“Your boyfriend’s on the road with me right now, filling in for my opening act.” Dead silence. I knew this would be uncomfortable, but I didn’t expect her to hang up on me. “Hey Brook, you still there?”
“Uh yeah.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry, Knox. You just caught me off guard. I thought you were callin’ to catch up, not talk about him.”
I sighed, trying to find the words to convince her to give him one more chance, whether he deserved it or not. My gut told me he’d learned his lesson and wouldn’t screw her over again. If I thought there was a chance he would I wouldn’t be going to bat for him like this.
“Look, I know you’re pissed and you have every right to be, but—”
“You don’t know the half of it! He’s a little boy, playin’ at bein’ a man, that’s what he is! He thinks having girls chasin’ after him is part of his job description. Like he’ll sell more tickets if they know he’s available.”
There was a modicum of truth to that. Pretty girls showed up in droves and paid big bucks for front row and backstage when they thought they stood a chance with the opening act. “I know Reed can be a bit dense at times,” I said, chuckling. “But I really think he got the message this time, hon. He won’t screw you over—”
“You’re right he won’t ‘cause he’s not gonna get the chance again. I’m done with him, Knox. D-o-n-e. Done. Are we clear?”
Wow. Okay, so not up for debate. Message received. “Yeah, crystal.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry, hon. I don’t mean to be a bitch. But I’ve cried way too many tears over that man. He doesn’t love me—”
“I don’t want you to take my head off, but I know that’s not true. He’s a bit of a mess right now, Brook. If he didn’t love you, he wouldn’t give a shit.”
“I was gonna say he doesn’t love me enough to respect me. And respect? That’s a deal breaker for me.”
I understood her position. She had every right to demand that from him. “I get it. Just thought it was worth a try. You are two of my favorite people and if there was any way I could help y’all work this out I wanted to at least try. I didn’t mean to get up in your business, but—”
“I love you for trying, seriously. You’re the best.” She paused. “I don’t want to hurt him. Don’t think that’s what this is about. I’m not punishing him. I’m just standing up for myself. I can’t let a man get away with treating me like that anymore.”
“I get it. I do.” And I suddenly felt shitty for trying to talk her into giving my friend another chance. Maybe she was right. Maybe he didn’t deserve one until he learned to grow up and start acting like a real man. “I’m sorry, Brook. Sorry you’re hurting and that you had to go through this shit with him. You don’t deserve it.”
“Thanks. I’ll try to call Cece. But if I can’t reach her, give me a hug for her when you see her, okay?”
“Will do.” I couldn’t wait to wrap my arms around that woman. And after my talk with Brook, I’d learned another lesson. Put Cece first. Never let her doubt that she was the most important person in my life.
Chapter 17
Cece
I felt a subtle shift in the room’s energy when my sister gripped my hand and whispered, “Oh my God. That’s him. Dade Jarvis.”
Dade. And he wasn’t alone. Auden was with him. Wow. I didn’t know how I felt about that.
“Hey you.” I stood, letting Dade enfold me in his strong arms. He was a big guy, almost the same size as Knox, and the comfort he provided reminded me how much I missed my man. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
I gave Auden a quick hug before I gestured to my sister. “Uh guys, this is my sister, Charli. Charli, Dade and Auden.”
Her smile was brief when her eyes met Dade’s and she accepted his outstretched hand. Huh. Apparently she was too wrung out to go all fan girl on him today. “Nice to meet you, Dade.”
“Yeah, you too,” Dade said, trying to tear his eyes off Charli to glance in my direction. “I’m sorry about your father, ladies.”
“Thanks.” Charli accepted the hand Auden offered and made another half-hearted attempt at a smile. “It was nice of you guys to come.”
Auden reacted to my sister the same way Dade had. Even wearing yoga pants, not a lick of make-up, with that gorgeous mass of hair tied up in a messy bun, she was still a sight to behold. Natural beauty, my guy friends used to call it, and apparently most men would take that over make-up and heels any day.
