Page 94 of Hope & Harmony

Tommy got to his feet. “Let’s go.”

CHAPTER 6

WYNTER

I’d spent the afternoon reading in my room and I looked up when I heard my phone buzz, indicating I had a text. I reached for it, surprised to see a text from my sister.

HARLEY: Heading for the venue for soundcheck in thirty. If you want to ride over on the bus with us, meet us in the lobby. We won’t come back to the hotel before the show, so be prepared to hang out at the arena until after.

I quickly responded.

ME: Getting dressed! See you downstairs.

I was surprised they were still going to do the show because Kingston’s throat had looked like it would really hurt to sing, but what did I know? I was only a nurse. Kingston had the money to get the best medication and medical advice available. This couldn’t be the first time he’d gotten sick in a twelve-year career.

No matter how strongly I wanted to tell him not to risk damaging his vocal cords, I had to learn to keep my opinions tomyself. That kind of thing got me into trouble at work sometimes too. It was like I cared too much.

And in my experience, people rarely appreciated it.

That was a big part of the reason why I’d been considering going into travel nursing. I wouldn’t be in one place long enough for my mouth to get me into trouble, and the money was so good I’d be able to save up the down payment for a house quickly.

At least, that was the loose plan I’d come up with.

I was thirty-three and still living with my sister. I’d initially moved in to help her with River, and then I never left. I’d assumed I would wait until I met the right guy to think about something more permanent, like buying real estate. But now she was back with Tommy, and I felt like a third wheel.

It was time to grow up.

I didn’t need a man to be the best version of myself.

Or even a more stable version.

I shook off my maudlin thoughts and focused on what to wear.

I’d brought black jeans, a lace-up corset that showed plenty of cleavage, and black boots to wear for the show, so I quickly pulled them on. Since I hadn’t known whether or not I would be going anywhere tonight, I’d done my hair earlier but hadn’t bothered with makeup. Now I wasn’t sure whether to go all out with my heavily layered rock and roll face, complete with false eyelashes and black lipstick, or to just keep it simple.

Ross was mad at me, so he wouldn’t pay attention to my makeup, and since I didn’t have a lot of time, I opted for the basics: foundation, bronzer, a little eyeliner, and a couple of coats of mascara. Mauve lipstick rounded out my look and I stuffed my room key, ID, some cash, and the lipstick into my crossbody purse. It was my favorite, small and comfortable for a rock concert, and I draped it over my shoulder as I walked out of my room.

To my surprise, Ross was just coming out of his room across the hall.

He looked like he was in a hurry, so I smiled as I caught his gaze and our eyes met.

“Hey.”

“You riding over to the arena with us?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Cool.” He didn’t say anything else as we walked to the elevator and rode it down to the lobby.

Ugh.

He was almost definitely mad about earlier.

“You look nice,” he said as we stepped out of the elevator.

Okay, maybe notmad-mad.

“Thank you.” I bit my lip shyly.

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