Forever Red (34 page)

“No,” I argued, “I’m your boss.”

She chuckled. “No. You sign my checks. Technically I’m your boss.” She winked. “So if I say something like, take off your clothes and let’s take advantage of an empty bus, you have to do it.”

Her flirtatious mood confused me. I glanced at the tablet before looking back at her. Maybe she hadn’t been looking at that shit – maybe she’d been reading. Maybe she didn’t know.

“Did Nikki say anything else?” I asked cautiously, treading lightly.

Lia watched me for a moment too long. I wasn’t going to like what she had to say. “I think the Noah idea is a good way to twist this around.”

There it was. “The fuck it is.”

She sighed, motioning to her tablet. “They hate me. I cannot do my job if they hate me. Because every time they see me with you, it’s going to cause an issue.”

“Then don’t do your job. I’ll hire someone else and we’ll tell the world that Molly and I are not a couple.”

“I’ll pack my bags then.”

“What?” I spit out.

“If I’m not working for you, there’s no reason for me to be here.”

“I want you here.”

“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure you know I don’t take charity.”

I scowled. “Fine. You stay, work, and we’ll just come clean.”

“That’s not an option, either.”

“Why in the hell not?” I demanded angrily.

“Because Molly’s album drops in three months. She needs the publicity.”

“Are you shitting me?” When she shook her head, I continued. “It will only work in her favor.”

“How exactly? Right now, she’s trending on Twitter, Facebook, and she’s the second most Googled celebrity in the world. That’s unheard of for a new artist. She’s huge right now. Everyone wants to know about the woman who caught Nate Kelly’s wandering eye. Everyone is going to download her songs, just to see if she’s talking about you. You leave her, she’s just another notch in your bedpost; you stay on top and she disappears.”

“So, what you’re saying is that unless I want her career to be ruined, I have to pretend to date her?”

“Not at all. What I’m saying is that your best friend needs you. This is her chance to reach the masses and become legendary. I’ve been told she’s talented”—I nodded because she was—“so once people listen to her songs, once she makes it to radio, she’ll have a loyal fan base. You’ll be able to scream the truth from the rooftops if you want because she won’t need you anymore.”

“You’re whoring me out,” I said and Lia just grinned. “What about us?” I demanded. “Does that mean I spend the summer avoiding you in public?”

The grin grew, making her look like the goddamn Cheshire cat. “Nope.” Her lips popped at the end of the word. “I’m subbing for your manager, remember? I’m stuck to you like glue. And since I’m robbing the cradle and dating your brother, we’ll be together even on our days off.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, tipping my head back slightly and staring down at her. I hated this plan. Fucking despised it.

But it made sense. It could work. If people thought that Noah and Lia were together, maybe the personal attacks on her would stop.

“If that’s the case, why won’t you come tonight?”

Her lips moved into another smile as she picked up the tablet, turning the screen toward me. “I’m working.” It was filled with pictures of her and Noah from the night before. “Someone has to plant the seeds and get people thinking that your new manager isn’t trying to steal you away.”

“Who are you?” I asked in awe.

She only laughed. “The woman that realized today that the press and your fans are as mature as high schoolers and thrive on drama. That I can handle.”

*****

Lia was not only able to plant the seeds, she grew those things into a fucking garden. A week after the incident at the club, everyone had moved on to some other celebrity drama. Two and it had been virtually forgotten. Three weeks later, we were celebrating the Fourth of July with only a few paparazzi following us around. She’d been right; once people realized she wasn’t news, they stopped caring.

We didn’t have any shows that weekend – by some crazy miracle – so Lia rented a home in the mountains a half-hour outside of Denver. The place was insane with enough room for us all to stretch out and it was completely secluded. For the first time since she joined us on tour, we could all let our guard down and just have fun.

Friday night, we went into the city for the fireworks. I spent the majority of the time watching her and my brother, jealous every time he got to touch her in public. The summer was flying by, my time with her limited. I got every second behind closed doors, but I wanted more. I needed more.

