Chapter 3
ROSS
I’d always been a sucker for hazel eyes, and Wynter’s were mesmerizing. They were a soft brown, more of a caramel color than brown, and had little flecks of gold in them. When she fixed them on me, I couldn’t help but stare.
There was something raw and honest about her, something I really liked.
How long had it been since I’d been attracted to a woman this way? Where I wanted to sit and talk to her, even after she’d said something that annoyed me. It wasn’t her fault, though. I kept a low profile for the sake of the band, but it wasn’t like I could lie about who I was. Certainly not to someone like Wynter.
“If you believe in love, why are you still single?”
she asked after the silence had stretched out a bit.
“I work a lot,”
I replied. “And when you’re on the road as often as I am, only staying in each city a day or two at a time, it’s hard to make that kind of connection. I’d be open to it, though.”
I’d obviously caught her off-guard because she blinked a few times, as if she hadn’t heard me right.
“Why do you look so surprised?”
I asked, laughing.
“I guess I didn’t think guys in the music business were interested in relationships,”
she admitted, looking a little sheepish.
“Forty-two-year-old guys who’ve been in the industry a long time definitely get tired of the game. It would be nice to have someone to go home to.”
I paused. “You know, if it was the right person.”
“Have you ever been married?”
she asked.
I shook my head. “Was engaged a long time ago. But you probably know that.”
She nodded. “The stories about you are out there.”
“After Clara died, I couldn’t even think about falling in love again.”
“I obviously didn’t know her, but if she loved you the way you obviously loved her, then I don’t think she’d want you to be alone. That won’t bring her back.”
“Ten years ago, I would have said you were crazy. But you’re probably right.”
“I’m divorced,”
she said after a moment. “Got married right out of college. It was a disaster. Most of the time, I wonder if I’m better off on my own. But once in a while, I think about falling in love, maybe having a kid.”
She lifted her coffee cup, holding it in front of her mouth with both hands.
“I think about it too, but I don’t know how realistic it is considering what I do for work. What kind of dad will I be on tour for two years at a time?”
“The guys in the band seem to be doing it,”
she said softly.
“Yeah, but they’re multi-millionaires. I make a respectable salary, and I have plenty in my retirement fund, but I can’t afford to bring a family on tour full-time. And it wouldn’t be fair to my wife for her to be stuck in a hotel room with a baby while I’m off doing what I do.”
“I think where there’s a will there’s a way.”
Her eyes met mine. “If you really want something, you can make it happen. And every good relationship takes compromise.”
God, she was pretty when she was pensive.
Was that why I was staring at her like a lovesick teenager?
“So.”
I cleared my throat, trying to find something else to talk about so I didn’t blurt out anything stupid, like, “Will you marry me?”
It might be time for me to find a lady to take my mind off the one in front of me.
Right?
“You’re a nurse, right?”
“I am. Although I’m currently in a managerial position.”
She made a face.
“Not your thing?”
“I spend all day putting out fires between the employees. Two nurses who don’t like each other. Computer system goes down. Patients on the phone freaking out about billing issues. Everything falls to me, and none of it is nursing or actually caring for patients, which was what I loved. I thought it would be easier than emergency medicine, but it’s not. It’s just a different kind of hard.”
“Can you go back?”
“I don’t know. I’m considering doing a travel nurse thing, where I just take short-term jobs all over the country. The pay is fantastic, and I’d get to see places I’ve never seen before.”
“So you’d be a road warrior like me.”
“I guess.”
“Not conducive to getting into a relationship, though,”
I pointed out.
She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. Why you gotta rain on my parade? I almost had a plan.”
I laughed. “You know what they say about the best-laid plans.”
She stuck her tongue out at me, and of course, horn dog that I was, my thoughts went to all the other things she could be doing with that tongue.
I really needed to get my mind out of the gutter.
“I’ll figure it out,”
she said after a moment. “I’ve only been at this job six months. I’d like to give it a year. At that point, I’ll reassess. They’ve promised me a secretary. If that happens, I might be happier.”
“Life is short,”
I said softly. “If the job is making you miserable, don’t stay. Yes, you have to make a living, but you’re skilled. Nurses are in high demand, from what I’ve read online, so don’t torture yourself at a place that makes you so unhappy you don’t sleep.”
Her face softened as she nodded. “I keep thinking that maybe there’s something wrong with me, that two jobs in a row made me miserable, but you’re right. I’m skilled. I’m employable. I shouldn’t have to put up with stress-induced insomnia. So thank you. I needed to hear that.”
“Believe me, I know what it’s like to be miserable. Avoid it at all costs.”
“You’re sweet, Ross.”
If I was smart, I’d ask her out and get it over with. If she said yes, we could spend a little time together and see if the spark went beyond the sexual attraction. She was smart and beautiful, two things I loved in a woman, and there was no doubt she liked me. The only question was whether she liked Ross-the-forty-two-year-old-tour-manager or if she was simply infatuated with Ross-the-has-been-rocker.
Before I had a chance to say anything, my phone buzzed.
It was a text from Devyn, our bass player.
DEVYN: Can you come up to the room? Kingston may not be able to sing tonight.
“I’m sorry,”
I told Wynter, waving to get the waitress’s attention. “I have to go. Something’s going on with Kingston.”
Kingston was the band’s frontman.
“Oh no. Is he sick?”
She looked up with concern.
“I don’t know. All Devyn said was that he might not be able to sing tonight.”
“Maybe I can help?”
she said, quickly getting to her feet as I signed my name on the ticket so breakfast would be charged to my room.
I hesitated but then nodded. “Sure. Thanks. Let’s go.”