Ryan brushed his fingers over her cheek and resettled a flyaway lock of air. “I’d feel better if you had muscle on the premises to thwart any idiocy.”
He meant when he left to do the concert in Wellington, and the others their manager had booked for them in Australia. “I’ll contemplate security and discuss it with Mum. She might have some ideas.”
Lucky for her, Ryan took her diversion and ran with it. “Did she enjoy the dress rehearsal for the dancers? You didn’t say.”
Julia nodded, the quick sting of tears coming to her eyes. “She told me she was proud of what I’d achieved.”
“She likes having you around.”
“She makes me guilty for leaving her to run the place alone all these years.”
Ryan brushed his knuckles over her cheeks. “No. If she realized you thought that way she’d be upset. You needed to stretch your wings and do something else. Elise gave you the opportunity to follow your dreams.”
“Huh! Big dreams. I attended secretarial college.”
Ryan grinned. “Caleb and I didn’t stay at university for long. Pissed the parents right off. They’re a bit happier now, although they harp on about saving money for a rainy day.”
When they entered the club Susan was on stage going through one of her routines. Julia nodding approvingly at the way her friend threw herself into the role and became a sultry seductress with one click of her fingers and the cock of a hip. Behind her mask, her eyes smoldered with heat.
“She’s a natural,” Ryan said. “The guys can’t keep their eyes off her.”
“The women either. They want to be her,” Julia said with distinct satisfaction. And it was good for Susan too. She radiated confidence and her propensity for judging people harshly hadn’t appeared for ages. Her friend had bloomed.
“I’d better join Caleb.” He kissed her lightly on the lips and stepped away.
“You’d better wipe off the lipstick. Red isn’t your color.”
“It is if you’re wearing it,” he said, rubbing his hand across his lips. Grinning, he prowled away, attracting the attention of a group of young women. They waved at him, and he paused to speak to them.
She turned away, yet glanced over her shoulder. One woman ran her hand down Ryan’s chest, fluttered her eyelashes at him. Ryan laughed, kissed her hand and walked away with a wave. The women stared after him, their gazes hungry and behavior flirtatious.
Julia blinked, her throat tight. She wove between the chairs and tables, a smile fixed to her face. Even though Ryan had done nothing wrong, it was difficult watching women throw themselves at him.
Once Neil and Jeff arrived back in Auckland, Ryan’s days were full of rehearsals and most of his nights were spent at the club. He and the rest of the band did the odd set during quiet times to try out their new material and polish up some of the old stuff. They also did rock covers hoping to throw customers off the scent. Everyone saidFrench Lettersnever did covers while on stage, sticking to their own original material instead.
Day by day, night by night Ryan noticed the way Julia distanced herself. If he had a spare moment, Julia practically ran out of the room to undertake a task that required immediate action.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, he and Julia shared a cab back to her apartment.
“We need to talk,” he said when they entered.
“Can it wait until after I shower?” Julia avoided his gaze.
“I need to shower too. We’ll share.”
Julia glanced at him then, alarm smoothing away almost instantly. “I’m tired.”
“I don’t intend to jump you.” This came out sharper than he’d intended, and he grasped for his wavering control. His cell phone rang. “You go ahead while I take this call.” He glanced at the screen and grimaced. “Seymour, do you know what time it is?”
“Morning, where I am,” Seymour said in his crisp American accent. “Caleb said the material for the new album is coming along well.”
“Yes.” Caleb hadn’t told him their manager had contacted him.
“I’ve booked you three additional shows in Australia. Another in Melbourne and two in Sydney.”
“You could have checked with us first.” He didn’t want to leave Julia for months again.
“You’ve never worried about bookings before.” Seymour sounded surprised.