As soon as we were back up the mountain, locked safely in the little gated community, I invaded her space. I waited for her to drop her bag and set her cell phone on the counter, and then I threw her over my shoulder and carried her to our assigned room. I didn’t let her leave until Sunday afternoon when we had to get back on the bus.

It still wasn’t enough.

Nikki was a superhero in disguise. Until that summer, I’d assumed that managers of famous musicians didn’t do anything other than schedule tour dates and interviews and handle media issues. Yeah, not so much.

In reality, she did that and more. She was a professional hand holder, a personal shopper, a therapist, a referee, a problem solver, a tour guide, a meal planner, a friend, and the list goes on and on. I was exhausted. I found myself looking forward to the monotony that I was used to before the trip.

Except, I would miss Neil like crazy once I went back. I wasn’t sure where the summer had gone, but it had flown by in a blur of yellow dotted lines, roaring stadiums, and half-naked women giving me the stink eye. I was with Neil day in and day out. But I felt like I didn’t get to see enough of him.

Yes, we lived together on a tiny bus. We slept together, ate together, and half the time, showered together. I was with him at almost every interview, backstage at every concert, and by his side at every party. I sat next to him while I handled the paperwork side of this job, usually while he picked his guitar or worked on new songs. We’d lock ourselves in the back room and talk for hours, catching each other up on everything we’d missed over the years.

There were some things I still hadn’t told him, though. They were always on my mind, and as the days ticked by, they got heavier and heavier. When Noah brought it up in early August, though, I was still surprised.

“Does Nate know you and Carson dated?”

The question came out of nowhere, catching me off guard enough that I’d dropped my fork onto the table. I glanced around the small restaurant that Noah had brought me to, making sure no one had heard him. Satisfied we were being ignored, I met his eyes. “I never dated Mikey.”

The young man across from me pursed his lips thoughtfully. “I’m guessin’ that’s a no.”

I sighed, narrowing my eyes at Neil’s mini-me. “You calling me a liar?”

I’d gotten close with Noah over the last seven weeks. I’d grown fond of all of them – living in what I jokingly called the World’s Smallest Frat House – it was hard not to. But, Noah was my favorite.

It might have been because he was my pretend boyfriend so we spent more one-on-one time together, but it felt like it was more than that. He got me. We had the same twisted sense of humor, laughing at jokes no one else thought was funny, enjoyed the same television shows, and listened to the same music. He’d go to the gym with me if the hotel we were staying at had a fitness center or running with me if it didn’t. I loved the man he’d become.

“Nope. I’m just sayin’ I see more than you think I do.” He reached across the table and snagged one of my fries. I glared at him, willing him to explain himself. He smirked. “You share food.”

“Come again?”

“You share food. The night you flew in, you grabbed his plate and took what you wanted like you done it a thousand times before.”

“
We
share food.”

He laughed. “Yeah, but we’re dating.”

“Not really.” I shook my head, leaning onto the table. “I’ve never dated Mike.” I wet my bottom lip, debating how much I should say. “But we did stay friends.” Noah didn’t respond, taking a bite of his burger. “After I left,” I explained and he stopped chewing. “And he may have stayed with me for a little while after he got hurt.”

Noah swallowed. “He knew where you were all that time?”

I nodded. Neil now knew where I’d been, too. He knew almost everything about my life. “I’m going to tell your brother, I just—”

“Don’t even fucking think about it,” he ordered in an authoritative tone, interrupting me.

“What? Why not?”

“It’s not your story to tell. You were gone, Carson wasn’t. You didn’t watch the car crash that was my brother’s life, knowing you could help him and chose to let him suffer – Carson did. That shits not on you. It’s on Mike. He’s been sitting on that shit for years. He needs to man the fuck up and come clean.” He sounded pissed.

“I asked him not to tell,” I whispered, worried.

“If you’d seen Nate, you’d have changed your mind. You may not know, but he was bad. Fucking devastated. My mom was convinced that he was going to be stupid and end it. She had him on fuckin’ suicide watch. You fuckin’ wrecked him, Red. Mike saw that shit and let him suffer when he could have just ended it all by telling him he knew where you were.”

