Strings of the Heart (6 page)

“Mmm, I love pralines. I don’t think I’ve been down on River Street since our 8th grade overnight field trip.”

“I think you’re totally overdue for one then.”

As we continued the walk down to River Street, Rhys pointed out different landmarks of interest. He didn’t just keep it to a history lesson. He also told me great places to eat and hang out. Of course, I didn’t care about any of the places unless he planned to bring me back to them.

When we got down to the cobblestoned pavement of River Street, Rhys and I stopped into a few shops. I especially enjoyed the ones with gag gifts and T-shirts. Once we’d laughed and dared each other to buy several obnoxious ones, Rhys steered me into the huge candy store. The moment I stepped inside, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. “That smell is pure heaven,” I murmured.

He laughed. “I would have to agree.”

After eyeballing the many delicious goodies under the glass, I decided on some chocolate covered pecan clusters along with a caramel apple dipped in nuts. I also added a famous praline. As I munched on one of the samples of chocolate bark, Rhys put in an order that caused my eyes to bulge. “What?” he asked.

“You’re getting all that for you?”

“I’ve been known to have them ship stuff to me when I’m out on tour,” he replied, getting out his wallet.

“Who knew you had such a sweet tooth?”

“It’s epic. Trust me.”

I couldn’t help protesting when Rhys had them ring up my sweets with his. “No, let me get mine,” I protested.

“It was my idea, so let me treat you.”

“But only this one time since I’m a poor, struggling college student, and you’re mister money bags.”

Rhys laughed. “Whatever.” Once he had paid, he gave them his address to ship the candy to. I had been wondering how he would possibly get it out of the store, least of all back to his house.

After that was sorted, we walked back out into sunshine. “Are you hungry?” Rhys asked.

“Maybe a little,” I replied, after polishing off my second pecan cluster.

“How about some good seafood?”

“I’d love some.”

“Follow me then.”

When he started into Huey’s, which looked like a higher-end restaurant, I grabbed his arm. “No, I’m not dressed for this place,” I hissed, motioning to my jeans and T-shirt.

“It’ll be fine.”

“No, Rhys, please.”

His brows shot up. “Does it really bother you that much? Because I could give two shits about the way you’re dressed, and I’m a VIP.”

A smile played on my lips at his words. “Are you sure?”

“I’d hardly call my Ralph Lauren shirt and shorts black tie. Besides, it’s a tourist trap. Lots of people stumble in not realizing.”

“Fine. If you say so.”

“Trust me,” he said, holding my gaze with his dark eyes.

“Okay,” I muttered lamely.

He grinned as we walked up to the hostess stand. When the hostess glanced up from a pile of menus, she did a double take at the sight of Rhys. I think it was safe to say she totally recognized him not from being a hometown boy, but from his Runaway Train fame. “Oh, um, hi, how many?”

“Just two. Can we get a table with a river view?”

“Sure, yeah, one second.” She wrote and rewrote some numbers on a whiteboard before grabbing two menus. “Right this way,” she replied, with a megawatt smile that belonged on a Miss America contestant.

As she started leading us through the maze of tables, I leaned in close to Rhys. “I’m pretty sure your VIP status just jacked someone else’s table for us.”

Rhys chuckled. “I’m surprised she even recognized me. The bass player is never the noticed one in a band.”

I fought the urge to tell him that not all bass players were as hot as he was. Instead, I replied, “Here I thought it was the drummer lost behind the kit.”

“Do you think AJ could ever be lost to fans?”

I laughed. “Not really.”

The hostess motioned to our table, which gave us a great view of the river past the crowds sauntering down the street. Once she sat the menus down, she swept a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled broadly at Rhys. “Have a great dinner.”

“Thank you. I’m sure
we
will.”

Once she was out of earshot, I couldn’t help laughing. “Frankly, I don’t think she even noticed I was alive. She had total Rhys tunnel vision.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he teased, as he picked up his menu.

“Now you’re starting to sound like Jake or AJ.”

“That’s an awfully cocky combination.”

I laughed. “Exactly.” Glancing at my menu, I asked, “So what’s good here?”

“Since I’ve eaten your nana’s cooking before, I know you like Southern food.”

