Page 62 of Reverb
“That has to be Mish’s call.”
“I’ll let you know,” she whispered. “I’m not a fool, Zav.”
“I know you’re not.” He laid his hand on her shoulder, and she reached up to hold it. “But sometimes we wait too long to confront things. And it’s burned us before.”
It was Ray who swallowed and looked up at Zavier, at his husband.
Mish didn’t look away from David. She did let go of Zavier’s hand. “It’s going to be fine.”
“But he’s right,” Ray said.
“Zavier’s always right,” Dom said.
At this, the man rolled his eyes. “I am not, and you fucking know it.”
Mish looked up at him. “Wait, can we quote you on that?” That broke the odd tension in the room.
Zavier waved the comment away. “Are we done? Because I’d like to try out that nice pool I saw.”
David nodded. “Yeah. We’re on the same page. Pass anything weird along to me.” He stood and stepped closer to Marcella. “Would you let the crew and all know to be on the lookout for anything strange?”
She sipped her coffee, then spoke. “Already on my to-do list.”
Man, it was nice having everyone with him rather than second-guessing him. Then again, this team actually cared about each other.
“That’s it, then,” he said to no one in particular.
“Good.” Mish climbed to her feet, grabbed the laptop, and handed it to him. “You got swim trunks in your luggage?”
He did. A last-minute addition, since he generally didn’t go swimming. But he thought lounging in a hot tub while on the tour would be needed after sleeping on a bus and working odd hours. “Yeah.”
“Oh good,” she purred. “’Cause we’re all going swimming.”
Marcella was backing away. “I’ve got calls I need to make.”
“All means all.” That came from Ray. “You always say we should relax on our rest days.” His grin was sly.
Marcella looked up at the ceiling. “Fine. Because you’ll bug me if I say no.”
“If you honestly don’t want to swim with us,” Zavier said, “we won’t make you.”
“I know. You guys are good about boundaries. I’ll meet you there in ten or fifteen.”
Ray nodded. “David?”
The twinkle in Mish’s eyes told him he wasn’t going to get out of the group swim unless he had an objection—and he didn’t.
“I’ll be there with bells on.” He paused. “Figuratively.”
Zavier’s lips twitched, and David knew that expression as well. He didn’t even comecloseto asking if he had bells. Because ifanyonein this group did, it was Zavier Demos.
Chapter Thirteen
By the time Mish made it poolside, Ray was splashing around in the water, his inked arms shining in the sunlight. Zavier was standing near the edge, sunglasses on, shirt off, exposing his own set of tattoos. None of the other members of their extended group were there.
Zav had that smile he only got around Ray. A deep friendship, one that would abide the years, he had once told her in a guarded moment. That’s why he’d married Ray.
That expression deepened to something far more devilish when Ray splashed water at him. She couldn’t hear what Zavier said or what Ray did in response, but the way Ray tossed his head, even while treading water, was pure sass.
