Page 53 of Hold Still

“Shari’s good. She put a blackout on the story. No one outside my family, Cole and the label knows I was ever married, much less divorced.” No reason to delve into the fact that Teresa cleaned me out and if I don’t come up with some more songs quick, shit’s really going to hit the fan. “Among Shari, Platinum and Aiden, I’ve been able to keep everything under wraps.”

“I’m so happy Shari is taking care of you. Rose’s partner is super nice and obviously excellent at publicity.”

“She is.”

McKenna rubs her arms. “Do you believe her?”

“Teresa?” She nods. “I guess so. Makes sense.”

“If I had a guy like you, I don’t think I’d ever be lonely, even if we weren’t physically together.” Her hand clamps over her mouth. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. What I meant to say is her excuse seems a bit thin to me.”

I like the sound of the first part. Maybe she does want to be with me? Smirking, I consider the second part of her statement. “Well, we got married and then I was off to the mainland while she was at college. We weren’t together very often.”

“But you spoke every day on the phone.”

“We did. However, Platinum was playing me up as a party-goer, so there were photos of groupies. Even though I didn’t touch one at that time, the tabloids needed some fodder. Between Cole and me, we put all of the paparazzi’s kids through school.”

She smiles. “It’s good you talked daily. I bet you got to experience college with her, just like she got to virtually go on tour with you.”

I consider her words, remembering back then. “Well, I did share a lot about touring life with her. She never seemed to want to talk about college, though.”

“Really? My college days were quite something. That’s where I met Rookie—Rose. Changed majors a couple of times. Things were wild then. I’m surprised she didn’t want to share her experiences.”

“Well, I guess she tried a few times.”

Her head tilts. “And?”

My mind goes back in time. “I always let her talk, but somehow things came back around to the tour. I guess it was more exciting.”

She rubs her knees. “Sounds to me like neither of you were ready to be married.”

I was the wronged party in this scenario. Never once did I consider anything otherwise. My anger bubbles up. “Well, I didn’t go fuck any of the groupies who threw themselves at me at the time. I kept it in my pants.”

“I believe you. But, a relationship is about more than physical fidelity.”

I jump up. “Spoken like a girl who’s never been cheated on. When you have, we can talk.”

She gets to her feet next to me. “God, you’re such a self-centered prick. I’ll let you stew in your selfish indignation. Think about what I said. You’re mad because you know I’m right.” She grabs her laptop and purse and stalks out. I don’t follow her.

What the fuck does she know about my relationship? If Teresa wanted to tell me about her college life, she could have. I wouldn’t have stopped her.

Fragments of conversations with my ex-wife pop into my head. Her telling me about a campus party and me getting mad about the guys around her. Her talking about a male professor while I trampled over her story with my own about roadies.

Fuck.

Maybe McKenna is right and I’ve always been more concerned with my own life than anyone else’s.

No fucking way. Teresa and Luis were sleeping together for months before I found out. I was faithful to the undeserving bitch.

The front door opens and I stomp out to the hallway. “Did you forget something?”

My assistant’s thumb points to the driveway, where McKenna’s car zooms away. “What’s that about?” At his voice, Bans comes barreling into the front hall, demanding his attention. Aiden reaches down to pet her.

“Believe me you don’t want to know.” I turn on my heel and stalk into the house.

“Uhm, okay.” The front door snicks shut. “I have some paperwork to go over with you.”

My temper cools a fraction. “Drink?”

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