Hot Ticket
Page 55

Aggie clutched the gold-painted plastic heart between her br**sts and blinked back tears. “I had no idea you felt that way, Mom,” she said, her voice hitching. “You’re always saying how much you want to get me out of the club. I thought…” I thought you hated me.
“So will you train me to hit men?”
Aggie laughed. “Not a chance.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve specialized. If you really want to do this, you need to be trained by someone who’s good at everything.”
“Sounds hard.”
“It is hard.”
“Speaking of hard. You should have seen how hard Gary got when—”
“Don’t say it!” Aggie felt her face flush. She didn’t know she was still capable of blushing.
A gray-haired woman entered the room and fixed herself a cup of coffee. She smiled sweetly at Aggie, who returned her smile and turned to face the other direction.
“I can’t talk about this right now, Mom. I’m at the hospital with Jace.”
“I thought he was out of the hospital.”
“He’s back in. I can’t get him to rest.”
“Is that why you fell for him? He doesn’t do what you say?” Aggie could hear the amusement in her voice.
It was more complicated than that, but she didn’t want to discuss Jace with her mother. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’ve got to go. Promise you’ll behave.”
“I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
Aggie could practically see the woman’s mischievous smile. “Mom.”
“Be careful. Thanks for talking to me.” She hung up.
The elderly lady, who was adding sugar to her coffee, grinned at Aggie. “Challenging mother?”
Aggie snorted. “That’s an understatement.”
“I had one of those. You’ll miss her when she’s gone.”
If she ever left. Aggie smiled at the woman, collected her coffee, and returned to Jace’s room. He was fully dressed, including his leather boots, sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked, tugging on the IV line in his hand. “I feel fine now.”
She sighed and sat beside him, knowing he would not be deterred. “Just let me finish my coffee.”
He nodded and stared at his knees while she took tiny sips from her coffee cup. If her mother didn’t give her a stress-induced heart attack, her boyfriend surely would.
Chapter 32
Jace paced the aisle as he and Aggie waited for the concert to end and the band to return to the bus. She sat on the kitchen counter watching him pass back and forth in front of her. She hadn’t let him out of her sight all day, but at least she’d gotten him out of the f**kin’ hospital. He owed her another one.
“Why don’t you go watch the show?” Aggie asked. “You aren’t getting any rest.”
“I can’t watch.” Just the thought of Jon onstage, playing his music, was making him insane. Except it wasn’t Jace’s music. Not really. Jon had composed every bass line in their current set list. The new album? Yes, Jace had something to do with those compositions—they had his stamp on them—but their previous three albums were all Jon.
“Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?” Aggie snagged him around the waist as he paced past her and wrapped her long legs around his hips to keep him from escaping.
He stared at the cheap heart-shaped locket nestled between her br**sts. “Why do you always wear this thing?” he asked, lifting the light, peeling piece of jewelry from its resting place.
“Uh-uh,” she said. “No.”
He glanced at her in question.
“You aren’t changing the subject. I’m not going to let you.”
He lowered his eyes again and shrugged. She drew him closer, her arms stealing around his neck.
“Tell me, Jace. No one’s here but me.”
He stroked the plastic and gold-foiled heart with his fingertips as he struggled to find words. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell her. Saying his feelings out loud made his palms sweat and his heart race.
Aggie ran her fingers over the edge of his ear. “Do you miss being onstage that much?”
He shook his head slightly. He loved playing live, but not for the glory like Sed, or the excitement like Brian, or the fun like Trey, but to share the music, his soul… like Eric. That wasn’t what was bothering him though.
“Is it because Jon is out there trying his damnedest to replace you?”
He nodded.
Her fingers slid down his jaw under his chin. “Look at me.”
He took a deep breath and forced his eyes to hers. He expected her pitying look, but found her expression sincere and so caring that his heart rose to his throat, stealing his air.
“He won’t. Don’t worry. There’s only one Jace. You are one hundred percent irreplaceable.” She hugged him close, her cheek pressing against his. “Irreplaceable,” she whispered.
He shrugged out of his sling and wrapped both arms around her body, drawing her closer still. He leaned against her, holding her. No, she was holding him, comforting him. It felt good to lean on her and at the same time terrifying. He wanted to let her in. Let her see everything he was, but what if something happened to her? What if she left him? What if she died? What if she saw what was really inside him and she hated him? The way his mother had hated him… and his father… and Kara. Every person he’d ever loved had hated him before dying.
Jace jerked out of her grasp, turned away, and pressed on his temples with the heels of his hands. He had to force those memories from his thoughts. He couldn’t deal with them. Not now. Not ever. Being with Aggie kept bringing them to the surface. Things he’d thought he’d buried years ago. He didn’t know how much longer he could let her stay—for the sake of his sanity.
She hopped off the counter, leaned against his back, and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You okay?”
He twisted away, unable to stand her tenderness.
“I see,” she murmured. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, I don’t want to f**kin’ talk about it.” He lifted a hand, his palm in her face. “Just give me a minute to myself.”
She grabbed him by the front of his T-shirt and pulled him toward the bedroom.
“I said I didn’t want to talk about it.”
She glared at him over her shoulder. “I’m done talking, Jace. It’s time for your punishment.”