Chapter 16
Paul “Rock Giant” Reed
Paul found Jodi right where he predicted she’d be, standing in the stage wing, at the head of the ramp that led from the mat-covered grass at the back of the main festival stage.
Ear defenders covered her ears, and her messy blond hair sat in a knot at the back of her head that left her neck exposed.
She was dressed in cutoff trousers and a Ghost Boys T-shirt, swaying her hips in time to the racing drumbeat, her attention on the stage.
It wasn’t the greatest view of the performance she could have found.
All you could really see were a bunch of arses.
Feeling naughty, and because the guys were all far too busy preparing to go on to notice what he was doing.
Paul slipped up behind her, stood a moment, breathing in that summer child smell of fading flowers and sunshiny salt and sweat, before bowing to press a kiss to the little stretch of skin between her hairline and her collar.
Shocked, she jolted and gave a squeak, then turned to face him, pulling off her headphones.
“Hey,” he said, offering up a grin.
“Rock Giant!” She swallowed hard, before throwing a wary glance at the stage.
The Ghost Boys were mid-number, so no cause for worry there. He guessed words had been had, and he’d be villainised. Sure, he’d roll with that part, if she needed him to.
“If he’s any sense, his attention is focused on the mad bastards out there, not what’s going on in the wings.”
She glanced again at her fiancé singing his nuts off for the crowd. He was no Xane, and Paul said that as a Xane sceptic, but he did have the audience singing along with him. He vaguely recalled exchanging a handful of words with the guy yesterday, now that he got a look at him.
“Are you in deep shit with him, because, honestly, it’s ninety per cent his fault. Dumb fucker shouldn’t have stood you up. Did he have a great excuse?”
She swallowed again and peeped up at him warily. Damn, he hated the unease he saw etched into her face, wanted to lean in and kiss the lines around her mouth away.
“I don’t want you to badmouth him. I’m still engaged to him. That’s not about to change.”
He made an hm sound in acknowledgement.
“Please. I don’t want my mistake to cause trouble between your band and his.”
“Your mistake? What mistake did you make, Jodi?”
He knew what she’d intended to say. It pleased him immensely that she couldn’t say it. The vows they’d exchanged had been no mistake. “There are no current plans to boot them.” Unless she gave him one. “Are they going to bail on us?”
She shook her head vigorously. “No. I don’t think so.
It’s a big deal for them. A huge honour.
I’d hate to be responsible for mucking it up for them.
They’re my friends. Good friends. You do know that I’m taken, don’t you, Paul?
I know what you were implying earlier, but we can’t be anything to one another.
Nothing more than friends, that is. I’m engaged.
I’m planning my wedding to Curtis Nash.” She pointed to him as if he needed identifying.
“Still committed to the man who stood you up. You’re either loyal or stubborn.”
“Paul,” she chastened. “I’m in love, is what I am.
” Her gaze sank down to a spot between their feet.
“I know he’s not perfect. Nothing in life is, but he’s said sorry, and he’s been there for me, when I needed someone.
Look, we’ve forgiven each other, and what I did was far worse than what he did.
I wasn’t in a position to be making promises to you.
It was wrong of me, and the fact I was off my head isn’t an excuse.
” She snatched an upward glance at him. “What promises did I even make? I can’t remember. Do you?”
He tilted his head. He remembered every word.
“Surely not being able to remember means it’s best forgotten? We were both out of control and not thinking rationally.”
“A vow’s a vow. I keep my promises, Castle.” Plus, he was pretty sure if that sort of argument worked as a get out of jail free card, then murderers and other unsavoury sorts would have been routinely using it to escape punishment.
She held up her hand to his mouth. “I know you feel like that, but really, we’re not anything to each other.
We barely know one another, and I don’t want one foolish promise to wreck what it’s taken me three long years to find, especially not when you’re the one who made it possible in the first place.
I like my life, Paul. I’m happy—predominantly happy.
I’m rather keen to maintain that. There’s been plenty of fucked up shit in the past. I don’t need any more trouble. ”
“I made it possible?” Interesting.
She clamped her lips together tight.
Paul traced the curve of her cheek, then rested his hand on her shoulder. “Come on, Castle. You said it. Of course I’m gonna ask. How exactly did I make it possible?”
“You didn’t have me arrested,” she said, but he knew that wasn’t it.
That was a diversion. He folded his arms, but kept his gaze levelled at her.
She wriggled a little, then delved into her pocket and started turning a familiar flask over her hands.
“I left home after that night. I couldn’t have kept the cats, and I promised you” —she gave an awkward shrug— “I’d take care of them, and I didn’t want to break my word. ”
So, she was a woman who kept her promises, even if that made things difficult.
Paul scraped a hand over his scalp. Speaking to her and not cocooning her in his love was proving harder than he’d anticipated.
He was literally itching to pick her up and explore that mesmerising mouth of hers again.
Tangle their tongues, knock hips, talk, and talk, and talk, until they were comfortable enough that silences didn’t set them on edge.
“So, you’re saying I was the catalyst for you getting your shit together? ”
“I guess. Yeah.” She tugged her hair loose, then bound it again, in an even messier knot.
“Mind if I…” He took the flask from her, and swallowed a slug of the contents, before handing it back. Jodi peered at it confused.
“This is yours, why are you giving me it?”
“Why don’t you hold on to it for me? I’ve not really got anywhere to put it.”
His guitar tech appeared, though he remained at a respectful distance.
He had minutes at most. She wouldn’t be here when he came off stage.
