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“Did you manage to ditch the Royal Guard?” Howie asked when Nick flew into the practice room and flopped into a chair.

Nick shot him a dirty look and grabbed a sheet of music sitting in the middle of the table. “I managed to escape, which means you won’t have to worry about being on television.”

“Right. Because we know how much all of us despise our TV time,” AJ put in, plunking out the tune for the song on the piano. “Besides, you were the one who was all excited about doing this show.”

“I was,” Nick muttered. “That was before I had everyone moved into the house and realized how screwed up we really are.”

Howie sighed. “Nicky, you know we’ve known from the beginning that your parents weren’t exactly model parents. It’s not your fault that your siblings are a product of their terrible upbringing.”

“But that’s exactly what we’re trying to disprove with the freaking show!” Nick muttered, frustrated. “It’s not working too well.”

AJ left the music on the piano and settled into a chair at the table. “How about we don’t bring up your side job for the rest of the day? Instead, I’ll tell you something interesting that’s got me all excited.”

“AJ, what doesn’t excite you?” Howie wondered with a slight smile.

AJ stuck his tongue out at Howie then turned back to Nick. “So you know that movie that’s got all those previews all over television and radio? You know, the one that’s supposed to be coming out soon?”

“Who’s coming out soon?” Brian asked, wandering in just in time to hear the end of AJ’s question.

“Howie,” Nick answered, not missing a beat.

Brian chuckled. “Howard! It’s about time. I was wondering when you were going to join the rest of us.” He picked at imaginary lint on Howie’s shirt and fluttered his lashes. “I’m so excited!”

Howie merely shot them the finger before looking over at AJ. “What movie?”

“Rein of Silence. I think Nick’s supposed to be at the premiere or something, right?” Nick nodded in confirmation. “So, anyway, have you seen the actress in it? Dude, she’s hot.”

“Don’t you have a girlfriend?” Nick wondered.

AJ rolled his eyes. “You can’t stop a guy from appreciating a lovely female form, Nick. But, man oh man, she’s something else. I think her name’s Autumn something or other.”

“Autumn Evans,” Nick supplied.

Brian slid him a sidelong look. “Know her?”

“Sort of.”

“Really?” AJ pounced. “Tell me she’s as hot in person as she is onscreen.”

Nick lifted a shoulder. “She is.” He grinned. “Relax, AJ. I met her twice. And, after the second time, I think it’s safe to say she thinks I’m a total moron.”

“Uh-oh.” Howie and Brian exchanged glances.

“What happened?” AJ rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Spill the details. Spare nothing.”

“She ran into the House of Carters,” Nick explained.

“Say no more,” Howie sighed.

Nick pressed his fingers to his eyes. “We were in the grocery store, and a fight broke out over cereal.”

“Cereal?” Brian raised his eyes to the ceiling. “God, I beg you. Why? Haven’t we seen enough?”

Nick ignored him. “Aaron grabbed Froot Loops, and Leslie told him that no one in their right mind ate those because they’re just sugar.”

“She’s right,” Howie interrupted.

“Whatever it was, they got into a fight. Then Angel and BJ start arguing because Angel agrees with Leslie, and BJ thinks that we should just get a box of Froot Loops and a box of the Total Les wanted.” Nick sighed. “It was mortifying, and, when the camera wasn’t trained on me, I made a run for it, and ran into Autumn. I hijacked her into being my cover, and she was disgusted by the whole fight.”

“That’s it?” AJ asked after a few moments. Nick nodded. “Well, that’s less than I wanted. I was hoping for something juicier. There’s still time for you to make it up to her and soften her up.”

“For what?” Nick wondered.

Brian leaned in conspiratorially. “Don’t look now, Nick, but I think AJ wants you to date Autumn. If he can’t date her, he’d rather you did it.”

Nick looked bewildered. “But I don’t want to date her. Hell, I don’t want to date anyone right now. Why the hell would I want to drag someone into the mess my life is at the moment?”

“Good point.” Brian sat back. “You should still apologize to her when you see her at the premiere.”

