When he closed the notebook, he looked up, and Emily stared at him, her expression a mix of curiosity and awe. Jack angled his body toward her, and she smiled. He’d be a lucky man to see that smile every day of his life. Even luckier if he put it there. When her smile faded, Jack settled back. Here it comes.
“Your girl, Jack?”
“Would you have preferred I told him we met last night at the gig? That you came backstage, and despite your protestations to the opposite, you came back to my room and fucked my brains out?”
Emily winced but only for a second. “Good point. Thank you, that was very considerate of you.”
Jack moved closer. She lifted her chin. He loved that about her. She wouldn’t make this easy. He cupped her face in his hand, caressing her chin with his thumb. “See, we make a great team.” He kissed her slightly parted lips. Within seconds, she was on his lap, their lips and hands working each other into a frenzy. She tasted like mint and spice. Emily pulled back and climbed off.
As she paced in front of the couch, he settled back onto the cushions and laced his fingers behind his head.
“Jack, how do you see things going between us?” Her brows pinched together, and her voice was filled with concern.
She was sweet. “We fall madly in love, get married, make lots of babies, raise ’em, and grow old together. We have dozens of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.”
She threw her hands up in the air, giving physical release to her pent-up exasperation with him.
Jack smiled.
“Ahh,” Emily growled in frustration. She gaped at him for a few seconds and then sat next to him on the couch. “Jack, listen, you’re a nice guy, we’ve had tons of fun. But—”
He took her hand. “Em, we make a great team. Everyone thinks so. We deserve a chance. You see that, don’t you?”
“Everyone?”
Jack ticked off on his fingers. “Buzz, Elliot, Todd.”
“That’s three people, hardly everyone.”
Jack moved closer. “Does my opinion count?”
He knew she wanted to say no. He saw her struggle and then she said, “Yes.”
“We make a great team, and what’s more, I think you know it. You aren’t ready for this, but the opportunity is here now, and we have to grab it.” He locked his jaw. Patience.
“This makes for a great story, Jack, but that’s all it is, a story, all it can ever be.”
His pulse hammered through his veins. “Why are you being so stubborn?”
“Why are you?” Her face flushed, and she stood and moved away. “We had a deal. A nice guy lives up to his promises.” Emily plodded into the bedroom.
Jack followed her, not about to let her go. But if he didn’t want to blow this, he needed to ease up.
Emily stood looking out the window. He stepped up behind her and loosely put his arms around her. She didn’t move.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Emily said on a sigh.
He rested his chin on her head. She fit him perfectly.
Emily leaned back against him. She’d been through so much, and he never meant to add to her pain. He’d back off, but he couldn’t let her go. Jack needed a plan. This full-frontal assault was too much.
She was no closer to accepting that they were meant to be together. He considered making a joke about this being their first fight, with makeup sex as the punch line, but that wasn’t what she needed. Em needed time and understanding. Now, more than ever, he needed to show her where the band started. She’d see that he was a normal guy, even if his life wasn’t. Turning her to face him, he smiled. “Let’s go see my friend Sid.”
“Okay.”
He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and grabbed his jacket. They walked into the living room, and he helped Emily into her jacket.
She turned to him, her face shining with sincerity. “Thank you, for…everything.”
He took her hand as they walked to the elevator.
The elevator dinged. When the doors opened, Buzz walked out wearing his gym clothes.
“Oh shit, Buzz, I’m sorry. I totally forgot.”
“Don’t sweat it. I needed a day off from getting my ass kicked.” Buzz smiled at Emily. “So nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you, too. How are you doing today?”
“I’m okay, much better than last night.”
Jack breathed a sigh of relief. “Hey, we were just on our way to see Sid. Wanna come?”
“Nah, three’s a crowd. Say ‘hi’ for me.”
They stepped onto the elevator, and Buzz hit the button for his floor. “Garage?”
“Lobby.” Jack said, hoping Buzz wouldn’t say anything.
