Studying his phone, he quirks an eyebrow. “You gave me your number.”
“Yeah.” I frown. “So?”
“You told me before that only Jax had it. I thought I was going to have to work a lot harder than that.” He winks and pockets his phone.
I roll my eyes and push the door open. “Just don’t abuse it.”
“Later,” he says.
“Later.” I slam his door shut, wondering what exactly later means. Later tonight? Later in the week? Or just a random later, as in, see you when I see you? Probably the random one. I sigh, realizing I want it to be later tonight. But I’d sooner volunteer to stay at Mom’s house for a week, enduring her incessant Cadan talk, than tell Seth that.
I hurry back into the coffee shop to get out of the wind and order myself a replacement latte for the one I’d left at Jax’s house. With a coffee cake and latte in hand, I hurry off to my car, ready to get home and curl up in front of the fireplace.
Buckled in, my latte in the cup holder, I rub my frozen hands together and rush to start the car. Nothing. I turn the key again. The car is completely dead.
“Shit!” I grab my latte, my phone, and the jacket I’d left on the passenger’s seat, then head back into the coffee house to call Triple A.
An hour later, a man with his belly pushing his pants down shows up in a tow truck. He determines it’s not the battery and speculates it’s an electrical problem. “Need a ride somewhere?” he asks.
His truck is full of so much debris, I wonder how he even sits in it. I shake my head. “No, thanks. I’ve got it covered.”
He nods and carts my car off to the nearest repair shop in Fort Bragg.
I stand on the street, staring at my phone. I could call Jax. Even though we had a fight, she’d come get me. But she has a nasty hangover, and I’m not certain she can drive without vomiting.
There’s Marty, Jax’s brother, but he’s likely at work. Everyone else I know is either at work or has moved away. There are the guys from the band. I have Mike’s number. Or I could call Seth.
My finger hovers over Mike’s name. I hit Seth’s instead.
He answers on the second ring. “Miss me already?”
“Why yes,” I say. “I’m soaking in my hot tub and thought, who can I call who would make this experience that much more enjoyable?”
There’s a moment of silence, then he clears his throat. “Is this an invitation?”
“What do you think?”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Great,” I say smiling. “Pick me up at the coffee shop on your way.”
“Uh, what?”
“Oh, I meant I was wishing I was sitting in the hot tub. Really, I’m at the coffee house trying to figure out how to get home. My car died. But since you’re clearly not busy, maybe you wouldn’t mind giving me a ride?”
He laughs. “You could’ve just asked without all the buildup, though I am enjoying the visual of you naked in that hot tub.”
“Who said I was naked?”
“Oh. I guess I filled that part in myself.”
I shake my head. “So, do you have a few minutes to run me home?”
“Yeah, but I warn you, I don’t have my swim trunks, so if you want to use that hot tub, I’m going to have to go commando.”
“Oops. I guess this is a bad time to tell you I lied about the hot tub.”
“It doesn’t exist?” There’s mock horror in his tone.
“Nope.”
“Fuck.”
“Sorry,” I say. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“I like the sound of that.” Someone calls his name in the background. “Hold on, Luce.”
I go back inside and order him a latte while I wait. If he’s coming to get me, it’s the least I can do.
“You there?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Okay, I’ve got a walk-in. Head over to the tattoo shop and when I’m done, I’ll get you home.”
“Sounds good. And, Seth?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
With coffee in hand, I head up the street to wait for him. The Tattoo Shoppe is in a nondescript building with only the neon sign to distinguish it from the real estate building next door. Inside, the place is spotless and artwork covers three walls. The front is a wall of windows.
“Can I help you?” a pink-haired woman with three eyebrow rings asks.
“Hi, I’m here for Seth.”
She glances over her shoulder. “He’s with a client. You’re welcome to wait over there.” She waves toward the four hard plastic chairs near the front door.
“Tish!” Mike stands up and glances at me. “That’s Lucy. Send her back.”
She gives me a dirty look. “She’s fine where she is.”
“Tisha, goddammit. Stop being a bitch.” Mike walks over to me. “Hey, don’t mind her. She hates everyone, especially those who have a thing with Seth.” He winks and nods toward the workstations behind the reception desk. “Come on back.”
“A thing with Seth?” I ask.
Mike laughs. “We heard his end of your phone call.”
“Shit.”
“Eh, he’s a good guy, even if he tries to tell you otherwise.” He waves me toward a padded drafting chair. “Take a seat.”
Seth waves from his station across the room. He’s busy working on a woman who appears to be my mother’s age. She’s getting an ankle bracelet tattoo.
“Hey, Lucy,” Mike says as he pulls up a chair next to me. “Nice set last night.”
Pleasure winds through me. “Thanks. It was fun.”
“Yeah, until Kinx showed up.” He snarls. “What an ass.”
I automatically start to apologize for whatever he did, but stop myself just in time and scowl. “What did he do this time?”
Mike gives me a look of respect. “Can’t say I blame you for ditching him. After he realized you’d left, he kept demanding we tell him where you went. He got super pissed when we told him we had no idea. He was a real dick, and then he and his entourage took the stage and spent the rest of the night playing his new songs for the crowd. The worst part is they loved them.”
