Chapter 23
Isabelle
The next three weeks were very intense, almost rivaling the time when I moved to New York.
I started by contacting every client I was seeing during the time when I’d be away with Brayden.
I wanted to do it by phone, which was much slower than if I would have done it via email.
I offered to do online sessions with them, but if they preferred to be counseled in person, I could arrange for a counselor friend to step in for me while I was gone.
I would lose money, but I wanted my clients to be comfortable.
But the hard work did pay off though. Only one client canceled the session we’d scheduled during that time. Everyone else was okay talking to me online.
My family and the Winchesters were calling me almost every day, checking if I needed help with anything. They’d all been surprised but happy that I was going with Brayden on tour.
Jana and Donna both messaged me on Instagram, saying Brayden had told them the good news and giving me about a gazillion pieces of advice. I appreciated their support.
I even met with Cami, who basically just told me to take everything easy and to remember that the crazy interest of the press and fans always faded. She wasn’t coming on the tour, which was a pity.
Brayden had been right about the press being thrown for a loop that we’d gone official, but I still had a few reporters show up in front of the office. Sasha had instructed me to tell them they should contact my PR team—aka Sasha herself—so I parroted back her exact words.
On the day we were taking off, I asked the sibs over to my apartment to keep me company while I packed. The plane was leaving at five o’clock, and Brayden was picking me up at one. It was a bit silly to say I was already missing my siblings, since I’d only be gone for three weeks, but I did.
“Why do you need a whole day to pack?” Ian asked, gawking around my bedroom. I had clothes on every single surface.
Dylan seemed too stunned to say anything at first, but he recovered a few moments later. “Why do you need so much stuff? Are you leaving for three weeks or three months?”
“Weeks, you buffoon. But Sasha, the manager, sent me a list of how many outfits I need, and apparently the answer is a lot.”
“Please tell me you’re not going to ask our opinion on what you should take with you or something.” Dylan looked so desperate that I didn’t even have the heart to tease him about it. I had mercilessly tortured my brothers with this in high school.
“No, I simply wanted to see you two. And maybe ask you to make your famous omelet.”
“I knew it. You want to put us to work,” Dylan said with a grin.
“Just to feed us,” I promised. “I still think your omelet is the best ever!”
Ian pointed to a burnt-out light bulb in the corridor. “Do you have any spare ones?”
“I think there are some in the cupboard.”
Ian was cute, always checking to see if everything was in working order when he was here. I was proud to admit that they’d both spoiled me a lot growing up. Even though Ian was younger than me, they’d both looked after me, probably because Ian was hero-worshipping Dylan and wanted to copy him.
That phase lasted until Ian turned thirteen, when he totally rebelled and decided he wanted to be the opposite of Dylan. But one thing never changed throughout the years: we were always close, and grew even closer once Josie left.
Catching up with them was not the only reason I’d asked them here though. I wanted to tell Dylan about this great woman I’d met through one of my clients. I was certain she and Dylan would hit it off.
I had to be careful though. Last time I tried to set Dylan up, he was not happy with me, but I was persistent. I had to wait for the right time to bring it up though.
While Dylan made omelets, I started the coffee machine. Josie arrived just as we were about to eat. She brought Sophie too, who had grown to be even more snuggable, I swear. Since she wasn’t so tiny anymore, I wasn’t afraid I’d break her and actually held her for quite a bit.
“Careful with her head,” Josie reminded me constantly. But honestly, the reminder was necessary because I wasn’t used to it.
“She smells so nice,” I said. I was holding her so Josie could eat. The small bar area at the kitchen island wasn’t big enough for all four of us, so we were sitting around two coffee tables we’d pushed together in front of my couch.
“It’s baby smell,” Josie said proudly. “I think Mother Nature is trying to make babies as cute as possible so you love them even though they keep you up at night and basically dictate everything in your life.”
My sister yawned. She’d asked for decaf coffee. My heart went out to her.
As we finished brunch, Dylan was in a great mood. It was time to make my move.
“So, Dylan. Don’t freak out, but I have something to ask you.”
Chuckling, Ian patted Dylan’s shoulder. “Man, if she starts out with that warning, there’s no saving you.”
“I’ve met someone recently, and I think you’d have fun going out on a date with her,” I blurted out.
Ian grinned.
Josie laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, Isabelle.”
