“Ross Rockit!” He grins as he holds out his hand. “I’m a big fan.”
“Uh, thank you.” I shake his hand out of habit, somewhat surprised that he knows who I am.
“Nina’s told me a lot about you. I was going to try to get tickets to the show when Onyx Knight plays here.”
I blink, glancing over at Nina who just smiles.
“We’re older,” she says softly, “but not dead. We just move a little slower and sit down a bit more often. Doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy life.”
I’d offer to get them tickets but that bridge may be burned.
“Come on, let’s eat,” Nina says, squeezing my arm. “And you can tell us all about Wynter.”
Wynter.
Fuck.
If I screwed up with the band, I’ve royally screwed up with Wynter.
“She might be pretty mad at me,” I admit. “I haven’t called her since I left…”
Nina’s brows inch up. “What? Why on earth not?”
“I was embarrassed. Frustrated. Mad at the world. You name it, I felt it.”
“And you took it out on her?”
“Well, not directly, but I guess I did.”
“I’m really glad you’re here,” she says, shaking her head. “Because now I have the chance to knock some sense into you.” She pauses. “And don’t think for a minute I won’t.”
I have no doubt.
And I totally deserve it.
Chapter Thirty-One
Ross
We talk late into the night. About Wynter, about singing for Onyx Knight, and even briefly about Thomas Bancroft. Nina eventually goes to bed but Bob and I stay up a while longer, snifters of bourbon in our hands. He gazes over at the mantle, which is covered with framed photographs, and smiles.
“Clara was a beautiful girl,” he says. “I wish I’d known her.”
“She was,” I agree quietly, following his gaze.
Clara at twelve or so, in a cheerleading outfit.
Clara at prom.
Clara and I the night we got engaged—I’m touched that Nina has kept a picture of me in the house after all these years.
But there are also more recent photos.
Bob and Nina standing in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Bob with two smiling women I assume are his daughters.
A group picture that includes Bob, Nina, his daughters, and people I don’t know, obviously celebrating something like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
