Page 58 of Fractured Frets

And damn . . . he wanted to do away with condoms.

Could I do that? Trust him?

Yes, we liked each other and had fun, but I was scared. Scared that we were in too deep. Worried that he wouldn’t be faithful. He’d always reassured me and seemed to trust me completely. But me? I’d trusted him with many things...just not my heart.

After what I’d been through, it was hard to do that again.

If we could stay a secret forever, I wouldn’t have to admit out loud how much I was into him. I wouldn’t have to put my heart on the line.

But shit . . . that was a problem.

My heart was already in trouble.

Chapter 17

SLIP

THE PRESENT – JUNE

After four weeks touring the UK, surviving every day on pain-killers, and a few nights aided by cocaine, I was on a plane back to LA to see Maddy. This break couldn’t have come soon enough. I needed rest...and to stay clear of blow. Yep, I was done with that shit.

Cole and Flint traveled with me to catch up with Ava and Sutton. Lewis and Tia had opted to stay in Ireland before we toured across Europe after a week off.

Cole could barely sit still during the flight, excited that Ava and her son, Josh, would be with us for the remainder of the tour. Ava was joining our team as our new executive assistant, relieving some of April’s workload so she could solely focus on her love of publicity. I’d added enough work onto April’s task list over the past couple of months—I didn’t want to give her any more. Once I got home, I just wanted to stay in bed with my wife for the entire duration of the break.

Fuck. Sleep. Do nothing.

I needed that.

Maddy and I had to go to one function for her work on Saturday night. We had no other plans.

Perfect.

Just before midnight on Thursday, I walked into my room. My heart exploded at the sight of Maddy naked in my bed...our bed. She’d arrived home two hours before me.

After making slow, delicious love to her, my soul reset.

My head was clear for the first time in weeks.

Maddy was my everything.

Following a restless night thanks to my sore hip, I woke late on Friday morning next to Maddy, and we lazed by the pool over lunch. We then headed to her house to spend the afternoon with her mom and have dinner. While we waited for her to get home from an appointment Bridget had taken her to, we sat on the sofa, watching a movie and having a glass of wine. The pain in my hip was tolerable thanks to my meds.

Maddy kept glancing at her watch. Her mom was super late—no doubt delayed at the doctor. I didn’t mind more alone time with my wife. As I took a sip of the rich red, my cell phone pinged. I grabbed it off the coffee table and read an email from my brother, Julian.

Mom’s 60th. Italy. Next month.

I planned it around your tour. #yourwelcome.

Shit! I scratched my brow and ran through dates in my head. I opened my band’s scheduling app and scanned the list of our shows.

“What is it?” Placing her hand on my thigh, Maddy curled her fingers around my leg.

“Julian and Dad are organizing Mom’s sixtieth birthday in Italy next month.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet.” She fell against my side, nudging her arm into mine.

“Yeah...it’ll be huge. They’re tying the party in with a family tradition. Every five years, all my relatives, including cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, catch up for a few days at my uncle’s villa in Tuscany. It’s this really old vineyard near Firenze—Florence—that has been on my mom’s side of the family for generations.”

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