“What kind of Southern girl would I be if I didn’t enjoy collard greens and fried green tomatoes?”

“Not a very good one,” Rhys replied. Waving his menu, he added, “This place is fucking fabulous when it comes to Southern food. The fried green tomatoes here are kick-ass. Plus there’s low country boil on the menu, so you should be able to get the greens I know you love.”

My stomach rumbled in appreciation at his words. “Sounds good to me. Of course, everything looks good.”

When our waiter, with the name-tag, Lance, arrived, he had a star-struck moment as well at Rhys’s presence. “I know you’re here to eat and I don’t want to bother you, but I’m a
huge
Runaway Train fan,” he said, after he got our drink and appetizer orders.

“Thank you. That means a lot,” Rhys said politely. With the charm that I’m sure that had been bred into him from the time he was born, he added, “I’d be happy to sign something for you.”

Lance’s eyes bulged, and he momentarily fumbled with his leather envelope for taking orders. “That would be awesome. Thank you. Seriously, thank you!”

He then proceeded to back into another waiter and almost mowed him down along with a tray of alcoholic beverages. I had to bring my napkin up to my face to hide my laughter. When I recovered, I put down my napkin and asked, “Who would have thought it would have been the guy who lost his shit for you, rather than the girl?”

“Oh, I guarantee she’ll manage to find a way to slip her number to me.”

“You can’t be serious.” When he nodded, I said, “But you’re here with me.”

He shrugged. “You could be a friend or a sister. To some women it wouldn’t matter if I was sitting here with a wedding band on.”

“That’s disgusting,” I huffed, while reaching for my glass of water.

Rhys chuckled. “Why are you getting so incensed?”

“Because marriage is a sacred thing. A woman should see a gold band and understand that a man is off limits.”

When Rhys raised his brows at me, I felt warmth flood my cheeks. With just that one action, he had made me realize the irony of my comment. After all, I wouldn’t even be here if my parents hadn’t had an affair. Obviously, my mother hadn’t let the gold band on my father’s hand stop her. With my gaze focused on the white tablecloth, I asked, “Mind if we change the subject?”

“I’m sorry.”

“It isn’t your fault.” I glanced up to meet his gaze. “I guess I should say that I truly meant what I said. Regardless of what my parents did, I think cheating is very wrong. It’s something I could never do.”

Leaning forward, Rhys patted my hand tenderly. “You don’t have to worry about it. I know as well as anyone that we are not our parents.”

“You’re right,” I murmured.

“Now why don’t I tell you about Jax peeing in my face when Jake made me change his diaper last weekend?”

I giggled. “Oh no, he did?”

Thankfully, the conversation then flowed just as easily between us as it had all day. While it certainly wasn’t the first time we had ever been together, it was the first time it had been just the two of us. Usually we were with at least Jake and Abby, if not AJ and Brayden and their families. Rhys wanted to know about the classes I was taking. In between the appetizers of my gumbo and Rhys’s fried green tomatoes, I steered the conversation away from me and to him. “So how long are you here in Savannah?”

He took a bite of crispy fried tomato. “It just depends. Two weeks, three weeks, or until my parents drive me absolutely fucking nuts, and I have to flee for my sanity.”

My spoon filled with gumbo paused in midair as my heart ached for him. “Is it really that bad?”

With a shrug, Rhys replied, “Now they’re more annoying than anything else. Once they realized they weren’t going to be able to control my life, they eased up a bit.”

“Jake told me once they had disowned you,” I said, softly.

“Oh yeah, they did that after I left law school when the band got its first deal. As their firstborn son and keeper of the family name, they were not exactly thrilled I was ‘throwing away my life on a foolish dream.’”

Processing his words, I took another steamy bite of gumbo. Once I had swallowed it, I asked, “Did they change their mind when you had more financial success?”

Rhys speared a piece of tomato a little more forcefully than necessary. “No, it had more to do with my grandfather’s death, and the stipulations of his will.”

“Oh?” I asked, but I was interrupted by the waiter bringing out dinner. Although I was already half full from chocolate and now gumbo, the platter full of fried shrimp, oysters, and scallops made my stomach rumble in appreciation. After Rhys and I both dug in, a silence hung over the table while we began devouring our dinner.