“Why? It’s not like he insulted her,” Howie pointed out. “He can’t help having the dysfunctional family he has.”

“Thanks, Howie. That makes me feel a lot better.”

“What? It’s true, isn’t it? If you could fix your problems with your family, things would be a little easier in your life, wouldn’t they?”

Nick wondered that they couldn’t see that they were the one family that he’d always wanted. “Can we not talk about me anymore? How about we do some singing, huh?”

“Sure.” Brian patted his shoulder. “Let’s get started.”

As they worked, Nick couldn’t help but notice that things were much different from the way they’d been when Kevin had still been with them. For one thing, Kevin would have wanted to make sure Nick had been emotionally okay after the talk about his family before they started work for the day. He’d always known when Nick had been lying. But it wasn’t the case now, and he was grateful. He didn’t want to talk about himself any more than necessary. His problems were his, and he’d deal with them however he wanted.

As for Autumn, he was disappointed in himself for alienating someone so quickly, but he realized he couldn’t do anything to fix it. His family, as Howie had pointed out, was the way it was. He couldn’t imagine them being a normal family like the other guys had. Besides, he wasn’t interested enough in Autumn to really worry too much over it. Their paths probably wouldn’t even cross often enough for it to matter.

“Carter! Let’s go,” AJ called from the door of the recording booth. “We’re doing the chorus.”

Nick grabbed the music for his vocals and joined the others in the booth. As he lifted the headphones onto his ears, he wondered, for the fiftieth time in a month, what it must be like to be normal.

***

“So, Autumn. When did you realize that acting was your calling?” The reporter flashed another fake smile, making Autumn want to smack her.

In a short amount of time, she’d come to realize that the media was a waste of her time—as people. They were great in spreading the word about celebrities, but, under the curious veneer, they were all the same—jaded and bitter. She hadn’t met one in the weeks of interviews who had seemed genuinely interested in what they were reporting on.

Well, she reminded herself, she was an actress. Despite the discouraging truth of the media, she could play their game, too.

“I think I knew when I was in middle school, I think it was. I saw My Girl and was absolutely jealous of the young actress in it because I’d found out that she didn’t have to attend school.” Autumn gave the reporter a smile of her own. “Ever since that time I’ve worked towards this moment.”

“And what a moment it is,” the reporter agreed, smiling into the camera recording them. “With the new Gabe Peterson film to add to your growing list of credits, there are rumors that you may win yourself an Oscar nomination. The critics are certainly clamoring about your performance in Rein of Silence. What do you have to say to the possibility of a new piece to put on your mantle?”

The Oscars. Autumn couldn’t imagine it. As her heart fluttered rapidly, her voice was equally calm. “I think it’s flattering to hear such praise. I certainly didn’t come into this industry looking to do much more than just entertain people. The Academy Awards are such an honor, and I can only hope that I will one day be worthy of one.”

“But not now?”

Autumn shrugged. “Who knows? I certainly won’t say no to one at any time.”

The reporter laughed lightly before looking down at her pad of questions. “And your family? What do they think of your great accomplishments? So far, of course,” she added.

At the mention of family, her gut clenched, but she smiled anyway. “I lost my parents when I was six, but I’d like to think that they would have been proud of me had they been here. Everything I’ve done with this film, I dedicated to their memory.”

“That’s lovely. This must be bittersweet for you,” the reporter prompted. “What about anyone special? That certain someone?”

Autumn knew the gleam in her eye. “Not really. I mean, I’m sharing my excitement with my best friend, who’s also my agent, but that’s about it.” She didn’t mention her daughter, didn’t dare to. Lily was her secret, the one person she wanted to protect from the cruelties of the industry she’d decided to work in.

“And if you happened to find that special someone…?”

“Then I’d definitely share it with them,” Autumn replied with a smile, wondering how much more of this she’d have to deal with. Every interview ended with the same old questions on her romantic life, and she was tired of it. “But, at the moment, there’s no one, and I’d be lying if I said I don’t like it that way.”