Page 27 of Too Little Too Soon
Holly clapped and gave a little squeal that caused the patrons at nearby tables turning their way. Someone covertly snapped a picture. Probably a fan of Holly’s band. It was going to take some getting used to, people always checking them out.
Ava recalled feeling like she was under a microscope growing up, but that had only been their mother, always observing, always checking to make sure they were behaving as perfect daughters should.
“That’s a fantastic idea,” Holly gushed.
“Wait. What is?” What had Ava missed while she’d been taking that unintended stroll down memory lane?
“Come with us,” Holly said, “on tour.”
Oh. “I’ve never…” Ava didn’t even know what to say. She’d assumed Maria was kidding, and maybe she was, but now that Holly jumped in, Maria was giving Ava that calculated look she remembered from their childhood.
It was the look she gave right before she declared another one of her brilliant ideas that would involve a great deal of work on the other person’s part.
“It’ll be so much fun,” Holly said like it was already a done deal.
“But—” Ava didn’t even know what she was protesting. It was a crazy idea, wasn’t it?
On the other hand, what did she have here in the city? An apartment that didn’t even feel like hers. No job. No friends. And the moment her sisters left town, she’d feel bereft.
Except, what in the world would she do with herself while they were touring? Yes, hang out with her sisters, but what else? Ava could not imagine sitting around doing nothing for long stretches of time. She never had; she didn’t even know how to relax.
“You can be my assistant!” Maria suddenly yelped. “God knows I need one.”
“Your assistant?” Ava repeated.
Maria nodded enthusiastically. “Just do exactly what you did last night in the meet and greet room. Help take care of the band, point out ways we can improve our processes. There’s plenty more, trust me. Oh, Ava, it’s a brilliant idea!”
“I…I think it is.” Ava smiled.
* * *
Travis and Cashshared a taxi to the airport. Travis had an empty apartment waiting in LA…and that was it.
His entire family was in Texas, which hardly mattered because he hadn’t spoken to them in more than a decade, not since he’d left the fold to become a rock star. The beating he’d received after he’d gotten his first tattoo had set a precedent, so Travis hadn’t been surprised at all when his fundamentalist preacher father had disowned him.
He didn’t even miss them.
His father, mother, older brother were all so incredibly ingrained in that for-profit church they ran, they probably didn’t even notice he wasn’t there anymore. And he certainly had no regrets about walking away from that lifestyle. Fleecing people for a living was not his gig.
What he did miss, or more accurately, what he craved—probably because he’d never truly had it—was a family who accepted him for who he was. They didn’t have to be blood-related, but they did have to be loyal to one another and not be assholes.
He had that with his band. That craving, coupled with his past in Dog Daze, was why he’d been so adamant that Parker and Lacey not hook up, why he’d gotten pissed when he found out Oz and Maria were dating.
So apparently, he wanted that sense of family but at arm’s length. Man, a therapist would have a field day examining his head.
“You’re thinking awfully hard over there,” Cash said.
They were at the airport, bellied up to the bar next to their gate, with a good hour and a half to kill before boarding. Travis had barely touched his Bloody Mary, while Cash looked like he was about to order his second.
“Just wondering what I’m going to do with myself this week,” Travis said.
Cash nodded when the bartender pointed at his drink from where she stood near the cash register. She’d been throwing them curious glances since they sat down but hadn’t approached other than to take their orders.
Travis was in his standard disguise of preppy clothes and a fisherman’s cap. He wasn’t taking any chances now that his stalker had resurfaced, especially since they were flying commercial, and coach at that, with no security along.
Maybe, one of these days, they’d be able to afford to pay a security guard to join them, but today was not that day.
Cash had done no more than pull a gray beanie over his dreads. He even wore a Demigoddess Revival T-shirt under his overcoat.
