Thinking about him had never been painful, even after he became the name on every girl’s lips. He was a happy memory, nothing more. Now if she could just convince Jasmine to leave him there.
~*~
Chaz ran a towel over his head, tossing it in a corner of his room before padding out to the living room in his sweatpants, where he found Joey sitting on the sofa with his feet on the coffee table. “Dude, this isn’t your apartment.”
“Huh?”
Pointing to Joey’s feet, Chaz twisted his lips into a wry grin. “With what we’re paying for the villa, the least you could do is act like you grew up in a house, not a barn.”
“Whatever.” Joey dropped his feet to the floor. “Have you heard from Vanessa?”
“Yeah. She’s flying in tomorrow night.”
“Wow, keep your excitement under control.”
Chaz shrugged. “I save it for her. She needs the adulation.”
“She’s so many levels beyond high maintenance. I’d get exhausted just trying to keep her happy.”
“She’s happy without my help. Ease off her, man. I know you don’t like her, but she’s going to be my wife so she’s going to be around awhile.” He went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottled water before sitting in a chair that looked out onto the narrow bay. Joey had done a great job finding this place. It felt private while being close enough to the banquet hall to make it easy to slip away after the wedding.
He remembered seeing Kenzi jogging down the road. “You’ll never guess who’s on the island.”
“Who?” Joey didn’t even look up from his phone.
“Kenzi.”
“Really?” Joey smiled. “Please tell me she’s gone pale and plain after spending too many hours in front of a computer screen.”
Chaz’s mouth pulled to one side in a smile as he pictured her. Her hair was a shade lighter, blonder than ever, and looked as long as he remembered, in her ponytail. She had curves now. Nice ones, especially the fuller breasts. A waist that looked small enough to span with his hands. “Not hardly. If anything, she’s even hotter. She was out jogging with a couple of friends.”
“Jogging, huh? On St. Thomas? She’s the one you should be marrying.”
Chaz had considered it once, for all of a few minutes. He hadn’t been thinking marriage back then. Any hours he wasn’t supposed to be in a classroom, he and Joey had been writing songs and playing their guitars. In fact, a lot of the hours he should have been in class, he’d been doing that, too. And writing lyrics during a lecture or three. Some of his classmates had glared at him when he started humming a tune he wanted to remember.
Kenzi was the complete opposite. She took her books seriously, but she didn’t look down on him for being free-spirited. She admired his drive, she’d said. With his voice, his talent, she’d been sure he’d make it big. She’d encouraged him to audition for Star Launch and sat in the audience cheering when he made it through round after round.
He finished in second place, but it was enough to get him going. With Joey, Devin, Nate and Travis backing him, he’d never looked back. And when it was time to move to L.A., Kenzi had let him walk away.
That had stung. He’d weaned himself from her slowly, calling, texting, just needing her to celebrate with him. Then life got so wild he had a different girl in his bed with each album. Well, there’d been four albums and six girlfriends since Kenzi, including Vanessa.
Sometimes Vanessa pissed him off enough to make him think about how things had been with Kenzi, but it wasn’t in Vanessa’s makeup to just sit by and be supportive. She had her own career in the public eye. It was part of what made them work together as well as they did. Between them they were in a different state, a different country, each month. Reunions made for hot sex.
Joey continued with his train of thought, a track he’d hopped on when the wedding became imminent. “Kenzi wouldn’t have fucked around on you.”
Chaz gritted his teeth and counted to ten. “I’ve asked you to let that go.”
“I’m game, but is Vanessa? Have you seen the pictures of her and Harry hitting the clubs when shooting ends for the day?”
“When they finish shooting, she’s too wiped out to go clubbing.” At least, that’s what she said when she filmed in L.A. They only went to the popular spots when she was between movies and wanted to be sure no one forgot about her. He could care less about being seen. Having his songs get airplay was what mattered.
“Oh, right,” Joey continued. “I forgot those paparazzi guys Photoshop her picture on all those other girls Harry is sleeping with.”
“She apologized for that. We got past it. Why can’t you?”
