Burn Out

by Cheryl Douglas

  “I don’t know,” Trey said. “You looked kind of upset when you left the table and she wanted to make sure you were all right.”

  Evan got a sinking feeling in his stomach. “She went lookin’ for me right after I left the table?”

  “Uh, listen, man,” Ryan said, getting up. “I need to have a word with you in private.”

  “Not now,” Evan said, walking away from the table. He needed to find Erika.

  “Damn it, would you hold up a minute?” Ryan asked, jogging to catch up to him. “Erika wasn’t the only one lookin’ for you. Avery was too. We’ve got problems. Big problems.”

  “Too bad,” Evan said, holding his hand up to silence his brother. “I’ve got to deal with my own problems.” He didn’t realize how big those problems were until he caught sight of Erika’s tear-streaked face. “Shit,” he whispered, walking toward her.

  Like a scared deer trapped in the headlights of an oncoming car, she looked ready to bolt.

  “Baby,” he said, approaching her slowly. “Are you okay?”

  “What do you think?” she asked, looking up at him.

  Her tears hit him like a punch in the stomach. “What the hell happened to upset you?”

  “I heard everything, Evan,” she said quietly. “I know you lied to me.”

  “What’re you talkin’ about? What did I lie to you about?” She remained silent, staring at him until understanding eventually dawned. Oh, God, no. She’d overheard him talking to Courtney.

  “I’ll uh… give you two some time,” Ryan muttered, making himself scarce.

  Evan had forgotten his brother was there. The only thing he could see, the only thing that mattered, was the hurt and disappointment in his fiancé’s eyes. He’d seen that look once before: the night she moved out.

  “Sweetheart, listen to me,” he said, gripping her arms. He was desperate to make her understand, but he didn’t know where to start. “I know it looks bad, but I-”

  “It’s not that you slept with her,” she said quietly. “You were single at the time, free to do what you wanted. It’s the fact that you lied to me. And that wasn’t the only lie, was it, Evan?”

  Obviously she and Courtney had crossed paths in the ladies room. He’d never taken Courtney for a vindictive woman, but jealousy had obviously prompted her decision to sell him out. “What’re you talkin’ about?”

  “This benefit. You used it to get close to me again. You said the director was embezzling and you wouldn’t trust him with your money. All lies.”

  He hung his head, unable to deny her claim.

  “Evan,” Avery said, running up to them. “Thank God I found you.”

  “Not now,” Evan barked, trying to warn her off before she got too close.

  “This is important. We have to leave now.”

  “I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he growled, glaring at his publicist.

  “Clint Davis has just been thrown in jail in St. Louis. We have to fly out now.”

  Tearing his eyes away from Erika, he asked, “What the hell did he do?”

  “Some woman is crying rape,” Avery whispered. “Obviously, it’s not true. We all know what kind of man he is, but we need to do major damage control before this brings him and the whole damn label down.”

  Evan’s mind raced. He couldn’t leave with his relationship with Erika hanging in the balance, but he couldn’t leave his artist to fend for himself either. “Can’t Ryan go in my place?”

  “Evan,” Avery said, placing a hand on his arm, “you’re the President of Titan Records. When we release a statement to the press in St. Louis, they’re going to want to know whether his label is standing behind him. That statement has to come from you. Not only that, Clint needs your support now. He needs to know that you guys aren’t going to abandon him.”

  “Go,” Erika said, looking him in the eye. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears, but she was obviously trying to hold it together. “Your company needs you.”

  He raked his hand through his hair, wishing he had another option. “We’ll talk about this as soon as I get back. I promise.”

  She nodded. “Have a safe trip. I hope everything works out for Clint.”

  He pulled her close, but she felt rigid in his arms. “I love you,” he whispered fiercely, desperate to make her believe him.

  “Just go,” she said, pushing him away.

  ***

  Evan paced the small waiting area, trying to fight the nausea as they waited for clearance to take off. Weather conditions were creating an unforeseen delay. “I can’t do this,” he said, turning to face Avery. “I can’t go with you.”

  He knew this was the moment of truth. If he chose his work over Erika again, he knew he’d have nothing left to come home to. He had to make her understand what happened with Courtney before it was too late.

  Avery looked up from her iPad. “You have to come with me. You don’t have a choice.”

  “Yes, I do, and I’m choosing Erika.”

  She pressed a hand against her forehead. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but whatever it is will have to wait until you get back.”

  “How would you feel if you found out Ty lied to you about something important?” Evan asked, desperate to make her understand.

  “I’d be angry, but-”

  “And what if he just took off without offering you an explanation because something else was more important to him than settin’ things right between you two?”

  “I’d be pissed.”

  “That’s how Erika feels right now, Avery. I can’t lose her again.”

  “What do you want me to do?” she asked, sighing.

  “Call my brother. He can handle this. I have to see Erika.”

  ***

  Erika was curled up with her dog in her lap when a knock on the door made Chloe bound out of her arms to greet their visitor.

