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“What the fuck just happened?” Nick asked, staring after Kevin’s retreating form.

“Let’s talk about this someplace else.” Lauren suggested. She gave me a consoling glance before releasing my hand. “I’m sure that all of ET Canada is going to have a field day with what they’ve just heard. There’s no point in giving them any more gossip.”

“I’m actually going to go and discuss things with the producer.” Cassandra interjected. “She needs to be made aware of the fact that this little shouting match is completely off the record. I highly suggest that the rest of you take this downtime to make sure that you’re all on the same page.”

“I’m really sorry.” Brian mumbled. “I know we’ve just created a lot more work for you ...”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Cassandra griped. Her heels clicked ominously on the floor as she disappeared into the far reaches of the studio.

“I’ll see you guys back at the hotel.” Jason said once Cassandra had disappeared.

He was hurriedly scrolling through something on his iPad as he spoke. Since he was still waiting on a replacement phone, he had been regulated to carrying around the tablet. “The message boards are going crazy with responses to the ET segment. Mostly positive ones.” He added. “Still, there’s some stuff that I need to take down, and I have VIP pictures to upload from the last two shows. I’m gonna hit up a Second Cup and get some work done.”

“We should probably, uhhhhh, talk when you get back.” I mumbled as my tears finally subsided.

“About what? You and the B-man?” Jason laughed. “That’s your business. I have no desire to interject myself into that situation.”

“So, you’re not going to be speaking to Eddie?” I asked, relief flooding through me.

“God no!” Jason cried. “That’s not my place. Although you may want to come up with your own story in case Kevin lets it slip.”

“Thanks.” I smiled. “I really appreciate that.”

“Well, I kinda like having you around.” Jason grinned. “I would have to do a hell of a lot more work if you weren’t here to help.”

After Jason left, the rest of us simply stared at each other for a few seconds before wordlessly shuffling out the door and into the waiting car.

As the car pulled away from the curb, AJ let out a long breath and gave both me and Brian an apologetic smile. “I guess Kevin figured it out after all.”

“I guess.” I mumbled.

I was acutely aware of the fact that Brian had chosen to sit next to me. I almost wished that he hadn’t as I inhaled the fresh scent of his cologne; it was distracting and I desperately needed to process what had just happened. I was so busy wrestling with my feelings, that I barely registered what was happening as he reached out and covered my hand with his own.

“So, this is true then?” Howie asked cautiously as he took note of our intertwined fingers.

“In part, I suppose.” Brian sighed. His grip on my hand tightened ever so slightly as he searched for the right words. “I’ve never physically cheated on Leighanne ... with Amy ... or with anyone else.”

“But there is something going on between you two?” Howie clarified.

“I care for Amy.” Brian explained carefully.

“And you knew about this?” Howie asked as he turned to face AJ. “Why am I always the last one to figure stuff out?”

“I unwillingly became a casual participant.” AJ replied vaguely.

“Voice of reason is a better description.” I interjected.

“Yeah, well I’m glad that at least some of what I said made it through to you guys.” AJ grinned. “Seriously, Brian, have you even spoken to Leighanne? You do know you that you’re gonna be in deep shit over your little divorce announcement?”

“She left me a voicemail this morning ... “Brian trailed off, his thumb lightly grazing my knuckles as he spoke. “I’ve been trying to avoid the inevitable screaming match.”

“A voicemail? Really?” Howie snickered. “I can only imagine.”

“It wasn’t pretty.” Brian agreed. “You guys must have noticed that Leighanne and I were having a rough time. It’s been going on for a while.”

“Of course I noticed.” Nick confirmed. “Given my history where you and Leighanne are concerned, I didn’t want to say anything for fear of making things worse. Then, about a month ago, I realized that you seemed almost happy again. I thought that maybe you guys had worked stuff out, but then you had that huge fight and the pictures showed up ...”

“I wonder what could have happened about a month ago to boost his spirits.” Lauren feigned ignorance and winked suggestively at me. “I can’t believe that you didn’t tell me that you had a thing for Brian.”

“Come to think of it, you guys were pretty flirty when we were in Washington.” Nick interrupted. “Remember? We went to dinner at that little no-name place. I can’t believe that I didn’t clue in back then!”

“You guys were pretty cozy that night.” Lauren agreed. “How the hell did I not see that? It seems so obvious now.”

“There was nothing going on that night.” I said. “There’s still not anything officially going on now. Did you guys not catch that?” I looked at Brian for confirmation.

Brian grinned; a legitimately boyish grin that reached all the way to his eyes. “I will admit to flirting with you a little bit that night.”

I could feel a blush spreading quickly up my neck as I responded. “I suppose I was flirting with you a little bit too. Although, I felt horribly guilty about it afterwards.”

“I knew it was wrong.” Brian admitted. “I can’t say that I felt guilty though.”

“Just for the record, I told you two to cool it.” AJ mumbled. “I think someone needs to point that out to Kev because he’s hella pissed at the moment.”

“He’s not pissed at you.” Brian replied, the smile quickly disappearing from his face. “You know how Kevin can be. He feels like he needs to protect us all from ourselves. He still sees himself as the big brother.”

“Regardless of how he sees himself, he crossed the line back there.” Howie affirmed. “Brian, I can’t honestly say that I agree with how you’ve handled this whole situation with Leighanne, or with Amy for that matter. I realize that it’s your life, but I think that Kevin made some valid points. He just presented them poorly.”

I could feel Brian tense as he digested Howie’s words. I found myself subconsciously holding my breath as I waited for him to respond. The last thing that anybody wanted was another fight.

“I agree that I should have waited to tell Amy how I felt.” Brian finally acknowledged. “But I didn’t, and I’m happy that I didn’t.”

“What can I say to that?” Howie sighed. “I’m not going to sit here and preach to you about trying to save a marriage that was obviously making you miserable.”

“And don’t worry about the impending media circus.” Nick added. “I’ll be standing right there with you, just like you were always standing there next to me.”

“Thanks, Nick.” Brian gave him a grateful smile. “That means a lot. I know you and I have gone through some tough shit these last few years; partially due to Leighanne and partially due to my ridiculous behaviour. I still feel horrible about having my face censored out of your show.”

“That was a long time ago.” Nick shrugged. “I still feel like an ass for even participating in that ridiculous show. You were there when I needed you the most and that’s all that matters.”

“The media won’t even be as bad as Kevin thinks it will. All you’ve announced is that you’re getting divorced. Big deal! Couples call it quits every other day.” AJ pointed out. “No one outside of our little group needs to know that you and Amy have a little something-something going on.”