Jaded (Music City Moguls Book 5)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “You know, I’m a model and actress,” she said, reaching into her purse. “I’ve even done a music video before. Granted, they weren’t famous like you, just an Indie band, but it was so much fun. Maybe if you need someone for your next video…” She licked her painted lips. “You know, to play your love interest, you could call me.” She set the card down on the table, pointing to it with a lacquered nail. “My cell number is on there. You can call me anytime.”

  D.J. slipped the card into his shirt pocket just to be rid of her. “I don’t make those decisions, but I’ll pass it on to someone on my team. If they’re interested, they’ll call you.”

  “My website is on the card too,” she said, twisting her hand around her purse strap. “They can check out my portfolio there. There’s even a link to that video I told you about.”

  D.J. was trying to be patient. He understood better than anybody how hard it was to make it in a competitive business and how persistent and fearless you had to be, but he was getting tired of this exchange. He just wanted to figure out what was bothering Josie, so he could set things right.

  “I’ll let them know.” He smiled at her, hoping it would soften the blow as he extended his hand. “Look…”

  “Amber.”

  “Amber, it was nice to meet you, and if I can help you, I will, but I’d really like to get back to my date now, if you don’t mind?”

  “Oh, of course,” she said, her cheeks suddenly tainted with color. “I’m so sorry.”

  The waitress appeared with their order and the girl quickly shuffled off. “Enjoy,” the pretty blonde said, winking at D.J. “Let me know if I can get you anything else, hon.”

  Both women hurried off in the same direction and Josie watched them, her eyes boring holes into their backs.

  “Um, I hope you’re hungry,” he said, gesturing to her plate. “’Cause I’m famished.” He could tell she’d gone from being despondent to angry. What the hell had he done this time?

  “Is it always going to be like that?” she asked, staring at him. “Am I always going to be invisible when I’m with you? Women hitting on you like I’m not even sitting here?”

  Uh-oh. D.J. was so used to it, he didn’t even think about how it may have affected Josie. “Baby, I—”

  “You referred to me as your date and you didn’t even think to introduce me to that girl. Why? Is it because you’re not anxious for the world to find out you’re off the market, assuming you are?”

  He didn’t know what he had done to warrant so much hostility so early in the morning, but he intended to find out. “I was just trying to get rid of her. I—”

  “Are you sure about that? That flirtatious smile, the way you looked at her, the fact you slipped her number in your pocket as soon as she gave it to you.” She pushed her plate away, tossing her napkin on the table. “Seems to me you were pretty interested.”

  “Are you serious?” he asked, shaking his head in disbelief. Amber couldn’t compete with Josie on her best day; he couldn’t even believe they were having this conversation. “You think I wanted her?”

  “Did you?” she asked, folding her arms. “She was beautiful. You can’t deny that.”

  “So what? I meet lots of beautiful women every day.”

  Judging by her sudden scowl he assumed that was the wrong thing to say.

  “Maybe that’s the problem.”

  He reached for her hand, knowing she was getting ready to bolt. “Sweetheart, listen to me. Sure, there will be girls who proposition me. Not because they think I’m a great guy, but because I happen to make a lot of money and have a decent singing voice. Instead of doing something with their lives, they’d much rather use their looks to attach themselves to a guy who’s made it. You really think I’d be interested in someone like that?”

  Her expression softened as she shook her head. “No, I don’t.” With a trembling sigh, she said, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me this morning. The last thing I wanted was to come here and argue with you.”

  “Did someone say something to upset you?” he asked, knowing exactly who the culprit was. “To maybe plant a seed of doubt in your mind?”

  Closing her eyes, briefly, she said, “Can we just forget this whole thing and start over?”

  “Not until you tell me what he said.”

  She didn’t even try to deny it was Connor. “He just reminded me of things I’d already been concerned about. The fact that you’re a rich celebrity who spends half of his life on the road. He also reminded me that you’re a guy, and it’s hard for guys to go without sex for that long.”

