1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Seven

by Shayla Black

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Until the police conclude this investigation and some time goes by, I’m not sure you should do anything but lay low.”

  “I won’t miss his services, Candia. If I did, I’d look like an unfeeling prick. And I need to say good-bye. He might have had his flaws, but he was my friend.” He shook his head and struggled against tears. “I wish to fuck I’d been able to save him.”

  The rock star life looked like good-time glitz to outsiders. Living it was something else completely. Different countries, different hotel rooms, transient “friends.” Jesse’s schedule was never his. Indulging in his goofy side wasn’t good for the badass sex-god image he’d cultivated over the years. Yeah, it sold albums, but he never quite relaxed. Music critics and a changing industry complicated everything. And the really suck-ass part was the paparazzi hovering, just waiting to snap pictures if the temptation to dive into the ever-present girls, booze, and drugs ever became too much to resist. Not for one minute did he forget that virtually everyone around him was making a buck off his vocal cords. If he lost his voice or died tomorrow, his fans would care. But would any of the people he saw day in and day out give two shits?

  Not so much. Candia was the closest thing he had to a friend now, and she was a career woman first and always. If she didn’t have him, she’d mourn for thirty seconds, then pick up the phone and schmooze multiple job offers before choosing one and moving on.

  No wonder he’d really enjoyed his time with Bristol. She didn’t expect him to be sexy or perfect or charming or anything except nice. And while he suspected she was a tad gun-shy after Hayden, she had opened up to him and shared parts of herself, like the fact that she was named after her dad’s Connecticut hometown and that she watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns whenever she caught one on TV.

  “Ryan made his choices,” she murmured, her voice heavy.

  Jesse gritted his teeth. “When he was so high, he barely knew his own damn name.”

  “Sorry. I know he’d been a part of your band for years and you used to be tight.” She hesitated.

  Tight? They’d shared both women and parties for years. Nothing more intimate than drinking out of the same bottle while both balls deep in the same chick. He and Ryan had grown apart after Jesse had stuck with his decision to stay sober, but that didn’t mean he’d cared about the guy less.

  “Thanks,” he muttered.

  “Maddy’s funeral is that afternoon in Round Rock.”

  He winced. What a tragic waste. Sixteen was way too young to die.

  “Did you get a hold of her parents?”

  “I did. They don’t want anything to do with you, your apologies, or your money. And they definitely don’t want you showing up to their daughter’s funeral and turning it into a media circus. They want to grieve in peace. They don’t blame you for what happened. Apparently, Maddy had been through some trouble with drugs in the past. But they don’t want you or any token of yours around as a reminder of all they’ve lost. If you really want to make a gesture of some sort, I think your best option is to start a scholarship fund in her name or shoot an anti-drug PSA.”

  That would cost him almost nothing. Jesse wished the girl’s parents had been more demanding…but forcing them to take from him would only serve to make himself feel better. “Done. Set it all up.”

  “Will do. Beyond that, I’m still thinking about your image and how to rehab it. Give me time.” She sighed. “So where did you go after you dropped me off at the airport?”

  Jesse described his road trip to see Kimber. “But I couldn’t intrude on their domestic scene any longer, so I split. They won’t tell anyone. Kimber understands the pressure, and Deke just wants me gone.” He shifted in his seat. “After that, I went back to the hotel and grabbed my bike off the equipment truck, then took off. I pulled over to sleep at a park off the road. Then I rolled into Texarkana and found an old-school barbershop. No one in there was under seventy, so I doubt they had any idea who I am. I’d already rented a craptastic motel room and shaved. I’d taken out my earrings and slid into the jeans and a comfortable tank I keep in the saddlebag. They cut my hair without blinking. Now I’m a new man.”