  She knew a well-meaning friend had probably come to check on her after her hasty departure from the fundraiser, but she couldn’t bear the thought of facing anyone in her state. Her head was pounding, her eyes were puffy, and her face was streaked with dried tears. She was a mess.

  Rounding the corner, she tried to hide her shock when Evan peered through the glass. He was the last person she wanted to see, but she knew she couldn’t avoid him now that he knew she was home.

  Taking a deep breath before she opened the door, she looked him in the eye. “I have nothing to say to you.”

  He shoved the door open, forcing her to step back as he slammed it shut behind him.

  Sensing the tension, Chloe barked at their unwanted guest.

  “Go lay down, Chloe,” Erika said, pointing to the family room.

  The obedient little dog ran off without a backward glance, obviously trusting her mistress had the situation under control.

  “Then you’ll listen to what I have to say.”

  “Get out,” she said between clenched teeth. She pulled the ring off her finger, holding it up. “But not before you take this.”

  The color drained from his face as he looked from her to the huge, flashy diamond between her thumb and forefinger. “No, hell no. It’s not goin’ down like this.”

  “Take it or leave it, I don’t care. Either way, I’m not wearing it.”

  Raking his hands through his already disheveled hair, he said, “Goddammit, Erika, we’ve invested too many years in each other for you not to at least give me a chance to explain.”

  “Fine,” she said, crossing her arms as she tapped her socked foot on the ceramic tile. “Tell me why you lied to me. Tell me how you could’ve been making love to her while you claimed to be in love with me.”

  “I never made love to her. We had sex.”

  “You told me you hadn’t been with anyone else this past year.” The lies hurt even more than the sex. He could have told her the truth about Courtney. It would have stung, but she had no claim on him then. He was a gorgeous, sexy, successful man. She wouldn’t have been shocked to l
earn he’d been with someone else, but the fact that he’d lied to her about it was a deal breaker. She refused to marry a man she couldn’t trust.

  “I told you I couldn’t think about lettin’ anyone else in because I was still in love with you. That was the truth. I didn’t let her in. I said there hasn’t been anyone else for me…” He stepped forward, forcing her to step back. “Also true. Courtney and I shared a bed, but she never had my heart.” He grabbed Erika’s free hand and held it against his chest. “You’ve always had that.”

  A sob escaped her lips as she thought about the man she loved sharing a bed with another woman. “She’s in love with you. She told me so.”

  He dropped his head. “I sure as hell never intended for that to happen. But she knows how I feel. She knows it’s you I want.”

  An image of the other woman’s gorgeous, tear-streaked face crept in to her head. “I don’t think she’s ready to let you go.”

  “It doesn’t matter what she wants,” he said, lifting his hand to her face. “I care about what you want.”

  “I want you to leave,” she said, surprised by how steady her voice sounded. A casual observer would never know her heart was breaking. “Now.”

  “I don’t believe you,” he said, reaching for the zipper running the length of her hooded sweatshirt.

  She tried to push him back, but trying to move him was like trying to topple a brick wall. “Get your hands off me. You disgust me. You lie to my face and then expect me to fall into bed with you and forget it ever happened?”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, clenching his hands at his side. “I should’ve told you Courtney and I had sex.”

  Would she have wanted him to tell her or would she preferred to live with the bliss of ignorance? She’d never asked him point blank if he’d had other lovers this past year because she assumed he had and she didn’t want him to confirm her fear. The fact that he implied he hadn’t, or had she just assumed he hadn’t…? She was so confused.

  Erika stepped around him. Walking toward the window, she looked out at her neighbors’ neat and tidy houses. They had the life she wanted. Spouses. Children. Knowing the people who loved them would be there to greet them when they walked through the door at night…

  He came up behind her, close enough to touch her, but his hands remained at his sides. “I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my life,” he whispered. “Most of them involvin’ you, but I can promise you I never, ever intended to hurt you.”

  She brought her fingertip up to the window, tracing a heart in the condensation on the cool pane of glass. “Then why’d you lie to me?”

  He drew a heart beside hers, linking the two together. “I told a half-truth about the benefit. The guy was embellizin’ money and I pulled out as soon as I found out about it. I went to see you that afternoon, askin’ you to be a part of it instead. I wanted an excuse to spend time with you. That seemed like the perfect way.”

  She held her breath, waiting for him to continue. She wanted to believe Courtney had embellished the story to make Evan look bad, but she was afraid to hope for the best. “Courtney said they fired the director who was stealing.”

  “Yeah, they called to tell me that after I’d already made those arrangements with you. They gave me this sad story about how they were counting on us to come through for them. They said they needed that money…” He braced his hand on the window frame beside Erika. “Long story short, I donated a quarter mil of my own money.”

  She gasped as she spun around.

  They were mere inches apart. He set his other hand on the window frame beside her, caging her in.

  “You can’t be serious. You donated $250,000 to that charity just so you could spend more time with me?” She didn’t know if that was the most asinine thing she’d ever heard or the most romantic.

  “Yeah, I did,” he said, leaning in to her. “Don’t you know by now money doesn’t mean a goddamn thing to me? You do.”

