Page 43 of One Quick Obsession

I frowned, knowing that I was probably walking on murky ground here. But it wasn’t my decision. And maybe the group chat had more to say. Not that I was going to have any part of it.

I just nodded, and we made our way down the path to our respective cars.

Cale would be heading to Sophia and spending one more night here. Flynn was going home to Denver, and Weston was going back to his place. He and Isabella would be traveling with the others and soon Cage Lake would be a few less Cages. Harper and Dorian were already in Denver, working on one of his clubs, and now that I thought about it, I might be the only Cage left for a little while.

I didn’t know why that bummed me out. It never used to.

I made it home and figured I would go back to the studio and work, or maybe text Scarlett just to see how she was doing.

That was odd of me, but then again, I could still taste her on my lips. She had been working nonstop since our bike ride, and though we had texted and talked a few times on the phone, we hadn’t spent much time together. Maybe that needed to change.

Of course I needed to figure out what the hell I wanted first. That would probably be a good thing.

My phone buzzed, and part of me hoped it was Scarlett, but when I saw my agent’s name on the readout, I groaned.

“Yes?”

“It’s about time you answered. Now I’ve given you enough space, but you have to be at the show next weekend. It’s in your contract, and I really don’t want to have to play mean agent, but I need you to pretend that you can be sociable even if it’s just for thirty minutes.”

I had been avoiding this show and what it meant for months now. A high-end art dealer had found one of my pieces, and now I was starting to get a little more recognition. I hadn’t been lying when I said I didn’t need money. I got top dollar for my pieces, and if the rest of the town knew what I was making for the pieces that I sold through my agent, they would probably think twice about asking me to make so many murals. I paused in that thinking. No, Ms. Patty would probably ask me to make more. I snorted at that, and my agent finally snapped.

“This isn’t funny, Hudson. I know you hate doing these, but I need you for just this once. Please. I don’t ask you for much.”

That was true. My agent was actually pretty accommodating. And I knew my success was helping him. Maybe Scarlett was right and I needed to stop acting like an asshole all the time. And that made me think. The whole weekend? Maybe getting out of Cage Lake would be good, and not just for me.

“I’ll be there.”

“Did I hear that right? No, don’t answer that. I’m just going to go with a yes, and then I’m going to dance when we’re off the phone.”

My lips twitched. “Okay then. Just email me all the details?”

“Done. Thank you. You’re not going to regret this. Well, you might later, but I don’t care.”

That made me laugh. “I get to bring someone, right?” I blurted.

My agent was silent enough for long enough that I was afraid the call had ended. “Yes. Your family?”

“No, I don’t really know if I want to deal with all of my family at this. Then it will be a thing in the news.”

I knew that my agent liked press, but the Cage family press when it came to my dad’s death and the will and everything that came with it wasn’t exactly the press we needed. Plus I liked making things work on my own, rather than on my name.

“That makes sense. Though your family is pretty great.”

“They’re okay,” I said with a laugh.

“Did you just laugh? And you’re asking if you can bring someone that’s not a family member? Hudson Cage, are you seeing someone?”

I cursed under my breath and wondered why I had even said a damn thing. “Don’t make it a big deal. We’re not really seeing each other. I just want to take someone that’s not Cage-like. And you’re the one who wants me to do this show. Don’t make it weird.”

“I promise I’ll be on my best behavior. Maybe. But don’t worry you can bring the whole family if you want, you don’t have a set number of tickets. But the show’s sold out otherwise, and I’m excited for you.” He paused, and I felt like squirming. “I’m happy for you. As long as this doesn’t affect your art in a bad way.”

That made me burst out laughing, exactly what my agent wanted me to do, since he wasn’t one of those critiquing types who wanted me to be the starving or broken artist in order to produce things.

Instead he usually just let me be.

“Send me the details. I’ll see you next week.”

“Yes. And your date.”