Page 24 of Rush of Insanity

“That’s a lifetime away.”

Tank inclined his head. “It could be. Or it could be tomorrow. You never know.”

He reached for the radio and filled the awkward silence with rock music she wasn’t in the mood for. “And do you want to know what really pisses me off?”

“Please tell me,” she muttered. “I’m dying to know.”

“The two of you are perfect together.” He shot her a glare. “But you’ve got an affection phobia, and he’s got too much pride.”

“Tank—”

“Shut the fuck up, I’m on a roll.”

She raised a brow and settled into a glare.

“I’ll probably lose my job and my best friend for this, but that ring he gave you wasn’t a fucking commitment ring, Harper. He planned to propose to you that day.”

She raised her hand to her chest, to the place where the ring had been carried for the last year. She no longer had it to comfort her. It was gone. Along with Judd.

“Why didn’t he?” Her tone was weak and pathetic.

“You might want to ask him that. All I know is that it had nothing to do with him and everything to do with how you reacted on the day.”

How she reacted? She frowned, trying to rewind the memories of her life to the moment he’d placed the ring box in her palm.

She’d been shocked. Almost sickened by the possibility of what lay inside. She’d known, even before opening the box, that whatever he gave her would make her fall harder for him. It scared her. It made her angry. At herself. At her inability to be normal.

Everything that followed opening the box was a blur…apart from his murmured stipulation of it being a commitment ring.

“He wanted to marry me?”

Her? The woman who sang off key and danced out of rhythm.

“Yeah, he did.”

The past tense didn’t escape her. She could’ve been married to Judd Hart. She could’ve been the wife of a swoon-worthy musician.

“It doesn’t change anything,” she whispered, still reaching for the missing necklace.

“I guess not.”

She lowered her hands to her lap and dug her nails into her palm. It hurt. Everything. Everywhere. She hated that she hadn’t truly known Judd in the time they were together. She loathed that her affection issues were to blame. And the biggest regret was knowing she couldn’t change any of it now that they were over.

“Can you take me back to the stadium?”

The car slowed. “I can take you back to the bus if you like.”

“No, I don’t want to see him again.” Not now. She couldn’t. “I need to clear my head, and if I go home Nicole will be all over me.” She needed grounding and funnily enough the solitude of an empty arena had always helped when she was touring with Judd.

“Just take me there, and I’ll find my own way home.”

Chapter Eight

Judd stepped off the bus, his gaze cast straight ahead, his stride strong. He’d stayed away from the stadium all day, sequestering himself in the private room of his tour bus while his assistant intermittently barked out how long he had until he was due on stage.

“You’re late.” Tank came up beside him with one of the sound technicians following close behind.

“I’m here, aren’t I?” He grabbed the receiver pack from the tech and clipped it to the back of his pants as he walked.

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