“Our pleasure,” Dade said, stealing another look at her, before stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jean jacket. “We’ve, uh, got a show in town tonight. I was talking to Knox earlier and he told me about your dad. We just wanted to stop by and see how you’re holding up. Anything we can do?”
I reached for my friend’s hand, squeezing it. “Thanks for offering, but we’re still in the dark. Doctors are waiting on more test results. They’re talking triple bypass. But at least Daddy’s resting comfortably and still with us, so we’re grateful.” We’d been told the first twenty-four hours after a heart attack like his were critical and we hadn’t passed that all-important mark yet, but we were inching closer.
“My mama had a heart attack not long ago,” Dade said. “Not as serious, but still, I have some idea what you’re going through.”
It meant so much that he was here to support me, given the state he’d been in the last time we talked. He had his own issues, yet he was setting those aside to be a good friend to me. But as he snuck another peek at my sister, who was glancing down the hall towards our father’s room, I had to wonder if he hadn’t had Charli on his mind when he decided to check in on me.
“You must be excited,” I said to Auden. “Opening for this guy.”
His smile was faint when he said, “It’s an honour.”
“I’m sure he’ll do great,” Dade said, slapping him on the back. “He’s a talented kid.”
“Thanks,” Auden muttered, obviously embarrassed by the praise from one of his idols.
“So Charli,” Dade said, catching her off guard. “Your sister tells me you might be looking for a job?”
Her eyes widened before her shoulders slumped. “Uh, I was, before this thing with my dad. Now I’m thinking I should be closer to home.”
He nodded, like he wanted to say more, but just reached into his pocket and extracted a card. “My personal contact info. is on there. If you change your mind, give me a call. We should talk.”
I could tell my sister was excited by the offer, but torn between her duty to our family and her own dreams. And I knew, without a doubt, working for Dade Jarvis would be a dream come true for her. Could I really stand in the way of that? Or worse, let her turn it down, even though I could tell how much she wanted it? What kind of sister would I be if I did that?
“Thanks,” she said, curling the card in her hand. “But I don’t think moving to Nashville is in the cards for me. Living a couple of hours away from my folks, at a time like this, would be hard. Eight hours is—”
“It’s an eight hour drive,” Dade interjected. “But the flight’s just over an hour. You’d be welcome to my plane whenever I’m not using it.”
I was pretty sure my jaw dropped the same time Charli’s did. Dade was selling this… hard. And I wanted to know why. “Uh Dade, care to grab a quick coffee with me?” I asked, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket. “I’m dead on my feet.”
He looked from Auden to Charli, as though he was questioning the wisdom of leaving them alone together. Interesting.
“Uh sure, can we get y’all anything?” he asked, Auden and Charli. “Coffee maybe, water?”
“I’m good, thanks,” Auden said.
But Dade wasn’t waiting for Auden’s response, his eyes were trained on Charli.
“Thanks,” she said, curling her arms around her mid-section. “But the coffee here tastes like sludge.”
He smirked. “I bet it does. Something to eat then?”
I couldn’t help watching this exchange
with interest. My sister was cool as a cucumber meeting her celebrity crush. What was up with that? Low-key and mellow were not words anyone would use to describe this girl, yet she was acting like Dade was… just a regular guy showing an interest in her. Someone barely worth her time. If she was trying to pique my friend’s curiosity it seemed to be working because he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“No thanks, I’m good.” She smiled at Auden. “You don’t have to hang out here and keep me company. If you want to go with them, or have calls to make or whatever—”
“Not a problem.” Auden claimed the chair I’d vacated, winking at Charli. “Always a pleasure to pass the time with a beautiful lady.”
Dade narrowed his eyes at Auden, like he was questioning his sanity for letting him tag along. “We won’t be long.”
We took the elevator to the main floor and I held my tongue until we stepped off. “What was that about? I thought you said you only work with—”
“I know what I said.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But I took one look at her… and had a change of heart.”