I hadn’t known it was that bad. The idea of Neil being that heartbroken, that lost, made my own heart hurt. If I had known, I would have gone running, begging him for forgiveness. Then another thought barreled to the front of my brain. “That’s why she hates me.”

“Red.” He reached across the table again, this time covering my hand with his. “She doesn’t hate you. My mom, even when being a miserable hag, is incapable of hating anyone. You scare her. Nate’s been lost twice in his life according to her. Once after Gramps died – you gave him something to live for. Once after he lost you – and again you saved him. She’s terrified about what’s going to happen if he loses you again.”

“I didn’t save him this time, Noah. He did that himself. She needs to give him more credit.”

“You didn’t?” He snorted. “How many women crawled outa his bed on this tour? How many groupies has he fucked in the last three months? How many times has he gotten so drunk he’s blacked out? How many fights has he picked? How many brawls has the band been in to defend him?” he asked, but I didn’t answer. He leaned back. “Exactly.”

“That’s not because of me.”

Noah smirked. “No? I guess I can believe the tabloids then and be thankful that Molly cleaned his ass up. Because everyone has seen the change.”

They had. More than one interviewer had asked him about it over the last few weeks. They all credited Molly with the change. I’d assumed it was because I was on tour with him and he was busy being around me. I didn’t want to think that it was more because I was leaving in two weeks, and I didn’t want to think about him reverting to the old Neil.

“Don’t fucking tell him, okay? I’ll handle it, but it is between Carson and Nate, not you.”

“Really? Because I feel like it’s all about me.”

He shook his head once, stretching his arm over the back of his bench seat. “It isn’t. Doesn’t have a thing to do with you. It’s about being a brother. Let them hash it out.”

Before I could argue, my phone rang. I glance down, smiling when I saw Neil’s picture. “Interview must be over,” I muttered before tapping the screen. We’d left him and Molly at the hotel with a photographer and a reporter.

“Hey you,” I answered with a smile.

“Where you at, babe?”

“Noah brought me out for lunch.” The hair on my arms went up at the urgency in his voice. “What’s wrong?”

“Give me the address; a car will be there to get you.”

“Neil, what’s wrong?”

He acted like he didn’t hear me. “Tell Noah that our flight leaves in an hour and a half.”

“Neil!” I snapped, terrified. “Where in the hell are we going?”

“Back to ‘Bama, babe. Nikki’s havin’ the baby!”

*****

A little over an hour later, the three of us were buckled into our seats, me sitting between the two of them, waiting for takeoff. Neil’s fingers kept skimming across the top of my hand while he sang John Denver’s, “Leaving on a Jet Plane” quietly.

“I love that song,” I told him absentmindedly, resting my head against his shoulder. “I think it is hands-down the most romantic song ever.”

On the other side of me, Noah snorted. “What? The dude’s leaving before his groupie even wakes up.”

I chuckled. “You are such a child. It’s about a man that doesn’t want to leave his girl but he has to, but he’s promising her he’ll come back for her. He wants to be with her forever and he’s giving it all up for her.”

“You are such a chick, Red.”

I smiled as Neil started singing again and closed my eyes. I didn’t wake up until we landed in Alabama.

*****

“She’s so fucking tiny,” Neil whispered about the tiny bundle tucked into the nook of his arm and gripping his finger. “Shit! Sorry, princess, Uncle has a potty mouth.”

Noah rolled his eyes. “Jesus, she can’t understand a word you’re sayin’.”

I didn’t have a chance to hit him because Neil’s eyes landed on him, shooting daggers the same time a plastic cup came flying through the air and smacking Noah on the side of the head.

“Don’t swear around my baby!” Nikki, looking as beautiful and classy as ever, hissed across the room.

Emma Nebraska Woods had waited until we arrived to make her appearance, but just barely. Not fifteen minutes after we ran into Nikki’s room, little Ems arrived, screaming with a set of lungs that would rival her uncle’s. She was the cutest-ugliest baby I’d ever seen, all pink and wrinkled. Noah and I oohed and aahed because she was precious. But Neil? He was enamored.

