Page 58 of Wicked Rockstar

She stopped short in the middle of my living room. “Oh, this is … nice,” she said, not doing a great job of hiding her wince or the way her eyes roved over my minimalist decor.

I chuckled, ignoring how her presence filled the room with a warmth my expensive interior designer had never managed to achieve. “Tell me how you really feel about it.” I attempted sarcasm, but the mere presence of her had me sounding like a lovesick idiot.

Tris shrugged and shot me a rueful glance. As she wandered the room, I couldn’t help but watch the sway of her hips. I shoved my hands in my pockets to resist the urge to reach out and pull her to me.

“Let me guess, your place looks like a cozy forest nook. With plants and colors and patchwork and knickknacks everywhere.” I had to think of something else. Anything besides how good she looked.

She chuckled softly. “My last place was. I’m still working on this one. I didn’t mean to insult your decor. It’s just so … ” She waved an arm around.

“Gray?” I deadpanned. This was a place for me to sleep. The only room I cared about was my home recording studio.

“Yeah, but you’re a broody rockstar. I think you make it work for you.” She tried to sound positive about it even as her lips pursed at the blatant lie. She sat down on my couch and beganto fiddle with the random coffee table books stacked on it. She fanned them out, restacked them, then started a second pile.

I cleared my throat. “While I could stand here all day discussing my decor choices and watching you rearrange things, I’m guessing that’s not why you’re here?”

She snapped her hands back, and twisted them together in her lap. “It’s not working.”

The despair I heard in her voice made me want to go to her and offer her comfort. To wrap my arms around her and tell her everything would be okay. Instead I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for her to elaborate.

“I’m never going to be able to convince Peter to notice me.” Her voice broke on the last word and she hastily swiped at her eyes.

My heart twinged. That fucker wasn’t worth crying about. I hated seeing her sad, especially over that douche. “It’s only been a day, Tink.”

She jumped up and began to pace, unknowingly tracing the route through the carpet that I’d taken earlier. Her body vibrated with nervous energy. “I know, but I realized something. Not only is he really into Wendy, but he was willing to test the waters with her. Through me.”

What an asshole. He was an even bigger jackass than I thought. “Tink?—”

“Why am I just realizing this now? I wasted so much of life waiting for someone who’s never going to love me back!” Her agonized words were like physical wounds. She curled up into herself, her shoulders slumping as she hugged her waist.

“I know what that feels like. And I hate it for you.”

Shit.

Her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to speak.

I couldn’t let her. “Come on,” I grabbed her hands and tugged her towards the couch. “Sit down. I’ll grab us a drink. White wine, right?”

Her watery gaze regarded me with interest. “Yeah, Thanks. That would be perfect.”

Shit shit shit.

Way to go, asshole.

Although it’s not like she might figure out the right guy was in front of her all this time.

Right?

I strode to the small refrigerator by the bar near my fireplace. I knew exactly which bottle she’d like, and I opened it quickly. I filled a glass to the top with wine and poured myself a generous amount of Scotch.

I joined her on the couch, careful to leave some room between us and handed the glass to her. She eyed the overlarge and overfull glass. “So you don’t have to wait on a refill, if you need one,” I explained. “What happened?”

Tris took a gulp of the wine and sighed. “I should get the name of this wine. This is really good.”

It better be. It was a three thousand dollar bottle. I sipped my Scotch, waiting for her to speak.

“I met with Peter and Wendy, and I could just tell he was into her, so I made my move on him, just like we practiced. I sat next to him, touched his arm, and spoke in a husky tone … ” She frowned. “And just when I thought it was working, I realized he was playing into it to make Wendy jealous.”

“Asshole. Tink, maybe?—”

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