The Spiral Down (The Fall Up #2)(67)

“She’s good, but I can’t find Linc and I need someone to escort Sam past the press so he can get to his seat.” She huffed anxiously.

We were in L.A. for a special all-acoustic charity concert Levee was heading. It was a cross between a formal affair and a drunken night of entertainment. The floor level of the arena had been transformed into a lavish dinner party, with tickets having been sold for tens of thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, the upper levels had been sold for donations of any size on a first-come, first-serve basis. It had been Levee’s idea to make tickets affordable to everyone, despite their tax bracket. And it had been a smashing success, bringing out the best in everyone. Those tickets had sold out in a matter of minutes, ranging from one dollar to ten thousand. With the average of each seat going for over seven hundred dollars, it was far more profitable than we’d ever hoped. But, then again, it was the concert of the year. There were over fifteen of the biggest names in the industry, spanning all genres, slated to perform that night.

First up? Me.

“Are you okay?” I rubbed her stomach. “I’m sure he’ll be back in a minute.”

“I’m just stressed about the show—Oh my God, did you feel that?” Grabbing my hand, she moved it just below her belly button. “Shhh…” she said as two hard thumps landed on my palm.

“What the…” I yelled, snatching my hand away as if her spawn had been about to claw its way out, Alien-style.

“Give me back your hand,” she demanded. “Bree wants to say hi. She’s really active right now.”

I backed away as quickly as possible without breaking into a dead sprint—which was not-so-secretly what I wanted to do. “Can she maybe say hi when she isn’t floating in a sack of bodily fluid at Spa de Levee?”

“Stop being an ass and give me your hand. This is important to me. You’re important to me.”

My chest warmed, and as much as it grossed me out, I begrudgingly lifted my hand in her direction. “That’s not fair. You know I can’t say no when you con me like that.”

She smirked mischievously. “No con. But I know you can’t say no.”

“Evil woman,” I mumbled to myself.

Instead of placing my hand on her belly, she ducked under my arm and pulled me in for a hug. Then she asked the million-dollar question. “How are you doing?”

“Better now that you’re here.” It was only a semi lie, and I kissed the top of her head so she wouldn’t see the longing etched across my face at the reminder.

“You sure you’re up to performing tonight? I know it’s been a hard week for you.”

I sighed. Hard was an understatement. But this was Levee.

“Babe, you’ve been planning this thing for two years. There is no way a little heartache could keep me from being here.”

Her curls tickled my nose as she nuzzled in close. “Yeah, but I appreciate it all the same. You’re a real diva, but you sell tickets.”

I laughed. “You’d do it for me.”

She tipped her head back, and her chocolate-brown eyes shimmered as she looked at me and vowed, “I’d do anything for you.”

My heart stopped. I knew exactly how much she meant those words.

“Anything?” I asked around the lump in my throat.

“Anything.”

“Does that mean I can finally take Sam for a romp in the sack?” I asked, opting for humor when the emotions had become too much.

Her eyes smiled. “Sure!”

My head fell back as I lost myself in a fit of laughter. “Really? Just like that?”

“Yep.” She pushed from my arms and made her way to the mirror, sweeping her fingers under her eyes. “I know I’m not usually fond of the sharing thing, but seeing as you’re completely and utterly in love with Evan, I figure you won’t even be able to get it up. This might be the safest Sam has ever been around you.”

My laughter stopped abruptly at the mention of his name.

Her eyes jumped to mine in the reflection of the mirror. “You okay?”

I nodded entirely too many times. “Yeah. Let’s go find Carter so we can get Sam to his seat. I’m up first.” I quickly spun, giving her my back as I willed my heart to slow.

Suddenly, I felt Levee’s hand on my shoulder.

“I checked your schedule,” she said. “You don’t have to be anywhere for two weeks. Why is your tour bus out back?”

I straightened and flashed her a tight smile. “I don’t fly.”

“It’s a five-hour drive home. You could ride with me and Sam.”

I shook my head and toyed with the collar on my pale-blue button-down. “I’m not going home.” Swallowing hard, I pasted on an award-winning smile. “Nothing at home anyway. Robin agreed to finish off the tour with me.” I proffered an arm in her direction. “Let’s go.”

I knew that Levee wouldn’t buy my bullshit, but I didn’t expect her to call me on it either—at least, not right then.

“Deny it,” she ordered, poking my chest with a single finger.

“Deny what?” I poked her back.

“That you love him. And that you’re just fighting the inevitable by trying to stay away from him.”

I couldn’t deny any of it. She was pretty much spot-on.