I’m nodding without thinking. Because if Lennon is actually scared about this thing, I know it’s bad this time. If he’s scared enough to actually ask for something for himself, instead of blindly supporting his friend, then he must really need my help. And whatever mistakes I might have made in the past, there’s no way I can turn my back on Lennon when he needs my help.
“I’ll do it,” I say, pushing away the wave of dread welling up in my chest. “Of course I will.”
Chapter Seven
Karen
“This is going to be so cool,” Paige says excitedly, fluffing up her hair in the mirror. “Do you think I look okay? God, there are probably going to be some really important people down there.” She tugs on the hem of her hot pink dress. “Maybe I should change.”
Paige has been swinging wildly between excitement and nerves for the past hour as we’ve gotten ready in my room. Well, technically it’s Reed’s guest room, but it’s where I’m staying for these few days we’re spending in L.A. before the tour starts. I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed myself since we got to Reed’s house— but that’s probably due to the fact that Paige and I are staying here alone. The guys have all been out in New York with the label, handling whatever business rock stars need to handle before they go on a months-long tour.
But all of that changes tonight. Reed got back home a few hours ago, and his brothers will join us soon, along with a whole crowd of their friends, crew, and industry people. The boys are throwing a tour kick-off party to celebrate before they hit the road, a traditional Ransom bash that is sure to feature good drinks, great music, and plenty of debauchery.
I’m dreading it.
It’s not that I don’t like parties, particularly when rock stars are involved. And the Ransome boys certainly know how to throw a party. But there’s a very good chance that at some point tonight, I’m going to cross paths with someone I’ve been dreading seeing for weeks. And I still don’t know how I’ll handle that.
“You look fine,” I tell Paige, my voice a bit sharper than I intended. I brush her hands away from the hem of her dress. “Don’t you dare change.”
“I don’t know.” She leans in closer to the mirror to adjust her cleavage. “I don’t want to look too slutty, you know? The head of their label is going to be down there!”
“You don’t look slutty. You look hot. Does Reed like your dress?” She blushes, nodding down at it. “And do you like it?” She nods again. “Then stop worrying about it.”
“Thanks, K.” She smiles at me gratefully, but then her face tightens in concern. “Hey. Are you okay?”
Before I can respond, or wonder what she saw in my face to make her worry, there’s a knock on the door. “Paige? Karen?”
“Daisy!” Paige cries, running to the door to throw it open. She pulls Daisy into a hug before the poor girl can get a word out. “It’s so good to see you!”
Daisy rolls her eyes at me over Paige’s shoulder, but she’s smiling. “I saw you a few weeks ago, Paige.”
“I know. It’s been ages!”
Paige releases her so I can give Daisy a quick hug. “You look gorgeous,” I tell her. “I love this look on you.”
She fingers the hem of her black baby-doll dress. “Thanks. I bought it just for tonight.”
“You went shopping without us?” Paige asks, pouting.
“I was in New York,” Daisy laughs. “I didn’t think it would be really convenient for us to shop together on opposite coasts.”
Paige laughs and Daisy joins us at the mirror. “I need some lipstick. I totally forgot to put mine in my purse.”
Paige rummages through the collection of cosmetics at the mirror, offering Daisy several choices. Once she’s finished with her lips, Daisy turns to us, eyes wide. “I have news. And you’re not going to believe it.”
“Ooh, what?” Paige sits down on the edge of my bed.
Daisy looks at the two of us, clearly enjoying the drama of the moment. “Levi is here.”
I barely hear Paige’s gasp of surprise. I’m too busy battling the swarm of butterflies that has suddenly erupted in my chest. “Levi?” I yelp.
Daisy nods. “I just saw him. Talking to Lennon. He’s coming on tour.”
“Shut. Up.” Paige says. “He took his job back?”
I couldn’t have been more shocked if she told me that the Pope was downstairs. Levi came back? I couldn’t believe it, particularly not after our conversations in Colorado.
