“Because I’m the lead singer. I’m supposed to get the best pussy.” Did he just sound like a five-year-old who didn’t get the toy he wanted? Fuck, he did.
“Wow, is that like, a rule?” Malcolm started to laugh. “I’ll make sure that goes in the next contract.”
Malcolm was his best friend. He wasn’t supposed to laugh at him. He was supposed to be supportive, understanding, and agree with him. “I swear to God if you tell anyone, I’ll deny every word as I’m standing over your corpse.”
Malcolm snickered as he stood. “Never even had this conversation.”
He was going to tell everyone, Declan knew it. Fuck me, he thought.
“I’m going to Gavin’s room. Gwyn sent some black and white cookies the other day. That will hold me for about ten minutes.”
Declan pointed to his bedroom. “I have a banana and whipped cream in my room.”
Malcolm held up his hand, a look of disgust on his face. “Fuck no. I know where that has been.”
“I didn’t stick it up my ass.” He dropped his head in his hands. “What are we going to do about Charlotte? She’s deadly.”
“Man up, Declan. She’s just a woman. A nice one. The kind we’re not used to dealing with on a regular basis, but she only going to be here for a few more days, right?”
Declan didn’t think Travis was going to throw this one back anytime soon. And he shouldn’t. She was the kind you keep. Even though he’d never wanted to keep any woman he’d been with. “You know she’s like Cherry.”
“Charlotte?”
“Yeah. She’s going to fix us.”
“Fuck me.” Malcolm pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s all we need –– another Cherry in our lives.”
Now he wasn’t alone in his hell. “She’s your mother.”
“As if I had a choice in that.”
Declan got up, went to his room, and grabbed his checkbook. When he got back to the kitchen, Charlotte had set him a place at the table with coffee, juice, half a bagel, a bowl of fruit, and a full cup of coffee. She smiled at him and he flipped open his checkbook and began to write out the check. “Who do I make the check out to?”
“Salvation House and please feel free to add as many zeros as you like. We need a lot of fertilizer.”
He was good at creating shit, now he was buying it for someone else. It had to be poetic. Twenty-five grand. Hell, he was a sucker. He tore off the check and forced himself not to thank her for letting him give her his money.
“Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Would you like to come to the ground breaking with me? They are having a picnic afterwards, and I’m sure people would love to meet you.”
Next thing you know he’d be planting beets and having the time of his life. “No, I’m not a picnic kind of guy.”
She raised a black eyebrow. “Too bad. My staff is going to be there and we might just find you a nice Southern girl.”
Who was he kidding? If she weren’t so wrapped up in Travis, he’d make a play for her. “The best one is already taken.”
“Are you flirting with me?” Mock surprised echoed in her tone.
He winked at her. “Maybe just a little.”
“Aren’t you sweet?” She folded up the check and stuck it in her black purse. “I have to go. I have a million things to do. Thank you so much.” She stood. “You know, Declan, you are a nice man, no matter how hard you pretend not to be.”
No one had ever said anything like that to him before. He kind of liked it. For a second he almost wanted to be a better man, or at least wanted to believe he could be one. “Travis is a very lucky man.”
“I’m lucky to have found him too. If you change your mind about joining us, just give me a call and I’ll give you directions. Travis has my number. Bye, Declan.” She was off with a jaunty wave.
He wouldn’t call nor would he go. “Have fun.” And with that he watched her walk out of the kitchen, her cute little butt swaying in those sexy tight jeans. Travis was damn lucky. He wondered how much karma he’d have to make up for to meet a woman like Charlotte. With his track record, it would probably take about ten lifetimes… if he worked really hard at it and started now.
Chapter Eleven
Charlotte stepped into Julian’s Café three minutes before five, a sigh of relief escaping her lips. One should never show up late for a date with her mother. She did not tolerate tardiness or bad manners. She hurried through the restaurant to her mother’s usual table, right in the center of the restaurant. Nicole Lambert liked to be seen dinning at the fashionable Old World Eatery, but not be bothered. Charlotte plastered a smile on her face and steeled herself. She might love how she looked in the blue jeans, but her mother was going to have a fit. Had she gone home to change she would have been late, so she decided the lesser of the evils was to be on time and in jeans, rather than late and inappropriately attired.
She leaned over and kissed her mother’s smooth cheek. “Hello, Mother. You look wonderful.” Her mother was in a peacock blue Oscar de la Renta wrap dress.
“Charlotte Elizabeth Lambert, are you wearing blue jeans?”
Charlotte sat. No, I’m naked, she thought. “They are Gucci. Don’t you just love them? I do.” Her mother may not respect jeans, but she did respect a classic designer’s label.
“Love them all you want, they are not for having dinner with your mother.”
“I was so rushed for time, I couldn’t go home and change after the ground breaking. We really missed you there.”
Her mother’s perfectly groomed eyebrow rose. “I had an engagement I couldn’t cancel.”
Manicures are so important, Charlotte thought. “I understand. I had a wonderful time though. We had a superb turnout with a lot of donations, and some very good press for the foundation.”
“I’m not sure I like the Lambert name associated with such a controversial endeavor. What happened to our commitment to the arts, the zoo, and historical restoration?”
