Page 81 of My Song for You
Jared
Santiago’s was nothing like the old dives I used to play in when I was first introduced to the L.A. music scene. It was the place where the up-and-coming bands wanted to be showcased. Many a musician had been discovered here by either an agent or a label. And the clientele knew this. The bar also catered to a crowd that wouldn’t be caught dead in a dive.
The rest of the band was already at a table near the stage when I arrived. I dropped onto a padded leather chair next to Nolan and smirked. “Let me guess…Hailey’s out with friends?”
“Hey, she doesn’t have me whipped, if that’s what you’re implying.” His gaze jumped to Mason, and it wasn’t too hard to figure out where that had come from. Mason was positive Hailey had our lead singer whipped and that was why Nolan usually stayed home with her instead of joining us for drinks.
I laughed. “So she’s not out with friends?”
“Nope. The last I saw, she was watching a girlie show with some dude in a kilt prancing around an old Scottish castle.”
“Ah, so she kicked you out of the house so she could watch it without you making wiseass remarks.”
Nolan grinned. “Yep, pretty much.”
We didn’t get a chance to talk beyond that. Burning Wire sauntered onstage, and we cheered as our friend Tomas took his place behind his drums.
It wasn’t until the set was almost over that I glanced around the bar to check out the audience’s reaction to the band. And that’s when I spotted Tiffany at a table with a few other people. Unlike Callie, who’d been wearing a simple T-shirt and faded jeans, the women wore tight, low-cut dresses, the men high-priced suits. Callie’s clothes teased you with a hint of her sexy curves. Tiffany’s dress made me miss the feel of Callie’s sweet-smelling body in my arms.
As if sensing me watching her, Tiffany shifted her attention from the band to me, and she flashed me the sexy smile that had graced numerous magazine covers. The sexy smile that did nothing for me. Not like it used to. It just made me miss the girl I loved even more.
I turned back to the stage.
Once the band finished their final song, hollers, screams, and whistles filled the air and left my ears ringing. The guys in Burning Wire waved to their fans, and they were barely off the stage before the fans and groupies swarmed them.
They weren’t the only ones enjoying the attention. Numerous people had also spotted us and were quick to either chat with Kirk and Aaron or let Mason be his usual horndog self. Nolan was busy talking to a couple of guys. A group of girls near him watched him while giggling. I’m not even sure he noticed them. He was deep in conversation.
I checked my phone in case Callie had tried to contact me. Nothing. Needing to go to the bathroom, I pushed myself out of my seat and weaved through the crowd. Now that the live part of the evening was over, everyone had swarmed to the bar to get a refill.
A hand landed on my arm, stopping me. I turned to gently remove myself from the fan’s grasp.
“Hi, Jared,” Tiffany said, giving me the same smile she had given me a short while ago.
I stepped back, causing her hand to fall away. My ass brushed against the bar stool behind me. “Hey, didn’t realize you were planning to be here.” Not that it mattered either way, as long as Callie didn’t find out that Tiffany and I had been here at the same time. That would only worsen the situation between us, even though nothing was going on between Tiffany and me.
“My friends have been gushing about the place. I thought I’d check it out.” She narrowed the distance between us. “I heard about the picture of you and your son going public.” She visibly cringed. “That’s horrible what the paparazzi did, but you and your son will eventually get used to it.”
“What do you mean we’ll get used to it? Aren’t there laws in California against it?” I was pretty sure there were. Whether the paparazzi obeyed them was another matter.
She shrugged. “I have no idea, but with your band’s growing popularity, people will be curious about your life. They’ll be curious about your son, especially since he’s deaf. It’s part of being a celebrity.”
“I don’t want him to be a part of that media circus. I want him to have the same life I had growing up.”
“Then maybe you should consider allowing Callie to adopt him and have full custody. Eventually the spotlight will move from them and he can grow up having a…a normal life.” The way she said “normal life,” you’d have thought it involved moving to a cold, desolate location like Siberia.
I scowled. “Are you telling me I should give up my son?”
“I’m just saying that you need to do what’s right for him. You need to do what’s right for you. You’re not meant to be a father, Jared. You’re meant for bigger things.”
“Apparently my sperm would disagree with you,” I said, my tone even despite the fact that my insides were boiling at her words. Yes, I was still learning to be a good father and I had four years of catching up to do, but band or no band, I knew I was meant to be a father. I was meant to be Logan’s father. I might not be a religious man, but if I were, I would’ve bet that God had brought Logan, Callie, and me together for a reason. And it wasn’t so that Tiffany could tell me I wasn’t meant to be a father.
“You and Pushing Limits are going to be big,” she said. “All your hard work and sacrifices will be worth it.” She traced her fingertips up my arm, her meaning clear.
I jerked my arm away. “Are you saying I can’t be in the band and be a father to my son?” I had asked myself the same question a number of times in the past few days. Could I still be a good father and continue to play with the band? I had no idea, but I was willing to work hard at it and do my best for my son.
And I was willing to work harder at it with Callie.
“No,” Tiffany said. “I’m just saying it’s not the best way to bring up your son. You’ll always be busy and will always be on the road. I told you, my parents weren’t around much and I was brought up by nannies. Sure, I turned out fine, but not every kid can adjust. They feel unloved and unwanted. Is that how you want Logan to feel?”
