Page 77 of Single Girl in the City
Owen looked at his brother and noticed just how wrung out he looked. His eyes were bloodshot like he hadn’t slept in weeks, his scruff was too long to be intentional and too short to be a beard. Then there was the devastated flicker in his eyes before he looked away.
“How are you doing with things?” Owen asked.
Rhett just looked at him as if he was an idiot. “All you have to do is pick up a magazine to know my life is a complete mess.”
Divorce was hard enough. Going through it while every devastating moment was criticized and scrutinized and laid out for the world to see must be hell. Rhett had wanted to fight for the marriage, but his wife hadn’t. It pretty much boiled down to that they wanted different things—like a family.
After two years of hectic and conflicting schedules, Rhett was ready for the stability of a home base, cutting back on his tour to make room for the marriage and eventually kids. Then last year, Steph said she wasn’t ready to give up the lifestyle and dropped the bomb that she didn’t think she wanted kids—ever. A statement that was in direct opposition with what she’d said prior to the wedding, where she’d gone on and on about wanting a family the size of Rhett’s.
Steph did a complete flip-a-roo. Most of the brothers thought it was because being married to a guy like Rhett was good for her career and once she’d hit enough followers she wanted out. Owen wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but the way she was handling things made it hard.
“According to the tabloids you’re seeing—” Clay said some famous actress’s name.
“The only thing I’m seeing is that I have two months to move out of the house and no prospects on where to move. I have the condo in LA but at some point I’m going to nee my own place here in Portland to establish residency or the IRS will have my ass.”
It wasn’t as if Rhett could just buy a regular house in a regular neighborhood. With his fame, he’d need the right kind of property if he expected to have any kind of privacy. And there weren’t many of those in Portland. Los Angeles, sure. But when Rhett wasn’t on the road or in the studio he needed to be around family as much as any of the brothers.
“Funny, since last week you were seen leaving a certain pop star’s hotel room,” Josh said. “You aren’t wasting any time getting back out there.”
“Nothing serious. Just a night here or there,” Rhett said.
“Any more nights and you’re one step away from the guy who had a date for every day of the week.”
Before Rhett met Stephanie, he’d been the playboy of the family, playing it fast and loose with the ladies. It seemed like old habits died hard, and Owen was afraid that his kid brother would wind up with a string of one-night stands and nothing to hold on to.
Owen knew firsthand how lonely that kind of life could be, and he didn’t want that for Rhett. Hell, he didn’t want that for himself. But putting your heart on the line was harder than his other brothers made it look. For them love seemed to come easy. Sure they’d all had their fuck-up moments, but in the end they’d all found love.
“Seriously, how are you doing?” Clay asked Rhett, his assessing eyes seeing everything. He might be the baby of the brothers, but he was the most levelheaded and introspective of the group. He also had the most accurate BS meter. When he was assessing, he was sniffing out exactly how bad things were. So when Clay’s face went grim, they had their answer.
“It sucks. The whole thing sucks. The tour, writing music, my life. It’s like one giant dumpster fire. Maybe it’s time to take a break, find some simple in my world.” Rhett shook his head. “Who am I kidding, that part of my life makes my world turn. And a lot of other people’s too.”
Like Owen, Rhett had a lot of people riding on his success. If Stout closed, his employees would lose their livelihood. With Rhett, it was ten times the pressure. Then again, wasn’t that what Abi had given Owen—something simpler? A chance to gain some of his life back? Important parts that he’d thought long lost?
“There’s more to you than a guitar,” Owen said and clapped his brother on the shoulder. “A lot more.”
“Truer words have never been spoken,” Clay chimed in. “Giving up my place in Seattle to be here with Jillian when I’m not on the field was the best decision of my life.Youget to choose your lifestyle and you’ve never had more options than right now.”
Rhett seemed to consider this, then asked, “Have you convinced Jillian to marry your stupid ass?”
Clay’s answer was a smile. A special kind of smile he gave whenever he spoke of his girlfriend and her son. “Life is perfect as is. I’m big on her and she’s not big on marriage. After what her ex did to her, I wouldn’t expect her to want to jump into another one. I don’t need a ring to know that she loves me.” He looked right at Owen. “Love might not have worked out with Elena, but it’s worth it to give love a second chance.”
Abi wasn’t Elena. Nothing she’d said or done was remotely Elena-esque. She was honest and thoughtful and slowly opening up to him. Maybe a second chance was worth it. Maybe with Abi, it was worth potential heartache.
“Her last shift at the tea shop is on Thursday, then she leaves at the end of the week.” Travel bound, starting in Thailand and moving her way around Asia teaching English is what she’d told him last night when he’d asked what came next for her.
“How do you feel about that?” Clay asked.
Owen sat down on the bench. “Confused.” More than confused. The whole situation didn’t sit right. Even the idea of her getting on some plane had his chest in knots. “I was the one who insisted on keeping things simple. No string, no ties, nothing remotely complicated.”
Which, looking back, was stupid because even though he hadn’t been willing to admit it, he’d known that giving them an expiration date was a shit move. When he told her a week was all he could handle, he’d unintentionally solidified her belief that she was temporary goods.
Even though she’d disagree, nothing about her said temporary. Abi was the kind of woman who deserved more than a tumbleweed of an existence. After a lifetime of being shoved aside, it was time someone showed her just how amazing she was.
“How’s that working for you?” Clay asked.
“It’s not.”
“Then if I were you, I’d give her a reason to stay.”
