* * *
By the time she’d finished dealing with the cops and the city codes people and placating the neighbors, who’d decided they weren’t real happy about all these people in their neighborhood early on a Sunday morning, even though they’d been notified twice in the past two weeks, Tru was ready for a huge cup of coffee, half a dozen donuts, and another round of energetic sex.
Maybe not in that order.
So the fact that she’d left her house more than four hours ago and that Sebastian had sent her a text saying he was leaving to meet Nik in the next fifteen minutes did not fucking brighten her day.
And the fact that she had to go into the office to clear up a few other pieces of paperwork that had come up during her meeting with the residents meant she’d be there when Nik and Sebastian were talking.
Shit.
So, though it pained her to put off work, she made her way to the hotel. She’d already been in touch with Greg and knew he was out scouting a location alone so Sabrina was either working or sleeping.
“Hey, Rina, what are you doing?”
“Geez, I didn’t expect to hear from you today. I figured you’d be otherwise occupied.”
“Yeah, well, when you have a neighborhood full of pissed-off residents and cops involved, you get your ass out of bed.”
“Oh, no. That’s sounds serious.”
“It was but it’s all taken care of now. Are you up for brunch? I could use a pitcher of mimosas and some serious intake of carbs like French toast and donuts.”
Sabrina paused. “I figured you’d be spending the day with Baz. Is everything okay?”
Yeah, except for the fact that he was probably going to be leaving her soon to go back to his band. “Yeah, he’s meeting with Nik and I figure they need the alone time.”
“Okay, I’m up for that. I was going to meet Kate and Talia—”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t want to cut in—”
“Tru. Stop. You’re not cutting in. I’m inviting you to join us. Unless . . . you’d rather not talk with Kate and Talia.”
“No, sorry. That’s not it. I’m just out of sorts. I’d love to join you guys, if it’s okay.”
“Good.” Tru could hear Sabrina’s smile through the phone. “All settled.”
“When are you meeting?”
“Actually, we just got to the restaurant. We’ll see you in a few. Oh, Kate says to give her name when you get there.”
Five minutes later, Tru walked into the restaurant and asked for Kate and was directed to a private room away from the main dining area, which was teeming with late-Sunday-morning brunchers. Most were dressed in their church clothes, which made Tru look down at herself and realize she fit right in.
Maybe it was time to jazz up the work wardrobe a little. She was the freaking managing director of ManDown. Probably time she dressed like it.
That was a problem for another day.
When she finally got to the right door, she took a deep breath and prepared to smile. She felt like she had to be on again, which was stupid. This was supposed to be a relaxing break with friends.
She definitely needed to get a grip.
Pushing open the door, she found Sabrina, Kate, and Talia sitting at a small, round table in front of a glass wall that looked out into Tyler’s solarium.
The women turned to her with smiles and Sabrina jumped up immediately to give her a hug.
“Hey, I’m so glad you’re here. I would have invited you yesterday but I knew you had a date with Baz so I wasn’t sure you were going to have this morning free. And, oh my god, that concert last night was incredible. I’ve never seen Baz play onstage live. And, jeez, girl, did you have fun afterward? If he was my guy, I would’ve so totally jumped his bones all night.”
Sabrina’s knowing smile made Tru shake her head and sigh as she took a seat. “It was amazing. He was amazing, and yes, I totally jumped his bones.”
In for a penny, in for a pound, as her mom always said. If she wanted to be part of this circle of friends, she might as well open herself up totally. And this was her, straight up with no filter.
As Kate and cool, quiet Talia raised their flutes to her, she knew she’d made the right decision to come. She needed to get all this stuff off her chest and she needed someone who kind of knew what she was dealing with. Sabrina had had her own problems with Greg. And Kate and Tyler’s relationship hadn’t always been hearts and roses. Talia . . . she and Dane seemed like the perfect couple at the moment but maybe she’d be willing to share how she pulled that off.
“I totally get the whole musician thing,” Kate said. “When Ty plays the piano, it’s like foreplay. It’s something about watching his hands move, and then thinking about him using them on my body.”
“Kind of like Greg and his camera,” Sabrina added as she poured Tru one of whatever they were drinking.
“All Dane has to do is look at me a certain way and I’m toast,” Talia said. “I guess I’m just that easy.”
And that quickly, Tru felt her shoulders relax. “But it’s all happened really fast. I mean, we just started, uh, dating? Hell, that’s not even right. Last night was our first real date.”
Sabrina waved her hand. “You guys have been flirting for the past three months. You just called it fighting. Everyone else figured you were going to end up in bed together or in jail after you tried to kill him.”
“But it’s not like I’m ready to marry the guy.”
“Well, of course you’re not.” Kate got up to answer the soft knock at the door and waved in the young waiter pushing a large cart filled with covered trays. “Thank you, Billy. I appreciate it.”
“No problem, Ms. Song. Have a nice morning. If you need anything else, let me know.”
After Kate closed the door behind him, she turned back to Tru. “But if the sex is really good, and you can’t wait to get him in bed again, then don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Enjoy it while it lasts.”
Tru winced. “Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? It’s not going to last.”
“What do you mean?” Sabrina asked.
“I mean, he’s going to get back together with his band, they’re going to record a new album, and they’ll go out on tour again. And that’ll be the end of that.”
Talia frowned at her. “Why does that have to be the end? Lots of musicians are married and have families. Why does your relationship have to end when he goes on tour?”
“Because I don’t think a relationship built on three nights together can weather a year-long tour with women throwing themselves at him every night.”
There. She’d said it out loud. The black cloud that’d been hanging over her head for the past couple of days.
“I just don’t know that I’m cut out for the life of a musician’s girlfriend. Honestly, why the hell would he want to tie himself down to one woman when he could have pretty much anyone he wanted any night of the week?”
“I guess it will come down to whether or not you trust him enough to stick with him.” Talia’s soft words made Tru look right at the other woman, whose gaze had a knowing look. “It takes a hell of a lot of trust to give someone that piece of yourself you’ve kept safe for so long. Just imagine how great it would feel if Baz actually lived up to the person you want him to be. But if you don’t give him the opportunity, you’ll never know.”
Everything went quiet for a moment, and then Kate’s napkin sailed through the air and hit Talia on the shoulder.
“Damn, woman.” Kate’s voice held an edge of wonder. “When did you become such a guru of relationships? Don’t get me wrong, that was totally the shit. But seriously, I don’t think I know you at all.”
As Sabrina began to laugh, which turned into a snort, and Kate joined her, Talia continued to hold Tru’s gaze. “I’ve had my own issues with trust. Sometimes you just have to make the leap. Otherwise, you really could miss out on something amazing. Do you really think he’s worth it?”
Tru only had to think about that for two seconds. “Yeah, I do.”
“Then there’s your answer.”