The Redemption(51)

“Hey Rochelle, I’ll do my best,” he says, his voice sympathetic. “I’ve already got calls into them.”

“Thank you, Rory. I appreciate it.”

Shit! What have I done? I need to tell Dex before he hears about it.

A hard knock on the door foreshadows things to come. I stand slowly, the weight of a thousand waves pulling me back, begging me not to answer. I have to though. I peek through the peephole and my fears are confirmed. When I open the door, Dex walks in and straight for the window. His body is stiff as he paces back in forth. I remain standing near the door. “Hi,” I say, a fake happy tone failing me.

His eyes hit me like daggers when he asks, “Do you want to talk about anything?”

Cowering a bit, I reply, “Not really.”

Turning his back on me, he nods and stares out the window. His voice is alarmingly calm like lava boiling at the base of a volcano. “I only asked you not to date one person.” When he looks at me again, he narrows his eyes and asks, “Do you remember who that one person was?”

It’s not a question and we both know it. “Chad Spears,” I answer begrudgingly.

“God damn it, Rochelle.” He closes his eyes as if he can calm himself by not seeing me. When he opens them again, he shakes his head. Instead of saying anything else, he comes toward me, closing the gap in a few long strides. But he doesn’t stop. He keeps going and leaves the room. The disappointment I feel is abruptly halted as the door flies open before it has time to latch. His body is pressing against mine and he kisses me. I push back but he holds tightly to him. And just as fast as he kissed me, he stops. Brushing his lips against mine, he whispers, “That was the last time I will ever kiss you.”

And then he leaves me standing there breathless and agitated.





Here I stand, just seconds separating us, in shock as my door slams closed, automatically locking with a thud. The last kiss he’ll ever give me? The last kiss he’ll ever give me!

His egotism is exasperating.

The nerve of him swooping in here and kissing me like I was the one who wanted it. He took it without my permission. It was him… clearly. And now I’ve been rendered speechless while my lips continue to tingle even after he’s gone.

The one thing I didn’t count on when I was planning this trip was how I would feel about Dex. Sure, I’d let a million scenarios play out in my head, but they were ones based on harsher realities. When I saw him, all of those thunderous emotions weakened. I had somehow forgotten how handsome he was or that he has this innate ability to win people over with just his smile. The boy is gifted and no heart stands a chance against him. Obviously, I’m no different. Compound that with his nerve to threaten me with kisses or lack thereof and my mood sours.

Frustrated, I fist my hands and go to my computer to look up flights. Screw this! I don’t need this added headache, this added heartache. Tommy can get any additional contracts signed. For my own sanity, I need to get the hell out of here.

A knock matching the last one sounds out and I stomp my way over. I glare at the back of the wood door gathering my anger together and ready to direct it at Dex. I swing the door wide open and spew, “How dare you—”

“How dare I what?” Johnny asks, his eyebrows knitted together.

“Oh!” I lean, easing back. “Hi. I thought you were someone else.”

“Clearly.”

I roll my eyes when I hear that damn word again.

He walks in like he owns the place. “Are we gonna keep pretending like no one knows what’s going on between you and Dex?”

Exhaling heavily, I reply with sarcasm and a tilted grin, “Sounds good to me.”

He sits at the desk, kicking his feet up next to my laptop. With a glance over at the screen that shows the different airline options, he asks, “Going somewhere?”

“I’m leaving.”

“Tomorrow.”

Shaking my head, I say, “No, tonight, Johnny.”

“You can’t tonight. I don’t have anyone to eat dinner with.”

“You have the band, Tommy, thirty stagehands, fans, radio DJ’s, press—”

He chuckles. “Yeah, sure. I’ll call up the press and ask if anyone wants to have dinner with me.”

Lowering his feet, he leans forward and looks down. I sit on the edge of the bed, still trying to calm down, and wait. I’m not sure if I’m going to get a lecture or what, but I let him lead the conversation. After a minute or so, he says, “I’d like to have dinner with you and talk.” His voice is softer and sincere, more Jack Dalton than Johnny Outlaw. “Will you have dinner with me?”

Our eyes meet and my anger starts to dissipate. “Just like old times. Almost.” Cory’s not here.

“Yeah,” he says, knowing exactly what I mean. “Almost.”

Always a sucker for his charming side, I guess I’m staying the night. “I will. But I don’t want to talk about Dex, okay?”

“Okay.”





“So when did you and Dex start up?” Johnny asks right before taking a bite of his steak.

I set my fork down, but continue chewing the bite in my mouth before speaking. “You said we wouldn’t talk about him.”

Pointing his fork at me, he says, “No, you said you didn’t want to talk about him. I want to talk about what’s going on with you. The band knows. Hell, everyone on the tour knows. You guys can’t hide your relationship for shit. Like, you’re the worst secret lovers that ever were. I mean—”