“You don’t have to leave,” I suggest gently.
“I have to go home tomorrow,” she protests. “I have to work and my mom?—”
“Your mom is fine. Dolly texts you every day. You’ve even talked to your mom three or four times.”
“But it’s not her responsibility and?—”
“It’s not a responsibility—you said yourself, they’ve been besties since they were five years old. Dolly does it because she loves her. And this is a great opportunity for you to do something special. What if we send Dolly some money so she can hire temporary help at the diner?”
“Is it definite?” she asks after a second. “You’re going to do it?”
I’ve been half-listening and there’s no doubt everyone is excited.
Casey, Sasha’s mom, was a huge rockstar fifteen years ago. She left her band, Pretty Harts, after she married King Erik. Two of the guys in that band, Tyler and Declan, are now the bass player and drummer for Nobody’s Fool. Casey also owns our record label, Hart Records. The fact that she’s now a queen of Limaj, the small eastern European country her husband rules, hasn’t impacted her interest in music.
And I know damn well Nobody’s Fool is going to do it—which means we are too.
“Listen, this is something out of the norm. An opportunity to do something very few people get to do. And it’s technically our honeymoon. Call Dolly, make sure she’s okay with it, and then let’s send her a little money. I can have Sasha do it today. Wire transfer, Western Union, whatever. Say yes, baby. I’m not ready for you to leave.”
She hesitates but I can see how badly she wants to say yes.
“Come on,” I cajole. “Let’s do it.”
Finally, a soft laugh escapes her. “You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Jeffries.”
“But that’s what you love about me, Mrs. Jeffries.”
Her voice is soft when she says, “One of the things.”
Did she just admit she loves me?
I’ll take that as a yes.
Chapter 34
Summer
Limaj is a beautiful country. There’s a light smattering of snow on the ground as we drive up to the palace and I’m dumbfounded that this is my life now. Being in a relationship with a rockstar and hanging out with royalty. I never could have imagined living like this and it’s exciting, no matter how much I try to downplay it in my head.
“This is so fucking cool,” Ryleigh says, staring out at the beautiful building as we glide into an underground garage.
“I wish Ariel was here,” Tyler Thompson, Nobody’s Fool’s bass player, says, referring to his wife. “But she’s coming with the baby in November and we couldn’t get her out here in time.”
They talk logistics and things I’m not familiar with, but it seems like they’re all married, some even have kids, and they appear to be managing just fine. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s just me that’s worried about anything and everything. We keep blaming all my anxiety on my pregnancy hormones but that’s only part of it. The hormones make me more likely to cry, that’s for sure, but deep down I’m dealing with myriad insecurities.
My dad walked out on my mom and me out of the blue, so I think there’s some deep-seated trauma about that. I’ve never articulated it before, but I’ve never been in love with a rockstar or pregnant before either. It was easy to bury all of that under hard work and taking care of my mother.
Now that I’m in a serious relationship and about to become a mother myself, all kinds of negative memories are messing with my psyche.
My dad leaving when things got tough in my parents’ marriage.
Patrick leaving me when I couldn’t move to Philadelphia with him.
My mom essentially left me too, even though it’s not her fault.
The idea of being abandoned never bothered me much because I’ve always been fiercely independent, determined to survive no matter what life throws at me. So, I’m pretty sure the pregnancy is playing a big part in whatever it is making me so needy and insecure. What makes it even more difficult is that I don’t feel like myself these days, and I know Tate is being extremely cautious with everything he says and does.
And that’s not fair to him.
