“Fun?” Tyler frowned.
He must not be used to being regarded as fun. The physical reaction was obvious since he was still naked from the shower.
“Yeah. You were always great in the sack and you’ve learned a lot since we were in high school.” He better have, with all the tutors he’d had. Candy jammed her leg into her pants and heard a seam rip. Better and better. Pulling on her blouse more carefully, she settled it on her shoulders before buttoning it up. “Are you gonna get dressed so you can drive me to the office so I can get my car or should I call a cab?”
“I’ll drive you.” He opened a dresser drawer and pulled out a t-shirt, which he yanked on while locating underwear and jeans. “Ready when you are.”
“Look, I want to thank you for last night.” Candy started for the garage. “I really needed to get Frankie out of my system.”
“Frankie?”
“I’m getting a little older and it was nice to have a younger man like him around. It stung getting dumped by him.”
“He threw you into an end table.”
“True, but it was nice to have a younger man attracted to me, and now he isn’t.” She pulled open the car door. Her bag was spilled all over the passenger-side floor. Her phone showed a message from her assistant, Sarina and forty-seven missed calls. Crap. She was only out of touch for a couple of hours. What could have happened in a couple of hours? The universe was punishing her for hooking up with Tyler. She opened Sarina’s message.
Stella dumped Jason in People.
Candy’s gut clenched. Her own little disgrace shrank to a pinpoint on the horizon in the face of this oncoming train. “Stella dumped Jason in People.”
“What?” Tyler was already in the driver’s seat starting the car.
“Stella dumped Jason in People. We need to stop at the nearest drug store so I can get a copy of People magazine.”
“Don’t you have that delivered to your office?”
“I need one now.” Candy called her assistant. “Sarina, what’s going on?”
“People has a spread on celebrity couples. Stella and Jason are in a sidebar titled So Over.”
“Oh no. How are they even considered a celebrity couple? She’s not a celebrity. She’s barely a model.”
“The phone has been going bananas since yesterday afternoon when it started showing up in people’s mailboxes, but I couldn’t get hold of you.”
“I was busy.” Busy screwing my ex-boyfriend. Genius. “It’s a little late to do much in the way of damage control. You haven’t heard from Jason?”
“He did the interview in Phoenix and the one in Atlanta and he sounded good.”
“But he’s got Howard Stern tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“But does he?”
“Anybody’s ballgame.”
“Super.”
Tyler pulled into a CVS and parked. “You wait in the car. I’ll go get the magazine.”
Candy could have kissed him. “Okay, have you tried to get Jason?”
“No answer. Not on his cell and not at the New York apartment, but he’s there. I called that liquor store in his neighborhood and they made a delivery to him late last night.”
“Awesome. Book me a flight to New York as soon as possible. Do you think you can handle Glinda?”
“Handle Glinda?” Candy imagined Sarina going pale through the phone.
“Yes, handle Glinda. Meet her at Tanya’s boutique on Rodeo and tell her I had an emergency and had to go to New York to make sure a client didn’t go on national radio drunk.”
“But what am I supposed to do?”
“Make sure Glinda doesn’t end up wearing something Joan Rivers can get catty about. Either that or make sure she ends up in something so outrageous Joan Rivers will have no choice but to get catty about, whatever you’re feeling at the moment.”
“But Candy—”
“You have great taste and good instincts. She’s in a superhero movie so it could go either way. Make sure she knows if she goes wild, she needs to be able to sell it. If she goes on national television wearing fishnet stockings and an embroidered handkerchief and isn’t feeling it, she’ll be a laughing stock. If she is, everybody will talk about how liberated she is. And Amanda will be there to help. Whatever Glinda tries on, watch her body language.”
Tyler climbed back into the car and handed her the magazine open to the side bar. A photo of Jason and Stella walking hand-in-hand had been artfully torn.
“And I need you to call Sam at People. He should have warned me this was coming.”
“I can do that.”
“You can do all of it. Now get on it. Call me back with my flight information.” Candy hung up still studying the picture. Unbe-freakin’-lievable. No wonder she’d been getting calls. “This is a disaster.”
“Tell me about it. You don’t have to be trapped on a bus with him all summer long.”
“I shouldn’t have been out of the loop all afternoon, yesterday.”
“You can’t be on call all the time.”
“But Jason is probably devastated. He really seemed to like Stella, though God knows why. The woman was a harpy.” She reached for her phone still staring at the magazine. “Maybe Sandy knows something. Or Tessa.”
“Can you do that in a minute?” Tyler plucked her phone out of her fingers. “I need to talk to you.”
“Let me call Tessa first.”
“I need to talk to you about last night.”
“It was just sex. What’s there to talk about? I have a crisis to handle right now.”
“Can you stop worrying about Jason for five fucking minutes?” Tyler shouted.
Candy frowned. “What is wrong with you? Don’t worry about me making more out of last night than it was. I know how you feel about serious relationships and I’m not trying to force the issue, am I? It’s not like you haven’t made yourself clear.”
“What do you mean?”
