Page 34 of California Love Songs
Erin said, “I’m going to head over to her place. Why don’t you two hang out for a while?”
Jay glanced over her head at Damien with a fake tough-guy expression. “Well, that depends on whether you’re going to try and beat me up again.”
Damien had to chuckle. “I admit I was a little overprotective of my sister.” Then he said to Erin, “Are you absolutely sure he treats you right?”
She nodded, amusement dancing in her eyes. “I am absolutely convinced he treats me right. In fact, he couldn’t treat me any better if he tried. Which he does. Frequently.”
Damien pretended to give it some thought, then grinned at Jay. “Then I won’t try to beat you up.” He raised a finger. “But if you ever hurt her…” He left the rest of the sentence hanging.
Jay raised his eyebrows. “Fair. And same goes. I don’t care if you’re her brother. If you ever hurt her, you’ll be hearing from me.”
Erin shook her head at the two of them, but Damien could tell she was pleased that they’d agreed to spend some time together. “I’ll leave you two to play testosterone Ping-Pong. I’ve got to go.”
They walked up to Jay’s house, where Erin got into her car.
As they waved goodbye, Jay said, “I think we’ve got some sort of weird plant-based green tea thing I could make you.”
Damien raised an eyebrow and then laughed. It was time he got to know Jay better—for his sister’s sake.
Chapter Fifteen
Crystal was a mess. She couldn’t believe what had happened between her and Damien. She paced the entire length of her small house, again and again, hardly able to think of anything but that kiss. His soft but insistent lips. The sandalwood scent of his skin and the feel of his hair as she curled it beneath her fingertips. The sound of his gentle moan as he pulled her body close to his.
In the minute they had stood in that sexy embrace, everything had changed. She felt electric, as though her body had finally awakened from a deep slumber and was ready to go, yet also as though she had just blown up one of her most cherished friendships.
Why had they gone dancing? Everything would have been okay if they hadn’t. Sure, she had feelings for Damien. She’d always had feelings for Damien. For years, she’d managed to tamp them down and enjoy their friendship. And now, just because he said he was going to stay for a while and they’d been dancing so close, she’d let down her guard.
To truly dreadful consequences.
Because she had been ignoring his calls. His text messages. He’d even sent her an email. She couldn’t bring herself to talk to him right now. In all their years of friendship, she had never once screened a call or not replied to a text. It worked both ways. Even when Damien was in the middle of a busy tour, if Crystal wanted to talk, he would find a quiet moment and sneak away from the band to call her. He had always made her feel that the miles between them were nothing.
She groaned out loud, still pacing. She wasn’t sure who she blamed more—herself or Damien. Yes, she should have been more vigilant and made sure her unwavering attraction, that torch she’d been carrying for Damien all these years, had remained hidden. But she blamed him too. He had made the first move. He had crossed the line she’d so painstakingly kept drawn between them.
Because she had been there all the time.
She’d been there since they were kids, and only now was he seeing her—really seeing her? But when she’d made it clear that she wasn’t willing to just be another girl to him, treated like one of his groupies with whom he was happy to spend a little while before he moved on? Then he became defensive and unsure about what he was doing.
So no, she wasn’t going to pick up the phone. “No hay posibilidad,” she said into her open fridge, which she realized she’d been staring into for some time. She closed the door decisively.
And yet, even as she said those words, she knew she was partly wrong. Damien wasn’t that kind of guy—at least, he’d never been with her. What he did on the road, she preferred not to know, frankly. She’d heard enough rumors over the years. When he was pictured with women in London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and Sydney, she’d always reminded herself that she wasn’t one of those girls. She was his friend. Those girls came and went, but she remained a constant in his life, and that was important to her.
But now, had she become one of those girls? Well, she hadn’t, because she hadn’t invited him in, and that had been the hardest thing she’d ever done—forcing one foot in front of the other and walking away. She’d lain awake for the rest of the night, her whole body tingling from his kiss, consumed with desire after experiencing a glimpse of what their bodies could do together. She’d almost called him countless times. She wanted to whisper, Come over and do what you want with me. But she’d held firm.
At least she’d done that. At least she’d walked away and slammed the door on the possibility of what could have happened.
She opened the fridge again and poured herself a glass of hibiscus iced tea. It was her mom’s recipe, and it always refreshed her no matter how many long hours she’d worked, or spent dancing. But today it didn’t work. It was like she had this endless thirst that couldn’t be quenched. Or rather, it could be, but only by the taste of Damien’s lips. She shuddered with pleasure at the thought and then drained the glass. She had to get a grip.
She began to tidy away some of the bridal magazines that she kept for clients, methodically stacking them in the cute colored racks she’d bought to keep her work notebooks and magazines organized, with matching pots to keep her pens and highlighters safe. Nothing felt so good to her as knowing where everything was and being able to find it easily. It was one of the reasons that her business had taken off. She could locate the perfect example of a bridal bouquet or balloon display within seconds and send it over to her client. It was so gratifying, and yet…
As she sorted through some examples of gold-embossed party invitations, she couldn’t stop thinking that all she wanted was for Damien to turn up at her door and throw her onto her bed.
“Ay dios mio!” she groaned to her potted plants. Was she ever going to be free of these sexy thoughts? She picked up her red watering can and gave them all a drink. If her own lust couldn’t be quenched, then at least she could look after her plants.
Oh, how she ached for Damien in ways she had never ached for anyone before. It was so unfair. She needed to talk to someone, and the first person who came to mind was Erin. Erin, with her quiet good sense. She’d never admitted to Erin that she had secret feelings for her brother, but Erin saw more than most people. Crystal strongly suspected her best friend knew she’d had a raging crush on her brother for fifteen years.
Before she went completely crazy, she texted Erin.
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