Smoke and Mirrors - Hollywood Knights One (17 page)

I looked away, feeling a little ashamed of
myself for flinging accusations at him.  I knew his heart was
in the right place, but I didn’t want to acknowledge what was
bothering me, much less talk about it.

“Jen,” he said, moving a little closer and
resting his hands on my shoulders.  “Talk to me.”

I looked up at him, and my heart skittered in
my chest.  I thought this thing with Seth had obliterated my
feelings for London, but apparently they were just simmering
beneath the surface, looking for an excuse to spring forth
again.  The intensity of his gaze and the warmth of his touch
were just a little too much for me in my current state.  I
took a shaky breath.  And then another.

“Jenny?  What happened?”

“I did something stupid,” I said.

“How stupid?”

“Almost as stupid as what I want to do right
now.”

London gave me a small smile.  His hand
came up to cup the back of my head…and guide it to rest against his
shoulder.  His other arm came around me and he held me close
for a minute.  Just held me and rubbed my back.

I realized then that he knew.  He knew I
had a thing for him.  He’d probably known it all along. 
And he hadn’t called me on it.  He hadn’t let it make things
awkward.  He’d just gone on being a great friend.

That’s a rare thing.  I know from
experience.

After a minute, London said, “So spill
it.  Don’t make me guess.  You won’t like my
guesses.”

I laughed, a thready, shaky sound that kind
of worried me and made London hug me a little tighter.  Then I
took a deep breath to steady myself and answered his question.

“I slept with Seth.  The night Hailey
was arrested.”

London’s grip tightened for a second and then
relaxed again.

“He used you.”

I stepped back and shook my head.  “I
knew what I was doing.  Doesn’t make it any less stupid, but I
knew I what I was doing.”

“Doesn’t make it right for him to take
advantage of it, either,” London said.  He cracked his
knuckles and balled his hands into fists, then crossed his arms
across his chest, like he wanted to hit something but was stopping
himself from doing so.

“It was what he needed,” I said.  “And I
don’t regret it.  I just…I guess I just made the mistake of
hoping, you know?”

London nodded, his jaw clenched. 
“Yeah.  I do know.  You want to be treated as something
more than an afterthought.  Or a convenience.”

Something in his words hit a sore spot, and
tears welled in my eyes.  London turned away, leaning on the
counter.

“I pulled the same shit with Elizabeth,” he
said, “but at least I can say I had a better reason for it than
just being an asshole.”

“I don’t think that’s the whole story,” I
told him.  “I think he’s trying to protect me.”

He snorted.  “He give you some line
about caring too much about you to get involved with you?”

I felt my blood run cold.  The words
were different, but the meaning was essentially the same.

“How did you know that?”

“He told me once I didn’t need to worry about
him trying anything with Elizabeth.  For that reason.”

I thought about that for a moment. 
“Maybe it’s the truth.”

“Or maybe it’s a convenient shield for him to
hide behind because he’s a goddamn coward.”

“Doesn’t really matter.  Either way,
he’s gonna do what he’s gonna do.”

London sighed and ran his hands through his
hair again.  He turned to lean back against the counter,
studying me.

“Will you be okay?” he asked me.

“I don’t see as how I have much choice.”

“Yeah.  The alternative kind of
sucks.”  He pulled me in for another long hug and then stepped
back and chucked me under the chin.  “He
is 
not
 worth being upset about.”  He
considered for a moment.  “Not as a romantic interest or
whatever, at least.”

I smiled and shook my head.  “No one
is.  Yet we all do it.”

“I don’t know,” he replied, his eyes focused
on the group outside the window.  “Maybe some people are worth
it.  And those of us who aren’t…well, let’s just say I’m glad
Em thinks I am.”

“And maybe one day Seth will be glad I think
he is.”

London turned to smirk at me.  “Don’t
hold your breath on that one.”

I couldn’t help smiling back.  “I’m not
quite that dumb.”

London straightened and hooked an arm around
my neck.  “Come on.  The night’s young, and I need
someone to drink me under the table.”

I let him drag me out the door to rejoin the
circle around the firepit.  Parker hopped up to give me his
chair, Lori handed me a fresh drink, and Brian prodded me into
singing along while he played.  Later, my frustration and hurt
might drag me down again, but for that moment, I let go of what had
been and what might be and just let myself enjoy
what 
was
.  Whatever else might happen, I had
people who loved me, an awesome place to live, and good beer. 
I had a lot to be grateful for, and I wasn’t going to let what I
didn’t have make me bitter and unhappy.  At least for tonight.
Tomorrow...well, like the lady said, tomorrow is another day.