  “So you’re in Texarkana?” Candia didn’t sound thrilled, and he heard her tapping on her keyboard. “Because someone there will recognize you. According to the most recent census, the city has a population of over thirty-six thousand people. Even if you’ve changed your appearance—”

  “I was only there a few hours. I went to a nearby barbeque restaurant the barbers raved about to grab some dinner and…” Saying he’d met someone was going to launch Candia into a righteous fit. On the other hand, she seemed to have spidey senses. His publicist would figure it out, and when she realized that he hadn’t clued her in, he’d have hell to pay. Besides, she couldn’t help him improve his image if she didn’t know how he might be impacting it. “I sort of…met a woman.”

  “Oh my—” she huffed. “Seriously? You think now is the time to get laid? How long before she sells you out to the tabloids? I can see the headlines now. McCall ‘grieves’ with skanky one-night stand.”

  “First of all, she’s not skanky and she’s not a simple lay. Her name is Bristol Reese. She bakes for a living. And she’s really damn sweet. Second, she has no idea who I am.”

  “Get real.” Candia was jaded on a good day, and this wasn’t a good one at all.

  “I’m totally serious. She was in the middle of a weird family situation and I helped her out. She didn’t recognize me. No one did. Look.” He took a quick selfie of his shorn hair and clean face, bare of all leather and jewelry. Then he sent it her way. Jesse studied the image. He looked like a normal Joe.

  A few moments later, he heard a ding. “Wow, that’s you? Holy shit, you clean up nice. Okay, I have to admit, I barely recognize you. Your face looks leaner, more chiseled with your hair buzzed. We should talk to Jackie about making this look permanent. It’s a surprisingly cool change.”

  Jesse didn’t want to talk about his stylist now. “It’s sure a shitload easier. So anyway, I’m in this small town in Arkansas. Lewisville. Barely a thousand people live here. I’m more likely to be given a sideways glance for being a newcomer than for being an international star. Relax.”

  She paused. “You know, maybe it’s not a terrible idea for you to hang low there for a few days. I mean, if this girl has no idea who you are and you really won’t see other people, that little pissant town may be the perfect place to hide.”

  Candia’s proclamation made Jesse smile. He didn’t have to give up Bristol yet. Reality would intrude soon enough, but he could enjoy her company a bit longer. He wished he could confide in her, tell her about his problems and his grief. She would listen well and give good advice, he’d bet.

  “Admit it. I did the right thing,” he ribbed Candia.

  “In theory. It’s early days. Just keep your new bug all snug in your love nest so she can’t squeal. We’ll talk soon.”

  Before he could even say good-bye, she hung up. With a shrug, Jesse pocketed his phone. In their world, time was money, and he didn’t pay her to shoot the shit. He’d rather have her figuring out how to assure the public that he hadn’t played any part in the girl’s death and that he was sorry as hell that she was gone.

  Jesse made his way back to the upstairs apartment. Not a noise disturbed the space. Shakespurr prowled closer, staring him down before he gave a disdainful meow and trotted off. But he didn’t hear a sound out of Bristol.

  When he crept down the hall, he found the bathroom door open, steam still clouding the mirror over the basin. A few steps more, and he stood in the door to her bedroom. She lay across the bed, dressed in a faded gray T-shirt about five sizes too big with some terrycloth turban thing wrapped around her hair. And she was fast asleep.

  A fond smile crawled across his face. After her shitty evening with her family, he’d kept her awake more often than not before she’d had to slip out to work. She’d still p
ut in almost a twelve-hour day and confronted her ex head on. His girl had smarts, stamina, and spine.

  Well, she wasn’t his, like, forever. But his for another day.

  He’d love to wake Bristol and prove exactly how much he appreciated her, in every way he could show her. But right now, she needed sleep. If he intended to spend half the night inside her again—and he did—she’d need it. Along with some food. Then he’d have to figure out how to persuade her to let him stay for a while. He’d slip away for Ryan’s service and try to avoid the press. The rest of the time, he’d spend with Bristol. That made him smile. And bonus, he would be around to fend off Hayden the half-wit. Win-win.

