He looked her in the eye. “I like you… a lot. I think you deserve better than a man who always puts you last. It’s my job to prove to you that you deserve better. If you’ll let me?”
She reached across her desk to offer her hand. “The only thing I can offer you is friendship right now, Jeff. It wouldn’t be fair to either one of us to try for more when Evan is still in my heart.”
“That won’t always be the case,” he said, bringing her hand to his lips. “One day you’re going to wake up and realize the right guy has been here all along, just waiting for you to come to your senses.”
She smiled at his heartfelt sentiment. “You’re too good a man to waste his time waiting around for me. You deserve better.” They were compatible on so many levels, but when he touched her, she felt nothing compared to the volcanic eruption that ascended when Evan kissed her.
“Sometimes the love of your life is the person you least expect,” he said, holding her hand in his. “You never know, that may be the case with us.”
She feared she met the love of her life a long time ago, and no one else would ever be able to steal that title from him.
Chloe was riding shotgun in her harness when Erika pulled in to the drug store less than an hour later. Fortunately it was cool outside, so she could open the windows enough to allow the air to circulate. “You wait here,” she said, patting the dog’s curly head. Fortunately, she was as tired as Erika after a full day of play at their doggie daycare, so she had no problem resting her head on the seat and closing her eyes.
“Mommy will be right back.” Erika felt a sharp pang of regret as soon as the word left her lips. She always referred to herself that way when speaking to Chloe, but it sounded hollow tonight, perhaps because she was taking action to eliminate the chance she’d created a baby with Evan last night.
Leaning her head against the seat, she took a deep breath.
When she sensed her mistress needed comfort, Chloe rested her head on Erika’s lap. “It’s not that I don’t want a baby,” she whispered. “I do, but not now. Not with Evan.” The little voice inside her head began mocking her. Truthfully, Evan was the only man she could imagine fathering her children, but since that would never happen, it was time to give up on the fantasy.
“Okay,” she said, settling Chloe in the passenger’s seat. “I’m just going to do this. It’s no big deal, right?”
Sprinting into the drug store, she hurried to the back, grateful to see a familiar face behind the counter. “Hi, Lucy. Do you have a minute? I just have a quick question.”
“Of course,” the attractive middle-aged lady said, approaching the counter. “What can I do for you, Erika? Are you here to pick up your prescription?” She began thumbing through a small basket of paper bags when Erika held her hand up.
“No, I just, uh, wanted to ask you something about the pills I’m taking.”
“Sure, what it is?” She set her glasses down on the counter beside her. “Is there a problem? Side effects?” She frowned. “You’ve been taking them a while and the doctor hasn’t changed your prescription to my knowledge-”
“No, it’s nothing like that. I was just wondering the risk if I forgot to take one?”
“That depends.”
“On?”
Lucy smiled. “The timing, when you had your last period.”
“Right, of course,” she said, blushing. She’d been so busy and distracted she hadn’t even thought to look at a calendar. “Um, I’m not really sure.”
Lucy pulled a small calendar out from under the counter. “Why don’t you have a look at that? See if you can figure it out.”
“Right,” Erika said, concentrating. Her last period had ended seven days ago, which meant she was in the clear. “It was right here,” she said, pointing to the day on the calendar.
“And you had intercourse last night?” Lucy asked, lowering her voice when a white haired man stopped in front of the counter to peruse the cold medication.
“Yes,” Erika said, trying not to feel like an insolent child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“Then you should be fine. Just take the pill you missed as soon as you get home and resume your normal schedule thereafter.”
“So I don’t need the morning after pill?” She tried to ignore the pang in her stomach. She couldn’t be disappointed she would never have the baby she didn’t even want with a man who’d been out of her life for more than a year.
“You should be fine,” she said, smiling. “No worries.”
“Thanks, Lucy. You really put my mind at ease.” She turned to leave and ran straight into Evan.
He grabbed her arms to steady her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Your receptionist told me you had to make a quick pit stop here on the way home.” He glanced at the pharmacist and nodded.
“What are you doing here? I thought I told you-”
“Why don’t we have this conversation outside?” he asked, threading his hand through hers.
She wanted to pull away, but didn’t want to make a scene, so she allowed him to lead her outside before withdrawing to put some distance between them.
“What the hell was that about?” he asked, hooking a thumb over his shoulder.
“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t at risk of getting pregnant after last night. You’ll be glad to know you have nothing to worry about.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I wasn’t worried. In fact, I was kind of hopin’ you were pregnant.”
She couldn’t control the urge to laugh. “I thought it was women who usually tried to entrap men with unplanned pregnancies, not the other way around.”
“Would it really be so terrible… havin’ my baby?”
Erika could see that she’d hurt him and that hadn’t been her intent. Touching his forearm, she said, “I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful father, when and if you decide to commit your whole heart to it.”
“Like I committed my whole heart to you?”
She couldn’t deny he had done that in the beginning and she’d been foolish enough to believe it would last forever.
“Why did you track me down?” she asked as she started walking toward her car.
