“What’re you guys doing today?” Curt asked. “We’re going sightseeing. Wanna come?”
Jack looked at Em, who bit her lip and looked away, but Jack didn’t bother to hide his smile. “You both live here. Haven’t you seen it all?”
“Not together.” They answered in unison, smiled at each other, and kissed again.
Jack smiled. Curt was toast.
A young woman, stylishly dressed, stood behind Curt and Nicki and cleared her throat. “I’m looking for Jack McBride.”
Curt and Nicki stepped aside.
“That’s me. Ms. Callow, a pleasure to meet you.”
She looked shocked. “Please call me Barbara. I’m sorry to be late. The traffic in this city is crazy.”
Nicki eyed the woman suspiciously and then glanced at Em with a look he didn’t understand.
“Ms. Callow is a real estate agent, she’s showing Jack some apartments today,” Emily said. “He’s moving back to New York.”
Curt high-fived him. “Dude, awesome. Nobody tells me anything,” Curt said. “So that’s a no on sightseeing?”
“Just made the decision on Thursday, then I…forgot.” Jack looked at Em. “You guys have fun.” They were cute together. At least sightseeing didn’t cost a lot.
Em and Nicki hugged again, and she and Curt left.
“Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the couch. “Can I get you anything?”
“No, thank you.”
“Don’t worry about getting here late. We weren’t ready either.”
Her mouth hung open slightly. “You’re really Jack McBride.”
“I can prove it.” He pulled out his wallet.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that when the call came in, I didn’t make the connection.” Composing herself, Barbara took out a pad and pen. “Tell me what you’re looking for.”
“Two bedrooms, three baths, large kitchen. We need two rooms that can be converted into offices. Preferably renovated, but for the right place I’d tackle the renos.”
“Anywhere in particular?”
“Definitely West Side.” He winked at Em. At her puzzled expression he said, “Closer to Jersey.”
They spent the next hour taking virtual apartment tours on Barbara’s tablet. None of the places were quite right, but he wasn’t in a rush. They’d hammered out more details of what he wanted, and he was confident he’d find a place in no time. Their first place together, and Jack couldn’t wait.
J
I smile as Jackie walks off the elevator. Our moment, the one I’ve been waiting for, is finally here. I stand and check my reflection one last time to make sure I look perfect. Before I even take a single step to him, my heart thuds and blood pounds in my ears.
What the ever-loving fuck is that groupie whore doing back here? The lobby of The Yorkshire is crowded and noisy, but all sound and movement fade. Every beat of my heart echoes in my ears; the volume is deafening. My nails dig into my palms and draw blood. My body is locked so tight every muscle makes itself known. I feel like I might shatter.
As his arm curls possessively around her waist, I feel like a dagger has been thrust into my heart. Nooooo!
He’s walking toward the door, and out they go to the New York streets.
My mind is spinning. I spent months giving Jack time to forget, but now it appears that was a mistake. I love him, and I won’t lose him to some stupid groupie whore.
This thought finally unlocks my legs, and I follow them out. I don’t remember putting my sunglasses on or using my scarf to cover my straight blonde hair. Just as I step on to the sidewalk, Jack helps her into a cab. Jackie shouldn’t be going out without his security. He could get hurt. Luck is on my side as another cab pulls up to the curb. I instruct the stupid driver to follow. There’s an extra fifty if he doesn’t lose him.
Jack’s cab pulls up at Central Park. Taking the groupie whore to the park? How sweet. I pay the driver and get out a few blocks ahead.
When the black SUV pulls up a block from where a crowd has formed around Jack, it seems he’s not out without security after all. That fucking jarhead is useless, always watching but never seeing. I can be a wallflower when necessary. Still, Jackie’s so famous we’ll need security for the rest of our lives.
When the last of his fans leaves with a smile, Jack takes the whore’s hand, and my stomach turns. When his rich, full laugh rings out at something she says, a bead of sweat rolls down the side of my face, and I swipe it away. This one could be trouble. Nothing I can’t handle, but still. We are meant to be.