Uh oh. Dade apparently had a thing for my baby sister, which could be disastrous, for both of them. Linking my arm through his as I led him towards the cafeteria, I said, “I know you’ve had a rough—”
“Don’t,” he warned. “Don’t mention my previous relationships.” He practically hissed the word, letting me know he wasn’t messing around. This topic was off limits. I couldn’t blame the poor guy. It seemed like the only thing reporters wanted to talk to him about, aside from his upcoming album.
“Fair enough.”
He sighed, squeezing the hand I had wrapped around his bicep. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You’ve got enough to worry about without me bein’ an ass.”
“You could never be an ass to me.” I loved this guy like a brother, but we got along better than any siblings I’d ever met. No bickering or petty jealousy between us. Just genuine affection and respect. And I wanted it to stay that way. Another reason he and my little sis were a really bad idea.
“I hope you don’t mind that I brought Auden along? I told him what happened and he said he wanted to check in on you.”
“I don’t mind at all.” It was a little awkward at first, but I could tell Auden was there as a friend, to lend his support. And I appreciated knowing that when we hit the road together again, if we hit the road together again, he was man enough to forget our one-night stand.
“He’s a good guy,” Dade said, dispensing two cups of coffee from the machine. “I just hope your boyfriend won’t be pissed that I brought him along.”
We hadn’t told Dade we were a thing at the bar, which meant Knox must have filled him in. Or Auden. “If you’re talking about Knox—”
He chuckled. “Who else would I be talkin’ about, sugar? You have another boyfriend I don’t know about?” He passed me one of the coffees before snagging a bottle of iced coffee from the fridge. When I raised my eyebrow, he shrugged, “Thought your sister might need the caffeine fix.”
Before I could respond, Dade pulled out a bill to pay the cashier and the woman’s jaw dropped. “Oh my God,” she whispered, looking from her left to her right, “You’re Dade Jarvis, aren’t you? My husband and I are huge fans.”
His smile was tight as he nodded, probably hoping his admission wouldn’t turn into a free for all for autograph seekers. “Thank you, ma’am.” He passed her a twenty. “Keep the change.”
Her silver curls were bobbing as she nodded fiercely. “Thank you.”
“Does that ever get old?” I asked, knowing that my friend was a low-key guy who usually preferred gliding under the radar, whenever possible.
“People like that are the reason I get to do what I do, so I can’t complain.”
I couldn’t just let it go, so as we stepped back on the elevator, I asked “Did, uh, Knox say anything to you about us?”
He smiled. “He didn’t have to. Knox and I have been friends a long time. I can read him pretty well. It was obvious he was worried about you, and thinks the world of your dad, but it was the things he didn’t say that tipped me off.”
“Meaning?”
He waited until we were off the elevator before he said, “He was just talking about how important you were to him, how he’d do anything to help your old man. I know you guys are close, but he sounded like a man in love to me, Cece.”
A smile tugged at my lips when I realized Knox wasn’t any better at hiding this than I was. I wondered what my daddy would say when I told him Knox and I were a couple? If I knew him, he’d probably growl ‘it’s about damn time’.
Dade cleared his throat to interrupt the little tête-à-tête between Auden and my sister. It looked pretty cozy. I didn’t care, but judging by the frown on his face Dade seemed to.
“Here you go,” Dade said, passing the iced coffee to Charli. “I thought maybe you could use a little caffeine.”
She smiled, popping the same dimples I sported. “Aren’t you sweet? Thank you, Dade.”
She wasn’t flirting, Charli was just being herself, but I could tell it was making Dade all kinds of crazy as he glanced at me before closing his eyes for a split second. “Uh, my pleasure. I guess we should hit the road, Auden.”
Auden jumped to his feet. “You got it, boss.”
Dade gave me a hug before leaning in to hug my sister as well. “I hope you’ll call if you need anything.”
Charli looked at me over Dade’s shoulder and I could tell she was thinking, WTF… is this really happening right now?