Joey tossed his phone on the sofa. “I don’t know, man. You’re like a brother to me. You’ve got everything perfect in your life. I hate to see you throw it all away on Vanessa-fucking-Edwards.”
Chaz took another swig from his bottle. He’d convinced himself Vanessa was capable of monogamy, in spite of being the latest “it” girl cast opposite the guys who fought for Sexiest Man of the Year. He’d been a runner up for that title last year; maybe that would keep her happy for a while. “I love her.” He was telling Joey that, not himself. “And she loves me.”
“In her way, yeah.” Joey scratched his head, staring out the window. “You did get her to sign the prenup, though, right?”
“I’m in love, not brain dead.”
“Okay fine. Just checking.”
Chaz grabbed the soft pillow from behind him and threw it at Joey.
Joey laughed as he ducked behind raised arms. “Hey, we’re not in your apartment, remember? Act like you grew up.”
Chapter Two
The bar closest to the hotel was packed with young people, the music blaring loud enough to be heard down the street, just the way Kenzi liked it. She sipped her Hawaiian margarita and danced on her bar stool.
Jasmine pulled her curly hair back from her face and leaned closer to Kenzi to be heard over the music. “Wouldn’t it be cool if Chaz came here tonight?”
Kenzi shook her head, holding up a hand as she asked, “Why?”
“Don’t you want to see him? Maybe the band would come with him. Travis is so hot. I could do him.”
Bree, seated on Kenzi’s other side, laughed. “You could do half the guys in this room.”
Biting her cheek, Jasmine grinned. “Well, not all at the same time. I wouldn’t be able to walk for days!”
Kenzi’s laugh came out in a loud bubble. She loved her friends. Their ability to let loose and say whatever inappropriate thing crossed their minds helped bring her out of her shell. She spent way too much time trying to keep the nice-girl image intact. She wasn’t shy about sex, far from it, but she could never say the outrageous things Bree and Jasmine did.
A handsome, tan guy in a t-shirt and shorts tapped Jasmine on the shoulder. “Wanna dance?”
“Sure!” Bouncing off her stool, she left her drink on the bar and disappeared in the crowd.
“Do you think she’ll ever grow up?” Bree asked.
“Maybe.” Kenzi let out a dramatic sigh and batted her eyelids at Bree. “Maybe she’ll find her own Ash and realize what she’s been missing, and settle down.”
“Did I tell you, we got the “save the date” cards? They turned out perfect. Ash looks at me like I’m the only thing that exists, in that picture.”
“He’s felt that way about you for long time. You never noticed?”
Bree ducked her head. “Well, yeah. It was plainly obvious the way he acted. But I was waiting for him to make the first move. I don’t want a guy I have to lead by the hand.”
“I know. I’m so happy for you that he finally remembered he had some stones and asked you out.”
“Me, too.” Bree narrowed her gaze at Kenzi. “Now we need to work on you, girl. You need a good man. Not just any man, though. We’ll have to think on this to find the right one.”
“Please, no.” Kenzi was saved from the discussion when a guy asked her to
dance. The tequila in her drink had hit just hard enough for her to not be self-conscious on the dance floor. As if anyone could actually see her moving. As if she could actually move. The island wasn’t big enough to hold that many people, much less the bar.
One dance was all she could take. She was drowning in a sea of bodies and sweat. She waved to Bree, who’d also found a dance partner, and pointed toward the patio. “I’m going outside,” she mouthed.
With speakers on the walls outside, the music was no quieter, but at least there were fewer people, most talking quietly at the small tables. She flapped the front of her top to dry some of the sweat. Walking to the edge of the patio where the dark night crept in, she looked out over the brush-covered shoreline.
“Moonlight on the water. It was always your favorite sight.”
She jerked around, almost falling off her heels, and grasped the railing for support. “Um, hi, Chaz. How did you get out here with no one seeing you?”
He tipped his head, his dark eyes laughing. “How do you know no one saw me?”
She gave him a sidelong glance. “Really?”
