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The second was just as good, also all-male, but they didn’t put me at ease as much as the first. I needed a band that could make the whole getting onstage thing easier, and it definitely wasn’t them.
After the second band left and I went in to talk to the others about it, they were in complete agreement. But it wasn’t until I heard the recordings that my mind was made up. I could even hear a difference in my voice between the two bands, and I liked how I sounded with the first band so much better.
“I like them because they weren’t eye-fucking you the whole time like the second band was,” Jace said as we walked out of the building a while later. “I swear, if that bassist had looked at your ass one more time, I would have knocked his ass out.”
“He was kind of a creeper, huh?”
“He was kind of a dick,” Jace grumbled. “Glad you decided on the other one, babe.” He kissed my lips before opening his passenger door for me. “You feeling okay? Want to go home and rest?”
“I wanted to go see Lucy and the baby, but I’m afraid I’ll get them sick. So home it is.”
He was grinning when he got behind the wheel.
“What?” I asked when he started the car.
“You keep calling my place home. Let’s make it official and get all your stuff moved in before the tour,” he suggested.
I frowned, realizing he was right. I had called his place home a lot in the last few days. But I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to make it official yet. “I’ll think about it,” I told him.
“That’s not a no,” he said with a smirk as he pulled into traffic. “I’d call that progress.”
Rolling my eyes, I turned my head toward the side window, hiding my smile from him.
For the rest of the day, Jace watched TV in the living room, and I napped with my head pillowed on his lap. I slept deeply, but I still woke up feeling tired when I needed to get up for our dinner with my dad. When Jace pulled up in front of the restaurant a while later, I was fighting back a yawn.
“Are you sure about this?” Jace asked, his brow pinched as he looked at me. “You look like you could fall asleep at any minute.”
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “And I’m hungry. Come on. I need food.”
Handing his keys over to the valet, he met me on the sidewalk and took my hand. “If you start feeling sick again, let me know. We don’t have to stay.”
“Okay.”
“And if you’re not feeling better tomorrow, I’m taking you to the doctor,” he threatened.
“Okay,” I repeated, walking into the restaurant in front of him. He stopped me, turned me to face him, and put his hand to my forehead. “What are you doing?”
He felt his own head with the same hand, then mine again. “Seeing if you have a fever. You’re not arguing with me, and I’m a little concerned.”
I playfully smacked his hand away. “Stop it. I’m fine.”
“Still not arguing. Maybe I should take you to the doctor now. That urgent care place is open for another half an hour, I think.”
Laughing, I hugged his waist. “Honestly, I’m okay. Stop worrying.”
“Start acting like yourself, and I will,” he grumbled.
“I’m just tired. I’m more malleable when I’m sleepy.”
“Well, it scared the fuck out of me.” He kept one arm around me as we walked up to the hostess’s podium. “Reservations for Montez,” he told the older woman dressed in a chic black button-up and long black skirt.
She didn’t even blink at the name. No doubt the woman saw her share of celebrities walk through the place every night, and she was immune to them at this stage of her life. She consulted her list and stepped away from the podium. “The rest of your party has already arrived. Follow me, please.”
Jace urged me in front of him, but he kept one hand on my hip, letting me know he was right there with me.
For some reason, I felt a sense of calm as we approached the table where I could already see Derrick sitting with Shannon and Scott. The Blonde sitting beside him shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. Seeing London, I smiled, already liking her more than anyone else at that table. Derrick had hurt my feelings more than I expected the other night, which was probably why I’d overreacted to Jace.
Derrick had become a really close friend, and I hadn’t been expecting him to use me just to make his sister happy. I should have, I realized that now, but it still stung.
