CHAPTER 25 #2
“Cary!” Sebastien cried. “What are you doing here? I thought you had an interview this afternoon?”
“It got pushed to tomorrow,” he lied. “I had some things to take care of. Anyway, what do I hate?”
“Award shows,” Tyler said bluntly.
He stepped into the office and his cologne hit her smack in the face. It reminded her to start a petition to boycott Calvin Klein’s Obsession under a human rights violation.
Sebastien pointed at Tyler. “I told her if you accept your award in person I’d get her band on the live broadcast.”
Cary stared at her, eyes intense. “What do you think, Tyler?”
I think you should go back the way you came in.
“Maybe take a little time to think it over,” she suggested.
“What am I, in Foreigner?” he joked. “Fine, I’ll do it.”
“Wait, are you serious?” Sebastien asked, almost falling over.
“Saskatoon, right?” Cary asked.
“Right.” Sebastien nodded. “They’re offering to pay us an exorbitant amount.”
“Tell them I’ll do it for free,” he said. “But it’s on the condition that Yestown plays solo.”
“Why?” Sebastien asked.
“The awards pair artists together like supergroups, but nothing will ever top the Traveling Wilburys, so why bother?”
Tyler held back a laugh.
“Got a minute to help me with my speech?” Cary asked her, gold eyes sparkling in the light.
I can’t say no in front of Sebastien.
She nodded once.
“It’s settled then,” Sebastien said, no doubt cooking up ways to still earn a commission.
Tyler stood from her chair. “I heard Jamespoke only played new songs at their gig last night.” She loved tattling on them. “None of their hits.”
“What the fuck do I care?” Sebastien shrugged. “They’ve already paid us.”
Moments later Tyler and Cary left Sebastien’s office and walked down the hall in silence.
“Hi, Cary!” Lara shouted from the reception desk.
He waved but said nothing.
She opened the office door and Rory rocketed past them like a furry torpedo. He skidded to a halt, did a double take, and then bounded back with his tail ticking like a metronome.
“Rory!” Cary picked up her dog and closed the door.
Tyler sat at her desk and stared at his vacant What did I do? face while her dog sat on his lap like a traitor and licked his face. Aw, that’s cute. No. She shook her head and peered out the window. Would he fit through it?
With every passing second her temperature rose until she broke out in a sweat.
Cary leaned forward in his seat. “I’m sorry, babe.”
Don’t you fucking “ babe” me.
She shrugged. “You don’t have to explain.”
“Explain? I’ve been trying to explain for two weeks. I get it. I’m sorry you’re upset.” He apologized as if he’d stepped on her foot by accident, not slept with his ex.
Her voice came out shakier than expected, “You don’t owe me anything.”
“Wait. Do you think something happened between Emma and me? Are you serious?”
How dare you say her name in front of me! Do you really want to hurt me? If so, mission accomplished.
All he needed was a banner on a naval ship.
“It’s none of my business,” she said, breath smoldering. She doodled a knife on her notebook, and the shower scene music from Psycho served as her soundtrack.
“Nothing happened,” he professed. “I swear on Rory’s life.”
The dog perked his ears and tilted his head.
Bite him, Rory.
The blood in her veins bubbled underneath her skin. She’d heard enough lies from musicians to last her this life and the next.
“Emma showed up unannounced, claiming she left a necklace at my place—even though she hasn’t been here in months. I told her to wait outside while I asked my housekeeper. That’s when she snapped the picture of Rory.”
“Sounds like you owe him an apology,” she said coldly, pointing at her dog.
Cary scratched him behind his ears. “Sorry, buddy.”
Rory licked his hand as if to say, That’s okay, and she glared at the little Benedict Arnold.
No more cookies.
“At the gallery you introduced me as someone who works at SDM,” she snipped.
“You told me not to tell anyone!” He seemed to catch his voice rising and lowered it. “I mean, obviously Kim knows.” He clasped his hands on his lap. “I wanted to introduce you as my girlfriend.”
Had she been mistaken? She’d shown up to his exhibit a few beers in and ended up in a foul mood after running into Tommy.
That fucking idiot.
Kim was convinced he hadn’t done anything wrong. Maybe it was all in her head.
“I haven’t told anyone here,” she whispered, although the door was shut.
