“You don’t want to stay with me?” Sed asked.
“I don’t want to be a pest. Or a mooch.”
“You wouldn’t be a pest or a mooch. I want you to stay with me.” He lowered his head to whisper in her ear. “Lots of privacy plus plenty of space equals loads of sensational sex.”
She grinned. “Well, if that’s what you have in mind, I’ll have to say yes, I’d like to stay with you in L.A. Well, until Trey recovers and we go back on tour.”
Staying at Sed’s apartment was just temporary, so that didn’t mean they were living together. Right? Yeah. Temporary. She added rent money to the growing tab she owed him.
“Excellent.” He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “I can’t wait until you see the place. You’ll love it.”
“Don’t get the wrong idea, Sed. This isn’t going to change our relationship. It doesn’t mean we’re serious.”
“Being engaged isn’t serious?” Jace asked.
Jessica turned to look at him. “What are you talking about?”
Jace glanced at Sed and then lowered his gaze to the floor. “Never mind.”
“Why would you think we’re engaged, Jace?”
“Sed told that journalist—”
Sed grunted in warning.
“Nothing,” Jace said.
“What journalist?” Jessica looked up at Sed. “What did you do, Sed? You didn’t lie about our relationship, did you?”
“I didn’t mean to, it just popped out. I couldn’t let him think that you were really a prostitute.”
“A prostitute? Someone thought I was a prostitute?”
“Yeah, I fixed it though. I told him you were my fiancée to protect you.”
“You told him what?”
“You’re yelling.”
“Of course I’m yelling! You lied about something that seriously affects my life. This story will get around and people will believe it, no matter how ridiculous it is.”
“Ridiculous?”
“How could you tell him I was your fiancée? Like I’d ever consider marrying you.”
“Well, what did you want me to say, Jessica, that you’re just some chick I like to bang? That you’re nothing more to me than a good lay? That would have done nothing to fix your reputation.”
“And who destroyed it in the first place? Oh, that’s right. You did.” Jessica grabbed a stack of data sheets and the laptop from the dining table. She tucked it all under one arm. “I can’t work with that idiot around,” she said to Myrna, who raised both brows at her but said nothing. “Email me if you need anything.” Jessica stomped up the corridor. “Stop the bus!” she yelled.
Dave slammed on the brakes. Jessica grabbed the pole beside the driver’s seat so she didn’t fall on her face.
“Jesus, don’t scare me like that,” Dave muttered.
Jessica slung her purse over her shoulder and headed for the exit. “Let me out,” she growled at Dave.
He scrambled to obey her and the bus door swung open.
Sed followed her down the steps. “Where are you going? I thought you were staying with me until we go back on tour.”
She was so pissed she couldn’t see straight. “I would rather… I would rather… stay at my mother’s house.” Which was about the worst thing she could think of. She stalked off toward the Mandalay Bay parking garage and her piece of shit Nissan Sentra still parked there.
“Jessica?” Sed called after her.
“I am sick of you f**king up my life, Sed! Give me a call when the band goes back on tour. Until then I don’t want to hear from you or see you or even know you’re alive.”
“Yeah? Well, next time someone calls you a prostitute, I won’t correct them,” he yelled.
“That’s better than the world thinking I’m engaged to a self-centered son-of-a-bitch like you.”
***
Sed watched Jessica walk away with his heart lodged in his throat. Was there anything worse than watching her leave him? No. He headed after her, but Myrna grabbed his arm.
“Let her go,” she said.
He shook his head vigorously. “I can’t.”
“You have to, Sed. She needs to figure out who you are. Why you do the things you do. She doesn’t get it. She thinks you’re trying to control her life. Until she figures out that’s not your intention, you’re just going to drive her crazy. Give her time to understand why you did what you did. A few minutes to miss you, sweetie.” She patted his cheek sympathetically. “She will, you know.”
