Page 74 of I Need You Tonight
“I’d say.” It was no wonder my father had gotten hooked on gambling. I could understand how it could easily happen. You win a few times, and once you start losing, you’re positive the winning streak will resume soon.
Mason shifted on his feet, and his bloodshot eyes scanned the area. He looked both wary and exhausted, which wasn’t too surprising given that he hadn’t slept yet.
“Do you want to meet up with the rest of the band for lunch and then get some sleep? You’ve got time before the interview this afternoon.”
He scrubbed his face with his hand, swaying slightly, and I recalled that not only hadn’t he slept, but he’d also been drinking beer. “I’m not hungry, and I don’t feel like seeing anyone right now. I’ll just go to the room and meet up with the guys later.”
After what had happened yesterday at his father’s funeral, I wasn’t too surprised he felt that way. But his bandmates were like brothers to him, and he needed them more than ever.
I laid my hand on his biceps, over the tattoo that said “I am a fighter” in Sanskrit. “Are you sure? They have some great news to tell you.”
“What’s that?”
“Why don’t you come to lunch and they can tell you themselves?”
“I’d rather not right now. Why don’t you tell me?”
I grinned, barely restraining myself from jumping up and down while squealing like a fangirl. “ ‘Without You’ hit number one. Congratulations! You guys finally did it.” I flung my arms around his neck and hugged him hard, doing my best to ignore the smell of smoke now clinging to him. “I’m so proud of you, Mason.”
He hugged me back, but it lacked the level of enthusiasm I would have expected. I chalked it up to his exhaustion.
“Thanks. Can you do me a favor?” he asked.
I released my arms from around him and stepped back. “Sure, what?”
“Don’t mention anything to the guys about the gambling. If…if Kirk hears how much I won, he’ll want to gamble, and that’s not a good idea.”
“Why?” But then his meaning slammed into me, and my eyes widened. “Kirk used to gamble?”
Mason nodded. “But he doesn’t want anyone to know, so don’t say anything to him, all right? He’d kill me if he found out I told you.”
“Okay.”
He kissed me on the cheek. “I promise I’ll make it up to you for last night.”
“It’s okay. Just make sure you get some sleep, and text me when you wake up.”
“I will.”
Mason headed for the elevators, and I walked to the restaurant around the corner, where I was meeting the guys. They were already seated when I got there, drinking sodas.
“Where’s Mason?” Jared asked.
“In his room.” I bit my lip, wondering how much to tell them about yesterday. In the end I decided they needed to know. For Mason’s sake. “Look, about yesterday…Mason’s father died four days ago, and he and I returned to L.A. for the funeral. Something happened there, and I think he’s still upset about it.”
They all stared at me, shock clearly stamped on their faces. Nolan was the first to recover. “How come he never said anything about it to us?”
“Probably because he was upset when he first found out. None of his family had bothered to tell him his father was dying of cancer. He only discovered what had happened because he saw the obituary.”
Aaron glanced at the other guys, then at me. “So how come he told you and not us?” There was no curiosity to his words—instead, he was pissed. They were like brothers to Mason, but by keeping them in the dark, Mason had acted like his own asshole brother, the one who hadn’t told Mason about their father’s death.
“Because he’s in love with her,” Jared finally said, his gaze locked on me.
Kirk and Aaron both looked surprised at this revelation. Nolan, not so much.
“What happened at the funeral?” Kirk asked, skipping past what Jared had just told them.
Shit.I guess I should have expected that. “He wasn’t exactly welcomed with warm fuzzies.”
