Chapter 28
Run away – easier than playing the drums for a three-hour concert
Aurora
I snuggle into the warmth surrounding me. I haven’t slept this well since before I got pregnant. Since the night I gave in and had sex with Jett.
The man I’d been obsessing about for a decade. The man I love. The man I told I love you to last night. The man who didn’t respond.
Well, shit. I never should have told Jett I love him. The man can barely handle being in a relationship. The last thing he needed was for me to vomit love all over him.
He sighs in his sleep and his arm tightens around my waist. His hand is lying on my baby bump as if to protect it. My eyes water at the tenderness.
No. Stop it. I need to protect my heart from this man who doesn’t love me the way I love him.
A dagger stabs my heart at the thought of Jett never loving me. My throat catches as the pain radiates from my chest throughout my body. This is why I should have kept my big mouth shut. I’ve had enough heartache in my life. I don’t need more.
There’s only one thing to do.
I lift Jett’s hand and scoot out of the bed.
“Where are you going?” His voice is gravelly with sleep. It sounds the same as when he’s buried deep inside me. My knees wobble and my breath catches.
No, Aurora. No! No going weak at the sound of a man’s voice. Especially if the man froze you out after you said you love him.
“Gotta pee.” It’s not a lie. I always have to pee thanks to Little Bean.
I rush out of the room to the bathroom down the hall. I’m not using Jett’s bathroom. I don’t want to get comfortable with what I can never have.
After I take care of business, I get ready for the workday. As much as I’d love to spend the day lounging around, work is a surefire way to stop myself from obsessing about Jett and our ‘relationship’.
I’m settled at the kitchen table going through emails when Jett saunters into the room. I keep my eyes focused on my computer.
“Hey.” He kisses my hair. “I thought you’d come back to bed.”
He thought wrong. Go back to bed and lay with the man I love who clearly doesn’t love me? I am not a glutton for punishment.
“Nope. Work.”
“I thought Mike gave you the week between Christmas and New Year’s off.”
“And I thought you wanted this charity concert to happen.”
He frowns. “Maybe we should delay it. I don’t want you working too hard.”
“I always work hard.”
“Maybe you should learn to relax a little. You won’t be able to work this hard when Layla arrives.”
I’m not arguing about how hard I work. It’s a waste of breath. “I never agreed to the name Layla.”
“You admitted it’s a kickass name.”
Whatever. I return my attention to my emails.
He squeezes my shoulder. “Hey. What’s wrong?”
What’s wrong? Is he serious right now? Or is he just a complete idiot with no social skills whatsoever? Time to find out.
“What’s wrong?” I sneer. “You seriously have to ask me?” I shake my head. “Idiot.”
He blows out a breath as he scratches his bare stomach. My gaze gets caught on those hard muscles. Muscles I know feel warm to the touch.
My hand reaches for him without my brain giving it permission. I fist my hand. No touching.
“Look. I—”
His words are cut off by a knock on the door. He rushes off to answer it. Of course, he does. It’s what Jett does best. Run when things get tough. If it weren’t for the gorgeous kitchen in front of me, I’d think I was having déjà vu from a few months ago when he fled after our first night together.
The door opens and I strain to hear who’s here before nine o’clock in the morning.
“Good morning, Leia,” Jett greets before a dog barks. I guess Leia brought Bowie home. “Hey, girl. Did you miss me?”
My stomach clenches. Dang it. Now I’m jealous of a puppy. Get your shit together, Aurora .
“Bowie!” I call.
The puppy bounds into the room seconds later. She bumps my hand with her snout, and I scratch her behind the ears.
“Did you have fun with Leia and Fender and Isla?”
Leia grunts. “If you consider dragging every single shoe in the house into the living room fun, then, yeah, she had fun.”
I groan. “Please tell me she didn’t pee on the pile.”
“Princess arrived and the two of them got into a tug-of-war match with one of Fender’s sneakers. I thought Fender was going to have an aneurysm when he caught them. He banished them outside to the little fenced in area he made for Princess and made them stay out there until Isla cried because Princess was whining. My girl has that man wrapped around his finger.”
“Isla’s awesome,” Jett says.