“Let’s tell everyone!” He extended his arms across her desk and touched her hand. “Tyler, it’s hard being in love with you and keeping it quiet.”
Her voice came out softly, “You’re in love with me?”
“Absolutely. I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner, but I had to be sure. And now I am.”
“I love you too.” Her heart skipped a beat. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you. Trust is something I have to work on. But now I feel bad that you came all this way to see me.”
“I didn’t. I came to see Rory. I wanted to ask if he’d be my Valentine.”
She laughed. “Really? Is that a fact?”
“I got you something.”
“Yeah, my band on the awards. Thank you.” She shook her head. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to help,” he said with a smile. “I love that band, and they’re recording my song.”
“Recorded,” she clarified. “Do you want to hear it?”
“Of course I do.”
She turned her computer speakers toward him and clicked on the track. He closed his eyes and rocked to the beat, smiling from the beginning to the end.
“Incredible,” he said. “Really. I’m impressed.”
“I want them to play it on the live broadcast.”
“See, it all worked out.” Cary winked. “Come downstairs and bring your bag.” He checked his phone. “I’ve only got seven hours left.”
“What about Sebastien? I can’t just leave—”
“Let’s tell him right now.”
She hesitated for a moment. “Is it okay if we wait until after the awards? I don’t want him screwing with Yestown.”
“You promise?”
“Only if you promise me something.”
“Name it.”
“Please stop following me on Instagram,” she said. “I had to turn off my notifications because of your fans.”
“Oh, shit.” He covered his mouth, letting a grin slip. “I’ll set up a private account,” he said. “I love seeing pictures of you and my Valentine.”
After Cary told Sebastien he needed Tyler’s help picking out a new suit—which wasn’t a lie, since he hadn’t specified when—they took the stairs down two flights to SDM’s parking garage.
“Surprise!” Cary said, more excited than a rich kid on Christmas. They stood before a brand-new car with a red bow wrapped around it. “It’s blue, but we can have them paint it black if you don’t like it. This is all they had on hand.” He passed her a key fob.
“You bought me a car?” she asked in disbelief.
“A Mustang,” he clarified. “You said you wanted an electric car, and let’s face it, your truck has seen better days.”
She handed back the key fob. “I can’t accept a fifty-thousand-dollar gift from you, Cary.” She guessed the amount, but it could have been more.
“I made that in merch last night.” His attempt to put things into perspective didn’t help his cause.
She rephrased her statement. “I can’t accept a car from you.”
“I told you, it’s an electric Mustang.” He gave her a cheeky grin. “Besides, I didn’t buy it for you. I bought it for Rory. For Valentine’s Day.”
The dog’s ears twitched when he said “Rory.”
Cary reached into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out a single key attached to a fob. “Here, keys to my place.”
“Why?” She tightened her topknot.
“Isn’t that what couples do?”
She grabbed his keys. “Okay, what about the car? What’s Sebastien going to think?”
“Are you kidding? Who do you think bought his car? I gave Tommy and Bob Shaw their cars, too.”
That made sense. Her boss was too cheap to buy a Porsche himself. “Did you buy him his boat too?” Cary shrugged. “He called it Relentless.”
“Well, I didn’t know he would name it that.” He picked up Rory and cradled him like a baby. “I can’t have my Valentine driving around in an unsafe vehicle.”
Tyler gripped her hands in front of her chest. “Please take it back.”
“I can’t.” He turned his bottom lip into a cute frown. “Final sale, I’m afraid.”
She sighed, but he was right. Her truck had seen better days. “Thank you but I’m paying you back, every last cent.”
“I already told you.” He handed her the key card again. “I bought it for Rory.”
“No more gifts, you promise?”
He nodded. “We have reservations at Provence, beside the Wine Bar.”
It was a thoughtful gesture, but it was also Valentine’s Day, and the restaurant would be too crowded for him to go unnoticed. She gave him a closed-mouth smile. “Thanks, but do you mind if we stay in and watch the hockey game? The Jets are playing.”
“A win puts them first in their division, right?”
She furrowed her brow. “You’ve been watching?”
“I said I would.”
“Yeah, but I’m used to you being all talk.”
Cary laughed, shaking his head. “What am I going to do with you?”
Where’s the suggestion box?