To learn more about the author, visit her
Facebook fan page at
http://www.facebook.com/lbwrites
or her blog at
http://lbwrites.tumblr.com
.

Also by LB Clark

The Hand of Fate
,
a
novella of Jukebox Heroes series:

With her 30th birthday on the horizon and
life handing her lemon after lemon, Dylan Connelly wants nothing
more than to get away from it all for a few days. The last thing
she expected –or wanted– was to become intrigued by a gorgeous
stranger. But sometimes chance –or fate– has a way of changing our
plans.

Call Out,
book one of the
Jukebox Heroes series:

An unexpected phone call from her best
friend’s rock star boyfriend pulls 35-year-old Elizabeth Morgan out
of the comfort and safety of her quiet, normal life and into a
situation she could never have imagined even in her wildest
nightmares. The world as she knows it changes forever in the blink
of an eye, forcing her to reassess everything she thought she knew
about reality, when she finds herself facing a world where
terrorists can sling magic as well as bullets, everyone is both
more and less than they seem, and even her own thoughts and
feelings are suspect.

Everything You Are
, Book
two of the Jukebox Heroes series:

When Elizabeth Morgan and
London Dahlbeck met, they felt an instant attraction. Despite
swearing off romance, they inspired one another to try and love
again. But love’s a hard game to play.

Between playing in a
travelling band, learning to control his newly re-emerging psychic
powers, and seeking the truth behind a vision sent to him by a
fellow Practitioner, London has little time for romance. And while
London’s busy being fabulous, Elizabeth’s singing the hometown
blues. She’s left behind everything she knows –her friends, her
apartment, her school, and her therapist– to take a job in a new
city.

Faced with a string of
lonely nights and the unexpected attentions of a living cliché –Mr.
Tall, Dark, and Handsome– Elizabeth starts to wonder: is love
really all you need, or are there times when love just isn’t
enough?

Storm
, book three of the
Jukebox Heroes Series:

Elizabeth’s indentured servitude
–
a.k.a. internship
–
is nearly
done. London’s search for the girl in his vision has come to an
end. The two of them, along with Chris, are on the verge of
straightening out the horrific mess that is their love triangle.
Hope for a normal future is perched on a bright horizon...

... until new insight into Julia’s obsession
with London comes to light, turning the people he loves into pawns
in a dangerous game.

To Run Out Of Air
,
book four of the Jukebox Heroes Series

In the comfort and safety of Seth’s
California mansion, Elizabeth found a sanctuary from magic and
romance. But she can’t hide forever. A phone call from Texas draws
her out of her self-imposed isolation, and she is forced to seek
answers to all of the questions in her life...but she only seems to
find more questions.

In the face of so much uncertainty, Elizabeth
feels like she can’t breathe, like she’s drowning under the weight
that’s settled on her shoulders. All she wants is a quiet, normal
life, and the possibility that she will never have it may prove to
be more than she can bear.

Music Speaks,
a short story anthology including three Jukebox
Heroes stories:

“Where words fail, music speaks.” –Hans
Christian Andersen

100% of profits from the sale of this short
story collection will be donated to the MusiCares Foundation —a
non-profit organization that helps musicians in times of need.

Music is everywhere, seeping into every
corner of our lives, and it has a special kind of magic. It can
help us sleep, or make us dance, give wings to our dreams, or
commiserate with our sorrow. Music can spark a long-buried memory,
bring people together, change a mind, or even save a life.

In these pages are eleven short stories from
nine independent authors. These stories cover a wide range of
genres—from romance to dystopia—but they all share a single theme:
the power of music.

Double-edged Sword (Jukebox Heroes
Vignette
–
Seth) by LB Clark

“On nights like tonight, when I’ve had one
Scotch too many, I stop and wonder where I’d be without music.”

Heaven Sent (Jukebox Heroes Vignette –
Chris) by LB Clark

“I turned away from my dinner long enough to
give her a once-over. She looked like a thousand other women who’d
walked through Haven’s front doors: medium height, medium build,
medium brown hair, hoodie and Converse and jeans. Average, and kind
of boring.”

End of the Line (Jukebox Heroes Vignette
-Adrian) by LB Clark

“In my head, I could hear the moving hands
tick-tick-ticking like a metronome. It wasn’t the wall clock I was
hearing, but the imagined sound of my wife’s biological clock.”