Page 93 of Hope & Harmony

It was hard to think about the bass player we’d lost, but Devyn was amazing and the band’s new album was killing it.

“It’s a new era for us,” I said quietly. “You’re all married now, with women and kids on tour… It feels different.”

“It’s good, though, don’t you think?” He cocked his head curiously.

“Well, it doesn’t change a lot for me. Except, you know, not having to check the IDs of the groupies now that all you boys are wifed up.”

“You almost sound jealous.”

“Nah. It’s not easy to be in a relationship with what I do.”

“That why you’re still single?” he asked.

“Well, that and the fact that it’s hard to meet nice women who want to be with a guy who’s on tour for two years at a time.” There was no reason to deny it.

“Wynter’s single. And she’s a very nice woman.”

I hesitated.

She was definitely a nice woman, but her infatuation with Ross & The Rockets bothered me, so I didn’t know if it would work out.

“She knows who I am,” I blurted out. “Or, you know, who I used to be.”

“Oh.” His eyes widened. “Shit.”

I’d exaggerated when I’d told Wynter that no one knew who I was.

The band had done a full background check before hiring me, and when they asked about it, I’d simply let them know I wasn’t interested in talking about or reliving the past. They’d taken me at my word, and it never came up again.

“What’d you tell her?”

“The truth. That it was my past and I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“She’s wonderful,” he said slowly. “She deserves someone who’ll love her and take care of her emotionally. I don’t think she’s worried about you being on tour.”

“I barely know her,” I protested.

“Yeah, but you think she’s hot, right?” He grinned and I chuckled.

“She’s beautiful,” I agreed.

“So, you’re interested.” It was more a statement than a question, and I hesitated before nodding.

“Is the problem with her specifically or just where you are in life?”

“The bigger problem is that she brought up the Ross Rocket thing again when Kingston said he might not be able to sing.AfterI’d asked her to leave it alone.”

Tommy’s eyes snapped to mine, but I immediately shook my head. “No fuckin’ way, man. I haven’t sung in years. Even if I wanted to—which I absolutely do not—my voice is in no shape to do an Onyx Knight set.”

“What about a third of a set?” he countered. “If King can sing some, and I can do one or two…” He let the question linger unanswered, but I continued to shake my head.

“Me getting up in front of a crowd like that would reopen wounds that have barely healed,” I said firmly. “It’s not happening. Please don’t ask.”

He put up his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. It was worth a shot.”

Just then my phone buzzed, and I saw a text from Kingston.

“They’re back,” I told him. “He wants to meet up in his suite.”

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