A new black Jaguar was parked beside her late model economy car and she had little doubt who it belonged to. “Your ride?” she asked, trying to suppress a smile. That car had Evan written all over it. Sleek, sexy, and expensive.
“Yeah, you wanna go for a spin?” he asked, dropping the keys in her hand.
“Maybe some other time,” she said, shaking her head. It was tempting. She’d always loved those cars… “I better go. I’m tired and hungry and…” She tossed him the keys.
“Actually,” he said, holding his hand up as he walked around to the passenger’s side of his car. “That’s why I stopped by. I was over at my parents’ place for dinner and my mom made her famous lasagne and homemade bread.”
Erika’s stomach rumbled, making her grateful he stood several feet away, so he couldn’t hear it.
“I figured you wouldn’t take the time to eat today, so I thought you might like some.”
She couldn’t help but smile. That was the Evan she’d fallen in love with years ago: sweet, considerate, loving… “That was really nice. Thank you. And thank your mom for me too.”
He handed her the paper bag. “You can thank her yourself when you see her on Friday night.”
She raised an eyebrow in question.
“At the airport.” He chuckled. “You haven’t forgotten Dom and Lena’s wedding, have you?”
“Oh no.” She blushed and dipped her head. “Right. Okay, um. I’ll see you there.”
He winked at her over the roof of his car. “Lookin’ forward to it.”
Chapter Six
Evan hated being idle. He was a man of action, constantly putting out fires and mitigating disaster. It wasn’t like him to sit back and do nothing, especially when he wanted something as much as he wanted Erika, but he promised himself he wouldn’t contact her
this week. He would give her time to miss him and ponder the incredible night they’d shared. One more day, just one more day until he would see her. Pathetic, but he was already counting the hours.
Ryan poked his head in the door and grinned. “Workin’ hard or hardly workin’?”
Evan rolled his eyes. “That’s your motto, not mine.”
“I haven’t seen much of you this week. You’ve been busy, huh?” Ryan asked, sitting down across from him.
“Yeah, we got a lot goin’ on. How are things on your end?”
Ryan crossed his legs and smiled. “Nothin’ I can’t handle.”
Evan had to admit he was impressed with the way his brother was settling in as the second in command. He’d always been reluctant to give Ryan too much responsibility because he wasn’t sure he could handle it, given his carefree attitude, but that seemed to be changing. It gave Evan hope that maybe he could start delegating more of his workload.
“So listen, I had an idea I wanted to run past you.”
“I’m listenin’,” Evan said, tipping his swivel chair back. When Ryan hesitated to fill him in, Evan said, “Just say it already, I haven’t got all day.”
“So I stopped by Uncle Trey’s place last night and we got to talkin’.”
“And?” Evan hit the mouse to refresh his computer screen. “How’s he enjoyin’ retirement?”
“He loves the fact he doesn’t have to travel anymore, but I think he misses the business.”
Trey Turner had been country music royalty for nearly three decades before he decided to retire last year. “But he’s made it clear that he’s not interested in makin’ music anymore.”
“I’m not talkin’ about him makin’ music.”
Evan reached for his coffee mug and took a mouthful, grimacing when he found it cold. “Then what are you talkin’ about?”
“A big part of what you do is findin’ new talent, negotiating with them, workin’ with Avery to help build their brand…”
“Yeah, so?”
“What if we brought Trey on board as an artist development consultant?”
Evan frowned. No one had ever assumed such a role at Titan. “An artist development consultant? What the hell does that even mean?”
“Think about it for a minute,” Ryan said, raising his hand to halt Evan’s objections. “No one knows country music better than Trey. He understands what it takes to build and sustain a career that spans decades. He understands the business, marketing, packaging, branding, public relations, touring, song writing… Hell, there’s nothin’ he doesn’t know about it.”
“I’ll agree with you there,” Evan said. He started to see where his brother was going, and he had to admit he liked the idea. There were few people in this world he trusted more than his Uncle Trey, and if he could help reduce Evan’s workload by shouldering some of the responsibility at Titan, Evan was all for it. It would give him more time to convince Erika he was a changed man.
“Trey could scout new artists and help develop them once we hammer out the deal. He could be there to hold their hands, answer any questions, help build their image so they can be a multi-platinum selling artist like he was.”
“It could work,” Evan said, shaking his head.
“Damn right it could. Come on, think about it, Ev. We’re good, but we’re still wet behind the ears compared to Trey. As a new artist just breakin’ on to the scene, wouldn’t you be stoked to work with Trey-freakin-Turner?”
“Yeah, I would.” His eyes narrowed as he tried to keep his excitement in check. This could be exactly what he needed to put a little balance back in his life. “Have you talked to him about this?”
“No, I wanted to talk to you first.”
“I appreciate that,” Evan said, inclining his head. “Hell, I think it’s a great idea. We just have to convince Trey. Why don’t you get him on the phone, set up a meetin’ for later today or tomorrow before we leave?”
“I was thinkin’ we should wait until we’re in the Bahamas to talk to him about it.”
“Why?” Evan asked, folding his arms.
