Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Ross
I’ve always been a sucker for hazel eyes, and Wynter’s are mesmerizing. They’re a soft brown, more of a caramel color than brown, and have little flecks of gold in them. When she fixes them on me, I can’t help but stare.
There’s something raw and honest about her, something I’ve always really liked.
How long has it been since I’ve been attracted to a woman this way?
Where I want to sit and talk to her, even after she said something that annoyed me.
It’s not her fault, though. I keep a low profile for the sake of the band, but it isn’t like I can lie about who I am. Certainly not to someone like Wynter.
“If you believe in love, why are you still single?” she asks after the silence stretched out a bit.
“I work a lot,” I reply. “And when you’re on the road as often as I am, only staying in each city a day or two at a time, it’s hard to make that kind of connection. I’d be open to it, though.”
I’ve obviously caught her off-guard because she blinks a few times, as if she hadn’t heard me right.
“Why do you look so shocked?” I ask, laughing.
“I guess I didn’t think guys in the music business were interested in relationships,” she admits, looking a little sheepish.
“Forty-two-turning-forty-three-year-old guys who’ve been in the industry a long time definitely get tired of the game. It would be nice to have someone to go home to.” I pause. “You know, if it was the right person.”
“Have you ever been married?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Was engaged a long time ago. But you probably know that.”
She nods. “The stories about you are out there.”
“After Clara died, I couldn’t even think about falling in love again.”
“I didn’t know her, but if she loved you the way you obviously loved her, then I don’t think she’d want you to be alone. That won’t bring her back.”
“Ten years ago, I would have said you were crazy. But you’re probably right.”
“I’m divorced,” she says after a moment. “Got married right out of college. It was a disaster. Most of the time, I wonder if I’m better off on my own. But once in a while, I think about falling in love, maybe having a kid.” She lifts her coffee cup, holding it in front of her mouth with both hands.
“I think about it too, but I don’t know how realistic it is considering what I do for work. What kind of dad will I be on tour for two years at a time?”
“The guys in the band seem to be doing it,” she says softly.
“Yeah, but they’re multi-millionaires. I make a respectable salary, and I have plenty in my retirement fund, but I can’t afford to bring a family on tour full-time. And it wouldn’t be fair to my wife for her to be stuck in a hotel room with a baby while I’m off doing what I do.”
“I think where there’s a will there’s a way.” Her eyes meet mine. “If you really want something, you can make it happen. And every good relationship takes compromise.”
God, she’s pretty when she’s pensive.
Is that why I’m gazing into her eyes like a lovesick teenager?
“So.” I clear my throat, trying to find something else to talk about so I don’t blurt out anything stupid, like, ‘will you marry me?’ It might be time for me to find a lady to take my mind off the one in front of me.
“You’re a nurse, right?”
“I am. Although I’m currently in a managerial position.” She makes a face.
“Not your thing?”
“I spend all day putting out fires between the employees. Two nurses who don’t like each other.
Computer system goes down. Patients on the phone freaking out about billing issues.
Everything falls to me, and none of it is nursing or actually caring for patients, which was what I loved.
I thought it would be easier than emergency medicine, but it’s not. It’s just a different kind of hard.”
“Can you go back?”
“I don’t know. I’m considering doing a travel nurse thing, where I just take short-term jobs all over the country. The pay is fantastic, and I’d get to see places I’ve never seen before.”
“So, you’d be a road warrior like me.”
“I guess.”
“Not conducive to getting into a relationship, though,” I point out.
She wrinkles her nose. “Ugh. Why you gotta rain on my parade? I almost had a plan.”
I laugh. “You know what they say about the best-laid plans.”
She sticks her tongue out at me, and of course, horn dog that I am, my thoughts go to all the other things she could be doing with that tongue.
I really need to get my mind out of the gutter.
“I’ll figure it out,” she says after a moment. “I’ve only been at this job six months. I’d like to give it a year. At that point, I’ll reassess. They’ve promised me a secretary. If that happens, I might be happier.”
“Life is short,” I say softly. “If the job is making you miserable, don’t stay. Yes, you have to make a living, but you’re skilled. Nurses are in high demand, from what I’ve read online, so don’t torture yourself at a place that makes you so unhappy you don’t sleep.”
Her face softens as she nods. “I keep thinking that maybe there’s something wrong with me, that two jobs in a row made me miserable, but you’re right. I’m skilled. I’m employable. I shouldn’t have to put up with stress-induced insomnia. So, thank you. I needed to hear that.”
“Believe me, I know what it’s like to be miserable. Avoid it at all costs.”
“You’re sweet, Ross.”
If I’m smart, I’ll ask her out and get it over with.
If she says yes, we could spend a little time together and see if the spark goes beyond the sexual attraction.
She’s smart and beautiful, two things I love in a woman, and there’s no doubt she likes me.
The only question is whether she likes Ross-the-forty-two-year-old-tour-manager or if she’s simply infatuated with Ross-the-has-been-rocker.
Before I have a chance to say anything, my phone buzzes.
It’s a text from Devyn, our bass player.
DEVYN: Can you come up to the room? Kingston may not be able to sing tonight.
“I’m sorry,” I tell Wynter, waving to get the waitress’s attention. “I have to go. Something’s going on with Kingston.”
Kingston Knight is the band’s frontman.
“Oh no. Is he sick?” She looks up with concern.
“I don’t know. All Devyn said was that he might not be able to sing tonight.”
“Maybe I can help?” she says, quickly getting to her feet as I sign my name on the ticket so breakfast will be charged to my room.
I hesitate but then nod. “Sure. Thanks. Let’s go.”