“But she’s leaving.” He pointed a hand at Jessica’s shrinking figure as if that explained all his inner turmoil. “She’ll be back. She said to call her when the band goes back on tour. If she really never wanted to see you again, she wouldn’t have given herself that out.”
“That’s just her need for money talking.”
Myrna snorted. “I can’t believe you think that. I give her three days—tops—before she’s on your doorstep wanting you back. Just trust me on this, okay? I know you love her. That’s why you try so hard to fix things for her. She hasn’t figured that out, yet. You’ve got the poor girl so confused she’s never going to see it. And no matter how much you want to, you can’t make her see it. She has to figure it out on her own.”
Jessica disappeared from view, taking the heart previously lodged in Sed’s throat with her.
“Promise you won’t go after her, Sed. That you’ll be patient. Give her a couple of days to catch her breath.”
“I’ll try.”
“Sed?” Myrna said reproachfully.
“Fine. Whatever. Psychologist knows best.”
Before the bus even merged onto the highway, Sed had already thought of three reasons he needed to contact Jessica as soon as they reached L.A. She’d left her suitcase on the bus. She had left several piles of Myrna’s data behind. And he missed her. Already.
Chapter 23
Staring at the innocuous cadet-blue bungalow, Jessica sat in her mother’s driveway filled with dread. She couldn’t do this. Could not stay in that house. Sure, her mother was a pain in the ass and made her crazy with the constant harping, but her stepfather, Ed… Just thinking about him made her skin crawl.
A five-hour drive, mostly through the Mojave Desert, had done a lot to put things into perspective. It was astonishing how much better her brain worked when a certain man wasn’t stirring her emotions like a blender on liquefy. She felt kind of bad for going off on Sed just because he’d reacted badly to the press. In the same situation, she wasn’t sure what she would have said. She definitely wouldn’t have claimed to be his fiancée. More likely, she’d have gotten physically violent. In his stupid, macho way, Sed had been trying to make things better. He hadn’t succeeded. Not by a long shot. But it had been his intention. Sometimes that was more important than the outcome. Wasn’t it? She didn’t know.
“I don’t want to be a pest. Or a mooch.”
“You wouldn’t be a pest or a mooch. I want you to stay with me.” He lowered his head to whisper in her ear. “Lots of privacy plus plenty of space equals loads of sensational sex.”
She grinned. “Well, if that’s what you have in mind, I’ll have to say yes, I’d like to stay with you in L.A. Well, until Trey recovers and we go back on tour.”
Staying at Sed’s apartment was just temporary, so that didn’t mean they were living together. Right? Yeah. Temporary. She added rent money to the growing tab she owed him.
“Excellent.” He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. “I can’t wait until you see the place. You’ll love it.”
“Don’t get the wrong idea, Sed. This isn’t going to change our relationship. It doesn’t mean we’re serious.”
“Being engaged isn’t serious?” Jace asked.
Jessica turned to look at him. “What are you talking about?”
Jace glanced at Sed and then lowered his gaze to the floor. “Never mind.”
“Why would you think we’re engaged, Jace?”
“Sed told that journalist—”
Sed grunted in warning.
“Nothing,” Jace said.
“What journalist?” Jessica looked up at Sed. “What did you do, Sed? You didn’t lie about our relationship, did you?”
“I didn’t mean to, it just popped out. I couldn’t let him think that you were really a prostitute.”
“A prostitute? Someone thought I was a prostitute?”
“Yeah, I fixed it though. I told him you were my fiancée to protect you.”
“You told him what?”
“You’re yelling.”
“Of course I’m yelling! You lied about something that seriously affects my life. This story will get around and people will believe it, no matter how ridiculous it is.”
“Ridiculous?”
“How could you tell him I was your fiancée? Like I’d ever consider marrying you.”
“Well, what did you want me to say, Jessica, that you’re just some chick I like to bang? That you’re nothing more to me than a good lay? That would have done nothing to fix your reputation.”