I’d never seen a grown man so taken with a baby that wasn’t his own. Hell, I didn’t think I’d ever seen a man so smitten with his own child. He didn’t want to put her down, not even to let his own mother hold her first grandchild.

Thankfully, his family seemed to understand. His excuse was that we had to leave, catching an early morning flight back to Cali so he’d be back in time for the concert. He had to cram all his uncle/niece bonding time in now because it would be weeks before he saw her again. Watching him sweet-talking that little lady, pouring his heart out, I realized that I was completely in love with him all over again.

I’d never gotten over him. I’d been in love with a boy that no longer existed. And I’d been fascinated by him, the big, bad country music star. Now, though, I was head over heels in love with the man he’d become.

When it was time for us to head back to the airport, Neil hugged his mom and his sister, shook Finn’s hand, and then scooped baby Emma out of her mother’s arms so he could steal one more snuggle. It was the sweetest moment I’d ever witnessed. And the scariest because for the first time, I knew that I wanted what Nikki had.

*****

“I’m not ready for you to go.” Fingertips slid over my hip and up my side as a very naked Neil moved his body in to mine. “Can I keep you a little bit longer?”

I smiled at the ceiling. “I wish. But, we’ve already put it off as long as I can. I need to get back because tomorrow I’m supposed to go in and set up my classroom.”

“You could hire someone else to do it.” He’d been trying to figure out a way around me leaving for days. I shook my head, turning over and sliding out of the bed. I’d already put it off for two days. I needed to leave today. “Fine,” he muttered, sitting up.

I searched the floor, looking for the clothes that he’d thrown around the room as he pulled them from my body so we could have one more round of goodbye sex. I was late, but it was totally worth it. Neil handed me my panties, a wicked little smile on his face as if he was proud of himself.

As soon as we were both decent, I hurried through the door, stopping almost immediately. My boys were sitting on the couches, waiting patiently for me. They’d come to say goodbye.

I called them my boys because that’s what they’d been for the last nine weeks. I’d been expecting orgies and topless women roaming around between cities, but what I’d gotten were game challenges and topless men that liked to see if they could make me blush. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew they were all sluts.

Bus two was the family men, the loyal men. I got the group that was probably going to die from venereal diseases. I didn’t see them being sluts, though. They waited until we were in the cities where we had hotel rooms, or if they did bring groupies back to the bus, they did it after Neil and I were in bed and the women were gone by the next morning.

Even Billy and Rhett were pretty great with me. Now, the five of them were staring at me from the couch. I stopped, making eye contact with each. I flinched when I got to Mike. His face was beat to shit, one eye still almost swollen shut, a lump on his forehead, a bright red bruise under his nose, and a fat lip.

The boys had gone out one night last week while I sat in the peace and quiet and tried to finish some work. When the door opened, I looked up to greet them, the words dying on my lips. I jumped up, rushing to my friend, demanding to know what happened.

“Nothing, Lee. Just a misunderstanding we had to get straightened out.”

No one would tell me what had happened, but since I wasn’t stupid, and Neil’s knuckles were busted open, I knew exactly what had gone down. And it pissed me off. The two of them were laughing and having a beer when I’d lost my shit.

I kicked the drummer and fiddler off the bus and then confronted Noah, Mike, and Neil. Poor Rebel was collateral damage because he’d been in the bathroom when I’d evacuated the innocents. I’d raged, screaming about how juvenile they all were, telling them how disappointed I’d been in them. Then I’d stormed into the bedroom, locking the door. They’d all thought my anger was hilarious and had partied half the night.

The next morning, I came out to find a groveling boyfriend and a new nickname that they would never live down.

Now, as I walked out to say goodbye, I wished I could rewind the clock and start the summer over. Billy stood first, pulling me into a hug with his ginormous arms. “I’m not gonna know what to do when I sit on the couch and little feet don’t poke me in the ass ‘cause they’re cold,” he said and I laughed. I’d tried to tuck mine under him a time or two. Or maybe fifteen or twenty.