Ha! The little whore walks funny. Jack deserves someone perfect like him. He deserves me. My next love letter is set to be delivered. He loves the chase, so I hope I haven’t made it too obvious.
Boys will be boys, as my mother used to say. Have fun now, Jackie.
J
After their walk in the park, Emily took her time freshening up before they left for the gig Monday night. She and Nicki would get to watch from the side of the stage. Emily was excited at the prospect of seeing how the band and their crew prepared for a gig. Until then, she needed a few minutes to herself. Since Jack had returned from working out with Buzz, Emily hadn’t been able to get a minute to herself. After Barbara left, they’d gone to Central Park. It was good to get outside. The winter had been bitterly cold, so even at fifty degrees, it felt warm.
Even though she’d done yoga this morning, her leg ached. One yoga session couldn’t make up for the almost month she’d missed after she’d caught Sully cheating. Jack had noticed, so they’d stopped several times so she could rest. Emily hated that, after nearly ten years, it still affected her. She’d never be able to forget; the scars wouldn’t let her.
Again, Emily had gotten that creepy feeling of being watched. She’d thought she’d seen Jeff, but the sun had been in her eyes, so she couldn’t be sure. He was supposed to be the band’s security, but it seemed he spent most of his time around Jack.
They’d been stopped several times by fans wanting pictures and autographs. Jack happily obliged. As long as she wasn’t in the pictures, she was okay with it. Emily still felt funny about the picture Ariana had taken of them at Casa Amici that now served as the lock screen picture on Jack’s phone. She didn’t have a picture of him. Maybe he’d let her take a few naughty shots. He’d wanted to take them of her, so why not?
That reminded her of Jack on his knees, going down on her, in front of the mirror Friday morning. He was a great fuck. She couldn’t get her mind out of the gutter, so when they’d gotten back to the hotel, she’d pounced on him. The door was barely closed before she had Jack’s pants down and his cock in her mouth. He’d loved it, and so had she. He’d reciprocated threefold.
Jack strode into the bathroom. “You almost ready? Jeff wants us in five minutes.”
Jack looked sexy as hell in dark wash jeans, black T-shirt, and black boots. “That shirt looks familiar.” Emily couldn’t hide her smile. It was the one she’d worn the first time she’d gone down on him.
“It’s my new favorite.” His blue eyes sparkled with lust. She wore the burgundy sweater he’d bought her with a pair of black skinny jeans. And the outrageously expensive underwear. Emily reminded herself that was for later, and she smiled as she walked past him.
Jack pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard on the lips, their tongues tangling. “You look lovely.” His breath came in short bursts.
Emily caught her reflection. Her eyes were glazed with lust, her nipples were hard, and her panties wet. Damn the effect he had on her. She gazed at his groin, and the bulge behind his zipper had her smirking as satisfaction washed through her.
Jack’s phone blared out with Alice in Chains’ “Rooster.” His blue eyes darkened to sapphire. “Stop enticing me.” He connected the call. “We’re on our way.”
“So now would be a bad time to describe what I’m wearing under my clothes?”
“That’s just mean.” He pulled her in for a kiss before s
he could protest.
They held hands on the way to the elevator. Her mind wandered back to the park and that sense of being watched. Maybe it was because everyone stared at Jack: men, women, children, baby animals. He had a magnetism unlike she’d ever experienced before. Sully was charming, but Jack was ten levels above that.
“You look deep in thought.”
“Am I a groupie?”
Jack burst out laughing. “No. Why would you think that?”
“Well, you’re a musician, groupies sleep with musicians, I’m sleeping with you…”
Jack pulled her into his arms. “You’re my girlfriend.”
“Yeah, now, but not that first night. Was I a groupie then?”
“No. I wanted to date you, so you were already considered girlfriend material. Groupies sleep with many musicians, sometimes in the same band, sometimes whoever is available. We’ve never been into that scene.”
“Well, you’re the only musician I’ve ever slept with.”
“See, not a groupie.”
“But you’ve slept with fans?”