  He tightened his free hand into a fist, thinking he was glad that guy wasn’t here right now because illness or no illness, he’d let him have it for feeding Josie’s insecurities. “Bottom line is you have to learn to trust me. I haven’t given you any reason not to and I don’t intend to. Your ex is gonna say and do whatever he can to cause a rift between us. You’re the one who has to decide whether you’re going to let him.”

  D.J. hated feeling so helpless, but he knew as long as that man was living under Josie’s roof he’d have to keep on fighting these battles. He hated it, but he knew she was worth it.

  “You’re right,” she said, nodding her head. She met his eyes with newfound resolve, squeezing his hand. “I’m sorry for the way I reacted when those women flirted with you. I promise I will get to the point where it doesn’t even phase me anymore, but it may take a while.”

  “I’m okay with that,” he said, grinning. “’Cause I can promise you I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Josie went home to check on Connor before meeting her girlfriends for D.J.’s charity concert. It was an outdoor event and it had been postponed the first time due to rain and high winds, but this evening the weather had cooperated and the event had been an overwhelming success. As the headliner, D.J. and his partners raised more than one hundred thousand dollars for childhood cancer.

  They’d all agreed to meet at Jimmy’s for a drink to celebrate. Josie and her friends were crowded around the table, a slew of drinks between them thanks to the generosity of a few handsome cowboys. Josie was the only one with a boyfriend and the others girls argued they would happily drink the cocktails if Josie wanted to buy her own drinks. In the end, she decided to partake. No sense wasting good alcohol. Not that there was a risk of that happening with her crew. They were a wild bunch.

  She’d met the five girls in one of the first Zumba classes she taught at the gym. It was a beginner’s class and that meant they spent more time stumbling and giggling than working out, but they’d started to build something more important than muscle that day. A solid friendship that got Josie through her first few months in a strange city.

  “I still can’t believe you’re dating D.J.-freakin’-Stevens,” Nettie said, fanning herself with her hand. “I’m so jealous.”

  “We all are,” Diana piped up. “But I don’t know if I could handle it.” She shuddered. “Did you see that drunk girl in the front trying to grab his crotch all night?” The other girls giggled before Diana added, “Yeah, security finally had to escort her out of there. I bet he gets that all the time though, right? He must be used to it.”

  Josie listened to her friends argue the perils of being involved with a guy like her boyfriend when Steve surprised her, sneaking up behind her. “Hey, beautiful, care to dance?”

  “I didn’t know you were here,” she said, smiling. “I haven’t seen you at the gym lately. You’re not slacking off, are you?”

  He held his hand out, lowering his head. “Nah, just nursing a broken heart.”

  Steve was a nice guy and she didn’t want to lose him as a client. He came in with a group of five or six other body builders and she knew if she lost one she’d lose them all. “I don’t believe that,” she said, slipping her hand into his. “You’ve probably been too busy entertaining beautiful women—that’s why you haven’t been in.”

  She wanted to tak
e this opportunity to clear the air with Steve so they could reclaim the easy, friendly rapport they’d once had.

  He led her to the dance floor before wrapping her in his arms. Ironically, they were playing one of D.J.’s songs, making it difficult for her to concentrate on the questions Steve was asking her.

  Finally, he said, “I guess I don’t have to ask whether y’all are still together, do I?”

  “We are,” she said, smiling. “In fact, he should be here soon. We went to a charity concert he was doing tonight. We planned to meet here after.”

  “Yeah, I heard something about that on the radio. I guess it was a success?”

  “Yeah, it was great. They raised a lot of money and everyone had a lot of fun.” She knew she was grinning like an idiot when she said, “D.J. was amazing,” but she couldn’t help herself. She was proud of him.

  “I bet he was.” He returned her smile. “I’ve seen him in concert a few times. He puts on one hell of a show.”