  After pressing a light kiss to her forehead, Jesse headed downstairs again to the restaurant’s kitchen. Hands on hips, he surveyed the room. It looked as if a bomb had gone off. He sighed. He was no expert with this stuff, but it couldn’t be impossible to clean. It would also save poor exhausted Bristol a whole lot of effort and allow her to spend the rest of the evening with him.

  As he filled the sink with soapy water and dumped all the dirty utensils inside, the events of the past few days rolled through his head. Oddly, despite the fact that his career was in turmoil, his life upside down, and his surroundings unfamiliar, he felt completely centered. Thoughts of Bristol circled, dive-bombed. She was the reason for his Zen attitude. She amazed him. She inspired him.

  A melody shot across his brain. It kind of reminded him of her—pretty, haunting, somewhat unexpected. He hummed it as he cleaned a few attachments from the standing mixer and set them out to dry. He moved onto spoons and baking pans, scouring them clean. As he wiped down the counters and display cases, Jesse realized that, despite all the crap in his life, he was smiling. Bristol did that for him. The song rolling around in his head made him kind of happy, too.

  With his grin widening, he plucked his phone from his pocket and started recording the music in his head. For the first time in weeks, maybe years, he felt almost happy.

  Chapter Five

  Bristol awoke well after dark. She sat up with a start and found herself alone in the rumpled queen-size bed. A glance at the clock confirmed it was nearly two a.m. She’d slept ten hours. Holy cow, she never did that. Jamie had worn her out the night before, and she’d fallen into an exhausted slumber. But at least she was up early for work.

  OMG, work! She’d neglected to make sure he’d locked the front door. In fact, she didn’t hear any signs of him prowling around her apartment. Was he even still here?

  The thought that he might have left without saying good-bye upset her way more than it should.

  Scrambling out of bed, Bristol pulled on a pair of shorts and righted the towel turban on her head, vaguely wondering how bad her hair would look once she removed it. She shoved the thought aside and stumbled down the hall.

  In the living room, she found Jamie. She breathed a little sigh of relief when she spotted him on her sofa with a pair of buds shoved into his ears, his phone in hand, and a notepad and pen perched on his thigh. He looked deep in thought, and she wondered what had him concentrating so intently.

  When he caught sight of her, he clicked off the phone, closed the cover of the notepad, and shoved everything onto the table in a heap. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

  “Kind of groggy, but otherwise all right. You hanging out? Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. It’s cool.”

  She didn’t quite believe that since he gave off the vibe that she’d interrupted something. But he didn’t look guilty, more like distracted. “Did Hayden give you a hard time yesterday?”

  “What makes you think I’d let him?” He scoffed. “I told the little asswipe to back down. He suggested that I fuck off but I declined. It took restraint to let him walk out the door undamaged, but I let him because I didn’t think mopping the floor with his face would help your situation.”

  Bristol didn’t have much doubt that Jamie could have. “Nonviolence was probably the better choice. Sorry I crashed on you. I was beat.”

  He shrugged as if it was no big deal. “It’s fine. You needed sleep.”

  Yeah, but the fact that he’d hung around waiting for her to wake up both embarrassed and excited her. Since he didn’t have a job right now, it was possible he had no place else to go. Or maybe he just liked her and wanted to spend more time together. That wasn’t good for her fling thing, but she’d end it soon. Any minute now… “Sorry.”

  “Hey, it’s not a big deal. Really.”

  Bristol smiled when she realized he meant it. “Thanks.”

  “Hungry? I tossed together some stuff for sandwiches and salads last night, using your leftovers. Hope that was all right.”

  “Sure.” She normally didn’t neglect to feed her guest for over twenty-four hours. Geez, she really had been tired.

  “I’ll make you a plate.”

  She cocked her head at him. Hayden had never been half so helpful. Or caring. As soon as they’d begun dating, he’d expected her to feed him more often than not after cooking all day. He’d claimed that all his pencil pushing behind a desk exhausted him, so more often than not he’d preferred to end the day with a blow job. Less effort on his part than actual sex.