Will he love our child the way he loves Isla? Or will he run away from her now? I bite my tongue before the questions tumble out of me.
I need to keep my mouth shut in front of Leia, who won’t hesitate to tattle to our group of friends. Judging by the way she’s glancing between me and Jett she already knows something’s up. Great. Another interrogation. Just what I need.
Jett clears his throat. “I promised Gibson I’d help him with something today. Make sure you eat breakfast.”
“Whatever,” I mutter.
“We’ll talk when I get home.”
I snort. “Sure, we will.”
He doesn’t reassure me. He whirls around and practically runs out of the house. Is there a record for how fast a woman can chase a man away? If so, I’m winning. Can I get my prize in chocolate?
“Pancakes, dried toast, or eggs and bacon?” Leia asks the second the door closes behind Jett.
“You’re not going to interrogate me?”
“Nope.”
“You’re not going to feed me copious amounts of food and then attack when I’m in a food coma?”
“Nope.”
“Are you going to say more than nope for the rest of the morning?”
She smiles. “Yep.”
I growl and she giggles.
“Sorry. Sometimes it’s fun to be the grumpy person. Instead of the one dealing with the grump all the time.”
“And yet you love Fender.”
“And you love Jett.”
I scowl at her. “I thought this wasn’t going to be an interrogation.”
She shrugs. “Just putting it out there in case you need to talk.”
“I don’t need to talk. I need to work.”
She motions to my laptop. “You work while I prepare breakfast.”
“You don’t have to make me breakfast.”
“Um, yeah, I do. The longer I stay in your home, the more I can tease the gossip gals about how I know everything going on while they know nothing.”
I bark out a laugh. “You’re evil.”
“I prefer the word mischievous.”
My phone rings and my mood immediately plummets. “Sorry, I need to get this.”
“Pancakes it is.” She whirls around and marches to the kitchen.
I answer the phone. “What do you want?”
Mike launches into a list of items I need to get done now. So much for my week off and getting caught up on work.
I hang up my phone and Leia slides a plate of pancakes in front of me. “Eat.”
I’m not arguing with a plate of homemade pancakes. I dig in.
She sits across from me as I eat. “Have you considered quitting your job and starting your own management firm?”
“No.” Thought about it? Nearly every damn day. Considered it? No way.
“You should consider it. I’m sure the band would hire you as their manager. Gibson wants to fire Mike anyway.”
“Firing Mike would be career suicide,” I say in between bites.
“Why? Don’t bands switch record labels all the time?”
I finish chewing my bite and set my fork down. Leia nods to the glass of orange juice. “You need your vitamins.”
I roll my eyes as I pick up the juice.
“Now explain to me why you’re an ‘assistant’ when you’re actually running the show,” Leia continues her barrage of nosiness.
“I’m not running the show.”
“And I don’t have a plot picked out to bury my boss in.”
I frown. “I thought you liked Brody.”
“I like Brody the man fine. Brody the boss, on the other hand? Him, I don’t like.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Start your own management firm and hire me as your right-hand woman.”
I narrow my eyes on her. “Have you been talking to Jett?”
“No. Why?”
“He said the same thing about me quitting.”
“Why don’t you?”
“It’s not that easy. I’d have to go out on the road and find a band to manage. A band no one else has heard of. A band willing to take a chance on a brand-new manager.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be silly. Cash & the Sinners would be your first client. Bands would be lining up at your door to be associated with you.”
“The band isn’t firing Mike.”
“It’s cute you think you could stop them.”
I grin. “It’s not cute. I have dirt on every single one of them. They know not to piss me off.”
“You have dirt on Fender? Please, please, tell me. I’ll be your slave forever.”
“I’m sure you could get Fender to reveal all his secrets to you.”
She sighs. “Probably.”
My phone beeps with a message. “I should get back to work.”
Leia stands and gathers the dishes. “I’ll get out of your hair.”
“And go brag to the gossip gals that you know all of my secrets?”
“Nah. I avoid those ladies. But I did get your mind off whatever had you looking like someone killed your dog when I walked in the house.”
“You’re not mischievous. You’re devious.”
She winks. “You’re welcome.”