  Erika was torn between loving him and wanting to run away from her feelings for him. They were so intense, it was scary. She wanted to trust him, but knowing dozens of Courtneys out there hoped to catch his eye made that difficult. She’d never questioned his fidelity before, but knowing he’d been with another woman so soon after they broke up…

  “Did you have feelings for her?” She wanted to let it go, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

  “Yeah.”

  Her heart clenched and she wished she could take the question back. “I see.”

  “I liked her. We were friends. That’s all I felt for her.”

  Looking up in to his eyes, she saw the truth and a love so real it erased her fears about their future.

  Tracing the stubble on his cheek with her fingertip, she whispered, “I believe you.”

  He closed his eyes and turned in to her touch.

  She could see the relief etched on his face as the faint lines began to recede. “You should be in St. Louis with Clint.”

  “No, I should be here with my fiancé.” He looked at the ring still clutched in her hand. “Assumin’ I can still call you that?”

  Her hand trembled as she held the ring out to him.

  He looked at her a long time, obviously trying to determine whether she wanted him to take it back or slide it on her finger. His eyes filled with tears as he took the ring and slipped it into his pocket. “No one will ever love you the way I do. Just remember that. I may have made mistakes this time around, but I did it for all the right reasons. Last time, I was a selfish bastard. This time I was puttin’ you first.”

  Her heart broke, seeing him in so much pain, but finding the words to put his mind at ease was difficult. No words could express how much she loved this man.

  “Every damn thing I did, I did because I loved you and I wanted to be the man who deserved your love.”

  She could see his eyes were glossy in the moonlight filtering through the window, and she wanted to end his misery more than anything. “Evan, I-”

  “I just have one more thing to say to you.” He clenched his jaw, obviously trying to rein in his emotions. “You are the love of my life. We may decide to marry other people someday. Maybe even have a couple of kids… but make no mistake, my heart will always belong to you.”

  “Evan, stop!” She couldn’t control the tears anymore. “Please, I don’t…”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, pulling her into a fierce hug. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I’ll go.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you…” She sniffled, trying to pull herself together long enough to get the words out. “I don’t want you to go.”

  “What?”

  “I’m saying I forgive you… on one condition.”

  “Anything,” he said, closing his eyes. “Just tell me.”

  “Will you forgive me?”

  “For what?” He looked down at her. “You didn’t do anything. This was all on me, baby.”

  “No,” she said, flattening her palms against his chest. “It takes two people to make or break a relationship, Ev. Letting you take the blame was easy, but I can’t do that anymore. I could’ve done things differently, compromised, tried harder to understand-”

  He cut her off with a kiss, pouring all of his fear and frustration into every caress until they were both breathing heavy and reaching for each other’s clothing.

  “Wait,” she said.

  “Oh for the love of God,” he moaned, resting his head on her shoulder. “What now?”

  “I want my ring back.”

  He chuckled as he reached into his pocket. “My pleasure.” His smile fell, his expression somber as he slid it on her finger. “This is the second and last time. You’re never takin’ it off again. Agreed?”

  She sealed her promise with a kiss before whispering, “You have my word.”

  About the Author

  To learn more about this author or other books in the Nashville Nights or Next Generation series, visit www.cheryldouglasbooks.com


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  Coming Soon

  Book Five – Fast Track

  Teacher and part-time artist, Anna McCall, is sweet, shy, and reserved. Living in her famous father’s shadow is exhausting, which is why she decides to get away from it all for a while. She retreats to their family beach house for the summer, intent on painting, reflecting, and regrouping after a messy break-up. She’s revelling in the peace and tranquility until a famous race car driver moves in next door intent on invading her sanctuary.

  Justin Hunt has one goal this summer, to forget the past year of his life ever happened and if it takes a group of rowdy jocks, loud music, kegs of beer, and bikini-clad women to help him forget, so be it. Too bad his new neighbor seems intent on spoiling his fun by distracting him from his mission.

  Book Six – Time Out

  Rancher, Nick McCall, loves the simple life. Wide open spaces, clean country air, and sweet down-home girls. But when his mother asks him to entertain their new house guest, a TV personality with a penchant for bad boys, he’s wondering if it might be time to add a little spice to his life.

  Megan Moore moved from Los Angeles to Nashville to accept a job on a country music network, but she misses dating movie stars and riding around in limousines. She promises her new agent, Avery McCall, she’ll stick it out for the remainder of her one year contract, but she intends to be on the first plane back home a minute after her contract expires.

  Nick knows Megan’s only in Nashville for a short time, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a good time.

  Book Seven – Face Value

  Real estate developer, Lauren McCall, needs a new contractor yesterday. Someone who’s good, fast, and reliable, but her only option seems to be her friend’s deadbeat ex-husband. According to her friend, he’s a skirt chasing, beer drinking, loser who’d rather play pool than play with his kids, but desperate times call for desperate measures, so Lauren gives him the job. She just hopes she doesn’t live to regret it.