Chapter 64
“ W here are you going?” Harmony asks as I wheel my carry-on luggage to the front door.
“Airport,” I reply. “For the tour. I’m running late actually.” My brow furrows. “I went to your room to say goodbye. But you weren’t there.”
“I was outside, by the lake.” Her gaze turns unfocused. “Thinking some and practicing lines.”
“You’re working again?” I think it’s way too soon, and I find it strange that she’d go to the lake. Even though it used to be one of her favorite spots, shouldn’t nearly drowning there have changed that? “I thought you were going to rehab.”
“I’ll go.” Harmony wrinkles her nose. She’s wearing makeup, not the heavy on the set stuff, but her own, which is subtle and suits her. Her golden hair is styled in pretty waves; she looks good. On the outside, nothing appears to have changed.
“Soon,” I press. Though she looks fantastic in her black Prada track suit, her eyes aren’t right. There’s a furtive glint, an uncertainty within them that disturbs me. “Please, Harm.” I grab her hand and squeeze it. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t want to lose you either.” She aims her pinched gaze at my suitcase. “But you’re leaving.”
“It’s work,” I say a little defensively. “I’m on assignment.”
“Is that all it is?” she inquires pointedly.
“No.” I shake my head.
“How did it go with Bo last night?” She gets right to the heart of the matter.
“It was amazing. He was amazing.” My cheeks warm. “Until I woke up. He left me without saying a single word. And now he’s mad at me.”
“Why?” She tilts her head.
“I guess because I didn’t tell him about the internship and because Melinda made me his babysitter on this tour. I think having sex with him, I lost him as a friend. He might even hate me now.” A sob clogging my throat, I swallow hard.
“Hate is an emotion on the opposite side of love.”
“He doesn’t love me, Harm.” He never has. That’s pure fantasy.
“Do you want him to?” She arches an inquiring brow.
“Yes. No.” I glance down at my feet. “I don’t know.”
“So figure it out,” she says gently. “Going on tour with him is the perfect opportunity.”
“A perfect opportunity to get my heart completely broken.” I lift my gaze. “What if he fucks other women?”
“It’s possible your heart might sustain more damage,” she allows. “But why would Bo choose another woman if he could have you?”
“I love you for saying that.” Tears flood my eyes. “But I was a virgin before him. He left after sex without even talking to me.” I pin my trembling bottom lip with my teeth. “I’m pretty sure I was a disappointment.”
“Babe.” Harmony shakes her head. “You look like me. All you have to do is show up and a guy’s going to get off. But Bo, you and him…” Her expression thoughtful, she taps a manicured finger against her chin. “I’m not entirely sure what’s going on right now inside that fucked-up head of his, but I know you’re the right woman to un-fuck it.”
“Un-fuck is not a word,” I mutter. But I consider what she’s saying.
“Don’t care.” She pokes me in the chest. “But I care about you. So much.” Without warning, she throws her arms around me. “Promise me you’ll go for what you want. With Bo. With this job. With everything,” she murmurs in my ear.
“I agree with Harmony,” a familiar voice says, and I spin around.
“Uncle Alex!” I exclaim. “Man, you have good hearing.”
“I was eavesdropping, and I won’t apologize for it.” He comes closer to us. “Give me hugs.” He opens his arms, and the three of us cling to each other in the foyer. After a moment, he focuses solely on me. “You’ve been inside your shell way too long, Snookums. Acting like an ugly duckling when the rest of us know you’re a fucking swan.”
“He’s right,” Harmony says.
A smile teases my lips. It’s impossible not to be encouraged when you have not just one but two people you love supporting you. “I love you.”
“Love you right back,” he says firmly. Emotion glistens in his blue eyes as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Me three,” Harmony says and grabs my hand. “You better call me while you’re away.” She squeezes my fingers. “Every day.”
“You better answer my calls.” I toss her attitude right back at her.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
I believe her. Plus, I have a strong hunch that a big part of her prioritizing my calls is because she doesn’t want to miss getting updates about Carson.
“You gonna eat that?” Carson asks me from his squished position between Bo and me in the back seat of the contracted sedan. The driver picked us up when we landed at the DFW airport. He’s taking us to the Crystal Hotels Pavilion, where tonight’s concert will take place. Before I can answer him, Carson snatches the pretzel from my hand.
“Hey, that was mine,” I protest. The bag of pretzels was all they gave us on the plane. I missed breakfast and lunch, and I didn’t get a chance to eat the snack during the flight because I spent the entire time going over the long list of items Melinda expects me to handle on this tour. “I’m hungry.”
“You shouldn’t skip meals.” Bo speaks to me for the first time in several hours. “Give her the damn pretzel back, Car,” he growls. My body reacts to the angry timbre of his voice. Nerves tighten. My blood warms. Other parts of me tingle recalling our night together.
He doesn’t want you that way , I remind myself, but reminding doesn’t make the longing go away.
“Maybe I will.” Carson tilts his head and studies me as if he’s considering my worthiness to have my pretzel back. “What will you give me for it?” he asks me in a flirty tone.
“I’ll give you a damn punch in the face,” Bo snarls at his friend. Snatching the pretzel from Carson’s hand, he stretches his arm across the seat, offering it to me.
“Take it,” he insists, his gaze as hard as metal.
“Okay.” My fingers brush his in the transfer. I hiss from the electrical current that zaps me.
“You okay?” Concern softens his gorgeous eyes.
I start to shake my head. I’m not okay. I need him. Him being mad at me and putting distance between us hurts, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction of knowing how deeply he affects me.
“I’m fine.” I put the pretzel in my mouth and crunch it between my teeth. Swiping my tongue across my lips, I remove every tiny sprinkle of salt.
“Fuck me.” His eyes darkening, Bo glances away.
I frown. I don’t like him being mad, and I don’t like him ignoring me either. “Want to share?” I ask Carson, offering him the bag.
“Sure.” For some reason, Carson’s voice goes lower, and he gives me a smoldering look.” I’m game to share. If Jacks doesn’t mind.”
“Do whatever the hell you two want,” Bo mutters testily, his gaze glued to the window. “Leave me out of it.”
“Excellent.” Carson grins at me. “Feed me one, pretty girl.” He opens his mouth. I fish a pretzel out and pop it between his lips that graze my skin. The lead singer is handsome, but there’s no zap from the connection. Not sure the contact does anything for Carson either. He seems to have an ulterior motive for suddenly flirting with me.
“Delicious.” He winks at me, then lets out a deep groan like Bo did when he was fucking me.
“Knock it off.” Bo elbows Carson. “Unless you want my knuckles in your damn mouth.”
“You’re so full of it,” Carson says. “Oh, look.” He points as the sedan slows and turns. “We’re here.”