I suddenly have a flash of memory—Levi’s face, hovering above mine, his eyes dark with desire, his lips coming down to meet my neck.
I have to sit down. I join Paige on the bed, my knees feeling distinctly weak.
“Are you okay?” Daisy asks, peering down at me. “You look flushed.”
“I’m fine,” I say, probably blushing even darker. “Tell us what happened!”
She joins us on the bed. “So about a week ago, Daltrey told me that he heard from Len that Levi was coming back,” she says. “Apparently, Lennon asked him to, said they all really missed him and things haven’t been the same since he left.”
“Amen,” Paige mutters.
“But Daltrey was sure he would back out. I’m sure he wanted him to. He told me not to get my hopes up, that he was sure Levi would chicken out at the last minute.”
I feel a little surge of anger at Daisy’s boyfriend—why is he the only one who can’t seem to get over this?—but tamp it down so I can concentrate on her story.
“Apparently, none of the other guys heard from him, only Lennon. So I thought Dalt might have a point. But when we got here, he was standing right there in the living room with Lennon!” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t believe it.”
“Did you talk to him?” Paige asks. “God, what did Daltrey do?”
“Will had just pulled Lennon and Levi into the kitchen for something, and Daltrey got stuck talking to some suit from the label.”
“So they haven’t been face to face yet?” Paige cries, jumping up. “What in the hell are we doing up here?”
“It’s not a show, Paige,” I mutter, feeling terrible for Levi. He must have been totally nervous to walk into this house, knowing that anyone with an understanding of the history would be watching him.
“I know,” she says, looking slightly abashed. “But I still really want to see it.”
“Are you ready?” Daisy asks, looking at the two of us.
“Definitely.” Paige is already heading toward the door and Daisy laughs.
“You don’t think they’ll fight, do you?” I ask Daisy in an undertone as we follow Paige to the door.
She looks momentarily worried, but then her face brightens. “Daltrey wouldn’t do that. He knows it would piss me off. And he’s too happy right now to get back into all of that.”
I think I see her gently caress her stomach before we get to the stairs, but then she’s straightening her dress, and I figure I just imagined it.
A considerable number of people had arrived while we were getting ready, filling the main floor. It’s not packed yet, but it’s getting there. I scan the faces, looking for Levi.
And it’s only then that I realize I haven’t worried about the other face I might see tonight ever since Daisy dropped her bombshell.
“There he is,” Paige says, nodding across the room. “Still with Lennon.”
I can tell the exact moment that he sees me because his mouth literally drops open in surprise. I find myself laughing at his reaction, and then he laughs, too, his eyes still on mine, and then we reach the spot where he’s standing, and he’s pulling me into a hug.
“I didn’t think I would see you here,” he whispers against my ear.
“You took the words out of my mouth.”
As he releases me, I see that Daisy is watching me with a confused look on her face, but then Levi is pulling her into a hug. I would have imagined it would be awkward, the two of them meeting again, but somehow Levi makes it seem natural, like she’s j
ust an old friend he hasn’t seen in a while. Paige is gaping at them as they embrace. I wonder if she can read the tightness in his eyes, the only hint that this encounter is difficult for him.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Daisy tells him as he pulls away. “Really, Levi,”
He looks around the palatial house, that old Levi grin on his face. “Me too. These digs are a far cry from where I’ve been spending my time.”
Our eyes meet again, and he gives me a micro-wink before turning to hug Paige.
“What about me?” Lennon asks, scowling. “No one is even going to say hello?”
“I just saw you, silly,” Paige says, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
“How’s it going, Len?” I ask, hugging him.
“Good to see you, Karen. I was happy when Paige told me you were going to be working on the tour.” He slaps Levi’s back. “Looks like you have someone to help sell merch. You two made a good team last time.”
I feel the blush creeping up my neck when I catch Levi watching me. Suddenly, I wish I had found a way to tell Paige about our hook up. I have a feeling it’s going to be a much harder secret to keep now that he’s not hundreds of miles away.
