With a bag packed, Roman headed back to the hospital. He had forgotten how much he hated L.A. traffic, but damn, Brett’s Range Rover was nice. It beat the hell out of his twenty-year-old Camry. Roman couldn’t afford to get new car fever. His house and car were paid for and he couldn’t take his clothes off for money forever. In fact, he had really passed the age most people stopped like five years ago. The thing was he wasn’t good at anything and life hadn’t exactly been what he hoped. At nineteen, he had thought he would be famous. When that didn’t turn out the way he hoped, Roman had decided to lean heavily upon the only thing he had going for him. His looks. Roman wasn’t conceited. At least, he didn’t think he was. He was old enough to know that looks faded and being considered handsome wasn’t a talent. Roman knew men in their sixties who still made a lot of money from being silver foxes. At thirty-nine, Roman already knew he wouldn’t be one of those guys. He was already tired by ten every night and hated working until two each morning. The most depressing part of it all was that he thought he would have found himself by now. Everyone else his age seemed to have their shit together. Not Roman. He just didn’t have any real talents. Coming back to L.A. always reminded him of that.
By the time Roman weaved his way through the hospital parking lot, heading for the door, the depression he always barely kept at bay threatened to pour in. He never knew when it would strike. That was why he loved making other people smile so much. When he made other people happy, that was the only time Roman felt good about himself.
A loud whistle rent the air. “Yo. Roman.”
Roman’s steps faltered at the sound of his name being called. He looked over his shoulder to find a group of four men headed his way. He recognized three of the men, even though he had only met two. Roman had met Johnny and Wrecker the last time he came to L.A. to see Johnny’s concert. Well, truthfully, he had come to see Brett, and Johnny was Brett’s client, so the concert had been the perfect excuse. Of the three men headed his way, the only human-sized man squeezed between all the huge bodies was the one Roman couldn’t tear his gaze from. It was Jessie Thunder. Roman couldn’t even blink. He had met a lot of semi-famous people over the years, but Jessie was a legend. A rock-and-roll god. Everyone knew his name and face and he was headed Roman’s way.
The moment they reached his side, Johnny jumped in, talking a mile a minute. “I almost didn’t recognize you with your short hair. How is Brett? We heard about his accident on the news and I tried calling, but he didn’t answer. I don’t know what room he’s in or anything, but the news said he’s here. I’m glad to see you. Jessie came with us in case we had to leverage star power to find out his room number, but running into you makes things so much easier.”
Roman had to force his gaze away from Jessie. “Um, yeah. He’s okay. I’m headed up now if you want to come with me.” They all headed inside together while Roman kept filling in the blanks. “He was pinned in the crash, so he ended up with a crushed foot and ankle. They put it all back together, but he’ll be down for a while.” Johnny hissed but didn’t interrupt. “His nose is broken, and his entire left side is black with bruises. Before I left to get him some things from the house, they pumped him full of pain meds, so he’s probably sleeping. I imagine that’s why he didn’t answer when you called.” Roman met Johnny’s stare. “He was really upset about missing your wedding. I had to make him stop apologizing. Congratulations, by the way.” As Wrecker and Johnny thanked him, Roman lost his ability to pretend any longer. He focused on Jessie. “I’m Roman. I’m a huge fan.”
A sweet-looking smile touched Jessie’s lips. Roman lost his breath. Jessie looked... kind. Roman never could have anticipated that. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m glad Brett has someone taking care of him. To be honest, I half expected to get here and find out he had checked himself out of the hospital. He doesn’t strike me as the type to tolerate any interruption to his schedule. No matter what.”
A laugh burst from Roman. “If I wasn’t here, you’d be right. He was half out of it this morning and he still managed to write me a list of work he needs done today while hiring a car to drive me home. I don’t know how he could see his phone with all the drugs pumping through him, but he has shit to do. He wasn’t letting this hold him down.”
Johnny released a loud sigh. “Yep. That sounds like him.”
Roman glanced between Wrecker and Johnny as they stepped off the elevator and onto Brett’s floor. “Aren’t you two going on a honeymoon or something?”
Wrecker nodded and answered for them. “We’re headed to Maine in the morning. I own a business and it’s not as easy to walk away from as I’d like.”
“What type of business?” Honestly, Roman was merely making conversation.
“The Back Porch. It’s a coffeehouse,” Johnny answered for Wrecker, sounding proud.
“The coffeehouse of L.A.,” the fourth man said, speaking up for the first time. “Everyone goes there.”
Roman focused on the guy. He was so damn big that Roman had thought he was probably only a guard. Roman realized he was being rude. “I’m sorry. I’m Roman,” Roman said, introducing himself again. “My mind is kind of all over the place right now. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself sooner. Between getting hit by a truck, watching Brett suffer while they cut him from the car, and not really sleeping since, I’m barely functioning at this point.”
The huge dude nodded. “It’s cool. I’m Declan. My husband is one of Brett’s clients. He wanted to be here, but he ended up sick after the wedding and he didn’t want to bring any germs to Brett’s room. He made me come so I can tell him every detail. Plus, I have to keep Jessie safe.”
There was a lot to unpack there and Roman had questions, but they were standing outside Brett’s room. Roman realized he should probably warn Brett he was about to be besieged. “Just let me pop in and make sure he’s decent or whatever.”
Everyone nodded and it hit Roman. No one questioned his right to be the one in charge of Brett’s care. Even though each of them probably had more right to watch over Brett than he did, they accepted Roman as the most important person in Brett’s life. That was every bit as sad as it was moving. It was as if Brett had no one who considered themselves close enough to take care of him. That was okay. Roman wanted the job.
He opened the door and peeked in before stepping all the way inside. He smiled at the first sight of Brett. It looked as if the nurse had taken good care of him while Roman had been gone. His bed had been lowered again and blankets piled on top of him. His head turned Roman’s way as Roman slipped inside the room.
“Hey. That was a quick trip.” Brett’s voice still sounded rough.
Roman set his overnight bag aside. “I was in a hurry to get back to your gorgeous face.” Brett snorted. Roman didn’t let that slow him. “You have some visitors waiting in the hall. Is it okay if they come in?”
Brett eyed his mound of covers, as if checking to make sure his body was still intact. “Yeah. That’s fine.”
Roman glanced behind him. “You’re cool to come in.” He grabbed the bag he had brought and moved deeper into the room, making room for everyone. Roman made his way to the corner of the room and unpacked Brett’s laptop while they visited. He checked Brett’s list and found the password Brett had given him to unlock the device. In a matter of minutes, he was logged in to Brett’s computer. He worked his way down the list of rescheduling Brett needed. Roman emailed each client, introducing himself and explaining why Brett couldn’t do any upcoming shows. With that out of the way, he checked Brett’s social media accounts. Roman tuned out everything as he responded to well-wishers and updated his fans on his condition. He didn’t hesitate blocking accounts that said spiteful things. Roman lost track of time as he did what he did best. He charmed people, skating the thin line of keeping Brett’s personal business quiet while keeping people entertained.