Page 90 of Broken Bridges

“You’ve finally made it. You’re a star. You’ve hit the big time. It’s what we’ve always wanted.”

There it is. I could picture the dollar signs swirling in his eyes. Fame and money were what he’d always craved. For me, joining The Flintlocks was never about making millions—it had always been about recording, and creating music, performing and doing what I loved. I’d never take being with them for granted.

His tone softened. “I’d love to see you, Lew. I’d love the chance to fix us.”

“Fix us?” A spite-filled breath shot from my lungs. I stared out across the canyon. Hurt meshed with the red-hot anger churning in every cell of my body. “Are you shitting me? You only want to get back together because I’m doing well and finally making something of myself. You quit on me when times were hard. You don’t do that to people you love. You never cared about what made me happy. All you wanted was money and a celebrity life. It’s all you’ve ever cared about.” Damn. It had taken me too long to realize that.

“Yes...no...I love you.”

The words he’d often whispered to me suddenly held no substance. “I’m not sure you ever did.” He’d tired of supporting me and now wanted to crawl back into my life just because I was in the spotlight, and he’d hit hard times. Well, fuck that. “Em, I loved you. So freaking much. But you broke my heart. You left. It’s over.”

As I sank onto one of the sun loungers, images of Tia flickered through my mind. Her smile. Her laugh. The ecstasy on her face when I was buried inside her. But there was so much more to her. She’d help rebuild my confidence in my music, in my ability to play and be the best I could be with the band. There was no ulterior motive to get something out of me in return. That was true respect and support. I glanced up at her bedroom window. I took a deep breath and filled my chest. She was my now and hopefully my future. “I’ve met someone.”

“That didn’t take long,” he snapped. His true colors shone through.

“It’s only new.”

“Who?” Cynicism dripped off his tongue. “Some hot Californian surfer? A sexy Hollywood actor? A badass businessman?”

I chuckled. “Definitely hot, sexy, and badass. But not a guy.”

“A chick?” His cold, callous laugh punched me right in the guts. “You? With a girl? Are you fucking with me?”

“It’s crazy, I know.” Every time I thought of Tia, warmth crept into my cheeks.

“Don’t kid yourself, Lew. You? With a woman? Oh, please. You are gay as fuck. Always have been. You can’t switch that off.” He turned cynical and snarky. “You have your fun with her. Fuck her. But when you come to your senses, give me a call. You love me. Your future is with me. We belong together.”

Daggers stabbed my chest. Tears prickled the backs of my eyes. I refused to let him get to me. “No. You had your chance. There is no round two. It hurts just hearing your voice. Hurts even more that my success is all you’re after. I want to be with someone who wants me for me. I thought that was you, but it’s not. So, thank you. This was the closure I needed. You’ve made me realize that despite all the heartache and how much I hated losing you, it was the best thing that could’ve ever happened. I’m glad we never got married. I love you. Always will. But we’re not meant to be together.”

“And this chick is?”

I wished the answer was clear, but it was too soon to tell. “Maybe. She’s never cared about where I came from. Never cared about my bank account. We’ve got a lot of territory to navigate and explore, and have reservations to overcome, but she has always accepted me for who I am. She’s helped me adjust to this new life. Best of all, she makes me laugh and we have fun. We’re good together.”

“Is it that TV star from the club?”

“It’s none of your business who I’m seeing.” I couldn’t spill her name; he’d go to the press.

“Stop being delusional, Lewis. Wake up. You can’t change who you are.”

Fire coiled through my veins. “Everybody changes, Em. Some do for the better—some for the worse. This person I’ve met is my better.”

“Lew?”

“No. Enough. You gave up on us. Gave up on me when I lost my way when my band broke up and I didn’t become the star you wanted. That’s on you, not me. But I’ve always loved what I do. All you did was use me to build your career, then you walked away. Now life has changed, you want me back? No, that’s not going to happen. I wish you the very best and every success. But we are over. Please, don’t call again. I gotta go. Bye.”

I ended the call and pressed my fingertips into my stinging eyes. Fuck! Five years of my life had been wasted on someone who had only held out for money and fame. Just because I’d joined The Flintlocks, I wasn’t rolling in dough...yet—although my first couple of paychecks had been a bucketload more than I’d earned in the past two years, and royalties were yet to roll in. But this could be a short ride if I didn’t meet the next milestone. I didn’t want to go backward. Not again.

Tia had known since the beginning I wasn’t loaded with cash. It had never bothered her. We’d connected over our sexy banter, a ton of laughs, our shitty heartache, our outlook on life, and our passions. We’d become friends before lovers. Our attraction had put us through more emotional turmoil and challenges than a Survivor reality TV show. Everything about her made me question my sanity, but she’d made me grow. For that I’d be forever grateful.

Just as I was about to walk inside, she appeared in her window in her silky robe. I stopped in my tracks. She gave me one of her sexy smiles, undid her robe and dropped it on the floor. Naked, she leaned against the frame and wriggled a come-hither finger.

My dick sprang to life. Hell yeah. How could I refuse?

At a sprint I zoomed inside, took the stairs two at a time and yanked off my pajama shorts.

Snaking my hands around her waist, I pulled her down onto the bed. Drawing her on top of me, I kissed her. Touched her. Entered her.

Giggling, she kissed my lips. “Good morning.”

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