Her eyes widened as panic washed over her. The room looked as if no one had entered it for a very long time – until the need for a second bathroom arose. She realized that Grant wasn’t particularly happy about Brett using the master bath, and that’s what she walked in on.
Before she had a chance to retreat or shake her head, Brett took her elbow and led her into the room. “Our mother loved flowers.” He motioned to the framed floral prints on the walls.
“Our dad hated these paintings,” Grant said, his voice reminiscent of a fond memory. “They used to argue about it all the time, because he said the bedroom looked too feminine. He’d always give in though.”
Brett smiled broadly and met his brother’s eyes. Grant smiled back, obviously sharing a familiar story. Even though Kira wasn’t privy to whatever they were both thinking about, warmth filled her heart because she knew how precious those memories were.
“I know you probably don’t like to come in here,” Kira began, cautious about crossing a line. “This room is special. Intimate. It holds a ton of memories that probably stir up very private emotions. I get that. But I think it’s good to come in here once in a while. I bet you can almost feel their presence. And that’s good. I think we need to feel that connection.”
They were both looking at her with pained expressions, and she knew that her words struck a chord. “My mother died when I was a child,” she told Grant. He nodded, solemnly, as if he already knew. “I used to go into my parents’ room when my father wasn’t home and sit on her side of the bed. Sometimes I used to cry, but every time I went in there, I left feeling stronger and better able to deal with the grief.” She exhaled a quivering sigh. “I’m not going to lie and say the hurt and loss goes away, because it doesn’t. But it gets tolerable, and you accept it.” She placed her hand over her heart. “They’re always in here, though. Always.”
Two sets of masculine arms wrapped her in a strong embrace. They circled her, with Grant’s head on her left shoulder and Brett’s face pressed into her neck. Her arms were sort of pinned to her sides, but she returned the hug as best she could, holding onto Brett’s forearm with one hand and Grant’s elbow with the other. They stayed like that for a long time, each dealing with their own bereavement, then slowly broke the embrace. Brett and Grant took a minute to look around the bedroom before the three of them left the room.
“Don’t close it,” Grant said, stopping the door with his hand. “Let’s leave it open today. Actually, let’s leave it open one day a week. On Sundays. That’s when Mom would make the big family dinner. We can honor that by leaving the door open.”
One side of Brett’s beard twitched as he stared at his brother. “Yeah. That’s a good idea.”
“I think it’s beautiful,” Kira managed to say, her voice quivering. As they made their way down the foyer and away from the open bedroom door, Brett walked with his arm around his brother. She felt awful about running out for the day with Brett and leaving Grant home alone when he was clearly missing his family and sharing a moment with his brother. “Come with us to breakfast,” she told Grant.
“No way,” Grant replied. “I’m not intruding on your last day together.”
“We want you to come.” Kira spoke up because Brett was staring at her with his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, and she knew he couldn’t find his voice.
“Really?” Grant asked, with a happy but unsure smile as the three of them stood in the foyer.
“Yeah,” Brett’s voice was barely a whisper. “It’s actually the perfect way to spend our last day together.” He looked at Kira. “Thank you,” he said, but no sound came out.
The three of them had breakfast at Mar’sel, which had the most breathtaking view of the ocean that Kira had ever seen. The food was exquisite, and the service was excellent. She knew the bill cost a fortune, but she didn’t want to insult Brett by offering to pay.
After they finished their meal, he rented a boat, and they navigated the waters between Long Beach and Catalina Island. The water was the bluest blue, like a Caribbean getaway.
Kira shielded her eyes with her hand and watched the coastline disappear. A fin breached the water. Then another. And another. She took in a gust of breath and tugged the sleeve of Brett’s T-shirt. “Dolphins! There are dolphins! Right there!” She pointed at the trio just as they jumped above the water’s surface. “Oh my God! I love California!”
Brett was smiling at her, but as soon as she said the last sentence, his smile doubled in size and his eyes grew larger.
She knew what he was thinking and let a few seconds of silence pass while she thought about her answer. He was wondering if she loved California enough to consider moving here. These last few days certainly made her consider it. Unfortunately, her answer hadn’t changed. She sighed through her smile and wrapped her hand around his bicep as she continued to watch the pod of dolphins. “I have to admit that this is nothing like what I expected. Orange County is very beautiful. It’s fun and relaxing at the same time. There’s so much landscape to appreciate. I do love it.” Her hand slipped down to entwine their fingers together, and she focused on their hands. Instead of outright telling him, for the dozenth time, that she was a New York girl, she remained cheerfully optimistic. “I’m looking forward to visiting often and spending a lot more time with you, Brett.”
“I’m looking forward to that too.”
After two and a half hours cruising around Catalina Island, they docked and had lunch. It was a paradise. Lush and green with shrubbery and alive with wildlife. While they sat at an outdoor café enjoying appetizers, Kira gazed at her surroundings with serenity. She could really get used to this sedate lifestyle, but also wondered if she’d get bored with the slow pace after a while. Movement behind a thick bush caught her attention, and then three little black noses peeked out between the foliage. “There are deer here,” Kira said, her voice raising with excitement, as if she’d never seen one before, which, she hadn’t. They looked like a little family, with a daddy, a mama and a baby. “They’re adorable!” she exclaimed, with her hands pressed to her cheeks. “How come I’ve never seen a deer before?” she asked, to no one in particular.
