Past Regrets: Love and Friendship, Book 2

by Shelley Munro

  “Why don’t you start your night here?” Ryan asked.

  One of the redhead’s friends wrinkled her nose. “This place is a dive.”

  Julia opened her mouth to refute the point, but Ryan squeezed her in warning.

  “The place has received a revamp, and I personally know the new manager. They have a new lineup of dancers and routines. You should give them a try.”

  The redhead made a scoffing sound. “You have to say that. You work there.”

  “I’m helping out for a few weeks,” Ryan said. “I’m not on the payroll.”

  “Do you have a girlfriend?” the redhead asked with another flutter of her stick-on lashes.

  “He has a wife,” Julia said sweetly. Damn. She bit down on her lip. Way to attract new customers.

  “I don’t have a girlfriend,” Caleb said.

  “Do you think it’s worth trying out this club?” the redhead asked.

  “Yes,” Caleb said.

  Two couples from the group wandered off, and Julia wanted to run after them and drag them back. They stopped by Maxwell’s closest opposition, took in the length of the line and had a quick discussion before retracing their steps.

  “Score one for the new club,” Julia murmured.

  Most of the people who’d stopped to watch them dance ended up walking inside, ready to try the new place.

  “Good job, guys,” Julia said to Ryan and Caleb.

  “Should we sing?” Ryan whispered into her ear.

  “A ballad,” she suggested. “Something I can do a simple routine to.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Caleb said, strumming his guitar.

  Ryan and Caleb’s voices blended into a thing of beauty. Closing her eyes, Julia attempted to shrug off her earlier jealousy when the redhead had flirted with Ryan. When the emotion lingered, she gave it a harder shove, scooting it to the back of her mind. After another breath, she started to move to the beat of the music, lifting her hands and clicking her fingers while two of the members of French Letters sang of love and candy sweet kisses.

  Julia had to force herself to open her eyes and watch for potential customers. As she’d hoped, their singing, dancing and patter attracted attention, and many of those who spied the line outside their opposition decided to give Maxwell’s a try instead of queuing.

  By the time she’d hustled and danced outside for an hour, they’d enticed a good number of customers inside.

  “Great job. That should do it for now,” she said, pleased with this way of attracting patrons. “That worked well. I need to think about hiring hosts and hostesses to entice people into the club.”

  “You might need to think about additional security,” Ryan said.

  “I know. I’d prefer not to, but Stan would need help if we had troublesome customers.”

  Ryan brushed his fingers over her cheek and resettled a flyaway lock of air. “I’d feel better if I knew you had muscle on the premises to thwart any idiocy.”

  He meant when he left to do the concert in Wellington, and the others their manager had booked for them in Australia. “I’ll think about security and discuss it with Mum. She might have some ideas.”

  Lucky for her, Ryan took her diversion and ran with it. “Did she enjoy the dress rehearsal for the dancers? You didn’t say.”

  Julia nodded, the quick sting of tears coming to her eyes. “She told me she was proud of what I’d achieved.”

  “She likes having you around.”

  “I know. She makes me feel guilty for leaving her to run the place alone all these years.”

  Ryan brushed his knuckles over her cheeks. “No. If she knew you thought that way she’d be upset. She knew you needed to stretch your wings and do something else. Elise gave you the opportunity to follow your dreams.”

  “Huh! Big dreams. I went to secretarial college.”

  Ryan grinned. “Caleb and I didn’t stay at university for long. Pissed the parents right off. They’re a bit happier now, although they harp on about saving money for a rainy day.”

  When they entered the club Susan was on stage going through one of her routines. Julia nodding approvingly at the way her friend threw herself into the role and became a sultry seductress with one click of her fingers and the cock of a hip. Behind her mask, her eyes smoldered with heat.

  “She’s a natural,” Ryan said. “The guys can’t keep their eyes off her.”

  “The women either. They want to be her,” Julia said with distinct satisfaction. And it was good for Susan too. She radiated confidence and her propensity for judging people harshly hadn’t made an appearance for ages. Her friend had bloomed.

