Page 39 of Wingwoman
I had considered whether or not I should call my father back at the hospital. But then he’d insist I came over to Viv’s. Or worse, they’d all come over tohiscondo and I’d be stuck with all of them crammed into the small space.
I never turned to my dad for comfort when I was sick as a kid, so why start now?
“No, it’s okay. I’ll call my dad tomorrow and tell him what happened.”
His brows disappeared behind silky brown hair, but he said nothing at my admission, instead, returning his attention to chopping vegetables.
I loved my dad, I did. But he wasn’t exactly the nurturing type. I learned that lesson the hard way when I was eight and woke up sick in the middle of the night with a stomach virus. One sight of my vomit and he puked all over himself too. I ended up doing the laundry for his clothes and my bedding that night myself. I learned early on, it was easier to just take care of myself.
It wasn’t long until the scent of simmering chili filled the room. Josh turned the knob to lower the heat on the stove and came over, sitting next to me where I’d been reading a magazine ofAustin Monthlysitting on his coffee table and snuggling with Cash.
“So, how’d it go with Daisy?” I asked. “I couldn’t hear anything on the ride because Gypsy was so far behind and, well, you know the rest.”
He shook his head. “Daisy is an attention seeking, spotlight grabbing, jealous wannabe singer. And… not my muse.”
“Wow. Don’t hold back now.”
His gaze locked onto mine, sending a shiver of delight down my spine. “I never hold back.”
Heat zipped down my spine.
“Shocking.” I sighed, thankful the drugs Dr. Nash had given me were kicking in. My throbbing head and sore arm had dulled to a mellow ache. “Then at least tell me… did youhonestlygive her a chance?”
“Yes,” Josh said.
“Reallythough?”
“Yes.”
“Josh, she’s beautiful, poised, smart, sassy, doesn’t take your shit—”
“And a jealous, know-it-all, vindictive person,” Josh snapped. “Look, I promised you I would give your prospects a fair chance. But she was glaring at you every time you took the attention off of her. I can’t have someone like that in my life. Especially since part of my job is paying attention to fans and filming music videos with dancers and actresses. She was so obsessed with herself and getting what she wanted, she didn’t stop to think about the danger she was putting you in with her little riding lesson.” He reached up, gently brushing his thumb across my forehead beneath the bandage. “And look what happened.”
I swallowed and watched as his face flushed, the apples of his chiseled cheeks turning from their usual dusty tan coloring to a peachy shade as he grew angrier.
“And do you want to know how Iknewshe wasn’t the one?” His shrewd gaze could have pierced clean through my skin if he’d wanted to at that moment.
“How?” I asked, surprised I was able to find my voice because my throat was drier than the dusty path we’d been on that afternoon.
“Because whileyouwere sleeping in the hospital, a song came to me. Lyrics swam in my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Worrying about you.” He tugged a folded scrap paper from his back pocket and tossed it down on the coffee table.
Tentatively, I reached out, nervously unfolding it in my shaky fingers.
“It wasn’t Daisy inspiring me to write a song. It wasyou. So, if your goal as a wingwoman is to find me a new muse, then you’ve got to do better than Daisy the Beauty Queen. Because whoever you find has got to be good enough to getyouout of my head.”
I was speechless. Utterly and totally void of any comeback. Josh pushed a sigh through tight lips before his white knuckled grip pushed off his knees as he stood up and stalked out, saying over his shoulder, “Dinner should be ready in ten minutes. I’ll come get you when it’s done.”
Eleven
JOSH
Man,I was such a shit. Snapping at her like that while she was barely out of the hospital long enough for the drugs to kick in? That was a dick move.
We sat at my dinner table, eating chili in silence with Cash sitting at our feet, looking up at Hope with expectant eyes.
Every now and then, I’d see her gorgeous brown eyes peer up at me from across the floral centerpiece and after what felt like an eternity, she said, “This is delicious, Josh. Thank you.”
I shrugged. “You had to eat.”
