“Yeah.”
“So every day you’re on tour, every day that passes by, brings you one day closer to having that fight.”
Her mouth fell open. Yes, yes it did. “Huh.”
He gave her a small smile, as if to say,how about that?How about that indeed?
“I hadn’t thought about it like that.”
“Just something to consider. Naming the fears changes the power dynamic.”
“You sure you’re not a stealth therapist?”
He laughed. “No, just a guy who’s been around a lot of fear.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. That’s life.” His voice got darker, rougher. “I don’t know if you want to talk about the conversation with Track today?”
Oh. She shifted uncomfortably, heat swelling across the top of her chest, spilling down her arms. “Yeah, he wasn’t so bad this afternoon.”
“Whoa…” Dean stood up and moved toward her, dropping into a squat right in front of her. “No, he was awful today.”
“He didn’t really say anything bad.”
“That’s his game. He picks his words carefully to sound reasonable.” He peered closer, really examining her, and she started to blush. “That’s better. I was worried there for a second. You went pale.”
“He makes me second-guess myself,” she whispered.
“You didn’t show that. But I should have stepped in.”
“Not yet.” She shook her head. No, they couldn’t do that too soon. “I need to get through tomorrow. I can’t escalate anything with him.”
“Then I need to do a better job of not letting him near you in the first place. What’s the schedule for tomorrow?”
She closed her eyes and pictured it. “I’m meeting some radio winners for photos and a meet-and-greet here at the hotel, then…nothing until the concert.”
“Keep your eyes closed.” His voice was closer, lower. Warmer. He squeezed her shoulder, then moved away for a second. The chair scrapped against the carpet, and then he was sitting in front of her, his knees brushing her shins. “Tell me what a good day tomorrow would look like.”
She laughed gently. “I don’t know.”
“Try. It’s called visualization. It can be a powerful tool.”
“I’m tired.” She blinked her eyes open. That took more effort than she liked.
“Okay.” He was right in front of her, his face steady and calm.
She frowned. “I’m not avoiding the exercise.”
“I didn’t say anything.” But he didn’t move out of the way, either. His legs bracketed hers on either side, not close, but they were there. If she turned, she’d bump into him. “I just want to help you have a good day tomorrow.”
She looked at him. Most of the time he was either behind her or across a room. There was something different about him when he was up close like this. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it was there, hovering beneath the surface. She’d get it sooner or later. “Why did you take me on as a client?”
His eyebrows lifted at the deliberate change of subject, but he rolled with it. “Because Hope hired us.”
She told herself she didn’t feel disappointment at that. That was the right answer. He was debriefing the day and prepping her for tomorrow because that was his job, nothing more.
If she felt anything, it was fatigue. Her nap on the bus before the show hadn’t fully made up for the fact that she woke up five hours before she wanted to.
