Page 37 of The Roadie
Mason and Jimmy tossed a drumstick across the room to each other, shocking the hell out of everyone. They each caught the other’s stick and continued with dueling drumbeats for the next 15 minutes.
Jimmy stepped down from his kit, pride gleaming off of him from every angle, and he pointed at Mason. “That’s my boy!”
Panting heavily from exertion, Mason giggled as he tried to catch his breath.
Brett clapped his hands, mouth hanging open and eyes wide with disbelief. “That was incredible!” He went to Mason and high-fived the boy. “Dude, you rocked it. You just blew my mind!”
Mason’s cheeks flushed bright pink with modesty as he looked down and smiled, showing off his adorable dimples. This kid was so damn cute. Kira loved him to death. She wrapped her arms around him, hugged the hell out of him and kissed his cheek three times in a row.
“Aunt Kira!”
She didn’t care that she was embarrassing him. “Too old to get a hug from your aunt?”
He tried to hide his smile, but it broke through anyway. There was no dimming the light inside this kid’s soul. He extended his sticks to Brett. “Wanna play?”
Brett took a step back and shook his head. “Are you kidding? After what you just did? No way.”
They ended up in the dining room, sharing a meal of herbed chicken marsala with green beans and rosemary potatoes. Brett offered to help with the dishes and actually stood with his plate in his hand, ready to bring it into the kitchen.
“Sit down, man,” Jimmy told him. “You don’t have to bother. My girl’s got a full staff in there.”
Brett returned to his seat, a little embarrassed, and quietly apologized to Kira. “I didn’t know. I was always taught to wash my plate off and put it in the dishwasher after dinner.”
Kira placed her hand on his leg under the table. “I think that’s wonderful.” She was the one who was embarrassed, now. Not that she begrudged her sister’s choice to hire a personal chef and wait staff. It’s just that Brett came from a humble background, and her family’s wealth could be a little intimidating. She never wanted him to feel as if he didn’t measure up because of it or that anyone in this room, or anyone in the Immortal Angel family, would ever pass judgment on him because he didn’t make a seven-figure salary. Her father, on the other hand, might not be as liberal on the subject. But she didn’t think she’d have to worry about that because Brett was going home tomorrow.
The next morning, Kira woke to a beautiful sunny day with little humidity. She had worried the weather wouldn’t cooperate and spoil their plans to visit Central Park, but it was the perfect day. Grateful, she stepped onto the balcony and inhaled the crisp air. She exhaled slowly and tried not to dwell on the fact that Brett was going home today. She thought about asking him to stay another week, or two, but didn’t want to torture herself with the inevitable. Their relationship had an expiration date. She knew that from the very beginning. There was no need to pretend it was going to end differently. A baseball of emotion lodged in her throat, but she swallowed it down and vowed not to ruin their last day together with sadness. They were going to enjoy this day to the fullest.
Footsteps behind her meant that Brett was up and awake. He yawned like a grizzly bear, and she laughed. When she turned around to face him, his arms were above his head, broadening his strong chest and showing off the bulky muscles in his shoulders and arms. He wore only a pair of sweatpants that hung low enough on his hips to showcase the deep “V” that pointed toward his groin.
He brought his arms down over her head and across her shoulders, pulling her in for a hug. “Morning.”
“Good morning. It’s a beautiful day,” she replied, happily.
He smiled down at her and then placed a kiss on the top of her head. “It’s even more beautiful because you’re in it. I can’t tell you how wonderful it’s been spending this last month together. Every day has been like a dream for me. I was always a loner. To tell you the truth, I worried that spending practically every minute of every day together, when we really didn’t know each other that well, would drive us apart. I thought you’d get sick of me. Or at least get annoyed that I stole the covers every night and hogged the bed.”
She smiled because he did steal the covers and hog the small bed on the bus. “I thought the same thing. I thought you’d run in the opposite direction as fast as you could after a few days on that noisy tour bus filled with so many people and different personalities. Plus, basically living with three kids for a month. That couldn’t have been easy.”
He looked at her as if she were crazy. “You know I love your nephew.” His smile widened, and he looked up to the sky. “Don’t even get me started on how adorable Tessa is. And Lucas is, by far, the most precocious kid I’ve ever met. I had a conversation with him about math. Math! What kid talks about math?”
She couldn’t help the laugh that flew from her mouth. “I know. He’s incredibly smart. And so cute with those big blue eyes and blond curls.”
“You have a wonderful circle of friends and family around you. I love how close everyone is.” He sighed with contentment. “I really loved waking up to your beautiful face every day. I could get used to that.” He glanced over her shoulder at New York City. “This place isn’t bad either.”
Her heart fluttered, and her eyes lit up with hope, because, for a moment, she thought he was considering moving to New York. But she quickly realized that it wasn’t what he meant when his brows furrowed together.
“My life is in California, Kira. My brother is there, and I need to keep an eye on him.” Brett took a deep breath, and the corners of his mouth curled up. “But I seriously wouldn’t mind spending some time in New York to be with you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we could fly back and forth to see each other. We could have long weekends together.”
She slowly shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh. “I can’t commit to that indefinitely,” she answered, honestly. She didn’t want to seem unyielding or stubborn, but she knew life always got in the way. “I need to be realistic about expectations and what the future holds.” She knew this scenario too well. She’d done the long-distance thing three times before, and, each time, the relationship ended the same way. Missed weekends caused hard feelings. Quality time turned argumentative. And too much time away from one another made the relationship fall apart.
The last thing she wanted to do was break ties with Brett, but she also didn’t want to commit to something that she knew neither one of them could stick to. She gave him a hopeful smile. “Let’s not make any solid plans or firm commitments, because, inevitably, one of us will break them and the other will be hurt and disappointed. Let’s just take it slow and see where it goes. Let’s let fate decide the direction of our lives.”
He exhaled a disappointed sigh. “If that’s all you’re gonna give me, I’ll take it. Because this isn’t over, Kira. We’re going to figure it out.”
She nodded, unsure if she believed him but willing to believe in his promise.