Jack hesitated. “Yeah, I guess. I’ve never actually picked a girl out of the audience before, mostly just girls after a gig, at an after-party or bar. They know who I am, and a lot of the time they say they like our music.”
Backstage at Madison Square Garden bustled with activity even though it was only five in the afternoon. Jack stopped to talk to members of their crew, just as he’d done on Thursday, and he introduced her to them.
Emily noticed Bernie, one of the female members of the crew, giving Jack appreciative glances after he moved on. She didn’t blame her; he was handsome and nice, a hard combination to resist. But she had the decency to keep it subtle. Looking was fine, but it was touching that would piss Emily off.
They passed several tables of food. A few crew members milled there, filling their plates. As they walked to the side of the stage, Jack put his arm around her. “Holden, Beth, Val, this is Emily. You’ll be seeing a lot of her.”
Beth and Val were sisters, but there was no resemblance. Beth was tall, blonde, and thin while Val was shorter with brown hair and voluptuous. They were both very attractive, but neither flirted with him. They joked with him, and he with them, but nothing untoward. She noticed Nicki paying attention to the women Curt talked to. They’d compare notes later.
Curt pulled Nicki in for a long kiss, dipping her low. Some of the crew hooted and shouted, “Get a room.” When Curt righted her, Nicki’s cheeks were flushed.
Emily had never seen Nicki blush before.
A petite blonde with a tablet and a tall blond man walked over to them. “Guys, we need to discuss the VIPs.”
“Hey, man.” Jack shook his hand. “Emily, this is Brian Vale, our tour manager, and his assistant, Aviva Smith. We couldn’t survive without them.”
Aviva extended her hand. “Nice to meet you. Call me Viv.” Her smile was warm and friendly.
“Nice to meet you both.”
Nicki walked over as Curt joined the guys to talk with Brian. Her smile was epic, and her eyes glowed. “Isn’t this great? I had no idea so much work went into a tour.”
Emily smiled. A lot of their friendship was based on the fact that they were both writers, and they loved learning and observing people. She never knew where she’d find inspiration for a character or setting.
The glow left Nicki’s eyes as she stood in front of Emily. They were almost eye to eye since Nicki wore a pair of her stilts. “You okay?”
Emily looked at Jack and nodded.
“Hey, it’s me, you don’t have to pretend.” Nicki stepped closer. “After everything that’s happened, it’s okay to be confused.” Nicki’s light brown eyes shone with understanding.
Emily didn’t want to have this conversation here. These were Jack’s people, and she didn’t want to air her troubles or her reservations in their earshot.
Nicki hugged her. “We’ll talk later.”
The crew finished testing the lights, and a voice came over the PA. “Soundcheck.”
Jack and Curt walked over. Holden handed Jack his guitar. “You don’t mind, do you?” Jack asked.
He’d told her he had a surprise for her during the encore tonight, something the band needed to work on during soundcheck. “Of course not.” Emily kissed Jack quickly. She didn’t want the attention from the crew that Nicki and Curt had gotten.
Viv stood next to Holden. They stole glances at each other when they thought no one was paying attention.
When Viv turned toward Emily, her lips curved into a small smile. “Ladies, if you’ll follow me.” Viv led them through the backstage area to a hallway. It was the same route they’d taken with Jack on Thursday. “There are drinks in the dressing room. I understand you’ll be eating with us, so as soon as soundcheck is over, I’ll come get you.”
“You seem like a tight bunch,” Nicki said.
Viv smiled fondly. “Yeah, the guys in the band are great. I’ve been with Brian for almost three years, and we’re more like a family than employer and employee.” She leaned in. “I’ve heard horror stories about some bands, but the guys have always been great to us. The crew has been with them for years, they’re totally loyal.” Viv opened the door, and Nicki and Emily walked in. Viv handed Nicki a piece of paper. “That’s my cell. Call if you need anything, anything at all.” She smiled and closed the door as she left.
Nicki turned to her. “Okay, spill.”