Dylan cocked a brow. “No.”
“But she’s a really amazing woman?—”
“No.” His tone was final. Damn, why did I blurt it out like that? I should have casually brought her up, praised her a bit before revealing my true intentions. I had zero tact.
“I’ll go out with her. Is she hot?” Ian asked.
I glared at him. “That’s not a good idea.”
“Why not? So Dylan is good enough, but I’m not? I feel like a second-rate citizen right now.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I said quickly, holding Sophie even tighter to me, as if she could shield me somehow.
Josie winced. “It sounded like that though.”
I pressed my lips together, weighing my next words carefully.
“Well, I know you don’t take relationships seriously, Ian.”
“True, but you think this one does?” He pointed his thumb at Dylan. “Times have changed, Sis. Hey, Dylan, maybe we should let our sisters know that you’re getting a lot of action. Even more than me.”
Josie and I groaned at the same time.
“That’s TMI,” I informed them. “We really don’t need details.”
“No details,” Ian said. “Just wanted to drive the point home.”
“Fine, I won’t say anything more on the topic,” I promised. There was a crucial difference between them though. Deep down, I knew Dylan still had a romantic side. I wasn’t sure Ian would ever want to settle down, but I’d been wrong before.
After we carried the plates to the kitchen, I told my siblings, “Okay. I’ll pack. You talk. Who wants to start?”
“I volunteer,” Josie exclaimed. Another reason why I’d asked them over today was because I knew my sister dearly needed to leave her own house, but meeting in the city was more difficult now that Sophie had grown a bit.
She wasn’t sleeping all the time anymore and became fussy in restaurants.
Josie had been stressed out the last time we met in a restaurant, and I thought this was a good compromise. At any rate, she seemed more at ease.
While the sibs brought me up to date on what was going on in their lives, I tried not to panic.
I packed according to Sasha’s list, checking off each outfit as soon as I packed it.
My wardrobe wasn’t nearly as fancy as the list required it to be, but I thought I could pull it off with the right use of accessories.
I had two huge suitcases, and I was certain I’d need both of them.
At around twelve, my doorbell rang.
“Did any of you order food?” I asked.
“No, you have me, remember? Your own personal chef,” Dylan said. “We’re going to eat a second round of omelets.”
I laughed, blushing a little. “I’m sorry I don’t have anything besides eggs. Food shopping is not my forte.”
I hurried to the front door. Maybe it was the postman.
It was Brayden!
“Hey. You’re an hour early,” I said.
He held up a brown paper bag. “Thought I’d surprise everyone with lunch.”
There was a chorus of “Yes” from my living room.
“Thank you for saving us from a second round of omelets,” Josie said loudly.
“Hey, you said you liked my cooking,” Dylan protested.
“I do, I do. But omelets twice in a day is a bit much.”
“Come in,” I said.
He headed straight to the living room. I purposely stayed behind. I wanted a chance to unabashedly take him in. He was wearing a black T-shirt with short sleeves above rugged jeans, and hot damn, he looked absolutely delectable.
He glanced over at me when he put the bag on the coffee table, catching me in the act. I grinned. He grinned back, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
Those eyes were truly something to write home about. As were his abs and arms, and, well, just every part of him, to be honest.
I hurried to the kitchen to take out plates from the cupboard, and I was smiling so big! I’d told him the sibs were with me today, and he came anyway. I knew he didn’t like gatherings, unless they were with the band, but he wanted to spend time with my family. That meant so much to me.
“Brayden, you’re a national treasure,” Josie exclaimed a few minutes later. We were sitting around the coffee table again, sharing half a dozen delicacies from my brothers’ favorite Chinese restaurant. I’d put everything on my plate from egg rolls to steamed vegetables to fried chicken.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said, humble as usual. The restaurant was in the top ten most recommended in New York. Tourists used to ask me about it. The price tags were astronomical, but the food was truly delicious.
“What’s your schedule like?” Josie asked.
“Depends if we’re performing or not. Tomorrow, we have gym and rehearsals in the morning.
Then total rest in the afternoon. At four o’clock, we’re driven to the concert venue.
We perform every other evening over a period of three weeks.
Then we have a two-week break. Then we’re touring another three weeks and so on. ”
I knew all of this, but it still boggled my mind. Were they even human?
“You do this for every album?” Ian asked.