“There’s Sam,” Daisy says, spotting someone through the crowd. My shoulders tense slightly at the sound of her name. “I’m going to go say hello.”
“I’ll go with,” Paige says, turning to look at me questioningly.
“I’ll catch up in a minute,” I say, hoping she doesn’t press it and breathing a sigh of relief when she follows Daisy though the crowd.
“Lennon?” Mr. Ransome appears over his son’s shoulder. “That reporter from Entertainment Weekly is here. Can you come over?”
“Duty calls,” Lennon mutters before turning to Levi. “You okay here?”
Levi raises his eyebrows. “I’m a big boy, Len. You don’t have to babysit me all night.”
“Whatever. Keep him out of trouble, Karen. Especially the kind that starts with D and ends with altrey.”
We stand in silence for a moment, watching him go, before Levi turns to me. “So, who is Sam, and why did her name make you visibly cringe.”
“I didn’t cringe!” I protest, but his eyebrows go up knowingly, and I sigh. “Fine, maybe I cringed a little. But it’s not her fault—Paige says Sam is a really nice girl. And she’s dating Cash.”
“Ah, yes.” Levi nods. “Len told me that he had a girlfriend. I still can’t believe it.”
“You and me both.”
He’s still watching me with that knowing look. “And you cringed because…”
To my great relief, a waiter passes with a tray of champagne and I grab one, downing most of it in one gulp. “Ooh,” Levi murmurs, sounding amused. “This is a need-a-drink-to-tell kind of story.”
“It’s not really a big deal. There was just…” I sigh, moving to run my hand through my hair before I realize that I put it up. “When she and Cash were getting together, he kind of freaked out.”
“Big surprise.”
“Right? Anyhow, he wanted to push her away, I guess, so he waited until he knew she was watching and started flirting with me. He, you know, kissed me and stuff. Just to piss her off.”
Levi swears. “That’s fucked up.”
“It’s really not a big deal. He was just being stupid. She forgave him—”
“I wasn’t really worried about her,” he says, still sounding angry.
“Oh. Well. I’m fine. He apologized right away. It was just a stupid mistake.”
Without warning, his fingers come out and brush across my bare shoulder. “It was obviously a big deal. It made you feel shitty.”
I have to look away, but I nod. “It’s hard not to feel a little slutty when you’re the girl a guy chooses to come onto to prove a point.” I manage to meet his eyes again, and I smile weakly. “And it’s particularly nice when it’s a guy you’ve crushed on in the past.”
“In the past?” Is that doubt in his voice?
“In the past.”
“I always wondered if it might have been more than a crush, to be honest.”
I face him. “I’m not going to pretend we didn’t have a spark. But it never went farther than that. We flirted on and off, but we never really connected. And once I had a front-row view of his groupie carousel, the appeal wore off pretty quickly.”
Levi nods. “I take it this thing with Sam was after, uh, the winter?”
I nod. “Spring Break. Lennon’s birthday.”
His gaze on me is steady as he leans in a little closer. I shiver at the nearness. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Karen.”
I want to laugh it off, say something self-deprecating, make it into a joke. But this is Levi. And like it or not, I let him see a part of me back in the mountains that I usually keep hidden. There’s not really much point trying to hide now. “Thanks,” I mumble instead before downing the rest of the champagne.
“So,” I say, looking up at him. “What in the hell are you doing here?”
He laughs, and I’m glad the dark moment has passed. “Surprised?”
“Majorly.”
“I guess I didn’t give you the impression I had much intention of coming back.”
“No. In fact, you gave me the exact opposite impression. I didn’t think you’d ever even talk to these guys again.”
His eyes darken slightly, but then he’s smiling again. “Well, Lennon and I got to talking, and I felt a little bad for ditching them the way that I did. When he said he thought they could really use my help…” He shrugs. “I decided to go for it.”