  “That he does.” She was grateful the camaraderie they’d always enjoyed seemed to be returning.

  “You guys seem good together, Jos. I’m happy for you.”

  She felt a prickly sensation in her eyes. She was caught off guard by his encouragement. If anything, she’d been expecting to defend her relationship with D.J., yet again. “Thank you for saying that. We haven’t been together long, but he’s becoming important to me. Really important.”

  “I can tell the feeling’s mutual. I was in the gym that day when you were training him. Just seeing the way he looks at you, I can tell he’s crazy about you.” He laughed. “There were some pretty hot girls that day, all trying to catch his eye, but he couldn’t take his eyes off you the whole time.”

  Josie couldn’t wipe the grin off her face as her chest swelled with joy. Hearing this from someone like Steve, who had no reason to lie to her about what he saw, was the confirmation she needed that she wasn’t a fool to believe in what she and D.J. had. “Thank you, you don’t know how much I needed to hear that, Steve.”

  He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before he said, “I just want you to be happy. You deserve it. You’re a great girl and—”

  “Take your hands off her.”

  Uh-oh. D.J. had obviously been watching and misinterpreted the friendly kiss. “D.J., Steve was just—”

  “It’s okay,” Steve said, taking a step back as he held his hands up. “Your boyfriend’s here now. He wants to dance with you. I get it.”

  Josie felt guilty for letting Steve walk away without trying harder to explain, but she could tell by the murderous look in D.J.’s eyes letting him leave was probably for the best. Hell would likely break loose if he stayed.

  “He kissed you and you let him,” he said, his grip on her waist tightening as he glared at her. “You care to explain?”

  At least he was giving her the opportunity to explain, she thought. He hadn’t just left in a fit of anger, like she might have been tempted to do if she saw him kissing another woman. “He was telling me that he thought we were good together.”

  “Is that so?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

  “He said he believes you’re really into me and he wants us to be happy.”

  D.J. looked skeptical, but said, “I’m glad to hear that’s all it was, but just so we’re clear, from now on, the only guy who gets to kiss you is me.”

  “I love you,” she whispered, wrapping her hands around his neck as she drew his head down so his mouth would meet hers. His eyes widened in surprise. She’d told him she was falling in love with him before, but this was the first time she’d confirmed it, which obviously meant a lot to him. “I don’t want anyone else. Just you.”

  He framed her face with his hands, kissing her thoroughly. “Tell me again.”

  “I love you.” She was surprised how easy it was to say that and mean it.

  “I love you too, gorgeous.” He picked her up, burying his face in her hair. “I loved having you there tonight. Lookin’ out into that crowd and seein’ your face made every song more meaningful.”

  He’d sung every one of his chart-topping ballads directly to her, making her feel like the luckiest woman in the world. “It was a night I’ll never forget. You were amazing.”

  “I plan on givin’ you many, many more unforgettable nights,” he said, pulling her close.

  They danced in a silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the beat of the music coupled with the feel of his hard body pressed against hers before she finally said, “Thanks for the passes. My girlfriends really enjoyed meeting the other bands.”

  “I’m just sorry I didn’t get to spend more time with y’all. I really want to get to know your friends better, baby.”

  Josie loved that he wanted to be a part of her life, not just a late-night date whenever he was in town. “I’d like that,” she said, looking up at him. His eyes were clear with mischievous intent and part of her wished he would just toss her over his shoulder and make good on the promise lurking in his eyes. “I know they’d love that. They were practically drooling over you all night.”

  He chuckled, shaking his head. “I wanna know whether you were droolin’. That’s all that matters to me.”

  It was difficult to remain cautious when he said things that made her want to melt. Many would argue this thing with him was too good to be true, but Josie wanted to believe it was her compensation for putting up with Bryan for so many years.

  “So I have to go out of town next week,” he said, looking less than thrilled with the prospect. “It’s a radio tour to promote the new album. I don’t suppose you could sneak away from work for ten days?”