My heart starts to pound and I’m convinced I’m going to have a heart attack. “New songs?”
“He said they were for his new album. He dedicated one to you.”
An ache forms in my stomach. I don’t want to ask, but I have to know. “Which one?”
Mike scratches his chin as he tries to remember. “Hmm, not sure what it was called. But it was a ballad. Slow and soulful. Damn, Lucy, it was good, but it would be fucking awesome if you sang it.”
The tears sting the back of my eyes and I blink hard. “‘Alone in the Dark’?”
“Yeah, you know it? I mean, I can’t stand that guy, but that song…” He shakes his head. “The lyrics, man, they’re something else.”
“Yeah, I know it.” Pain bursts in the middle of my chest. My heart is breaking, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
“Lucy? You okay?” Mike asks.
I shake my head. “Sorry.” My cheeks are wet with tears now, and I angrily wipe them with the back of my hand. “I didn’t mean to—”
“No. Damn, I’m an idiot. Hearing about your ex has to be hard. Especially…” He’s uncomfortable. No one ever wants to talk about soul mates when things go bad.
Seth stares at me from across the room, his tattoo gun clutched in his hand. I force a smile to let him know I’m okay. After taking a moment to just breathe, I turn to Mike.
“Dude. I’m sorry,” he says.
“No, don’t be. It’s not Cadan I’m upset about.” I let out a hollow laugh. “Well, it is, but not for the reason you think. I’ve come to terms with our break. It’s what I need and I’m better for it. This—” I wave to
my face, knowing I must be splotchy with the effort to stop crying. “This is because that song, ‘Alone in the Dark,’ it’s mine. I wrote that about my dad right after he passed.” My voice breaks, and I clear my throat. “It’s about Dad, and Cadan stole it from me.”
Mike stands up, knocking his chair over in the process. “Are you fucking kidding me? What do you mean he stole it?”
I clutch my hands in my lap. “He told the record company he wrote it, and I don’t have any way to prove he’s lying. It’s further complicated by the fact we’re both under contract, and I bailed. The record company isn’t interested in what I have to say. If I fight, they’ll sue me for breach of contract.”
By now Seth is done with the tattoo he was working on and is standing beside me, a murderous expression on his face. “He stole the song you wrote for your dad? Did I hear that right?”
I nod and stand because with both of them hovering over me, it makes me too vulnerable. “Yes. Now you know why I left.” I can’t stand the way they’re both looking at me. It’s worse than when people find out about the cheating. The pity, the horror that the person who was my soul mate had taken something so personal, was too much for them to process. “He’s a selfish bastard who only thinks about what’s best for him. It’s over.”
Mike eyes me with skepticism, but Seth’s expression clears and he says, “Good. Then there’s nothing stopping me from taking you out tonight. Ready?”
“A date?” I give him my you’ve-lost-your-mind look. “I just want to go home, take a long hot bath, and curl up by the fire.”
“Sounds like the perfect date to me,” Mike says with a wicked smile.
“What?” Then heat floods my face as I realize what I said. “Oh, shut up.”
Seth laughs. “Sounds kind of girly to me. I was thinking more like shots and a hot tub, but your way will work.”
I roll my eyes, my mood lifted by their easy banter. “Are you available to take me home now?”
Seth glances to Tish, who is sending me death glares. “When’s my next appointment?”
She casts a bored glance at the appointment book, and without looking back at him, she says, “An hour.”
“Thank you, Tish,” he says dryly and then puts an arm around me. “Let’s go.”
I pick up the latte and hand it to him. “This is your thank-you present.”
He takes it and smiles down at me. “That’s very sweet, but I can think of a variety of other ways I’d prefer—”
“Stop,” I say and turn to Mike. “We do not have something going. Don’t pay attention to anything he says.”
“Sure.” Mike raises his eyebrows at Seth, clearly not believing me. “I saw nothing, heard nothing.”
Seth just grins.
I shake my head and take off for the door, Seth a half step behind me.
Once back in his truck, he turns and says, “Where to?”
“Head south on 1. It’s about ten miles.”
He still hasn’t started the truck. “Ten miles on 1?” His tone is hesitant, sort of cautious.
“Is that okay? I can pay for the gas.” Highway 1 to the south is pretty windy. The speed limit fluctuates from fifteen miles per hour on up to fifty-five. Ten miles can take up to a half hour depending on traffic.
He starts the truck but doesn’t put it in gear.
“Seth?”
“Hmm?” He turns and catches me staring at him. “Oh. No, I don’t want any money. It’s fine. Sorry, I just remembered something I was supposed to take care of.”
“I can find someone else. Jax or maybe Marty.”
“No,” he says with finality and puts the truck in gear. “Jax needs to recover and Marty… forget about him. You don’t need to deal with his shit today.”
“Okay,” I say cautiously. Marty isn’t exactly my favorite person, but that’s only because I’ve known him since I was five and after all these years, I still haven’t heard him say one decent word to Jax. “Bad blood between you and Marty?”
He starts backing out of the space. “Something like that.” His mood has done a complete one-eighty. He’s gone from the sexy, innuendo-slinging flirt to the closed-off, noncommunicative male in sixty seconds flat.