“They don’t exactly walk down 5th Avenue,” Brett said, with a laugh.
“What are you doing?” she blurted out, surprised, when Grant inched closer to the group of deer with a slice of apple in his hand. The medium-size one, which she dubbed “Mama”, bravely stepped forward and took the piece of fruit from Grant while the other two watched. “Oh my God!” she whisper-shouted and clutched Brett’s arm. “Did you see that?”
Brett handed her an apple slice from the platter of fruit on the table. “Go ahead. Deer are friendly here.”
She took it and crouched down on the grass, barely able to contain her joy, but afraid she’d scare them away. “Here, baby,” she cooed to the little one. Its nose twitched like a bunny and then it bolted forward and stole the apple from her hand. She got so excited that she shot to her feet, causing all three deer to take off into the shrubbery. “Oh no! The big one didn’t get any!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Brett assured her. “People feed them all the time. That’s why they’re so friendly.”
She still felt bad, so she took a bunch of fruit from the tray and tossed it into the bush where the deer retreated, even though they weren’t in sight. “That was so amazing,” she exclaimed, with her palm to her chest, feeling her rapidly beating heart.
Brett took her hand and squeezed it when she sat back at the table. “I hope you had a nice day today. I wanted to show you California this weekend. I wanted to show you my life here.” He glanced at his brother. “My family and my friends.”
Her heart was beating all over the place, not just from the encounter with the deer, but from the combination of everything that happened these last few days. She thought this weekend would be filled with sex and lust and ripping each other’s clothing off. Instead, it was about family and quality time spent together and getting
to know the people in Brett’s life. Reaching across the table to take Grant’s hand, her heartrate settled and fell into a steady rhythm. She squeezed both Brett and Grant’s hands a little tighter. “This weekend has been absolutely perfect, and I can’t wait to visit again.”
Kira sat on the couch in her sister’s apartment, still high from her weekend with Brett and his brother. Their time together gave her so much hope for the future. “California was incredible! I loved spending time with Brett and his brother and seeing what his life is like. We’re exactly the same! He’s close with his brother, like me and you,” she told Audra. “His best friends are famous musicians. And music is everything to him.” She didn’t bring up the loss of Brett’s parents, because she didn’t want to share bittersweet details. Eventually she’d tell Audra about the grief that Brett and Grant were still dealing with, because, even though it had been so many years ago, both she and Audra still felt the loss of their mother, as well.
Audra jumped across the couch into the seat next to Kira. “I’m so happy that you had a great time. I knew you would. When are you going back?”
She wished there were definite plans for the following weekend, but Brett couldn’t commit because he didn’t have his work schedule yet. “He’s going to call me on Wednesday after he confirms what days he has to work. There was some talk about Bulletproof doing a show next week.”
Jimmy, who had been watching TV, turned down the sound. “Immortal Angel and Bulletproof are shooting a music video. I got a call from Marissa Torres this morning. A production team put together a script, and we’re scheduled to begin shooting next week.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Audra scolded her husband.
“Sorry, sweets.” He gave her his killer smile, and the girl practically melted into the couch cushion. “Didn’t get a chance.”
Jimmy was hard to resist when he turned on the charm, Kira had to admit. She still didn’t know if that meant Brett was coming with them, though. He mentioned a show, not filming a video. “Is the whole band coming? Did they mention a show while they were here?”
“I don’t have the deets,” Jimmy replied. “All I know is that Brandon Bullet and Derek MacAlister are shooting a video with us on the collaboration of Sex & Greed. I can’t believe it took so long.” He flashed his dimples. “You know those cats like to use their own equipment, so I guess that means your guy’s coming out here too. I hope I didn’t spoil a surprise.”
Kira’s pulse quickened at the news. “When? What day?” She realized that she needed to check her schedule because she had meetings and a short trip to Oklahoma in a few days. If she had to, she would shift things around, because that’s what you do when you’re in a long-distance relationship. You make time for one another.
“Tuesday. Marissa said to expect filming to take two or three days.” Jimmy clunked his boots on the coffee table, crossed his ankles and spread his arms across the back of the couch. “How’s this long-distance thing going between you and Brett?”
She was about to tell him that everything was going wonderfully and that they were making time to be with one another, but when she opened her mouth, nothing came out.
“What’s wrong?” Audra asked, when Kira didn’t respond.
“Are you supposed to have to make time for one another?” she asked, forehead suddenly wrinkled. “Isn’t it supposed to be easier than this? I thought love was something that just happened and that everything fell into place by chance. I thought destiny was supposed to be on your side.”
Jimmy was the one who answered. “The way I heard it, you guys had a random hook up and then reconnected at the recording studio in Chicago. Sounds like fate to me.”
Heat burned Kira’s cheeks, and she wanted to sink into the couch and disappear. “Audra! I can’t believe you told him that.”
Her sister shrugged. “Sorry.”
