Relentless (10 page)

After receiving no response when he knocked on her door the following morning, J.T. made his way down to the restaurant, hoping to catch her in the midst of breakfast. If she had her mouth full, she would have no choice but to listen.

He spotted her friend, Brad, dining by himself. After waving off the hostess, he strode to the back of the restaurant. “Where the hell is she?”

Brad wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin. He looked up, smiling. “Good morning to you too, cowboy.”

J.T. took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He wasn’t going to get anywhere with this guy using intimidation. He would have no choice but to reason with him. He pulled out the chair across from him and sat down.

Brad smirked. “By all means, have a seat.”

As the waitress hovered, J.T. turned his mug over. He would need a strong shot of caffeine to get through this conversation. He had a feeling trying to get information from this man would be harder than extracting teeth with a rusty old set of pliers.

Once the waitress poured his coffee, he asked, “Is she hiding out in her room?”

Taking a small bite of toast, Brad chewed carefully before shaking his head. “No, she had a plane to catch. She left early this morning.”

His grip on the mug in his hand tightened. “Was she headed back home?”

“Yeah, she had a magazine interview and photo shoot today.”

Getting past the security at her old man’s place would be tricky without explaining to Luc the reason for his visit, but he’d deal with that problem when he got there. “Have you spoken to her today?” J.T. asked, trying to find out whether she had confided in her friend about what happened between them.

“She spent the night with me.”

J.T. leaned forward, glaring at him. “What’re you talking about?”

He shrugged. “Apparently the proximity to your room made hers a less appealing option.”

Trying to rein in his frustration, he clenched and unclenched his fists under the table. “You play for both teams or what?”

Brad laughed as the sound filtered through the restaurant, drawing the attention of other diners. “Subtlety isn’t your strong suit is it, J.T.?”

“I’m not in the mood for games. Just answer the damn question.”

“No, I’m not bi. Nikki and I are just good friends, nothing more.”

Satisfied that he was telling the truth, he asked, “Did she say anything to you about what happened last night?”

Brad tossed a napkin on his plate and picked up his juice glass. He paused with the glass in mid-air. “You’re asking if she told me that you two slept together? Yes, she told me.”

Normally, he would have been pissed that she’d shared the intimate details of their evening with someone else, but he was past the point of caring who knew about them. He just wanted some answers before his rising blood pressure landed him in the hospital. “Did she tell you why she bailed on me?”

He set his glass down and shifted his body to the side, crossing his legs. “According to her, it was the other way around, my friend.”

“What’re you talking about? I went to grab a shower. I needed a minute to get my head on straight.”

“Maybe if you’d asked her to join you…”

“Damn it, I…” He was about to defend his actions when he considered how it might have seemed to her. He’d barely said a word to her when he hightailed it into the bathroom. “Okay, obviously I’ve messed this up.”

Brad crossed his arms, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Gee, you think so?”

J.T. shot him a warning glare, which he guessed was lost on him. “Don’t be a smartass. Why don’t you help me figure out how to make this right instead of trying to piss me off?”

Regarding him carefully, he said, “You really like her, don’t you?”

He rolled his eyes. “Would I be here if I didn’t?”

“You said you needed a few minutes to get your thoughts together last night. What does that mean?”

He was not discussing his sexual performance with this guy, no matter how dire things seemed with Nikki. He stared across the table. Like it or not, Brad was her friend and he had been with her last night. If anyone knew what she was thinking and how she was feeling where he was concerned, it would be him. Sighing, he decided to swallow his pride. “Nikki and I first met five years ago.”

He nodded. “I know. She told me.”

He was pleasantly surprised their brief encounter years ago had warranted a conversation with her friend. That had to be a good sign. “Yeah, well she was too damn young for me back then. Hell, in my mind she wasn’t even legal.”

Brad crossed his arms, tipping his head as he regarded him carefully. “How old are you?”

“Thirty-three.”

He shrugged. “That’s only ten years. Not that big a deal if you ask me. My boyfriend is nine years older than I am. It’s never been a factor in our relationship.”

How could he put this without making himself sound like the male whore many believed him to be? “Let’s just say, it’s not about how many years I’ve lived, but how I’ve spent those years.”

Brad laughed, slapping his palm against his knee. “You’re honest, direct; I like that in a man.”

J.T. raised an eyebrow. He didn’t know where he was going with this, but he didn’t think he liked it.

He held his hand up, smiling. “Relax; I’m not hitting on you. I’m just saying those are admirable qualities in a person.”

Feeling like a jerk for jumping to the wrong conclusions, J.T. raised the mug to his lips and indulged in a fortifying drink of the strong brew.

“Nikki is an amazing woman,” Brad said quietly.

“Yeah, I kinda figured that out,” J.T. muttered.

“You haven’t even begun to scratch the surface with her.” He paused, looking J.T. in the eye. “And I doubt she’s willing to let you get that close.”

“Why the hell not?” J.T.’s cell phone rang, but since he hadn’t given Nikki the number, he chose to ignore it. This was more important. “Is that what she told you?”