We said our good-byes and watched both men walk away before I turned to face Charli. “You met the man up close and personal and didn’t lose your shit. I’m proud of you, kid.”
She rolled her eyes. “Would you give me some credit? He’s just a man. Puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us.”
I gave her the yeah right, side eye. “You talk a good game,” I said, when we re-claimed our seats. “And I’ll admit, you were convincing, but tell me you weren’t on the verge of wetting yourself when you saw him step off the elevator.”
She bumped her shoulder against mine, fanning her face. “There are no words. I mean, there’s hot…” She held her hand flat before raising it higher. “And then there’s that man.”
I giggled, thinking it felt nice to talk about something other than Daddy’s situation for a minute. “He does have a certain charisma, doesn’t he?”
She snorted while uncapping her drink. “I believe they call that panty-melting, mouth-watering, magic.” She held up her bottle. “Can you believe he actually touched this?”
I laughed. “At least you waited to go all crazy fan-girl. I appreciate that.”
“Never let it be said I’m not a good actress.”
Our smiles slipped when Mama walked out of the hospital room looking wrung out. We both jumped to our feet, rushing her. “Is everything okay?” I asked, gripping both her hands. “Daddy didn’t have a setback, did he?” Tears burned my eyes just thinking about the possibility.
“No sugar, nothing like that,” she said, squeezing my hands before releasing them. “I just spoke to the doctor though and it looks like your daddy is going to need that triple bypass.”
My sister and I exchanged a panicked look before we remembered we were supposed to be soothing Mama, not letting her see how freaked out we were. “I’ll be okay, Mama,” I said, curling my arm around her shoulder. “Bypassed are a lot more common now, right?”
“Yeah, but triple bypasses…” She shuddered. “Those are damn near the worst. I knew I should have nagged him more about goin’ to see the doctor but he just kept puttin’ it off, sayin’ he felt fine and didn’t need no doctor.”
We sat down, with Charli and I flanking Mama. “Don’t blame yourself for this,” Charli said, rubbing her back. “We all know Daddy’s as stubborn as an old mule. Wouldn’t take care of himself, or give up the booze or cigarettes.”
I thought of Knox and all of his habi
ts. He was no different than most in our industry, but seeing that my father’s lifestyle choices had nearly cost him his life, I vowed to talk to Knox about making some changes. He was young, so the damage probably wasn’t as severe, but I couldn’t stand to watch him abuse his body, knowing the possible outcome.
“Knox…” Mama took a tissue out of the pocket of her cardigan and wiped her nose. “That man…”
“What?” I frowned, looking at Charli, who shrugged, like she was clueless too. “What about Knox?” My parents still didn’t know we were a couple, so I had no idea why Mama would be mentioning him now.
“You don’t know?” Her eyes widened. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?” I asked, as my heart rate kicked up a notch. I couldn’t handle any more surprises right now.
“The doctor informed me that all of your daddy’s medical expenses that aren’t being covered by insurance are being taken care of by a family friend.”
“Knox?” Charli and I asked in unison. Of course it was Knox. We didn’t know anyone else worth hundreds of millions of dollars. I couldn’t believe he’d done this. Just when I thought I couldn’t love that man anymore, he proved me wrong.
Mama nodded. “I don’t know how we’ll ever repay him,” she said, sniffling. “That is the most generous thing…” She shook her head before giving me the stink eye. “You still gonna try tellin’ me there’s nothin’ between you two?”
“Uh, no.” Mama and Charli gaped at me before I added, “We’re, uh, kind of together.” I shook my head when I remembered what Knox had done for my family. After that, I should hire a skywriter and announce to the world how much I love him. “Not kind of together,” I corrected. “I’m in love with him.” I smiled at Mama’s gasp. “And he feels the same way about me.”
“Well, of course he does,” Mama said, rolling her eyes. “Anyone can see that.”
I smiled, thinking how lucky I was to have him in my life. “I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I think he just might be the one.” I whispered those words, fearful of jinxing it.
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