“Jude!” Paul’s shout reached the stage at the same time she did. Katie turned to see Paul approaching with two people behind him, a redhead and her imposing male escort.
“Don’t you ever do what you’re told?” Judah asked, hopping down off the stage to stand behind her.
“All the time. I’m bored with it. I need more fun in my life.”
“Well, get ready for some fun. Since you’re up here, I’m gonna need your help.”
Before Katie could process what that meant, Paul arrived and said to Judah, “These folks want to talk to you.” He was red-faced and visibly pissed off. Katie supposed he had any number of legitimate reasons to be, from the absurdity of the venue to the fact that Judah was onstage and out in the open ten minutes before his show was supposed to start. “I told ’em no, but security says you left instructions to wave these guys through if they showed up.”
Judah put on a wide, easy grin—his stage smile—but Katie thought he’d gone a little pale. Or was that just the harsh illumination of the orange and blue gels over the stage lights? “Thanks, Paul. You must remember Melissa and Ben?”
Paul glared at him. “You knew this was gonna happen,” he said. “I don’t want nothing to do with it.” He turned his back and walked out the rear exit of the building.
“Sorry about him,” Judah said to his visitors. “I’m not sure what that was all about.”
Katie recognized his tone from when they’d been playing sexual chicken in his penthouse suite. Judah’s bullshit voice.
And then he was pumping the woman’s hand, saying, “Look at you, Melissa! You look fantastic. I haven’t seen you in, what …?”
“Fifteen years,” she said, accepting Judah’s outstretched hand. “We’ve seen you, though. We see you all the time, don’t we, Ben? In the magazines, on TV—everywhere! I thought you’d have forgotten all about us.”
Melissa and Ben Abrams weren’t especially forgettable. She had flaming red hair that bounced in long, curled locks around her shoulders. Her brother, by contrast, defined the term “buttoned up”: charcoal slacks, black dress shirt, folded arms, hooded eyes, and a mouth that looked born to refuse. He had his sister’s coloring, the fair skin and blue eyes, but his hair was a lighter strawberry blond, cut punishingly short.
“I could never forget you guys,” Judah said. He extended his hand to Ben, who shook it after an uncomfortable pause.
Katie caught sight of Sean off to one side behind Melissa and Ben, close enough to watch over this unanticipated meeting.
Was it unanticipated? She hadn’t anticipated it, but Judah clearly had. His entire demeanor had changed when he’d spotted Ben.
Ben Abrams was the reason Judah had brought them to Iowa City. He had to be.
But how had Judah gotten Ben and Melissa here? Sean was monitoring Judah’s cell and email accounts. If Judah had invited them, Sean would have known it. But if he hadn’t invited them—
“This is my girlfriend, Katie.” Judah’s hand dropped to the small of her back. “Honey, I’ve told you about Ben and Melissa, remember?”
She whipped around. Judah gave her a fake smile. His eyes gave away nothing.
I’m gonna need your help, indeed.
“Sure,” she said, extending her hand to Ben. “Good to meet you.”
She caught Sean’s expression as she shook hands. Granite again. He wasn’t happy.
Join the club, babe.
“I’ve seen you on the gossip sites lately,” Melissa commented. “Nobody seems to know if you and Judah are together-together.”
“We’re keeping it quiet,” Judah said, letting his hand drift up to Katie’s shoulder. “Katie doesn’t like to be in the spotlight.”
“That must be hard for you,” Melissa said. “With Judah being such a big shot and all.”
Was there a hint of acid in her voice?
“We do all right,” Katie answered. “He more than makes up for it when we’re alone.”
She smiled swe
etly at Judah and brought one hand up to his face, craning her head around to kiss him on the cheek. At the same time, she kicked backward with the heel of her boot, connecting with his shin. He flinched.