Buzz shrugged and hit the button.
“Did you get off on the wrong floor?” Emily asked.
“No, just checking up on our boy here. He hasn’t missed a workout since the tour started. Wanted to make sure he was okay.” Buzz looked at Jack. “Relaxed posture, goofy-ass grin. Yeah, looks okay.”
“Way better than okay.” He took Emily’s hand.
Emily shook her head. “Would you girls like to be alone to gossip?”
“Can’t, got a haircut and color at noon.” Buzz made a kissy face at Jack. “We’ll catch up later.”
The doors opened on the thirty-fifth floor, and Buzz stepped out. “See you two later,” Buzz said with a wave.
As soon as the doors to the elevator closed, Jack pulled Emily to him and kissed her. By the time they reached the lobby, they were both out of breath and flushed. They pulled apart just before the doors opened. Luckily no one was there. He moved a stray strand of hair from her face before taking her hand and exiting.
Once outside, he hailed a cab. As it pulled up to the curb, a flock of paparazzi across the street caught his eye. He quickly opened the door, and they got in. “Sixty Lincoln Center Plaza, please.”
As the cab pulled away from the curb, Jack resisted the urge to look out the window. Hopefully she hadn’t noticed them. Emily leaned into him as the cab swerved to miss a stray pedestrian. Once they were underway for a few minutes, and thoroughly ensconced in a sea of yellow, Jack gave the cabbie a new address.
Emily looked at him with wide eyes. “You gave the driver the wrong address on purpose.”
“Yup.”
“Clever. Mind if I use that in a book someday?”
“Sure. Just so long as it has a happy ending.”
“All my books have a happily ever after.”
“Is that why you became a writer? So you could control the endings?”
Emily didn’t answer right away. “I never really thought about it like that. Life has enough tragedy. I don’t need to add to it in the fictional realm.” She rested her head on Jack’s shoulder but, almost at once, withdrew.
He let that go. “Did you always want to be a writer?”
Emily shrugged. “I always enjoyed writing assignments in school, but I never wrote for fun, only what was necessary. The first story I ever wrote wasn’t fun, but it had a happy ending.”
“Why would you write a story if it wasn’t fun?”
“Therapist in the hospital insisted. Only did it to shut her up.”
Jack didn’t know what to say to that. He hadn’t meant to remind her of her family. “Sorry.”
“They’re never far from my thoughts,” Emily whispered.
“If you don’t mind my asking, why did your therapist want you to write a story about…”
Emily looked out the window. “Because I wouldn’t talk to her about my feelings. I just wanted to be left alone. Since I was trapped in bed and couldn’t walk away, I had to listen to her psychobabble for forty-five minutes every session.”
Jack rested his hand on his thigh, face up, hoping she’d take it. “Didn’t you like the therapist?”
“She seemed okay at first. Loads of empathy. Her brother had died of leukemia when he was ten, so she said
she could understand what I was going through. I didn’t like being forced to talk, and I told her that. She explained she was only there to help me deal with my loss.”
Emily laughed bitterly. “Truth was, I didn’t know how I felt. In the blink of an eye, my family was dead, my leg looked like it had gone through a meat grinder, and I was stuck in a hospital bed instead of starting my senior year. I’d already had two surgeries and there’d be more.”
Jack winced. Her scars were ten years old but still very visible. The thick raised skin must be sensitive because she’d tensed every time he touched her leg.
“Anyway, during the third session, I told her that my life ended the day my family died, that my body just hadn’t caught up yet.”
Jack gasped. That didn’t sound like Emily, at least not the Emily he knew.
She rested her hand in his. “Meadow wanted to know how I felt, and that was how I felt.”
“Holy shit, Em.”
“No, holy shit is still coming. Meadow was a new age hippie hybrid. When I said this, she jumped up, grabbed my hand, and congratulated me on my new life.” Emily shuddered. “My mouth dropped open, but no words came out. Finally, when I could speak, I asked her what she meant. She said ‘Now you can reinvent yourself, be anyone you want to be.’”