“No, but I know her. I know how hard she’s worked for this opportunity. She’s not willing to let anyone stand in the way of her dream.”

“What makes you think I want to stand in her way?” He scrubbed his hands over his face, trying to resist the urge to shoot the messenger. “I think she’s incredibly talented. She deserves to be successful.”

“And if you were the man in her life, you’d support her even if it meant she was on the road more than she was at home?”

For the first time, he considered what it would be like to be involved with a woman who was never there, who was living a life completely separate from his.

“I can guess what you’re thinking and you’re right. It wouldn’t be easy. I don’t think I could do it, share Ron with the rest of the world. But the man who falls in love with Nikki will have to share her; that’s just the way it is.”

He considered his brother’s relationship with Avery. They had a rock-solid marriage. In spite of the challenges, they had found a way to make it work, so he knew it wasn’t impossible. Of course, he knew Avery was a hell of a lot more tolerant and understanding than he was.

“Why Nikki?” Brad asked. “Why are you so interested in her?”

J.T. didn’t even hesitate; he knew what made Nikki so special. “Like you said, she’s amazing. She’s bright, beautiful, talented, ambitious… Hell, I love everything about her.” Once the word slipped out, J.T. realized how it must have sounded to her friend.

“You’ve been waiting a long time to make your move,” Brad said, watching him carefully. “This was more than a one-night stand to you, wasn’t it?”

He sighed, trying to make sense of what he was feeling. He rarely let anyone in, so he didn’t know what possessed him to consider opening up to a complete stranger. “At first, I thought I’d be satisfied with one night, to get her out of my system, ya know?”

Brad nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“But it became pretty clear that wasn’t going to be enough. I started to want more. Hell, I knew I was in trouble when I started getting jealous of the piano player at the bar.”

“Nikki wasn’t just some random girl in your mind,” Brad said quietly. “She was someone you’d been thinking about, waiting for, for a long time. It’s not surprising that your feelings for her ran deeper than you expected when you finally got the chance to act on them.”

J.T. knew he was right. She was the voice that filled the cab of his truck every morning, the gorgeous image that flashed across his TV screen, the sexy little siren from that long ago memory. He had imagined what it would be like to be with her, to make love to her, countless times. It was no wonder his body was on sensory overload when he finally seized the opportunity to make his fantasies a reality.

“You’re right; she’s not some buckle bunny, some random chick I picked up in a bar. She’s the girl I want.” It scared the hell out of him to admit it aloud, but he knew it was true. He suspected Nikki Spencer might be
the one.

Brad grinned, revealing teeth too perfect to be real. “You’re wasting your time sitting here telling me, cowboy. You need to hunt that girl down and tell her how you feel about her, what you want.”

For the first time in a long time, J.T. was nervous, uncertain. “You think she’d be willing to listen to what I have to say?”

Brad shrugged. “It won’t be easy to get her to see reason; she’s stubborn. But I have a feeling you’re not the kind of man to give up without a fight.”

J.T. smiled, reaching across the table to offer his hand. “You’re right about that, buddy.”

Nikki was trying to focus on the photographer’s direction, but her mind was inundated with images of J.T. That broad chest, the intense look in his eyes before he kissed her, the way he touched her.

“Are you cold?” the photographer asked.

She hadn’t realized she’d shivered at the memory until he posed the question. Forcing a smile, she said, “No, I’m fine, thanks.”

“Okay, we’re gonna take five, Nikki,” he said, taking the strap off his neck and setting his equipment down on a nearby table. He nodded to Luc before making his way to a small office in the back of the studio.

Luc approached her, eyebrows raised. “You seem a little off your game today. Is everything okay?”

Her father rarely accompanied her on photo shoots, but this was important. An international fashion magazine would allow her to reach out to an audience beyond country music fans.

Hopefully she would be able to attract the attention of the all-important 18-24 demographic of female fans, young women who could relate to her and her music.

“I’m okay, Dad. Just tired, I guess.”

He put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. “I’m so proud of you for taking home that award last night, sweetheart. I knew you could do it.”

Her father might be a tyrant at times, but his love and support was unconditional. “Thanks, it makes all that hard work seem worthwhile,” she said, trying to suppress a sigh. The exhaustion seemed to be more mental than physical today. Maybe she needed a vacation. She had been burning the candle at both ends for a long time, writing music, recording, and now rehearsing for the upcoming tour.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked, looking concerned.

She nodded, forcing a smile. She didn’t want to invite her father’s questions. The last thing she needed was for him to learn about what had happened between her and J.T. last night. He would be livid, not only because she’d been foolish enough to trust the wrong man, but because she was supposed to be focusing all of her attention on her career. There was no time for anyone or anything else. According to him, there would be time for dating later, much later. The next few years were all about building her career, solidifying her brand in the eyes of the music-buying public. There was no question Luc knew what he was doing. He was responsible for creating the biggest names in the business, but it hurt that he thought of her as a commodity instead of his daughter.

Not that she would ever admit as much to him, especially after the years of grief she’d given him about wanting this opportunity.

“Maybe you should go home and take a nap when you leave here. You have a rehearsal bright and early tomorrow morning.”