Charlotte took a long breath, picked up her swan-shaped napkin, and pulled the bird apart. “Spousal abuse isn’t a controversial topic, it is a sad fact of life.”
“I’m sure it is, but it isn’t as if it happens to people of our social group.”
You’d be surprised, she thought. “The foundation is as committed as ever to our usual charities, but I want expand the reach of our donations. We agreed when I took over the foundation I could run it as I see fit. I’ve brought in more money in the last four years than the foundation did in the decade before I took over.”
Her mother took a sip of her water. “I’m very proud of you and all you’ve accomplished, but really a women’s shelter and school lunches?”
“We’ve never had to worry about paying the rent or eating, but a lot of people do. I’m sure that seeing an opera would be top on their list if they didn’t have to worry about buying food for their children. Or how wonderful it is to help preserve a species from extinction, when they have to make a mortgage payment.”
Her mother’s lips pursed as she carefully placed her water glass on the snowy white tablecloth. “You make me sound so heartless.”
Had she pushed her mother too far? “You are not heartless. You just see the world differently than I do.”
“I’m not sure that I like the direction your life is taking. We used to agree on everything. Your brother’s wife has caused a rift between him and me. Vivienne, well she was always so …”
“Independent?” Charlotte finished for her. She must be feeling a bit mean-spirited today.
“You sound as if you admired her reckless lifestyle.”
Charlotte was so envious she thought she might burst from it. “I loved that she had the courage to follow her own path and be the woman she wanted to be.”
That little area between her mother’s perfectly shaped brows crinkled. “Her behavior mortified the family. I was trying to practice tough love. Now you’re off on your own, going to Africa, and
wearing jeans.”
Charlotte shrugged. “I had a wonderful time in Africa and I was able to honor Viv by taking that trip. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
“I know that when Preston exposed his preferred lifestyle it changed you.”
Charlotte sighed. Why did her mother think everything about her new life revolved around Preston leaving her? “Preston's departure was the best thing that could have happened to me.”
For a moment her mother looked afraid. “Oh Charlotte, I feel like you are abandoning me too.”
Her heart nearly jumped into her throat and she reined in her anger. “I’ll never leave you, but you do have to let me grow up. Now, I want to sit here and enjoy my dinner with you. I’m never going to stop loving you or needing you. I just live in my own house now.” Well, sort of, but her mother certainly didn’t need to know about that part of her life any time in the near future. Charlotte spent the next two hours placating her mother. She loved her with every bone in her body, but she would never understand how her mother could place so much importance on perception. She didn’t see people for who they were. That made Charlotte sad, more than she would ever be able to say.
“You twisted everything around with your lies.”
“You took my rage and put it on the front page.”
“You killed his memory just for some ink.”
“You killed his memory just for some ink.”
Travis finished the last chord of the song. There was silence. Usually everyone would jump in with ideas for different lyrics or have chords to contribute, but this time there was nothing but empty silence. He looked at Shane who was staring at his feet. Malcolm got up and walked to the French windows. Vaughn was picking his nails. Declan was frowning, and Gavin looked like he was ready to cry. Shit. “Anything?”
Declan’s lips moved but nothing came out.
“I get that it’s not my usual stuff, but it’s just where I am right now. Is it a Scorned song or what? I know it’s the elephant in room, but Andy is dead. Fucking aneurysm. Andy died on us. I’m mad. Three fucking autopsies before we could bury him. The press had a field day hoping he’d OD'd.”
“I didn’t know you felt this way.” Malcolm said as he stared out of the window.
It hurt to breathe. “My best friend died and they wouldn’t let him rest.”
“It’s some of the best stuff you ever did.” Shane said still unable to look him in the eye.
“Thanks, but can you give it a rock sound?”
Shane shrugged. “If that’s what you want, but I’m thinking more of a gritty ballad.”
Travis let out a long breath. Finally, he didn’t feel like he was out there with his dick in his hand looking for some help.
Malcolm walked back over and sat next to Shane. He picked up his guitar. “Something like Nothing Else Matters?”
Shane nodded and played a few chords. The steel edge sound of his guitar filled the room.
Travis liked it. It was broody but tight.
Gavin got up and picked up his sticks. “What are you hearing for the drums?”
Travis thought for a moment. “Something low, repetitive. It builds until it explodes.”
“Like your rage.” Malcolm added.
Travis let out a breath. They were getting it. “Yeah.” He looked at Declan. His eyes were closed and he was mouthing the words. He saw something on Declan’s face he rarely showed to the world, even them. Pain. For the first time since Andy’s death he was able to share with his friends what he was feeling. There was the rush of relief pouring over him.
Maybe he was starting to heal and move forward. He had no idea where this was taking him. He didn’t even know if he had any more songs in him. He hadn’t shared the two songs he’d written for Charlotte with her. He certainly wasn’t going to share them with the band.
They’d laugh at him. He expected them to rib him about having Charlotte here, but with the exception of Shane and Vaughn they were really nice to her. Vaughn looked at her like he wanted to rape her, and Shane basically ignored her. They even reined in their naturally-perverted selves, which he appreciated. He really wasn’t ready for Charlotte to see one of them with some random chick bent over the coffee table going to town on her ass.