She gripped his hand tighter. “I lost it. I screamed that I didn’t want to reinvent myself, I wanted my life and my family back. I wasn’t some drugged-up kid who’d OD’d and got a second chance. I was still on my first chance. I lost everything that mattered because someone else fucked up, not me.” She relaxed her hold on his hand but didn’t move away.
Jack’s mind reeled. Didn’t she have anyone to deal with this stuff? She hadn’t mentioned any other family. Was she alone in the world? Jack couldn’t even imagine. He was so close to his family. Both his parents came from large families, so he had aunts, uncles, and cousins galore. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
“I didn’t mean to unload my baggage on you. Guess I have a raging case of Nickiitis. I’m not sure if it’s contagious, so you may want to get a penicillin shot just to be safe.”
Jack laughed. She had a great sense of humor, another thing he loved about her.
Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” blared out of Jack’s cell interrupting his laughter. Crap. It was their manager. Begrudgingly, he answered. “Hey, Dex.”
“Jack, listen, I’ve rescheduled the interview with Jeremy Rennert from The Beat Goes On for this afternoon at three. I’ve arranged to use the hotel’s ballroom for the photos and interview.” Dex finally took a breath. “I’ve already talked to Brian, and he’ll make sure everything is ready on their end. If the interview goes over, the techs will do soundcheck.”
“Three o’clock today?” Jack repeated. He’d planned to spend the rest of the afternoon in bed with Emily. Shit. “We’re here for five more days, can’t we make it another time?”
“Sorry, they want to get the interview in the next issue, and the deadline is today. He wants to interview the band, so make sure Buzz is there, please.”
“We’ll all be there, Dexter,” Jack said, as he disconnected. Dex was a good guy, but he could be a dick sometimes. “Fuck.”
“Me?” Emily asked, with a naughty smile.
“Temptress.” Jack kissed her hard on the lips. “We have an interview at three, and soundcheck is at five. I had other more pleasurable plans for this afternoon.” Shit, she hadn’t agreed to stay yet, and now he had to leave earlier than planned.
“It’s okay, Jack, I have to leave anyway.”
She looked away when she spoke. A burning sensation settled in the pit of his stomach. Something had changed. She was still determined, but she barely whispered the words.
J
They’d been in the cab for fifteen minutes. Emily fidgeted with her purse strap. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Okay. Will we be arriving at this secret destination soon?”
Jack looked out the cab window. “In this traffic, probably another ten minutes. You okay?”
“Yeah.” Normally she didn’t run on, but something about Jack had her feeling very comfortable confiding in him. This was a one-time thing, so no use pretending that there could be more. Of course, that didn’t explain her extended conversation with Todd. What had gotten into her, butting in like that? So not like her, at least not since the accident. Not wanting to remember the life she lost, she pulled out her phone.
Nicki still hadn’t responded. As much as she didn’t want to talk to her, she needed to be sure she was okay, so Emily sent her another quick text: Hope you are okay.
She retyped it twice since her fingers didn’t seem to want to work properly today.
“You know, most people just type letter ‘u’ and letter ‘r’ for you are. I’ve never seen anyone correct a typo in a text message.”
Emily chuckled. “Can’t help it, a text is no excuse for poor grammar or typos. It makes me nuts.” She needed to direct the conversation away from her.
“You’ve written eight novels, that’s impressive.”
Crap. “Not really, that’s only two a year. Nicki writes four to five a year. Of course, she writes full-time.”
“It’s still impressive. Do you have a favorite?”
“My first story will always be my favorite, but I’ll never publish it.”
Her phone dinged, and she yanked it out. Shit, Eddie, not Nicki. He was sweet to check up on her, but she didn’t want to talk. She’d be lucky if she made it through the weekend without him and Vince ganging up on her. Her lips curled into a warm smile. She would never have survived without them. She sent a quick reply and put the phone away.
