“Eva? Are you still there?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
Ross cleared his throat. “Listen, don’t read too much into it. You know how mercurial Ian can be. I wouldn’t even mention it, except that I’m afraid he might try to contact you.”
Breathing through the torrent of conflicting emotions, ranging from surprise to anger, I forced myself to stay calm. “What makes you say that?”
“He’s pumping the boys for information. I overheard him asking if you’re seeing anyone, if you date, if anyone’s stayed over—that kind of shit. When the boys told him that there’s been no one, he got that gleam in his eye. The idiot thinks you’re still in love with him.”
Despite everything that had happened, I would always have a place in my heart for Ian, but I would never again mistake it for anything other than what it was. We had been friends once. Bandmates. Lovers even. Rebellious kids, high on freedom and life, believing the world was ours for the taking.
I was seventeen, barely out of high school. I’d been wrong about a lot of things.
Now, I was older and hopefully wiser. I knew that true love was more than sharing only the good times. In the short time I’d known him, Jace had shown me more kindness and compassion than Ian ever had. And then there was that instant and unmistakable spark of awareness between Jace and me that had never been there with Ian.
I ruthlessly shoved that thought aside, unwilling to consider our currently physical relationship as anything more than temporary and convenient.
“I won’t let him hurt you again, Eva,” Ross said, breaking into my thoughts, his voice both soft and hard at the same time.
“Thanks, Ross,” I finally managed, “but don’t worry about me. I’m a big girl. You just caught me by surprise; that’s all. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Of course I’m going to worry about you, Eva,” he said, sounding exasperated.
It made me smile. I could picture him clearly, pinching the skin between his eyes like he always did when I tested his patience.
“Just do me a favor, will you?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“If you get a call and don’t recognize the number, let it go to voice mail.”
“Ross, I really think you’re overreacting. You said it yourself; Ian is mercurial. Tomorrow, some groupie will flash her assets, and he’ll forget he even asked.”
“Promise me, Eva. I don’t ask you for much, but I need you to do this for me.”
I hated when Ross pulled out the guilt card. It wasn’t that I wasn’t thankful for everything he had done for us; I was. I’d spent the last eighteen years trying to repay some of that kindness by working my ass off for him, ensuring that Backstage Pass not only stayed ahead, but dominated the recording game. I thought I’d done a pretty good job of it.
Still, I couldn’t say no. He wasn’t asking for much, and if my promise gave him some peace of mind, I’d do it.
“All right. I promise.”
“That’s my girl.” The relief in his voice was palpable. “And one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve been thinking about that time off I promised you. How long has it been since you’ve had a vacation?”
A vacation? What exactly was that? The few times I’d traveled was for business, and even then, I only agreed to go if I could take the twins with me. We’d always managed to squeeze in some sights, do some touristy things. But a real vacation? Not so much. Ross knew that. So, what was he up to?
“I don’t know. Why?”
“I think you’re overdue. Give my travel agent a call. Don’t wait till I get back; I might be gone longer than I originally anticipated.”
My suspicions grew. The Ross I knew would never suggest a vacation when our top client was in town and he wasn’t there to handle it personally. Practically ordering me to take two weeks off when he returned was one thing, but this sudden prod to get out of town was both unexpected and worrying.
“What about Dark Wing?”
“If I know you, you’ve got everything laid out to the finest detail with contingency plans ready to go. They should be able to do without you for a few weeks. I’ll handle what I can from the road and reschedule anything I can’t.”
I could sense his inner struggle, but I didn’t understand the reasons behind it. Was it some misplaced sense of guilt because he was touring Europe with my sons and I was left holding the bag in SoCal? Normally, Ross wasn’t the type to feel guilt—business was business after all—but I’d learned long ago that Ross’s usual rules didn’t apply when it came to me.
Or perhaps he believed that Ian’s renewed interest, however fleeting, might awaken a part of me that should remain asleep. I had no doubt Ross was serious when he said he wouldn’t allow Ian to hurt me again. It chafed a little to think that, on some level, Ross still saw me as needing protection against my own foolish heart, but deep down, I knew he did so because he cared.
Walking away wasn’t an option. I was going to stay in town and hold down the fort like the mature, responsible business partner I was.
“It won’t be a problem, Ross,” I said with firm affection, “because I’m not going anywhere. We’ll talk when you get back. Give my love to the boys.”
I ended the connection before Ross could say anything else. Then, I turned off my phone and tried to make sense of the conversation I’d just had.
“Hey.” I felt Jace’s gentle touch on my shoulder, rousing me from my thoughts and making me wonder how long I’d been standing there, lost in my thoughts. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” I forced a smile. It wasn’t too hard to do with Jace touching me. “No worries.”
He searched my face, those golden eyes looking far deeper than I wanted them to. For a moment, I thought he was going to say something else, but he didn’t.
“It’s starting to rain, so the guys are bringing everything inside.”
I glanced out the window and saw that the sun that had been shining so brightly earlier was gone, replaced by gray clouds, and a light rain had begun to fall. One by one, everyone filed into the house, arms laden with food and drinks. I directed them to put everything into the kitchen and then pointed to the guest rooms where they could change out of their bathing suits. I realized I was still wearing mine as well and excused myself to do the same. I felt Jace’s eyes on me, but he didn’t follow.
When I returned a few minutes later, it was to find them wrapping up leftovers and doing the dishes. As much as I appreciated it, they were guests in my home and therefore shouldn’t be doing that. Before I could say so, however, Jace once again appeared out of nowhere and guessed my thoughts.
“Let them do this,” he said quietly.
The look in his eyes was pleading, and once again, I found myself caving. I wasn’t about to stand around and do nothing, however, so I joined in, and in no time at all, we had everything taken care of.
“Thanks for everything,” Dave said.
“You’re not leaving, are you?”
Kurt shot a glance at Jace. “We don’t want to overstay our welcome.”
The skies had darkened, and the light rain had become a steady downpour. In LA! Three months of nothing, and then the day I host a cookout, bam! Was the universe conspiring against me or what?