  Even if she could, she had a house guest who couldn’t be left alone, but she didn’t think it would be a good idea to remind D.J. of that. She was pretty sure Connor was never far from his mind. “You know I’d love to, but I really can’t get away right now.” She pouted, looking up at him through her lashes. “Do you really have to go? I’m going to miss you so much.”

  Josie couldn’t believe she was becoming one of those girls. She’d had friends who couldn’t seem to function without their husbands or boyfriends, but she’d always thought she was too strong and independent to become one of them. Still, when faced with the prospect of D.J. leaving town, even for a short time, she felt sad.

  “I’m gonna miss you too, sweetheart. But I’m afraid this can’t be helped. Duty calls.”

  “Hmmm.” She stood on her toes to kiss him as she held him tight. Normally she wasn’t big on public displays of affection. But everything was different with D.J. She wanted the world, and every single woman in it, to know he was hers. “I guess I’m just going to have to make sure you don’t forget me while you’re gone.”

  “Are you kiddin’?” he asked, tightening his grip on her waist as her feet cleared the ground. “I couldn’t forget you even if I tried.”

  “Just don’t,” she said, frowning. “Try to forget me, that is.”

  ***

  D.J. enjoyed hanging out with Josie’s friends, but he couldn’t wait to get her alone. The more time he spent with her, the more time he wanted to spend with her. And that was a first for him. Normally, by now the woman had become territorial and he and his buddies were strategizing about how he could get rid of her without recreating 9 ½ Weeks. But it wasn’t like that with Josie. Quite the opposite, in fact. He often felt like he was the one smothering her. He didn’t want to go a day without seeing her. He called her at work at least three times a day and texted her multiple times just because he wanted to know she was thinking about him too.

  “So, Josie tells us Cassidy fixed y’all up?” Nettie asked, nudging D.J.’s arm. “I’m sorry, but you don’t seem the type who’d go on a blind date.”

  “Drake and Cassidy are good friends of mine,” D.J. explained, running his hand up and down Josie’s back as he spoke. Damn. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her. No matter how innocuous, he wasn’t satisfied unless he was touching her. “They know me well.
When they told me they thought me and Josie would hit it off, I was curious.”

  “Well, you guys are too cute together,” Diana said, giggling. “I have to admit, I never thought our girl here would meet a guy who was man enough to take her off the market.”

  Josie blushed and dipped her head, piquing D.J.’s curiosity.

  “What does that mean?” he asked, shooting a side-long glance at Josie as he smiled at her friends.

  “Oh my God,” Ellen said, rolling her eyes. “She had the hottest guys pursuing her. I mean, the kind of men the rest of us would have given anything for a chance with and we practically had to force Josie to accept when they asked her out.”

  “Is that right?” D.J. liked Josie’s friends, but a part of him was concerned about whether they would respect the boundaries of their new relationship. He had no problem with her going out and having a good time with her girls. He knew he didn’t own her, but he was still feeling his way in unchartered waters and there were times when he felt like he was drowning. “Well, just to be clear, she is definitely off the market. So if you hear of any other guys wanting to ask her out, you can give them that message for me. Deal?”

  “Sure,” Diana said, smiling at Josie. “That will open things up for the rest of us single girls. Josie was always their first choice. Now that she’s no longer an option, maybe we’ll stand a chance.”

  “Would you guys stop?” Josie said, blushing furiously. “It’s not like that and you know it.”

  “Like hell it’s not!” Nettie said, laughing. “How many guys did you go out with last month?” She ignored the panicked look in Josie’s eyes, but D.J. couldn’t help but notice. “Come on, how many?”

  “Do we really need to do this now?” Josie asked between clenched teeth, her eyes drifting to D.J.

  She clearly didn’t want him to know she’d had a lot of men in her life before him, which was understandable. There were things about his past he wouldn’t want her to know either.