Nor was he sure when he’d get the chance to see her again.
That didn’t make him happy, nor did it change anything, and he wanted her to understand that even apart, they were together.
“Hey, hear me out a minute.”
She gave him a wary nod.
“My state of intoxication last night doesn’t change anything.
I’m here for you.” He raised his hand and stopped her flailing at him, as if she could waft him away like a bad smell.
“I realise you don’t necessarily appreciate or want that right now, but it is a fact—an unchanging one. You can rely on that.”
“I’m with Nash.”
“I know.” He touched her face again. “Got to respect your choices, maid. You know your own mind, and I’m no misogynistic arsehole who thinks he knows better. I’m not going to make things difficult for you.”
“You’re not?”
He was memorising the curve of her cheek. “Of course not. I am, however, going to point out that if we’re going to be on tour together, we’re going to be in one another’s pockets, and I refuse to be a stranger.”
“You accept that we can’t be more than friends, though?”
He withdrew his touch, and scraped his fingertips over his own chin, before agreeing with a nod. “Message received. Friends.” He offered her his hand.
Jodi scraped her teeth over her lower lip and threw another of those wary glances towards the stage. He didn’t like that one bit. Hated that she was wary of even accepting an offer of friendship, because Curtis Nash might not like it.
Now, admittedly, they both understood that he’d like them to be more than friends, but he’d promised to respect her boundaries. Really, that ought to be the end of the matter. “Friends,” he reiterated.
“Friends.” She shook his hand and released it. “And not the kind with benefits.”
“Well, damn,” he said standing by her as they watched the end of the set, pleased to see she’d relaxed enough to make a joke out of an obvious loophole. “If you ever change—”
“I won’t.”
“—your mind, there have been exciting developments to the equipment.”
She blushed. “I saw.” Her tongue peeped out between her lips as she grinned. “Going to pretend from here on that I didn’t though. No cock talk from this point on.”
“But I talk about my cock to all my friends,” he lamented. “Guess we’ll just have to stick to convos about pussies.”
She looked as if she was about to berate him, but he said, “How are the cats?” So, she poked him instead.
“They’re fine. I’m sure you understand why I’m not about to invite you over for a visit.”
He folded his arms. “Will we have to go to court over cat daddy visitation rights?”
That made her laugh. “Not sure that’ll go in your favour. You’ve not been a good father. Very absent.”
True. He’d have to make up for that.
The Ghost Boys set was over. Nash was talking smack to the crowd, while the audience showed their appreciation. Their bass player added a few lines, getting the crowd hyped for Black Halo hitting the stage. It amped the noise levels up exponentially.
“Give me your number.”
She shook her head. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Fine, then at least let me give you mine. I want you to be able to get hold of me.” He rattled off the digits of his mobile. “Need me to write them down?”
“Paul…”
He stretched an arm out towards the technician. “Got a marker, Jake?”
“Yeah, um, sure here.” He dug one out of a pocket and handed it over.
“Paul, I’m not sure—”
“Is your relationship that unstable it’s going to dissolve over a phone number?
” He pushed up her sleeve. “Not where I’d like to stamp my mark, but it’ll do.
” He wrote his number on the inside of her forearm, blew on it to make sure it was dry, then pulled her sleeve back over it. He handed the marker back to Jake.
“I love him.”
“Yeah, you said.”
Xane tapped him on the shoulder. “You set?” He offered him a set of earbuds, before giving Jodi a thorough once over, like they hadn’t already all seen her that morning.
Paul slipped the earbuds in and checked they were working. He could hear the rest of the band just fine. “Let’s rock these bastards.” He finally gave his guitar tech a break and claimed his bass.
Ash went on first, followed by Ronnie and Luthor, then Spook. He was next.
“Break a leg,” Jodi said.
“Later, sweet lips.”
He wanted to lean over and kiss her, but he suspected Xane would knee him in the nuts if he did. That’s if Jodi didn’t do so herself. He’d said his bit, agreed an arrangement, now he needed to man up and live it.
He couldn’t resist looking back at her though.
Doing so left him with a horrid lump in the centre of his chest. The sort that formed when you had to say goodbye forever, except that wasn’t how it was going to be.
He made a V of his fingers and pointed them at himself and then her. “You and me, forever, Castle.”
“Non-kissing friends,” she mouthed back.
“Proud kitty parents.”
Nash brushed past him as he came off stage lathered and red-faced. “Good set,” Rock Giant muttered in as friendly a growl as he could manage. What he wanted to do was rip the fool’s head off and shit down his throat, but he’d promised not to upset the apple cart—much.
Nash ignored him and made a beeline towards Jodi, proving he at least had some priorities straight.
He didn’t kiss her though, so points for and against.
“Thanks, man,” their bassist replied, in lieu of Nash.
Paul acknowledged him with a nod. Bassists were usually the soundest blokes in a band. Seemed the Ghost Boys were no exception.
On stage, Ash was saying something about how good the Ghost Boys had been, and how they were stoked to have them supporting them on the next leg of their tour.
The crowd seemed happy enough to hear it.
He warbled on a bit longer, then the stage lights dropped.
Outside, darkness had swallowed the field, a hushed whisper rolled through the audience.
A sharp note pierced the veil, then a familiar riff kicked in—Ash.
Then Spook, complementing him. Drums followed, then keys, then him on bass, and finally Xane strode on, pinpointed by multiple spotlights, and the six of them gave their audience exactly what they were there for—a fucking killer show.