because of it,
and may double the number of pieces they were planning on purchasing. And on that
note, there are three designs I saw that I'd like to buy for myself, and four
more that I think would look amazing on Zander."
"Oh," Renee
waved her hand. "I want that light pink dress with the leather and
studs."
"Me too," Irisa
chimed in. "And I want you to custom-make Dom's and the groomsmen tuxes
for the wedding. You can do that, can't you?"
Her mood lightened and
Audrey couldn't fight the beginning of a smile. "Guys, how am I supposed
to stay angry when you're being so nice to me?"
"You're not."
Renee tapped her on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go out and celebrate a
successful show."
"Successful?"
"Okay, let's drink
wine and go dancing and forget about our men."
"I'm in." But
it would take a hell of a lot of wine and a hell of a lot of dancing to make
her forget.
***
After
a restless night in his lonely hotel bed with a bottle of pain reliever and
guilt as his companion, Luke trudged down to the hotel's restaurant for
breakfast with the band. The guys had hung out with him for most of the night,
keeping him calm enough that he hadn't gone looking for Owen or done anything
else stupid, and keeping his spirits from dropping too far into black. He
needed to talk to Audrey, had taken his phone out several times to call her,
but her request to be left alone had stopped him from dialing every time.
Not in the mood to talk
to anyone else, he pulled his baseball cap low and entered the restaurant. The
band crowded around one round table in a sectioned-off nook. Grateful for the
privacy, he joined them. Landry and
up."
Landry joined them.
"You need ice and pain relievers. You're going to feel like hell in the
morning."
When the door closed behind
Landry, Audrey turned away, breathing deep. Hurt, anger, embarrassment, and
annoyance fought for dominance.
"What can we do to
help?" Irisa stepped closer, but still kept some distance.
"I need to go out
there and mingle and get people to talk about the clothes." Not at all
what she felt like doing. She could barely wrap her head around what had
happened.
Irisa closed the distance
between them and hugged her. "It'll be fine. We'll help. I've been
promoting your clothes for years. Jayne has worked with bands that have worked
with you, too. She can attest for how amazing the clothes look on stage."
"True." Jayne
smiled and walked toward the door. "Now let's sell those clothes."
Two hours later, the
party had ended, the models had gone home, and Audrey sat in her studio with
Renee, Irisa, and Jayne. "They ruined my show. All anyone wanted to talk
about was the two of them."
Renee glanced up from
rearranging some fabric swatches. "There's no such thing as bad
publicity."
"Really? Because the
domestic violence program's director didn't seem too thrilled with what had
happened. She said I'll hear from her by Monday. I have a feeling I can kiss
that partnership goodbye."
"You don't know that
yet." Renee was determined to be an optimist.
"I think so when
people are mostly going to be talking about how two famous rockers turned my
show into their own boxing ring. Screw the clothes, let's focus on the fact
that these two idiots have a new item to add to their feud." Seething,
Audrey scrolled through mentions of the fight from several media outlets.
"See? It's already happening that way. And the fact that I'm involved with
one of them? That my own boyfriend doesn't even respect my wishes enough to
control himself?"
"That's the real
reason you're angry." Irisa put her hand on her shoulder. "I love
Luke like he's my own brother. There have been times he's done things that make
me want to throttle him, but underneath it all, he really is a good guy."
"He wouldn't set out
to deliberately hurt you either." Jayne played with the heart-shaped
pendant dangling from her necklace. "I think you'll end up getting more
business. Most people who attended will feel sympathy for you because of it,
and may double the number of pieces they were planning on purchasing. And on that
note, there are three designs I saw that I'd like to buy for myself, and four
more that I think would look amazing on Zander."
"Oh," Renee
waved her hand. "I want that light pink dress with the leather and
studs."
"Me too," Irisa
chimed in. "And I want you to custom-make Dom's and the groomsmen tuxes
for the wedding. You can do that, can't you?"
Her mood lightened and
Audrey couldn't fight the beginning of a smile. "Guys, how am I supposed
to stay angry when you're being so nice to me?"
"You're not."
Renee tapped her on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go out and celebrate a
successful show."
"Successful?"
"Okay, let's drink
wine and go dancing and forget about our men."
"I'm in." But
it would take a hell of a lot of wine and a hell of a lot of dancing to make
her forget.
***
After
a restless night in his lonely hotel bed with a bottle of pain reliever and
guilt as his companion, Luke trudged down to the hotel's restaurant for
breakfast with the band. The guys had hung out with him for most of the night,
keeping him calm enough that he hadn't gone looking for Owen or done anything
else stupid, and keeping his spirits from dropping too far into black. He
needed to talk to Audrey, had taken his phone out several times to call her,
but her request to be left alone had stopped him from dialing every time.
Not in the mood to talk
to anyone else, he pulled his baseball cap low and entered the restaurant. The
band crowded around one round table in a sectioned-off nook. Grateful for the
privacy, he joined them. Landry and
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