In the bedroom, Charlotte was turning out to be a wild woman, but she maintained a very polite, ladylike demeanor outside. That really turned him on. It was like they had a dirty little secret. He was getting deeper and deeper… He wasn’t sure what to call what they were having. All he knew is that he didn’t want it to stop anytime soon.
“What are you thinking for the bass?”
Vaughn’s question caught him by surprise. He wasn’t used to writing for the bass. Andy just seemed to know what was in his head and whipped it out of his ass and it was always perfect. He forgot Vaughn spent his time as a studio musician. He’d never written music or lyrics. “I’ve never written for And—the bass.”
Malcolm raised his hand. “I can do that.”
Luckily, Malcolm could play multiple instruments. He was a decent bass player, but his true instruments were the piano and classical guitar. And his ability to write music. What he and Shane came up with together was sheer genius.
“Good.” Vaughn nodded.
Travis felt his phone vibrate. He smiled. Charlotte was home and they had a date tonight. “Well, I’ll leave you all to it. I have a date.”
Gavin’s eyebrows rose. “A date? With who?”
Really, he thought. “With Charlotte, dumbass.”
“Why?”
Malcolm shook his head. “That’s what men do.”
Gavin held up his hands. “But you’re fucking her. Why do you have to date her too?”
Travis just had to say it. “Really?”
Declan sighed. “Is it time for the mommy-daddy talk with you, son?”
Gavin flipped him the bird. “Fuck you, Grandpa. When was the last time you went on a date?”
Declan laughed. “You were still in high school.”
Gavin looked at Travis. “Can I come?”
“Fuck no.”
Malcolm laughed. “Dates are for big people who wear long pants.”
Gavin twirled his drum stick. “It could be a learning experience for when I’m an old man and my sparkling personality and big dick aren’t enough to get a woman, like all of you are now.”
This was the Gavin he’d missed over the last year. “Maybe next time.” Travis put his guitar in its case, grabbed his leather jacket from the back of his chair, and walked out of the ballroom. Charlotte was waiting for him by the front door. She was in tight jeans and motorcycle boots. She was putting on a black leather jacket and almost looked like a bad girl in her leather. Jocelyn was sitting on the stairs texting. She stopped and gave Charlotte the thumbs up. Charlotte waved and grabbed a red motorcycle helmet off a side table. She insisted on taking his bike. Why, he didn’t know, but if she wanted to ride on his bike he was going to let her. It was the first time he’d ever taken a woman on the bike. That was his way of getting away from people. Andy had bought him the bike and when they went on their first big cross country tour, they’d frequently opted for the bikes instead of riding in the tour bus. Hell, it had been great.
When they were outside he helped her on the bike. “What are you and Jocelyn up to?”
She narrowed her dark eyes at him. “Travis, you make me sound so conniving. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Yeah, I’ll work on that.”
“You will forgive me of everything when you taste a burger from Pruitt’s.”
He wanted to take her someplace nice and classy, not some burger joint. “I can take you anywhere you want to go.”
“This is one of New Orleans’s best keep secrets. You are one of the few outsiders who will have the privilege to eat there.”
“What’s so special?”
“The best burgers, blues, and beer.”
“Okay, I’m almost in heaven.” She was the most unde
manding woman he’d ever been with. Most women wanted to go where they could be seen. Charlotte was the opposite. She always picked someplace out of the way so they could talk. For a brief second he wondered if she was ashamed to be seen with him, but that passed the second she slipped her arms around his waist and pressed herself against his back. That was a thought for another time. Now he had to concentrate on getting them to dinner alive instead of the boner in his pants.
Heaven was the ride back to the house. Charlotte snuggled up to his back, her hands around his waist. Maybe it was the couple of beers she’d had, but she was relaxed and at ease on the bike. They didn’t do a lot of talking at the burger joint. The music was too good. He would have to take Shane here –– he’d be in paradise. For a rocker, the man had a deep appreciation for all things blues. Hell, Travis forgot how much he loved the music. He was glad Charlotte shared that with him.
Back at the house, Charlotte showed him a partially hidden gazebo in the backyard by a tinkling fountain with water shooting out of mermaids’ mouths. They sat on a swing bench and rocked back and forth. What surprised him –– beside the fact this little spot was in the yard –– was how quiet it was out here. He would have thought he could hear the reverie from Bourbon Street, but he could only just make it out.
“Did you know that there are secret passages throughout this house and it has one of the best wine cellars in the South? I love this house.”
“Don’t tell Declan.”
She put her head on his shoulder. “About the secret passages or the wine cellar?”
“Both.” He could just imagine spending a day trying to find a drunk Declan in those secret passages.
“I actually thought about buying it for myself, but it’s been such a money-maker for the foundation, I really couldn’t justify it. When it’s not in use we hold tours here. I thought maybe Preston and I could raise a family here.”
Travis was glad that hadn’t happened. He couldn’t imagine where he’d be if she wasn’t in his life. He knew he wouldn’t be writing. “I would have never met you. Besides you have a beautiful house.”
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