I narrow my eyes, trying to read his face. He just decided to go for it? What in the hell could have changed so drastically between January and that conversation? There’s a tightness to his eyes, similar to what I noticed when he was hugging Daisy. He almost looks…worried.
“To tell the truth,” he says, shooting me a sheepish grin as the tightness fades. “I probably have you to thank.”
“How’s that?”
“Well, seeing the lodge—and my job—through your eyes made it tougher to pretend it was all okay.”
He’s still smiling in that abashed sort of way, but his eyes are dark with sincerity. I swallow, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the emotion there. “I’m glad.”
He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just watches me. “I’m glad too.”
Where in the hell is that waiter? I could really use a fresh drink in my hand right now. There’s a strange intensity between us, and I don’t really know why. But every time he looks at me with those darkened eyes, it’s hard not to remember the way he looked when he kissed me.
“I take it you haven’t told Paige,” he says as if reading my mind.
“No. Did you tell Lennon?”
“No.” He winks. “I guess it’s just between us.”
“What’s just between you?” Reed asks, coming up behind us.
“What an asshole you look like in that jacket,” Levi says smoothly, and Reed laughs, grabbing his friend in a hug. “I’m glad you’re back, man.”
Levi nods, blinking a few times, and I wonder if Reed can tell how emotional he is about this reunion. From the look on his face, I think Reed might be feeling the same way. “Seriously,” he goes on in a lowered voice, his hand on Levi’s shoulder. “Hasn’t been the same without you.”
“Thanks.”
“So, have you talked to him yet?” When Levi shakes his head, Reed nods as if he was expecting that answer. “Want me to come with you?”
Levi rolls his eyes. “I’m a grown man, dude, I think I can handle it.”
“You’re actually not the one I’m worried about.” His eyes flick across the room, and I see Daltrey standing there, talking to Daisy, Cash, Sam, and Paige. “Come on. Might as well get it over with. And it will probably be easier in a crowd.”
“Yeah, he can’t try to kill me in a crowd,” Levi mutters, but it’s soft enough that I’m not sure Reed hears him.
As w
e follow the oldest Ransome brother across the room, a quick glance at Levi’s face tells me that he’s not looking forward to this at all. Without thinking, I reach over and grab his hand, squeezing it tightly. He looks down at me, surprised, and smiles. “Thanks.”
I release his hand as we approach the others, but it seems to have done the trick. Levi looks calm again, though his eyes are still tight. “Levi,” Cash yells, spilling his beer as he grabs the taller man in a hug. “I can’t believe this, dude! You’re here!”
Levi laughs, slapping Cash on the back. “Good to see you.”
“It’s fucking awesome to see you,” Cash says, his voice sincere. Paige told me he was seeing a therapist to help him deal with his issues, and I wonder if this welcome is the sign of a more emotionally mature Cash or if it’s just the effect of his beer. “Man, you have to meet Sam.” The look of pride on his face as he turns to his girlfriend makes my chest ache. Has anyone ever looked at me like that? The feeling is compounded by the fact that Sam is shooting glances in my direction that are too quick for me to read. “This is Samantha.”
“Hey,” Levi says, holding out his hand. “I’m Levi, it’s really nice to meet you.”
“I’ve heard so much about you,” she says, shaking his hand.
“Likewise.” He shoots an amused glance at Cash who laughs.
“I know, you’re shocked. Cash has a girlfriend.”
Again Sam shoots me a glance, and I feel myself bristle. “Sam, do you know Karen?” Levi asks, gesturing at me, and I glare at him.
“I don’t think we officially met,” she says softly, holding out her hand. “Through no fault of our own.” She meets my eyes, and there’s no anger there, no judgment. She looks almost worried about me. Somehow, the fact that she’s clearly a good person has me feeling even worse. Of course that’s who Cash would finally fall for.
“It’s nice to meet you officially,” I tell her, managing to smile.
Relent Page 8