Emily sat on the couch she’d shared with Jack last Thursday. The room looked the same but so much had changed. She was over the hump of her wedding day that wasn’t. Since she’d caught Sully, she’d dreaded it more and more as the day approached. She couldn’t have imagined, even in her wildest writer’s imagination, that she’d meet a rock star, sleep with him, and now be his girlfriend. Emily was torn from her thoughts by Nicki gently rapping her knuckles on Emily’s forehead.
“Hey, out here, please.” Nicki’s voice held concern. “Get out of your head and talk to me. I know you haven’t been talking to Vince and Eddie, as you implied you were.”
“I implied no such thing. I’m not responsible for your false inferences.”
“Don’t use semantics with me. Need I remind you I had a 3.9 GPA in English?” Nicki’s smile faded. “Come on, Emi, you need to talk about how you’re feeling.”
Emily stood and grabbed two bottles of water off the table, handing one to Nicki. “We’ve done nothing but talk about feelings for almost a month.”
Nicki opened her bottle and took a sip. “No, we haven’t. We’ve talked about what he did, conjectured as to why, but you haven’t talked about what’s going on inside your head.” She looked down at the bottle and peeled a corner of the label away. “You know that leads you down a bad road.”
Emily flopped on the couch. Nicki was right. Emily had spent years in therapy while recovering from her accident and again after she’d dropped out of college. It was too easy to keep it all inside her head, where she was safe. She’d conquered that flaw until she’d caught Sully cheating. She hadn’t even realized that she’d withdrawn into herself to such a degree until Nicki pointed it out.
“How do you know I haven’t been talking to Eddie and Vince?”
Nicki shook her head. “Because I’ve been talking to them. You had us going, too. Implying to me—” Nicki raised her hand to silence Emily’s argument. “Letting us assume that you were opening up to the others.” Nicki furrowed her brow. “Look, I know most of the time my love life is a hot mess, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help you.”
“It’s not that.” Emily’s eyes teared up.
Nicki scooted closer. “Then what?”
Emily swallowed her tears. She wouldn’t let Sully break her. “I trusted him. Totally. I never thought he was a cheater.” That still blindsided her, and none of her willful oblivion accounted for that behavior.
Nicki pulled her into a hug. “None of us did. Hell, ev
en Meg, with her complete and utter distrust of all things male, thought Sully was one of the good ones.”
It turned Emily’s stomach that her friends had been discussing her behind her back. But what choice had she given them? She’d shut down emotionally. Still was. She couldn’t face the pain all at once as it threatened to swallow her whole. She’d never considered herself a weak person, but she felt beaten down. Her parents would be so ashamed of her.
Nicki hugged her tighter. “No, sweetie, they wouldn’t be.”
Emily pulled from Nicki’s embrace. She hadn’t realized she’d said that out loud. Emily took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It was time to share what was haunting her inside her head. “How can I trust anything I feel ever again?”
The dressing room door burst open, and Jack, Curt, Buzz, and Elliot strode in laughing.
Emily turned away and wiped the tears that streamed down her cheeks, but it was too late. Jack was on his knees next to her.
“Baby, what’s wrong.”
“Nothing.”
“Em—”
“Jack,” Nicki said. “Just girl talk. We needed to catch up.”
Jack pulled back and searched Emily’s face. He looked at Nicki and then back at her. “Girl talk?”
“Yeah.” Emily smiled.
He stood and pulled her to her feet. “Okay. Dinner?”
Emily nodded, turned to Nicki, and mouthed “Thank you.”
chapter
SIX
Girl talk. Jack wasn’t buying it. Emily had been quiet all through dinner, and Nicki stayed close to her, but by the time they took the stage, Em seemed to have recovered. She and Nicki were at side stage cheering them on. Every time he glanced over, Emily smiled at him. He could get used to this. She looked like she was having a good time.
Tonight had gone smoothly with none of the guitar problems Curt had been having on and off since the tour started, and Jack was glad. He didn’t want to have to explain it to Emily.
Jack exited the stage, handed Holden his guitar, and walked to Emily, picking her up and spinning her around while he kissed her. “How’d we do?”
No More Yesterdays: A Rock Star Romance (Rocked in Love Book 2) Page 5