He chuckled, moving closer. “It’s a Zen thing. If I cover up beneath a hat or big coat, it’s obvious I’m somebody. If I just look like another vacationer, I’m invisible.”
The temptation was too great. She checked him out. His black t-shirt with its faint Bob Marley silhouette clung to his pecs, hugged his biceps. His jeans rode low beneath a flat stomach. There was nothing invisible about this man. “I don’t believe it, but I guess it’s working. I would think you’d be in your room, though, going over last minute arrangements with Vanessa.”
“She’s not here yet. Filming ran over.”
Kenzi’s brows pinched together. “She’s going to be late for her own wedding?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me.” He smiled and looked at the ground. “Nah, she’ll be here. She hired some super-expensive wedding planner to the stars who has everything under control. All Vanessa has to do is show up in her gown.”
How unromantic. But Kenzi wasn’t about to say anything. It wasn’t her wedding. She looked for a change of subject. “Hey, congrats on the success of your new album.”
“Thanks. What about you? Are you still into programming? You were always good at that.”
“Yeah. Totally unglamorous, I know, but I love seeing the end product. It just amazes me how a bit of coding combined with some knock-out graphics can look amazingly cool.”
“That’s great. And I know what you mean. The difference between what I hear in my head and what we release from the studio is night and day.”
Their conversation couldn’t be more awkward. Like talking to somebody’s husband at the company Christmas party. You’d never know she and Chaz used to talk about romantic poets like Keats and Byron, or that he had to tutor her in calculus. “Do you still write your own songs?”
“You haven’t kept up with Marino?” He melodramatically thumped his chest. “I’m crushed.”
“Have you played ‘Galaxy of Doom?’” she retorted.
“What’s that? A game you wrote?”
She nodded, grinning.
“Touché.”
“I coded that game, anyway. But seriously, I buy your music on my phone. I just don’t look up who wrote it. I figured some of the guys might be talented…wait, no. That’s not what I meant. Of course they’re talented. Some of them might write, too.”
That smile of his made her shiver, especially when it reached those coffee-colored eyes. Looking at his lips was a bad move. She instantly remembered what they felt like on her skin, on her breasts. When they brushed on her cheek as he whispered her name. The memory was so vivid gooseflesh broke out on her arms.
Damn, she had to stop thinking like that. He wasn’t hitting on her. He was engaged!
“Are you seeing anyone these days?” he asked.
Thank God for the change of subject, embarrassing as it was. “I’m…in between someones. Work gets hectic. We just had a crazy deadline after a hacker broke into the company computers, which held us up for two weeks. Who has time for dating?”
“I hear ya. When we come back from a tour I just want to stay in bed for a week.”
“I’m sure Vanessa doesn’t complain.” Oh God, she didn’t just say that! Her cheeks flamed instantly. “Sorry. That just slipped out.”
“No problem. I like that you can still talk to me like your best friend.”
His hand came around her back, burning an imprint on her skin. How could his touch heat her like that after five years?
“I’ve missed talking to you,” he admitted.
“My phone number hasn’t changed.” Kenzi cringed. Wow, snark much? “That wasn’t supposed to be bitchy. I meant you can still call me anytime to talk.”
“That’s good to know. I still have your number in my contacts.”
Butterflies kicked up inside her at that news, and she stomped on them quickly. She pictured Vanessa’s raging face from a fight scene in a recent movie, pinched and red with violence. Not a good idea to provoke that girl.
Their quiet, intimate-if you ignored the other dozen people on the patio-moment vanished when Bree and Jasmine found them.
“So this is where you snuck off to,” Bree said, grinning like she would be insisting on details later.
Kenzi glared at her friends, willing them to behave. “Chaz, meet Bree and Jasmine, my partners in crime.”
“Hey,” Bree said.
“Hi,” gasped Jasmine, her eyes wide.
Chaz nodded at each of them. “Bree, Jasmine. Good to meet you.”
Kenzi held her breath, afraid Jasmine would squee or something equally embarrassing. Thank God all she did was grin inanely. Kenzi filled the awkward silence. “We were catching up on old times.”
