Page 86 of Serving the Maestro

She looked puzzled before opening it and tugging out the folded sheet of paper inside.

Her eyes skimmed over it. Seconds ticked away.

She didn’t speak.

Feeling awkward, I said, “You know I’m leaving Sunday. The idea of leaving you behind right now leaves me feeling like I’ve been punched in the gut. I don’t want to be away from you but with this project...”

“This is a plane ticket,” she said quietly.

“Yes.” The paper was a computer print-out of a plane ticket—leaving JFK airport and landing in LAX Sunday. “It’s the seat next to mine.”

She blinked, eyes flicking to mine, before returning to the sheet of paper. “Why did you do this?”

“I already told you—I can’t stand the thought of not being with you.”

“So you just assumed I’d go with you?” Her eyes narrowed as she looked back at me, irritation in her gaze underlining each word.

“No.” I clenched my jaw and struggled not to let the panic I’d started to feel come through as I spoke. “I’m hoping you will. I don’t know how to do relationships, Jazz. I’m figuring this out as I go. But I didn’t assume you’d go...I’m just...”

“I have a job here,” she said.

“I know. I talked to Cam and asked if it would even be possible.”

“What the hell?” Jazz dropped the piece of paper on the table and grabbed her tea. After gulping the rest of it down, she looked back at me. “I’m not too good at the relationship thing, either, but I think the best thing to do is ask the person you’re involved with, not her best friend. This is my life, not yours, and not hers.”

I started to respond, then stopped, thinking through the best way to explain. “Okay, I get that. I’m sorry. I’m not trying to control your life or anything here.”

“Really?” She cocked a brow.

“No.” An edge crept into my voice, and I stopped, counting to ten mentally. “After everything that happened this week, I’m going a little crazy with this need to be with you, protect you, take care of you. Maybe that’s a little Neanderthal, and I’m trying my best to keep it under control. I thought maybe you’d like to get away from everything for a while, with all the shit that’s happened.”

Her gaze was steady, eyes unblinking as she considered, then said softly, “He broke my trust, Trent. You get that part, right? We were friends, mostly and a little more in high school. Then he did something like that—he took my choice away, and he broke my trust. I don’t need anybody to make choices for me, even when they have nothing but good intentions.”

A sick feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. “Jazz...”

“Don’t,” she said. Leaning, she kissed me gently. “I know you’d never do that. But I’m...not steady right now. I need to feel in control. It’s going to be a while before I am steady. Can you understand that?”

“Yeah.” Cupping the back of her neck, I pressed my brow to hers. “I never thought about taking your choices away, baby. And that’s not what I was trying to do. It’s just an offer. Yes, I want you with me, but if you don’t want to—or can’t—okay, I understand. I’ll just have to fly back here as often as possible. I just...need to be with you. As much as possible, as much as you’ll let me without me driving you crazy.”

She kissed me then, sweetly, gently, teasingly, her nails scraping over my scalp as she pushed them into my hair. She pulled back, the action both too soon and not soon enough because my cock was already standing at attention.

“We’re going to have to sit here a while,” I murmured, petting the silky skin of her nape. “You’ve got me hard as a damn rock.”

Her smile was pure seduction.

“I think I will come with you to California,” she said, pulling back and settling more comfortably into her seat.

“Really?”

“Yes.” A flush rose to her cheeks, and she licked her lips, glanced away—no. Not away, around, making sure nobody was paying attention. “But...I need something.”

“Anything.”

Her grin turned rueful. “You know, you should be careful there. I could ask for the moon, the stars, an all-access pass to the movie set so I can meet the actors.”

“I’ll give you all of that. More.”

Her tone had been teasing. But I wasn’t joking. I was ready to lay the world at her feet if she’d let me. Her eyes softened as she reached up to touch my cheek. I caught her hand and pressed a kiss to the center of her palm.

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