“Tyler, the last time you had any kind of serious relationship was with me and we broke up because it was too serious for you. Since then you’ve dated or lived with two dozen women and had sex with legions more.”
“Not legions.” Tyler turned into the parking lot. Her car was the only one there.
“Whatever. You have never had a relationship last more than three months. I get it. You don’t want to be tied down. I got over it a long time ago.” I hope. Otherwise, as soon as this thing with Jason was under control, she was going to be getting her own deliveries from the liquor store, which would get Ronnie involved again because he had way too many friends in AA and NA. She’d have to hear the story of the night he was at a party at Paul McCartney’s house with Keith Moon when Keith said he wanted to go home because he wasn’t feeling well and died. Good times.
“Candy—”
Candy put her finger over his lips. “You have a soft heart. I know. I really do. You don’t want me to be hurt. I’m trying to tell you, I’m not. I really needed a vigorous shag to get Frankie out of my system and you did that, but I don’t expect anything more out of you. Thank you.” She kissed him and when she leaned away he looked dazed. Probably relief. “I’ve got to go. There’s this fire I need to put out. I’ll call you when I get back in town. Okay? Damn, I’m starving and there’s no time to grab breakfast.”
She hopped out of the car. On the way to her own her phone started ringing. At least she had something to distract her from her personal mess. “Hello Sarina, what’s going on?”
* * * *
Tyler watched her walk across the parking lot, talking on the phone, not sure if he should be devastated that she was walking away or relieved. He was sort of trapped in the demilitarized zone between Hail Mary land and What-the-fuck-atania.
She was everything he ever wanted in a woman. Smart, fun, serious, capable, strong.
She was more than he needed. Demanding, overbearing.
Hot. That went both ways. She�
�d always been hot, but now she’d added numbers to her thermostat.
If she got her way, she’d be the first woman he ever fucked and the last. Groupies might be boring, but they were more plentiful than McDonald’s. If the last one didn’t satisfy, there would be another one around the corner.
Maybe this thing with Jason was a sign. Jason had been pretty serious about Stella all through the last tour. At the time it had meant more for the rest of them. Now it looked as if he’d wasted a lot of emotion on a woman who walked away from him.
If he got serious like that with Candy again, and she walked away, the results could be devastating. She was their publicist, which meant the band would be pissed at him. Add to that, she was in tight with Ronnie—the one who ultimately held their recording contract—who was out there playing her enforcer.
Tyler felt himself drifting toward Hail Mary land. Candy was too hot to handle. She wanted, needed, and demanded way too much and the cost of disappointing her was too high. He put the car in gear wondering if any of the bars on Sunset served breakfast. He needed to get together a party and the sooner the better.
* * * *
“Aren’t you Tyler Franklin?”
Tyler looked up from his glass. The party he needed hadn’t materialized. Probably because he’d spent all day sulking at home and fielding calls from everybody else wanting to gossip about Jason. It had helped to keep him from thinking about Candy. A couple of girls made their way by his secluded booth, but he couldn’t summon the interest to even be charming enough to keep them around.
This guy didn’t seem to need him to be charming or even paying attention. He slid into the booth. “Awesome. Did you come to see us play?”
Tyler studied the man. He could hear Candy’s analysis in the back of his head. His blond hair was dry and weedy and needed shaping. He was wretchedly thin and needed a trainer or he’d never have the stamina to get through a tour. Skin care, clothes. He had the attitude though. This guy was exactly Candy’s type. Maybe he should introduce them.
“I’m Brett Cherney. What did you think of the show?”
Where his booth was situated, he hadn’t seen a thing. The audience liked it though. “You sounded great.”
“Wow, thanks. That means a lot. We’ve had some interest from a couple of labels.”
“Good. Make sure you get a good lawyer.”
“Anybody you can recommend?”
“Call our office and talk to Tessa. See if she’ll do some freelance.”
“Tessa, right.” Brett wrote the name on his hand. “You want another drink or something?” He stood up and waved. “Hey! Duke! Over here!”
Super, he was going to get that party whether he wanted it or not.
A dark-haired guy came over with a drink and sat down. “Nice find. Good to meet you.”
Tyler looked at him. He knew what Candy would say about him too. “Women suck.”
“No argument there.” Duke reared back, shaking his head. He and Brett exchanged a look. “You know what the cure for that is.”
“More women.” Brett grinned.
* * * *
Tanya curled up on the couch bathed in the blinking lights of the Christmas tree. “Okay, you need to start at the top because this is like the world’s most fabulous soap opera and this past year’s episodes were excellent.”
“Very funny. You’re not living it.” Candy combed knots out of the throw’s fringe with her fingers.
“Dad said you were bleeding when you showed up here.” Ricky was sitting on the floor in jeans and no shirt. He was such a good-looking guy. Why couldn’t she fall for him? Nice, attractive, serially monogamous.
“I swear we got into a fight and I tripped into the end table. You know how head wounds bleed.”
“The guy’s a prick.”
“It’s not like I’m going to argue.”
