Page 43 of Rulebreaker
“I’ll probably spend two weeks at a spa being pampered within an inch of my life. Daily massages, yoga, meditation, manicures, pedicures, and facials–you name it. That’s my usual. Beyond that, I honestly have no idea. What do you do after you close a big deal?”
He hesitates, his face suddenly shrouded. “I don’t really have any rituals. If anything, I make some kind of big-ticket item purchase. New car, house renovation, something.”
“What’s your house like?”
He opens his mouth and closes it again. “I would say it’s… expensive but simple. I have the best of everything, no doubt about that, but not many personal touches. The only art on the walls is what my interior designers chose when I moved in. Other than Frankie’s drawings on the fridge.”
ThatI can picture.
“No pictures of your friends? Not even Colt?”
His face softens, just for a moment, and he nods. “Yes. I have pictures of Colt and the others in my den. From college. Hockey. A lot of memories in my favorite room of the house. And of course, Frankie is everywhere.” There’s genuine affection in his eyes whenever he says her name.
“Do you want kids of your own?” I ask curiously.
“I don’t know.” He seems conflicted admitting that. “My general opinion has always been hell no. In addition to not having a lot of patience, I’ve never been the settling down type. And I firmly believe it takes a solid foundationanda village to raise children.”
“Like your family does with Frankie.”
“Yes.” Our eyes meet across the table and there’s a vulnerability in his I didn’t think existed. “What about you?” he asks after a moment.
“Kids?” I shrug. “I honestly don’t know. My general opinion has always been probably. Someday. But not until I’ve made a fuck-ton of money and met the right guy.”
“You’ve done the first,” he says pointedly.
I’ve also potentially accomplished the second now. Unfortunately, the timing’s off and that’s not something I can share.
“The second is tricky,” I respond carefully. “The right guy has to be willing to wait until I’m ready. Not be intimidated by my wealth. And not want to control me. No matter how well-intentioned, I don’t need a man telling me how long is too long to be on tour or whether or not it’s time to put out another album. I’ve been handling my music career for a long time.”
“Have you encountered that a lot?”
“More than you think.”
“Then they weren’t the right guys.”
If only he knew how true that was–in more ways than one.
“And that’s why I’m in no hurry to put a timeline on babies.”
FIFTEEN
Atlas
“Well, then,”Briar says as she pushes to her feet, “that’s everything on my list so I’m going to head out of here.”
I flick my eyes to the clock on my desktop. “Is Frankie sick?”
“No,” she replies with–what I don’t miss–is a slightly edgy tone.
Hmm.
“Does she have an appointment?”
“Nope.” Briar starts moving to the door.
“Some event at her preschool I forgot about?”
A shake of her head.
