Page 69 of Love You Like This

“It’s alright.” Dad ruffles my hair and kisses the side of my head. “It’s okay.”

He drops his arms when I take a step back and quickly swipe the tears away. “I don’t know why I just cried. I thought about Mom on graduation day, but this didn’t happen.”

“It’s just living with grief. Sometimes it hits out of nowhere.”

I nod and clear my throat. “When do I need to be there?”

“Eight o’clock Monday morning.”

My brows fly up my forehead. “This Monday?”

Dad nods.

“It’s Saturday.” My head is spinning.

He keeps nodding. “Yeah. We have a fuck ton to do to get you ready.”

Twenty-Six

JADE

Present

I can’t let a repeat of Phoenix happen again. The ride to Dallas was full of work, between Darren and myself we threatened and sweet talked the radio station into a post-show meet and greet. The guys spent most of the time working on the new album or playing video games.

Not that I didn’t feel the weight of Xander’s gaze on me multiple times. It was so hard to pretend I didn’t notice. To act like I wasn’t aware of the sharp claws of his attention dragging along my psyche.

Had he not put my hand on his heart and told me it was mine, I might have let myself get swept away. But it all reminded me too much of our last night together. The night that left a permanent scar on my heart. Yes, it was my idea to not use a condom. A horrible choice. The consequence of which he does deserve to know if things keep progressing between us.

That was nothing compared to giving him my tender heart, though. After a lifetime of being left behind by men, first my father, then Mom’s line of husbands and shitty boyfriends, and finally catching my first boyfriend cheating on me very publicly, I thought I had finally found safe harbor in his arms.

That confession of love between us was very real, at least on my end. I haven’t felt that way about anyone else. Not that I’ve let things progress to that point to begin with. That level of joy was addictive, regardless of how short-lived it was. The one good thing I took from it was a greater level of understanding for my mom. I get why she’s forever chasing the high of falling in love.

Darren and I go into the lobby to get us all checked in when the bus pulls up to the hotel. The woman at the front desk tries flirting with him, but he couldn’t be less interested. Which, come to think of it, is rather interesting. Most of the time he’s entertaining as many women as Tobias. Which is to say, a lot of them. But I haven’t noticed any coming and going from his room.

I wonder if he’s preoccupied with keeping a leash on Tobias. I don’t know the details about what happened over the slight tour break we had, but I know there was something big with Tobias’s family. Darren ended up driving all the way out to Hemet to pick him up from the county jail and was luckily able to talk everyone down from charges being filed.

Darren takes the keys from the woman without a thank you, so I give her a smile and thank her myself. As I catch back up with him at the front door, he holds my key out to me wordlessly.

“You forget how to speak?” I ask with extra sass.

He grunts and looks over at me. “Huh?”

Normally I wouldn’t let this type of behavior slide, but I’m not in the mood for his shitty mood, so I just lift my hands in surrender and swipe the rest of the key cards from his hand. I jog up the bus steps and find everyone waiting at the front. I hand Xander his key first, hoping he’ll head up to his room right away. Then Tobias gets his. Finally, Hazel and Stone take theirs.

I hear footsteps going down and breathe a sigh of relief when I find myself alone on the bus. I go through and make sure no one forgot anything they might need, not that it’s hard to get back on to grab something, but still, it’s the Capricorn in me.

By time I make it back to the lobby, everyone has dispersed. I can’t wait to get in my room, take off my bra, and rot in bed for the rest of the night. Eighteen hours crammed on a bus with five other people is a lot.

I get on the elevator and hit the button for our floor, relishing the quiet hum of having the small space to myself. My room is nearly to the end of the hall right next to Hazel and Stone’s suite, which is ideal because that means that Xander is at the other end of the building. I did that on purpose, so I could keep an eye on Tobias.

I turn when I don’t hear the door close behind me only to find Xander slipping inside behind me. I drop my purse on the closest surface and groan. Somehow, he’s already showered. His golden locks clump together as they air dry.

“What?” I snap.

“We need to talk.” He closes the distance between us in two long strides. “You keep avoiding me, and it’s starting to piss me off.”

“Usually avoidance means someone doesn’t want to deal with you.”