He pulled a chair up beside her and collapsed onto it. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she replied. “Thanks for being here.”
“Wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
She gave him a look that made it clear she knew that was a lie. He’d always been anywhere else.
“I’m in a bind.” She twisted to her side in the rumpled white sheets. “It’s my business.”
“Aspen, now’s not the—”
“It’s important.” One of the monitors pinged. She glanced to it. Worry etched across her forehead, but the little heartbeat continued to thump. A long breath escaped her lungs, and she shut her eyes. “I jump every time it does that.”
“Talk,” he said softly.
She ran a hand over the elastic on her stomach. “They’re putting me on hospital bed rest. I can’t even get up to pee, and I’ve got brides—”
“Cancel.” He leaned in toward her. “Nothing’s more important than you and the kid.”
“Dimefront is on break, right?” she asked.
The band was on hiatus for the next few months before their big tour kicked into gear. That didn’t mean he’d get much of a break. Between the boys’ constant threats of disbanding and their perpetual run-ins with law enforcement, Brek was always on when it came to them.
“Yeah, why?” He stretched out the last part, his intuition not liking the vibe he was getting from her.
“And you plan their concerts and stuff, right?”
He supervised them, anyway.
“Yeah, why?” Now he was really disliking the vibe in the room.
“I was thinking that maybe you might be willing…”
Shit. He knew where this was headed.
“No way. I’m not dealing with brides.”
“Brek…”
“Nuh-uh. Not happening.”
“It can’t be worse than a concert. Everything’s mostly done. All I need is someone to carry out what I’ve already planned.”
“Ask Ma.”
“Mom’s got her own business to run. You’re on break. You can do this. I have faith in you.”
Good thing one of them did.
“Aspen...” If there was one thing worse than a celebrity rocker on a four-day bender, it was a bridezilla who wanted the perfect wedding.
“Please.” The plea in her eyes nearly did him in.
He handled sound systems, parties, drunk-off-their-ass musicians. He made good money doing it. More than that, though, he loved the thrill of his work. What he did not enjoy was an overly emotional woman in a poufy white dress.
“Business has been bad for me the last couple of seasons,” Aspen said, her voice cracking at the end.
“Bad how?” The sinking feeling in his bones settled deeper.