“Then it wouldn’t seem so much like a contrived business proposition, you know what I mean? It would just be his two nephews pitchin’ a cool idea they had.”
“What’s the difference?”
“He retired because he wanted to spend more time with his family. I don’t want him to think this is gonna be a full-time proposition. It doesn’t have to be. I mean, you probably spend, what, twenty-five or thirty hours a week on artist acquisition and development?”
“Yeah, about that,” Evan said, scanning his schedule in his head.
“Think about it, you could go from workin’ eighty hours a week to fifty hours a week if Trey goes for this. Five days a week, ten hour days, and your weekends are your own again. How great would that be?”
“Since when does my schedule concern you?” Evan asked, frowning.
He had noticed Ryan trying to convince him to delegate more responsibility lately, and when he’d finally agreed to start small to see if his brother could handle the added pressure, he’d been pleasantly surprised. Not only had Ryan handled it effortlessly, but he’d completed the tasks in half the time it would have taken Evan because he wasn’t being pulled in so many different directions.
“Since you’ve been so miserable this past year,” Ryan said quietly, leaning forward. “I hate that I’ve found everything I ever wanted with Bri and you’ve had to sacrifice your one shot at happiness because of this company. It doesn’t seem right. If I can do anything to help you get back on the right track, I’ll do it. Anything. Whatever it takes.”
His brother still surprised him sometimes. Over the past year, Evan had watched Ryan go from a hard-drinking, self-centered player happy to collect a pay check for partying with the talent to someone who routinely pulled ten and twelve hour days to get the job done. “Thanks, man, that means a lot.”
“I know you’ve been through hell since you lost Erika, but from what I saw the other night, you may have another chance with her and I really don’t wanna see you screw that up.”
Evan smirked. “Thanks… I think.”
“You gonna tell me what happened when you guys left Jimmy’s?” Ryan asked, kicking his feet up on the desk as he settled in to hear the story.
Evan had never been comfortable talking to his brother or any of his friends about his sex life, especially when it involved Erika. But he’d been struggling to make sense of that night. He wanted to believe it was the start of a new beginning for them, but when she claimed it was a mistake…
If there was one subject Ryan was an authority on, it was women. Maybe he could help him put the situation in perspective. “We slept together.”
Ryan grinned. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about.” He held his clenched hand out for a fist bump.
Evan rolled his eyes. “What are we? Sixteen years old? Grow up, already.”
“Okay, gimme the detes,” he said, chuckling as he wiggled his fingers. “Was it as hot as you remember?”
“Crazy hot,” Evan said, trying to wipe the smug smile off his face. “There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s still into me, but she’s runnin’ scared.”
“Can you blame her?”
Evan didn’t need to hear his brother’s condemnation. He’d already beat himself up enough about the mistakes that cost him the most important relationship in his life. “Suddenly you’re an expert on relationships? Hell, Bri is the first real relationship you’ve ever had.”
“Yeah, but I’ve learned a lot in the last little while, bein’ with Bri, and you can be damn sure I’d never neglect or ignore her the way you did with your woman.”
“Don’t start,” Evan said, feeling that familiar twinge of guilt that plagued him whenever he thought about the boyfriend he should have been… the man Erika deserved.
“You left her home alone night after night or dragged her out to parties when she wanted time alone with you. You told me yourself that
you’d leave before she woke up and get home after she’d already gone to bed most nights. You told me yourself you stopped makin’ love to her ‘cause you were so damn tired…”
Evan winced when he thought about how many weeks would pass without the physical intimacy they used to share. He always told her he would make it up to her on the weekend, but those days were all about attending the required parties, being seen at the right events…
“Hell, she used to beg you to take a vacation or even just go away for the weekend, and you’d always tell her you couldn’t get away. Do you know how that must have made her feel, to know she mattered so little to you?”
“Why’re you doin’ this?” Evan asked, his voice cracking with regret. “You don’t think I’ve told myself a thousand times what a stupid S.O.B. I am? You’re supposed to be my brother, to have my back…”
“That’s what I’m tryin’ to do, man,” he said, leaning forward. “If I were the one makin’ these dumbass mistakes with Bri, I’d count on you to slap me upside the head and tell me to get my act together before I lose the best thing that ever happened to me.” Ryan linked his hands behind his head. “I hate like hell that I was too selfish to see what you were doin’ to that girl before it was too late. I should’ve been there. I should’ve been the brother you’ve always been to me.”
Evan shook his head. “The blame for this falls squarely on my shoulders, Ry. I was hell-bent on doin’ things my way, provin’ to the world that I was every bit as good as the old man, but you know what? I’m not, and I’m okay with that.”
“Like hell you’re not,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes. “We made more last quarter than we have at any other time in our history.”
“Yeah, but Dad was more than just a business man. He was a father, husband, friend, and he earned those titles. He didn’t let us grow up without him just ‘cause he had a business to run. Hell, he and Mom are as in love now as ever. How do you think they’ve made it work for so many years?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Mom said somethin’ at Jimmy’s the other night I can’t get out of my head.”
“What’s that?”
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