Bree pushed her wild hair off her face. “Kenzi never mentioned before this morning that she knew you. To be honest, we were a bit surprised.”
“What, you didn’t think I could appreciate a woman with beauty and brains?” He winked at Bree.
Jasmine got over her brain freeze. “Well, there is your track record…”
Kenzi gasped, her jaw hanging down, words fleeing from her brain.
Bree laughed loudly. “Omigod, I can’t believe you said that.”
Jasmine shrugged.
Chaz’s chuckle allowed Kenzi to exhale again. If they ran into him again she would die of shame. If they didn’t get away from him soon, she’d need an entire bottle of tequila.
His hand rubbed her back gently, as if he felt her nerves. “It’s cool. She has a point.” He looked around at the crowd inside. “I’d better get out of here before I am seen. Have you girls been snorkeling yet? We’re going out on a boat in the morning.”
“No, we haven’t.” All three said it, not quite in unison.
“Cool.” He turned to Kenzi. “I’ll call later and give you directions to the villa where I’m staying. The boat is picking us up on the beach.” He said good-bye, hopped over the railing and slipped out into the darkness between the buildings.
“Damn, why does he have to be engaged?” Bree sighed, watching him walk away.
“No shit. Wait, Travis isn’t married is he? Does he have a girlfriend? Do you think he’d notice me?” Jasmine’s questions shot out rapid-fire.
Kenzi laughed. “He’ll notice you whether he’s married or not. And how should I know if he’s married? Ask Gossip Ho.”
Jasmine pulled her phone from the clutch purse hanging from her wrist. “Good idea.”
“Should we go back to the hotel?” Bree asked.
“Why not. I doubt anyone we meet here will compare to Chaz.” Kenzi headed for the door.
Rushing after her, Bree called out, “I knew you still liked him.”
Kenzi glared at her. She let herself get swallowed into the crowd so she didn’t have to hear anything more.
~*~
The next morning, Chaz tried to keep his walk nonchalant each time the doorbell rang.<
br />
Joey, who’d arrived half-an-hour earlier, finally spoke up. “Is Vanessa due soon? I didn’t think she got in until tonight. You’re sure hopin’ for someone to get here.”
Chaz opened the door and motioned for Devin Gordon, the backup guitarist, and his girlfriend Trish to enter. Nate came jogging up behind them. Returning to the living room, Chaz said, “Vanessa’s arriving at ten-thirty tonight.”
“Oh, then it’s the ex-girlfriend you’re looking for.”
That was bound to start some gossip. All Chaz needed was for one of the guys to mention that in public. He narrowed his eyes at Joey. “Funny.”
“Whose ex?” Dev asked.
“I ran into an old friend when I was jogging yesterday and invited her and her friends to join us.”
“Cool.” Dev nodded.
“I figured Trish might like having some intelligent conversation this afternoon.”
Dev threw him a dirty look as they sat on the sofa.
“Awesome,” Trish said. “I don’t have to pretend to like hockey.”
“I thought you loved hockey.” Dev put a hand on her thigh. “You should have said something.”
“I like your company, baby. I don’t care if we’re watching hockey, doing dishes, or walking the dog.” She leaned over to kiss him.
Joey snorted. “Dude, she compared watching hockey to doing dishes. Ask what she wants to do, sometime.”
Travis, their drummer, finally arrived always the last of the band members to show up. “We ready to go?”
“Not yet. We’re waiting on a few friends,” Chaz said.
Joey added, “Yeah, he invited some girls along.”
“Hey, are the band-aides on the island? God, they’ll follow us anywhere.” Travis shook his head and dropped into a chair.
“No, not them,” Joey said. “No groupies on this trip. He’s bringing his ex- snorkeling with us.”
“And her two friends.” Chaz was determined that Joey wasn’t going to make this into more than what it was. “I knew Kenzi in college. So did Joey. There’s nothing between us. It’s not a last minute fuck.”
Joey just laughed. The guy could be such a pain in the ass sometimes.
Destination Weddings: Books 1-3 Page 7