  “I’d better go and join Caleb.” He kissed her lightly on the lips and stepped away.

  “You’d better wipe off the lipstick. Red isn’t your color.”

  “It is if you’re wearing it,” he said, rubbing his hand across his lips. Grinning, he prowled away, attracting the attention of a group of young women. They waved at him, and he paused to speak to them.

  She turned away, yet glanced over her shoulder. One of the women ran her hand down Ryan’s chest, fluttered her eyelashes at him. Ryan laughed, kissed her hand and walked away with a wave. The women stared after him, their gazes hungry and behavior flirtatious.

  Julia blinked rapidly, her throat tight. She wove between the chairs and tables, a smile fixed to her face. Even though Ryan hadn’t done anything wrong, it was difficult watching women throw themselves at him.

  Once Neil and Jeff arrived back in Auckland, Ryan’s days were full of rehearsals and most of his nights were spent at the club. He and the rest of the band did the odd set during quiet times to try out their new material and polish up some of the old stuff. They also did rock covers in the hope of throwing customers off the scent. Everyone knew French Letters never did covers while on stage, sticking to their own original material instead.

  Day by day, night by night Ryan noticed the way Julia distanced herself. If he had a spare moment, Julia practically ran out of the room to undertake a task that required immediate action.

  In the early hours of Thursday morning, he and Julia shared a cab back to her apartment.

  “We need to talk,” he said when they entered.

  “Can it wait until after I shower?” Julia avoided his gaze.

  “I need to shower too. We’ll share.”

  Julia glanced at him then, alarm smoothing away almost instantly. “I’m tired.”

  “I don’t intend to jump you.” This came out sharper than he’d intended, and he grasped for his wavering control. His cell phone rang. “You go ahead while I take this call.” He glanced at the screen and grimaced. “Seymour, do you know what time it is?”

  “Morning, where I am,” Seymour said in his crisp American accent. “Caleb said the material for the new album is coming along well.”

  “Yes.” Caleb hadn’t told him their manager had contacted him.

  “I’ve booked you three additional shows in Australia. Another in Melbourne and two in Sydney.”

  “You could have checked with us first.” He didn’t want to leave Julia for months again.

  “You’ve never worried about bookings before.” Seymour sounded surprised.

  No time like the present to drop the truth into the conversation. “I’m married, Seymour. I have a wife to think about.” He stopped talking, waiting for an explosion.

  “Fuck. Are you crazy?” Seymour’s voice rose with each successive word.

  “I don’t believe so.” The shower shut off. “I can’t discuss this now. You can shout at me in Wellington. I presume you’re coming down for the concerts.”

  “I am now,” Seymour said crisply. “Does anyone else know?”

  “Caleb, Jeff and Neil know and a few of my wife’s friends.”

  “Keep it that way.” The phone slammed down before Ryan could tell Seymour what he thought of his order.

  Shaking his head, he went to take his shower. Julia was already in bed when he entered the bedroom. He crawled
into bed with a sigh.

  “Bad news?”

  “Seymour has booked us three more shows in Australia.”

  “Oh.” She paused. “I’m sure your fans will be excited.”

  “You’re not and that concerns me more. I don’t want to leave you.”

  Julia reached over and switched off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness. “It doesn’t matter.”

  Irritation swept through Ryan, and he fumbled with the lamp on his side of the bed. He blinked at the flare of light. “I’m leaving to meet work commitments. I have every intention of coming back to you.”

  He caught a trace of doubt in her expression, and his temper swirled higher.

  “I don’t understand why you won’t believe me. I’ve never done anything to harm our marriage. I don’t drink, do drugs. I’ve never been unfaithful to you. I’m not your ex.”

  She bit her lip, unwilling to look at him once again.

  “If anyone has a reason to be pissed and full of doubts it’s me. I can’t remember, but I’m sure I would’ve bought you an engagement ring. You don’t wear it.” His pointed gaze focused on her left hand. “And a wedding band?”

  “I haven’t noticed you wearing your wedding band,” she retorted.

