Not that I’m uninterested in sex.
I just keep it casual, saving it for the occasional one-night stand on the road.
From what I’ve seen of Wynter, she doesn’t strike me as the one-night stand type.
“I don’t sleep anymore,” she says, surprising me. “It started when River was born. Then it got worse with my new job. That’s when I went from smoking socially, usually just when I was having a drink or something, to craving it all the time. Then I just stopped sleeping more than two or three hours at a time. I’ve been at this job less than four months and it feels like an eternity.”
“Sounds like hell,” I say thoughtfully.
I understand what it’s like to be in hell.
It’s not like that with my job, thankfully, but there have been a lot of periods of my life that felt that way, so I can commiserate.
“Sometimes. But it pays the bills.”
“There’s more to life than money.”
“Spoken like a man who’s learned that lesson?”
Now we’re in dangerous territory.
I don’t like to talk about the past.
Ever.
“You could say that.”
She smiles wryly. “It’s okay, Ross. I won’t spill the beans.”
“Excuse me?” I frown in confusion.
“I know who you are.”
Chapter Two
Wynter
I regret the words the moment they slip out. Instead of being shy or surprised that I recognized him, Ross seems almost angry. His silvery-blue eyes turned dark. I can see the fire lurking there even in the limited pre-dawn light, since the sun hasn’t come up yet, and I mentally kick myself. I wasn’t trying to be confrontational, I merely wanted to let him know I understand where he’s coming from.
“I’m sorry,” I say quickly. “I didn’t realize it was a secret. I was trying to be funny, that’s all. I apologize.”
His face is tight. “The past is best left where it is.”
“But you’re… Ross Rockit.” I whisper, as if someone might hear us. “How has no one recognized you? The video for ‘Shooting for the Stars’ was everywhere when I was a kid. My mom played that album constantly.”
“It’s been nearly twenty years,” he responds quietly, grinding the cigarette into the concrete with his shoe. “I haven’t been Ross Rockit in a long time. And I want it to stay that way.” With that, he turns and strides in the opposite direction.
Damn.
I didn’t mean to upset him.
Hell, I came out here to clear my head after another miserable night of insomnia.
I left my extremely demanding job as an emergency room nurse at a Los Angeles hospital and took a job in the private sector, as the office manager for a busy doctors’ practice. I thought it would be easy compared to twelve-hour shifts in the ER. Instead, the pressure, along with the insane hours, leaves me staring at the walls most nights.
The company sent me to Phoenix for a training conference on some new software, and when I saw that Onyx Knight would be in town at the same time, I reached out to my sister. She recently remarried Tommy Bane, Onyx Knight’s drummer, and has been on tour with the band, so it was a good excuse to see her. I hoped spending time with family and hearing live music would be the perfect way to relax and unwind after the week of training, but so far it hasn’t worked.
Not even yesterday’s spa day helped, and I finally gave up on sleep just after four in the morning.