“Exactly, so drop it.” Tanya shoved aside her teacup. “And what about Jason and Stella? I always hated her. She told me I needed to use her for my shows and I told her she needed to get a personality implant. She actually dumped him in People?”
“He said he had no idea it was coming. He picked up the magazine on his flight from Atlanta to New York. He expected to see her there. Fortunately, he managed to get a win out of Stern with it.”
“He was very cool about the whole thing.” Ricky studied the ice melting in his glass. “I loved the comment about switching from wire hangers to something with more shape.”
“No more wire hangers,” Tanya quoted.
Candy laughed. “That was genius. But he was such a total asshole all through the tour that they’re thinking about shipping him off someplace to get his head together. Sandy’s cousin stayed at some campground in West Virginia. The cabins are supposed to be nice and it should keep him out of trouble.”
“This is Jason.” Tanya smirked.
“I heard Bear punched him.” Ricky rested his chin on his fist.
“I thought Bear poured a Coke over his head and Tyler punched him. Either way he really was being an asshole and probably deserved it.”
“And what happened with Bear?”
“He met this school teacher while he was visiting home and almost made her lose her job on some kind of morality thing.”
“Teachers can be fired on morality grounds?” Ricky asked. “That sounds so eighteenth century.”
“I don’t know. According to Maureen, they weren’t trying to get her on morality, but that was behind it. They didn’t like her dating a rock star. The lawsuit drags on. They’re getting married next summer.”
“That’s so sweet. What about Marc?”
“Marc had no really significant issues this year. He’s like a duck. Everything rolls off his back.”
“Is Brian still married to his harpy?”
“I don’t know what is going on in Brian’s head. He always said he wanted to play the field forever, but he married Bonnie at the drop of a hat.”
“She was pregnant,” Tanya pointed out.
“Like that mattered. They could have shared custody. He didn’t need to marry her and he doesn’t need to stay married to her. I think he’s still mooning after Tessa and he’s wearing Bonnie like a hair shirt.”
“A what?” Tanya asked. “What’s a hair shirt?”
“It’s a punishment.” Ricky waved his hand at his sister. “They used to do it in the Middle Ages as a penance. This is not something you’re going to be able to add to your fall line.”
“Funny.” Tanya slugged his shoulder. “And what about Tyler?”
“What about Tyler?” Ever since that night last winter when they slept together, he’d been cool and distant with her. She saw him in band meetings and there had been precious few of those. Over the summer, Sandy had had a party to vet Bear’s new woman, but she’d skipped it because she hadn’t had the courage to face Tyler in a social situation because she was afraid she’d screw up again.
“What’s he been up to?”
“I’m told he’s been hanging around with some of the local bands and partying a lot. He’s Tyler. Mr. Nothing But a Good Time.”
“Uh huh.” Tanya stood up and stretched. “And on that note, I’m going to bed. Good night and Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” Candy and Ricky said.
Candy stared into her drink. She’d managed about as much as Ricky had. Sandy had had a Christmas party, but she could swear Tyler had been avoiding her. He’d brought a bimbo with him. An honest to God cocktail waitress. The woman had been nice enough but knew she was out of her league. She’d been more fun to talk to than Bonnie who had spent the evening dropping hints about what she wanted for Christmas. Candy doubted she was happy with the wonderful family vacation in Thailand Brian had arranged.
“Are you comfortable here, Candy?” Ricky asked.
“Comfortable?”
“In Dad’s house.”
Candy laughed. “I’ve been here for alm
ost a year now and every time I bring up looking for a place of my own, your dad comes up with a list of reasons why I shouldn’t.”
“Dad’s spoiled. He always gets his way. That doesn’t mean you’re happy.”
“I’m happy.” This was happy, wasn’t it? She had a challenging job working for herself doing something she loved. She lived in the lap of luxury for free. Tanya gave her beautiful clothes. She ate at the best restaurants. What was not to be happy about?
“You haven’t dated anybody since you broke up with Frankie and it’s not like nobody’s asked.”
Candy shrugged. “I haven’t been interested in any of them.”
Ricky crossed the room and sat down beside her. He brushed her hair off her face.
“Ricky.” Men hated getting the like-a-brother-to-me line, and he was going to force it out of her.
“No, it’s not that. I don’t feel that way about you either.”
“How do you know I don’t feel that way about you?”
He cocked his head. “You eat breakfast every morning in an old T-shirt before you’ve brushed your hair or your teeth. Not attractive.”
“You’re a jerk.”
“And you call me a jerk every chance you get.” He mussed her hair. “But you know you’re beautiful, right?”
“I don’t know. I guess.”
“You are, and if I didn’t watch you eat breakfast every morning in a tattered Cleveland Indians T-shirt, I might even think you were hot myself.” He kissed her forehead. “I pay attention to women. I’ve been watching them since I was a kid because Dad went through so many. Some women want to have fun. Some women want to settle down. Tessa and Tanya are party girls. You want to settle down. You have to find your guy and settle down with him.”
“What if I found my guy and he didn’t want to settle down with me?”
“He’s an idiot. Find another one.”
Keep Coming Back to Love Page 15
