4. Deacon
Iwas intrigued by Andrea Foreman. And I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt that way. An hour after our call, done with celebrating my last concert of the tour, I sat in the back of my large SUV with Ollie, and he gave me the rundown on her soon-to-be ex-husband and the whole situation. Right down to her ex’s reaction to my kissing Andrea tonight.
A curse left my lips. “I don’t even know him, and I hate him.”
Ollie nodded. “Welcome to the masses. Bona fide narcissist who can’t help but victim blame and takes no accountability for his shitty actions. Then he has the audacity to lash out at her when he feels jealous as if he hasn’t put her through enough.”
“What if—?” I stopped myself at my wild idea.
But Ollie perked up. “What if what?”
“Never mind. She doesn’t need to be playing games right now.”
“No, she doesn’t, but at the same time, the concert tonight was a big help in reclaiming her confidence.”
I contemplated for a moment before deciding to float my idea. “I was thinking she should join me at the wedding next Friday. It would kill two birds with one stone by showing both our exes we can do much better than them.”
Ollie’s brows went sky high. “You’d make people believe you’re dating?”
“Let them assume what they want.” They did that with every woman I so much as talked to. Tabloids didn’t care about the truth, just what sold.
Ollie wavered. “You’re a good guy, Deacon, but I don’t want Andrea getting hurt again.”
“I have no intention of leading her on or hurting her, I promise. Even if she was in a position to start a new relationship, I’m off to Australia in a week and not looking to start anything. It would only be for show.”
I’d had relationships, but I’d never wanted to settle down with anyone. My lifestyle consisted of traveling around the world on tours and then requiring solitude for weeks at a time while I wrote.
Generally, I preferred my own company to that of others. None of that lent itself to long-term commitment. Kids were something I could see myself wanting in the future, but I wasn’t optimistic about finding someone who could cope with my chaotic life and bring the type of balance that would allow for both my music career and a family life.
Ollie appeared thoughtful. “The City of Angels wrap party is Saturday night. Andrea is under contract to attend and has been dreading the event since her ex will be there along with his fling, but maybe if you took her…”
“That would work.” One weekend. Two nights. Two dates. Two exes who could learn the world did not revolve around them and get the message we were both moving on.
“She’d need to be talked into it.”
“I can be very convincing.” Yet, somehow, I knew Andrea would be a challenge. The idea made me even more excited to talk with her.