“And who destroyed it in the first place? Oh, that’s right. You did.” Jessica grabbed a stack of data sheets and the laptop from the dining table. She tucked it all under one arm. “I can’t work with that idiot around,” she said to Myrna, who raised both brows at her but said nothing. “Email me if you need anything.” Jessica stomped up the corridor. “Stop the bus!” she yelled.
Dave slammed on the brakes. Jessica grabbed the pole beside the driver’s seat so she didn’t fall on her face.
“Jesus, don’t scare me like that,” Dave muttered.
Jessica slung her purse over her shoulder and headed for the exit. “Let me out,” she growled at Dave.
He scrambled to obey her and the bus door swung open.
Sed followed her down the steps. “Where are you going? I thought you were staying with me until we go back on tour.”
She was so pissed she couldn’t see straight. “I would rather… I would rather… stay at my mother’s house.” Which was about the worst thing she could think of. She stalked off toward the Mandalay Bay parking garage and her piece of shit Nissan Sentra still parked there.
“Jessica?” Sed called after her.
“I am sick of you f**king up my life, Sed! Give me a call when the band goes back on tour. Until then I don’t want to hear from you or see you or even know you’re alive.”
“Yeah? Well, next time someone calls you a prostitute, I won’t correct them,” he yelled.
“That’s better than the world thinking I’m engaged to a self-centered son-of-a-bitch like you.”
***
Sed watched Jessica walk away with his heart lodged in his throat. Was there anything worse than watching her leave him? No. He headed after her, but Myrna grabbed his arm.
“Let her go,” she said.
He shook his head vigorously. “I can’t.”
“You have to, Sed. She needs to figure out who you are. Why you do the things you do. She doesn’t get it. She thinks you’re trying to control her life. Until she figures out that’s not your intention, you’re just going to drive her crazy. Give her time to understand why you did what you did. A few minutes to miss you, sweetie.” She patted his cheek sympathetically. “She will, you know.”
“But she’s leaving.” He pointed a hand at Jessica’s shrinking figure as if that explained all his inner turmoil. “She’ll be back. She said to call her when the band goes back on tour. If she really never wanted to see you again, she wouldn’t have given herself that out.”
“That’s just her need for money talking.”
Myrna snorted. “I can’t believe you think that. I give her three days—tops—before she’s on your doorstep wanting you back. Just trust me on this, okay? I know you love her. That’s why you try so hard to fix things for her. She hasn’t figured that out, yet. You’ve got the poor girl so confused she’s never going to see it. And no matter how much you want to, you can’t make her see it. She has to figure it out on her own.”
Jessica disappeared from view, taking the heart previously lodged in Sed’s throat with her.
“Promise you won’t go after her, Sed. That you’ll be patient. Give her a couple of days to catch her breath.”
“I’ll try.”
“Sed?” Myrna said reproachfully.
“Fine. Whatever. Psychologist knows best.”
Before the bus even merged onto the highway, Sed had already thought of three reasons he needed to contact Jessica as soon as they reached L.A. She’d left her suitcase on the bus. She had left several piles of Myrna’s data behind. And he missed her. Already.
Chapter 23
Staring at the innocuous cadet-blue bungalow, Jessica sat in her mother’s driveway filled with dread. She couldn’t do this. Could not stay in that house. Sure, her mother was a pain in the ass and made her crazy with the constant harping, but her stepfather, Ed… Just thinking about him made her skin crawl.
A five-hour drive, mostly through the Mojave Desert, had done a lot to put things into perspective. It was astonishing how much better her brain worked when a certain man wasn’t stirring her emotions like a blender on liquefy. She felt kind of bad for going off on Sed just because he’d reacted badly to the press. In the same situation, she wasn’t sure what she would have said. She definitely wouldn’t have claimed to be his fiancée. More likely, she’d have gotten physically violent. In his stupid, macho way, Sed had been trying to make things better. He hadn’t succeeded. Not by a long shot. But it had been his intention. Sometimes that was more important than the outcome. Wasn’t it? She didn’t know.