“It’s cool, man,” Jimmy said. “Don’t sweat the heavy stuff, Kira, because there’s plenty of it. Relationships take work, especially when two people have busy careers. It’s all about give and take. Love ain’t easy, but it’s worth it. Look at me and Audra. Your dad was dead set against us being together. My kid showed up while we were still dealing with that. We weren’t together that long when all that shit went down. We had more than a few hurtles to overcome, but we did it.” He grinned at Audra. “And she still loves me.”
Audra put her hand to her chest and pretended to swoon while she batted her eyelashes at Jimmy.
“Look at Angel, Tommy and Jessi,” Jimmy continued, after sending a few kisses in his wife’s direction. “Three-way love ain’t easy. They struggled.” He looked down and shook his head, as if reliving a memory. “Jessi had it the hardest. But look at them now. They got a family and nothing but love for one another.”
Although Kira and Audra both saw the threesome blossom, neither knew the intimate details. It was before Audra and Jimmy got together, and they weren’t privy to the band’s private lives. They were friends, but still in the super-fan category.
Kira thought about Alyssa and Damien, who were a prime example of soulmates. The two were inseparable from the beginning. Never had Kira seen two people more devoted to one another or better suited for each other. But even they had problems in the beginning. Damien had struggled with addiction, and that can kill a relationship very quickly. But Alyssa stuck by him, and he straightened out. For her. That’s how strong love is.
Kira took a moment to absorb everything, and she wondered if the love she and Brett shared was as strong as the relationships around her, or if that was something that grew over time.
“The way I see it,” Jimmy offered his opinion. “Your job always came first. Look how many hours a week you work. You never make time for yourself. This trip to California was the first vacation you’ve taken in years.”
She started to protest, but he cut her off.
“Don’t say that you took a month off to tour with us, because you worked.” He waggled his finger at her. “You were on the phone all the time. And you went to see bands. That’s work. Lighten the load. You don’t have to work so hard. Take it easy. Put yourself first, for once. This guy makes you happy. Man, we all see it. Don’t let your career get in the way.”
Kira sat back on the couch and took it all in. Maybe hearing a guy’s perspective, and not her sister’s biased opinion, made her view things differently. Maybe she never made time for a relationship because there was no one worth making time for. Maybe Jimmy was right. “Thanks, Jimmy. You made some valid points.”
Deep in thought, she headed for the balcony, stepped through the sliders and peered at the street below. People walked with a purpose, eager to get to their destinations. Maybe the hustle and bustle of the New York City life was so ingrained in her that she forgot to step back and take a breather. She didn’t need to work 60 hours a week. She didn’t need to be the one to constantly discover the next big rock sensation. She could easily delegate someone else to fly off to another city in order to check out some of the up-and-coming bands on the music scene.
She pulled her phone from her pocket, tapped on Brett’s number, and brought the phone to her ear.
He answered on the first ring. “Hey. I was going to call you tonight. Are you still working?”
“My six o’clock meeting got canceled, so I decided to head home early.”
“You’re home before eight on a weeknight?”
“No. I’m at my sister’s place.” She realized that she was never home from work this early, and, when she was home, she was at Audra and Jimmy’s most of the time. She rarely spent time in her apartment. Maybe the reason she stayed at the office so late was because she had nothing to go home to. “I’m as shocked as you are,” she said with a laugh. “I called because I just heard some news.”
He sighed. “Lay it on me.”
“It’s not bad. It’s good. Brandon and Derek are coming to New York next week to film a music video with Immortal Angel. Are you coming with them?”
“Of course.”
He paused, and his voice softened. “I really loved having you here.”
Emotion clogged her throat, and she swallowed it down. “I loved being there. I miss you so much already.”
“I missed you the moment you stepped out of the car at the airport. It felt so nice having you here. Even my brother said so. You filled the house with so much warmth. And laughter. My brother said you make me smile all the time when you’re around. And it’s true. You make me happy.”
“You make me happy.” Happy tears, and tears of longing, filled her eyes, and she couldn’t say much more before they fell down her cheeks. “Call Brandon. I want us to firm up plans to see each other again.”
“OK. I will. And Kira?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Six days later, Brett was back in New York.
The music video, which would showcase the wild uninhibited sex life of rock stars and the industry’s never-ending quest to make more money, was a literal interpretation of the song’s title. The production company was going to use select footage from the Get Rocked in Vegas Festival, when Brandon and Derek made a surprise guest appearance on stage, which spawned the idea of re-recording Sex & Greed and the subsequent video, as well as a scripted performance.
Today’s shoot was taking place in a rented venue where diehard fans were paid a nominal fee to act as audience extras to add live concert footage to the video. The show was wild. Members of the audience outdid themselves with over-the-top antics, including a choreographed mosh pit, where no one got hurt – for once.
Jeremy and Alan, Bulletproof’s bassist and drummer, joined the small group at the side of the stage watching the show and film crew. They each slapped Brett on the back, full of boisterous energy. “Bruh, did you see the piece me and Jeremy filmed yesterday?” Alan asked.
The Roadie: Radical Rock Stars Book 7 Page 16