  Ryan frowned. “I have one?”

  “You said you intended to wear it on a chain around your neck. I can’t see one either there or on your finger.”

  “I had a ring?”

  “A gold band I had engraved before you left on tour.”

  “I didn’t find a ring with my stuff after I was discharged from hospital.”

  Her brows rose, the touch of challenge increasing his indignation.

  “Check with Caleb. He collected my gear for me. He’ll tell you there was no ring.”

  Like a popped balloon, some of the attitude burst from her. “Do you think the muggers stole it?”

  “Doesn’t that make sense? They took my phone and wallet and left me for dead. They must’ve taken my ring. My watch too,” he added. “Caleb said I used to wear one my parents gave me.”

  Julia closed her eyes. “My ring is in my jewelry box over there on the dressing table. I wore it on a chain around my neck until I—” She broke off with an audible swallow.

  “Until you what?”

  “Never mind.” Moisture welled in her eyes, and she blinked rapidly to clear it. The stubborn jut of her chin told him she didn’t intend to enlighten him further, yet swift on the heels of determination came a flicker surprisingly similar to guilt.

  Ryan climbed out of bed and strode over to the jewelry box. He lifted the lid off and scanned the contents. The pair of rings on a gold chain was underneath a pendant necklace. He plucked them out and returned to the bed. “I want you to wear them, and tomorrow we’ll go to a jeweler’s and buy a new wedding band for me.”

  Her eyes widened as if he’d surprised her. “You’d do that?”

  “Of course. I want people to know I’m married. I don’t want anyone else except you.” He took her left hand and slid on her wedding band. She didn’t protest. She didn’t say anything, merely stared at her hand. He slipped the sapphire and diamond engagement ring on her finger before reaching to tilt her face to his. “I love you, Julia, and I want everyone to know it.”

  Chapter Ten

  Julia studied the sparkling rings on her left hand. Even though she’d worn them for four weeks now and Ryan had left to do the French Letter tour dates, the rings never failed to pull her up short. She was married to Ryan Callander, and he was wearing a wedding band too.

  “Julia, are you listening to me?” Susan demanded with the air of one who’d asked the question several times already.

  Maggie chortled, her eyes sparkling with a warning that she intended to tease. “She’s daydreaming about Ryan and what they’re going to do together when she flies over to Sydney for the weekend.”

  “Have you noticed Dubois, the lead singer of French Letters is wearing a wedding ring?” Christina asked.

  “Funny you should mention that,” Susan said, and Julia couldn’t fail to see the faint quiver of lips when her friend attempted to pull off serious. “I noticed French Letters are playing some of the original songs Ryan and Caleb have been performing on stage at Maxwell’s.”

  “I noticed too,” Maggie said. “I wonder if we should call in the lawyers and sue. Start a social media campaign, a call to action. I mean, it’s shocking the lengths some artists will go to in order to obtain new material.” She didn’t even try to restrain her amusement.

  “Have you been keeping secrets from us, Julia?” Susan asked. “A husband is a pretty big secret. Somehow I think we’ve only scratched the surface of this big, fat juicy mystery.”

  “I think we should do a fan dance,” Julia said. “You know—the big feathery fans.”

  “Oh no,” Christina said, shaking her finger back and forth. The tinkle of her bracelets highlighted her refusal to allow a change of subject. “We should do the dance, although I’m not about to take my clothes off no matter how big the feathery fans are to hide my naked bits. We’re still talking about your sexy husband.”

  “Please confirm,” Maggie said. “You are married to one of the sexiest men to strut across a stage.”

  “We’ve been rubbing shoulders with rock royalty,” Susan added. “And you didn’t tell us.”

  Her three friends advanced on her, shoulder-to-shoulder in their demand for the facts.

  “Okay. Okay.” Julia sighed. “True.”

  “And the man is wearing your ring,” Susan said. “The same wedding ring that has the gossip mags abuzz.”

  She sighed again. “Yes.”

  “Oh my God. Oh my God. You’re married to Dubois!” Maggie shrieked.

