Page 6 of Four Dates and A Forever
“Or what?” Owen said, and Abi lifted a single brow and, just like that, Owen caved. “Sorry, bro. I was joking.”
With a content smile, Abi turned to Rhett. “Can I tempt you with something else? Maybe a slice of my Mee-maw’s triple berry cobbler?”
“That’s my slice,” Owen whined.
Abi went up on her toes and whispered something that spread Owen’s grin from ear to ear. “You can have the slice, bro.” Then he gave Abi a sound smack on the lips and watched her walk away.
Rhett couldn’t watch any of it. It was bad enough his love life had crumbled around him, but every time he was around the family, it was a constant reminder of what he’d lost.
“He’s right. You look like shit,” Gage, his agent and least favorite brother at the moment, said.
“Why did I agree to come tonight?” he asked. “Oh, I didn’t.”
Today was supposed to be some much-needed downtime, an afternoon on the water in his boat where he’d have the chance to regroup, figure out his Elsie problem, maybe even put a few chords together into something that resembled a melody. Somehow it ended up being a bro-trip. After, they dragged him to the bar, and the entire day had passed without him getting a moment’s peace. His brothers were on him like white on rice ever since he’d come home.
They were worried, he got it.
He was worried as well.
Divorce was hard, but his had been particularly brutal. Oh, the separation of assets had been a breeze—except for his music rights, he’d given his ex whatever she wanted. But the truth was that he’d blown his chance at love. He’d sacrificed a lot to make things work with his wife, even canceling his press tour, moving around his schedule, anything so that he could spend more time with her, to show her how much he loved her and wanted to make things work. But her actions and unwillingness to meet him halfway—hell, he’d have even taken a quarter of the way—made it crystal clear that he hadn’t been worth fighting for, and that’s what was tripping him up.
That’s what kept him up at night and kept him from putting himself out there again. He didn’t want to find himself in a vulnerable situation ever again. It hurt too much.
His ex had already moved on. Where his career was stagnant, hers was thriving. He’d had a few one-night stands here and there while Steph had found something serious. His tour bus might be top-of-the-line but it was still a moving bed, complete with a driver and bodyguard. Then there were the hotel rooms, where he was blessedly alone, but with all the people in his crew there was always something going on in the hallways.
“You need to get out,” Gage said.
He needed to sleep. “I need to get this album written and I haven’t slept in my own bed for any length of time in over six months.”
Probably because he didn’t have his own bed anymore. Steph received both houses in the divorce and he didn’t have the time or energy to find another one. It wasn’t as if he could buy any house, he needed the right location to ensure privacy, and the sort of neighborhood where people didn’t give two shits that a celebrity lived next door.
The manicured property had a three-thousand-foot main house, an organic orchard and garden, stunning views of downtown Portland and Mount Hood in the distance and was equipped with a state-of-the-art studio in the basement. With its tall, lush foliage that disguised the house from the street and the positioning of the property, all three acres could easily be enclosed by security fences and privacy gates.
It wasn’t the perfect property, but with a little work it could be. Which was why he’d bought it sight unseen. Correction, he’d been in the house a few years back, but it had been under renovation. It still was, but the house was nearly ready. That visit was also the last time he’d allowed himself to be alone with Elsie.
It had been an innocent run-in in the kitchen during a barbecue, where she’d given him a beer and invited him to sit at the counter while she showed him her latest sketches for the house. He’d sat right next to her, close enough that he could smell the summer air on her skin, and they’d talked—and talked—about everything. It was exactly like that weekend. Her eyes lighting bright as she shared her dreams, while he wondered what would happen if he kissed her—and he almost had. That’s when he’d pulled himself up short. He wasn’t the sort of guy to look at another man’s wife. That’s when he had gotten the hell out of dodge and never looked back.
That was four years ago. Before Steph, before his big break, and before he’d decided being around her was one hell of a temptation.
He’d cut the visit short, bowed out of future invitations, and found ways to avoid her after that. He knew his abrupt departure from her life had confused her, but it was about self-survival at that point. She might have been pissed, but it had been the right thing to do. Then he’d met Steph and he didn’t have time to think about anything outside of making her happy and his music. Two conflicting priorities that led to heartbreak and disappointment.
“I thought you moved into the new place today,” Clay said. He might be the baby of the family, but at six-four and two-hundred-twenty pounds he looked every bit the recipient of two Super Bowl rings.
“I did. Only when I got there, the previous owner was still in quarters.”
“Why do you look so surprised?” Josh, the oldest, asked. He was dressed in a smart-looking suit and tie, which he’d loosened, and a goofy grin that spoke of a guy in love. Lucky bastard. “Axel was never the most reliable guy.”
“What does that mean?”
“That when you and Axel were in the same band, he always struck me as a me-first sort of guy. His own best salesman. You know,” Josh trailed off.
No, Rhett didn’t know. It wasn’t as if he and Axel had spent a ton of time together since that barbecue. In fact, he’d kept things casual, meeting for drinks a couple times, inviting him to the studio for a jam secession once, and talking a little business. But between the two men’s schedules they’d barely seen each other in over a year.
Back in college they’d been close, inseparable, even started their own garage band. While they’d always kept in touch, once graduation happened, they’d gone their separate ways. Axel landed a gig as a drummer on a mid-sized tour and Rhett had followed his own path—which had more twists and turns than Axel’s, and took a hell of a lot longer, but Rhett wouldn’t switch landing spots for the world.
People change, and while Axel had always been a little self-serving, Rhett had never viewed him in the way Josh had described. Then again, Josh was an excellent judge of character, seeing things other people might overlook. It was what made him such a great district attorney.
Before he could ask his brother to clarify, Gage asked, “How long is Axel staying?”
