“That ain’t for me to decide.”
“What a cop-out.”
“It’s not a cop-out. It’s the truth.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “The truth? Ha. I don’t think you two have ever met.”
His body goes rigid. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying there’s a lot more to your story than you’re sharing.” I rub my palms down my jeans. “I know that’s notsomething I’m owed. But I’m trying to understand you, and you’re giving me nothing to work with.”
He folds his arms, shaking his head, his hair falling into his face. “You know what? You’re right: I am a distraction. You’re supposed to be working on a new album, supposed to be playing up the Nash angle. Unless it’sreal. You don’t need me around. In fact, maybe it’s time we end this bodyguard ruse so I can go back to my actual job.”
I blink, stunned by how fast he shut me out.
“Yeah,” I say, too sharp. “Maybe it is time!”
“Good. Maybe I should switch with Rafael at the next stop!”
Before I can snap back, the bus lurches. Jimmy curses. Then—BANG. My body slams forward. The unmistakable whump-whump-whump of blown tires rattles the windows, shaking the whole bus.Papers fly into the air, drinks crash to the floor, and a sudden jolt launches me forward.
My heart thuds against my chest as I collide into Patty, who falls back onto the couch with me on top of him. We’re both panting and scowling, but he’s holding me like I’m precious cargo.
Or maybe like I’m a meal ticket.
I hear Jimmy curse at the wheel as we veer sharply to the right.
I plant my hands on his firm torso, trying to push off, but his grip tightens on my hip bones, pinning me to him. And my breathing shifts, growing more and more shallow as his lips part.
“Not yet,” he warns. And even as I want to protest, the bus wobbles, and for a moment, it feels like we might tip. Alicia lets out a small yelp as a final jarring jolt sends the coffee pot to the ground, shattering as the bus lurches to a dead stop on the side of the road.
The crash snaps me out of my head, but I can’t get away from everything my mind notices. The way Patty holds me …it’s protective, but there’s something else there. Tenderness? I’m caught between wanting to escape the confusion of it all and wishing I could stay in this moment forever. Especially because he’s not letting me go.
Not even close.
“Jimmy?” he yells. “Are we safe?”
“Yeah, I managed to pull to the side of the road,” Jimmy says. “We rolled over some debris. Give me a minute to check it out.”
Patty nods, letting me roll off of him so he can peek out the window.
Alicia looks at me with wide eyes. But in spite of the chaos, she doesn’t look remotely fazed. She mouths exaggeratedly,“Patty grabbing you? HOT.”
“No,”I mouth, grateful both for her discretion and the fact that she respects her ironclad non-disclosure agreement.
But when she purses her lips to hold back a smile, I seriously consider firing her.
Patty’s back is to us. He has one arm up, scratching his head the way he does when he’s thinking, and I have a flash of deja-vu.
No, not deja-vu, exactly, but looking at him is like a latent memory resurfacing. I’ve seen him do this exact pose before, so why does it feel different now? Because of the stress? The angle? His white T-shirt stretches across his broad back, and with his arm up in the air like that, it hits me.
This is how Connor was standing on the cover of his solo album.
Did he get this from Patty or did Patty get it from Connor?
How good of friends were they?
Alicia has started cleaning up the floor, and hearing the rustle of papers snaps my attention to her. Wordlessly, I get up to grab the broom and dustpan when Patty turns on me. His arm is still up, and my eyes flash to his tattoo, and I can see the triple forte clearly now.