  “Shush.” Julia glanced over her shoulder, relieved to see none of the others had arrived for dance practice yet.

  “Julia and Dubois sitting in a tree,” Susan sang. “K. I. S. S. I. N. G.”

  A laugh burst from Julia. “I can neither deny nor confirm that one.”

  Christina’s eyes gleamed behind her glasses. “But you are meeting Ryan for a sexy rendezvous in Sydney.”

  “Yes,” Julia said.

  Susan clicked her fingers. “I knew it.”

  “So what do you think about the fan dance?” Julia asked.

  “I want their autographs,” Maggie said. “A fan dance would be fantastic. Go for a sort of Gypsy Lee Rose theme. Have you done it before?”

  Julia shook her head and grinned. “I’m sure Ryan or Caleb will arrange their friends to sign a T-shirt or something for you. From memory, Mum did the fan dance a few years ago. I can ask her to help choreograph the dance if she’s up to it. Janet said she’s becoming antsy with all the inactivity while she waits for the surgery, so it might keep her out of trouble.”

  “I’d be a starter for the fan dance,” Susan said. “I didn’t know I’d enjoy dancing so much. It’s helped me lose weight and tone my muscles. I think I could do the strip part as long as the audience doesn’t see my boobs.”

  Another laugh escaped Julia. “Great. We’ll do it.” Voices trickled in from the front of the club and several young women bounded inside, already wearing their dancing gear.

  “Maggie, can you cue the music for us?” Julia clapped her hands together. “Everyone ready? I have a couple of new routines for us to learn. I’d like to do one of the new ones next week if we can get it down today.”

  The dance practice went well with the dancers from the local dance school picking the moves up without difficulty.

  “Great job everyone! I’ll see you later tonight.” Julia grabbed a towel and dabbed the perspiration off her forehead and upper chest.

  “Are you packed?” Maggie asked.

  “Not yet,” Julia said. “I thought I’d chuck a few things in my bag tomorrow morning. I don’t need much for the weekend. I’d better catch up on the bookwork before I go.”

  “No, Julia, come shopping with us now,” Christina said. “
I’ve found a new designer and she has some beautiful dresses in stock. They’ll pack well.”

  “I’ll do the bookwork for you,” Susan said. “It’s no problem.”

  “Ryan won’t ring until later tonight,” Maggie said.

  “All right,” Julia said. “We’ve worked hard recently. Let’s do it.”

  The following afternoon, Julia boarded The Air New Zealand flight to Sydney. She caught a cab to their hotel in Darling Harbor and checked in. A big bunch of pink roses greeted her when she walked into the suite, the floral bouquet filling the room. She set down her bag with a thrill of pleasure heating her through.

  A small square parcel sat on the end of the bed, wrapped with a pink bow. Julia opened the card and smiled, a tingle of anticipation widening her grin until her lips ached. She shook the box, breathless with anticipation when she pulled off the lid. The scent of rich chocolate rose to greet her. The box contained several handmade truffles plus three small jars of some sort of chocolate substance and a selection of brushes. A saucy laugh spilled free. Edible body paint.

  “Fun gift,” she murmured.

  A key card sounded in the door, and she turned.

  “Julia?” Ryan’s overnight bag thumped to the floor.

  “Ryan!” She flew toward him, leaping into his arms from a few feet away. Her legs went around his hips as she clung to him. He laughed, twirling her around. Then he was kissing her, wrapping his arms around her as if he hadn’t seen her for months. Julia opened her mouth to him, slid her hands down his back, touching as much of him as she could manage.

  “God, Julia,” he said. “I’ve missed you so much.”

  She kissed the tip of his nose. “Don’t you like sharing a room with Caleb?”

  Ryan snorted. “The dude snores.”

  “I missed you too. So much. How long do we have?”

  “The rest of the afternoon. I need to be at the stadium by seven.”

  “And after the concert?”

  “I’m all yours,” he said. “I told Seymour I didn’t intend to stay for long tonight. Caleb and the others are taking care of the parties and promo stuff.”