He’s silent for most of the ride toward my house, not even acknowledging me when I point out we’re about a mile away. Was it something I said? The length of the drive? Had I asked too much?
“Seth, is something bothering you?” I finally ask.
At my question, he seems to make a concerted effort to relax his shoulders. The tension in his face melts away as he turns to me. “No. Nothing to worry about.”
I want to ask what’s going on, but we just met last night and I don’t want to pry. It’s odd, though. I feel as though I’ve known him forever. Maybe it’s the combination of sharing his bed and him now knowing about Cadan. Or maybe just because he’s been so nice to me, and I’m not exactly used to that. “It’s the gray house on the right,” I say.
He nods and pulls over in front of the closed wooden gate, letting the truck idle.
“Thank you so much. I owe you one,” I say as I climb out.
He shakes his head, subdued. All traces of the easygoing guy I’d spent the day with are gone. “No, you don’t. I’m just happy you’re home safe. Have a good night, Lucy.”
“You too.”
He nods and pulls out onto the empty highway, doing a U-turn to head back into town.
I watch him go, still puzzled as to what happened. Had his one-night stand walls finally slid into place? Sadness washes over me. He’s the first person, besides Jax, that I’d truly felt comfortable with in a very long time. Maybe I can still convince him we can be good friends.
When his red truck finally disappears into the distance, I open the unlocked gate and slip inside. From the front of the house, there’s a peek of the ocean, and I just stand there for a few moments, staring out into the vast greatness of the churning water and wishing Seth had stayed. I know he had to go back to work, but I don’t want to be alone tonight.
A shiver creeps up on me and out of the blue I get the feeling I’m not alone. I freeze and glance around. Then panic takes over and I start to shake.
Right there on my front step is Cadan.
Chapter Fourteen
Lucy
Cadan’s leaning against the lamppost, clearly waiting for me to notice him.
No! Dammit.
I steel myself. “I thought you left. Don’t you have a show to put on?” My words come out clipped, full of anger.
He studies me, his sandy hair blowing in the breeze, and he looks so fucking perfect, like one of those metrosexual fashion models. Then he steps off the stoop and moves toward me.
I take a step back.
“Whoa,” he says softly. “Don’t run. Not now.”
My hands ball into fists. “I’m not running. I’m just trying to stay away from you.”
Hurt crosses over his face as he frowns at me. “Luce. Don’t do this. Babe, we need to talk.”
“We don’t.” I pull the house keys out of my pocket and make a move to slip past him, but he cuts me off, blocking my way.
“You can’t keep shutting me out.”
Rage bursts forward in my chest, and before I can stop myself, I throw my hands out, knocking him backward. “I can do whatever the hell I want to. You forfeited the right to have any say in how I behave the day you stole Dad’s song!”
He stumbles back, almost losing his balance, but recovers easily enough. His eyes widen with sudden understanding. “Is that what all this is about? The song?”
I let out a frustrated growl. “You self-centered bastard. You know what that song means to me, and you sold it to the record company without even asking me. You recorded it. It’s on the fucking radio now. It was mine. And you took it.” Tears spring to my eyes,
but for once it’s because I’m so incredibly angry. Not heartbroken.
His mouth drops open. Then he closes it. I can tell he’s working to come up with something to appease me, but it’s not going to work.
“Go back to whatever hotel you’re calling home these days, Cadan. I don’t want you here.” This time I manage to push past him. I almost have the door open when his arms snake around me from behind. I still and it takes all my effort to not jam my elbow into his stomach. “Step back.”
“Lucy,” he whispers in my ear. “I’m so sorry, baby. I only took that song to the label because it’s so good. I wanted you to sing it on the track, but then I messed up and you left. I own that. I know this is my fault. Let me make it up to you.”
The words sound just like every other apology he’s ever given me. I can’t believe I’ve fallen for his bullshit a hundred times before. Not this time. He’s gone too far. “You took the song because the label was pressuring you for new material, and you didn’t have any of your own. How else do you explain your name on the credits?” I twist out of his arms, glaring at him.
He holds his hands up in surrender. “They just assumed. I never said it was written by me.”
“Everything is always someone else’s fault,” I yell at the top of my lungs. “I’m not going to forgive you for this. Not now. Not ever. Leave, Cadan. I don’t want you here.”
He actually takes a step back, shocked at my outburst. I’m not a yeller. I also don’t make a lot of waves, which may be part of the reason we’ve reached this point. Standing up for myself hasn’t exactly been my strong point.
“Lucy,” he says softly. “Listen. I know you’re upset. I get it. I didn’t before, but I hear you loud and clear. Let me make it up to you.”
I let out a huff of frustration. “You can’t. Just go,” I say, calmer now. “Please. I need this time to myself.”
Cadan’s eyes narrow. “To yourself? Really? Is that why you left with that guy last night? And why you didn’t come home? I know you weren’t with Jax.”
He can’t know for sure, but I was gone for hours while Jax was still at the bar, drunk as hell. He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “What happened?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Rockers After Dark: 6 Book Bundle of Sexy Musicians Page 11