“The one you wrote while recovering in the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“What’s it about?” When she tensed, he added, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry.”
She’d only shared that story with Vince and Eddie. Her leg ached, and her body heated. Emily wanted to tell him but didn’t want to examine why.
“I’m sorry, Em, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Forget I asked.”
Emily rubbed her thigh. “In an alternate reality, I was the one who died. One day a man visits me, he seems familiar, but I don’t recognize him. He says my family is alive in a parallel universe and that they’re trying to find me.” Emily lurched forward as the cab braked hard.
“Sorry,” the cab driver said. “Damn jaywalkers.”
Emily’s heart pounded. An unpleasant memory tried to push its way to the surface. She took a few deep breaths.
“Hey, you okay?”
Emily nodded. Then she realized that her entire body was so tense that it hurt. Jack touched her cheek, wiping away a tear she hadn’t realized she shed. She forced herself to relax back into the seat. “Sorry.” Emily took a few deep breaths. “He could bring them to me, but it was up to me to decide. Finding me would alter things in both universes with unintended consequences. My initial reaction was to be selfish and have my family back. He said that’s how people usually react but suggested I take a few days to think about it. Once it’s done, it can’t be undone and the collateral damage wouldn’t be fixable in either reality.”
Jack watched her intently. “Wow.”
“It’s not as easy as it sounds. I started thinking of all the possibilities. On the one hand, I’d have my mom, dad, and brother back. It’s what I prayed for every day laying in my hospital bed. It was better than torturing myself with the what-if game.”
“The what-if game?”
“Yeah, you know, what if we hadn’t left late because I was on the phone with this boy I liked, saying our thousandth goodbye. What if I hadn’t been such a brat? What if…”
“Hey, no way the accident was your fault.” Jack squeezed her hand. “You were just a kid.”
“I know that now. But then, I wanted an explanation. My brother was going into his senior year at UCON
N. I was going to be a senior in high school. In a heartbeat it was gone. I couldn’t accept it. I guess that’s why I wrote the story, it was my way of pretending I could somehow affect the outcome.” In his eyes, she saw compassion and empathy but no pity. She hated pity.
“So, what did you decide?”
“I realized that it wasn’t a decision I wanted to make. How do you choose happiness for yourself at the cost of pain for others? I wouldn’t wish what happened to me on anyone, so when the man came back, I told him things had to be left as they were.”
Jack’s genuine smile warmed her. “I love that story. Did you ever figure out who the man was?”
“It was my grandfather. He died when my dad was seventeen. My dad kept his parents’ wedding picture on the desk in his office. That part came to me in a dream.”
The cab slowed to a stop. “We’re here.” Jack paid the driver and helped her out. Across the street was a red brick building with a huge sign. The Rock House.
Wind blew her hair, and Emily shivered, zipping up her jacket. She’d been hot when they left the hotel. Jack had ushered her into the cab so quickly that she hadn’t noticed the wind or that the sun was shining. Just the photographers. Their movement caught her eye as soon as they’d stepped out of the hotel.
God, how did he live like that, with every movement recorded? Luckily, the photographers had been across the street, so they’d escaped before they’d been mobbed. Why hadn’t Jeff driven them? They could’ve gotten in the limo in the garage and avoided that. But Jack had been prepared, and he’d protected her. He’d pulled her close, and she’d tucked her head into his shoulder.
The light changed, and they crossed the street. The large sign in block letters, when lit at night, would be impossible to miss. The red brick façade was cracking, and a few bricks were missing.
Jack stopped at the ornate wooden door. “Sid owns this place. He gave us our first break.” Jack’s eyes shone as he talked. “He’s discovered a ton of talented musicians. We’ve toured with a few bands that got the break they needed because of Sid. He never wanted anything in return, which is rare in an industry where everyone wants a piece of you.” There was no bitterness in his voice, only truth.
With You: A Rock Star Romance (Rocked in Love Book 1) Page 18