After we both made a dent in our plates, I gave Rhys a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry about your grandfather.”

“Thank you. He was actually one of the most decent men I knew in spite of his wealth.”

“What was it in his will that made your parents change their minds?”

“One thing my grandfather believed in was family unity and putting on a strong family front to the world. As the only surviving son, most of the business investments would be going to my father. In order to receive them, he could not have
his
only son disowned. So in a way, my grandfather’s death paved the way for our reconciliation.” With a mirthless laugh, Rhys added, “It wasn’t so much that they cared about me. They cared about the money they would otherwise be losing.”

I shook my head. “I don’t believe that. Your father could have always rigged something on paper and continued ignoring you in real life. He must’ve wanted a reason to reconnect with you.”

After dabbing his mouth with his napkin, Rhys leaned back in his chair. “Not everyone’s family is like yours, Allison. They don’t all have honest motives for what they do, and most don’t experience or share much love. My parents have never hugged and kissed me like your parents do. I don’t know if I ever even remember them telling me they loved me.” When I gasped in pain for him, he shrugged, “It’s just something I’ve come to terms with over the years, and something I’ve learned to accept.”

“But it’s so wrong.”

“I don’t need your pity. I’m perfectly fine with the way things are.”

“No, you’re not. I can tell you’re putting on a front for me when truthfully, the situation with your parents is something that bothers you a lot.”

“Dabbling in psychology along with fashion design, are you?” he asked sarcastically.

“I just don’t like to see people I care about hurt. I hate what your parents have done to you so much.” Before I could stop myself, I reached across the table for his hand. “You deserve so much more, Rhys.”

Disbelief at my words and actions momentarily flickered in his eyes. “You are aware that there aren’t many people in the world like you—people who are truly kind-hearted and care about their fellow man.”

“Maybe not in the world you grew up in, but there is in your band world. I hope you know how much you’re loved by them…by us.”

“I do,” he said softly.

“You’re loved by all your fans, too, but I know that isn’t a tangible love. You think that if they really knew you besides your persona that they might not love you. But it’s still love and admiration you should appreciate. Take that and couple it with the real love of your band family. So whatever the past was, you just have to see that you have so much love surrounding you now.”

“You know, you’re awfully wise for just a twenty-year-old kid.”

Ouch. Had he seriously just called me a kid? I so did not want to be in “kid” territory. After I recovered from my slight horror, I said, “Well, I’m different because I’m an old soul.”

“Yes, you are. That’s one thing we have in common. I was always old for my age. I never really fit in with the kids around me. That, plus my intelligence, made me somewhat of a misfit. I didn’t exactly feel like I belonged until I met Jake, Brayden, and AJ.”

“And they completed you.”

Rhys snorted. “That sounds completely sappy and emasculating.”

“I like the sound of it. I know Jake had a terrible hole within him that needed completing. You and the guys did that.”

“And Abby.”

“Yes, she did.” Tapping my fork on my plate, I decided to address something that was still bothering me. “For the record, I’m not a kid, okay? I’m pretty sure that you hated for the guys to call you that back in the day.”

“Back in the day? Hell, they still pull that bullshit on me.”

I laughed. “Am I going to have to have you repeat after me? Allison, you are a woman.”

With a scowl, he replied, “I know you’re a woman.”

“You called me a kid two seconds ago,” I countered.

“Even if it’s hard for me to believe you aren’t the same thirteen-year-old I rescued all those years ago, I am aware that you are indeed a grown woman.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear that.”

“You’re welcome, kid,” he replied, with a teasing wink.

“You, sir, are impossible.”

“Want some dessert?” he asked.

Tilting my head, I tried reading Rhys’s watch. “Wait, what time is it?”

“Almost six thirty.”

I slammed my napkin down on the table. “Oh shit, really?”

“What’s the problem?” Leaning forward, he gave me an impish grin. “Don’t tell me you turn into a pumpkin at eight?”

With a grin, I replied, “Ha, ha, not exactly.”

After taking a sip of his wine, Rhys’s expression darkened a little. “You didn’t tell me you had a date tonight.”