  She and Jamie hadn’t done more than share a bed and some skin for a few hours but already he was far more considerate. Giddy little butterflies began dancing in her belly, and Bristol had to remind herself that being a nice human being didn’t mean he intended to be romantic. And they were not having a relationship.

  “That would be great.” She smiled his way.

  “Give me a minute and I’ll get you fed.”

  “Thanks. I’m going to dry my hair now and hope that I don’t look like Medusa when I’m done.”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s impossible since you’re gorgeous, but go for it.”

  Bristol rolled her eyes at the compliment. “I look terrible. You don’t have to butter me up, but I appreciate it.”

  As she turned for the bathroom, Jamie grabbed her wrist and snapped her around, flush against his chest. “I’m serious. I think you’re beautiful. You’re not calling me a liar, are you?”

  His silky tone warned her that would be a bad idea. Bristol swallowed against the sudden tension in the air. “No. I just…”

  “Don’t take compliments well?” He raised a brow at her as if he already knew the answer. “As long as I’m around, you need to start accepting them. And believing them.”

  She stared up into his dark eyes in breathless disbelief. He may not be trying to romance her…but he was certainly making her heart flap and quiver. Which made her feel like a twit. She had to stop reading happily-ever-after into his nice gestures.

  “Sure. Okay. Thanks.” She pulled gently at her wrist, eager to leave the room before she made an idiot out of herself.

  Jamie was slow to release her. “I’ll have your food ready in ten. Then we can talk.”

  What did he want to say? She’d rather they simply had sex. She didn’t find tangling between the sheets with him nearly as confusing as watching him defend her against Hayden or staring back into his eyes as he complimented her. But she had a few things to say if she was going to persuade him to go with her to dinner on Tuesday night at her mom’s house, then move on afterward.

  “Sounds good.” She nodded his way vaguely.

  After managing to brush her hair and somewhat tame the strands with a blow dryer, she tossed on her work clothes and spruced up with a dose of mascara and lip-gloss. When she tiptoed into the kitchen, she found Jamie setting a plate of what looked like a ham sandwich on thick sourdough and a mixed greens salad with some mandarin oranges and feta crumbles.

  She sat and blinked down at her plate. “You did this?”

  “Yeah.” He shrugged. “My parents worked a lot when I was a kid. I learned how to fend for myself by foraging from the fridge. This is easy. It’s not as difficult as making turducken. Or your fabulous cookies.”

  But she really couldn’t think of the
last time anyone had cooked for her. It was a small gesture. Maybe this was his way of thanking her for letting him crash here. But that intent gleam from his dark eyes sparkled with something far more personal than gratitude.

  Her breath caught. Her heart loped into a gallop. “I’m sure it’s great. I really appreciate it. And I’m, um…glad you didn’t bail while I slept.”

  “About that…” For the first time since she’d met him, Jamie looked uncomfortable. “Look, if you don’t need me to go, I’d love to stay a few days.”

  Did he need money? Was he between jobs or houses? Did it really matter since he only wanted a few days and she needed him to stick around that long? No, but everything felt more complicated because some silly part of her didn’t want to let him go.

  Bristol studied him. “You okay?”

  He pulled at the back of his neck. “Yeah. I’d like to spend some time with you before I go back to work.”

  “So you do have a job?”

  Jamie laughed. “Yeah. I’m…taking a vacation right now. I haven’t had one in years.”

  “And you travel a lot. What do you do?”

  “No offense, but one reason I’m taking this vacation is so that I don’t have to talk or even think about work for a while. You understand, right?”

  As someone self-employed, she understood the constant pressure, the stress of being unable to simply have a few days off. If someone had given her that golden opportunity, she probably wouldn’t want to talk about her job, either. Besides, unless she was going to move him into the “relationship” category, she didn’t need to know everything about him. “Sure. Totally understand.”