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“I’ll get them started and come back in a few to get the rest of your order.” He pauses, glancing between us. “Unless the two of you would care for a drink from the bar?”
Tate hesitates, and I see a flicker in the depths of his gaze. Like he might be tempted. “Water is fine,” he bites out.
“I’m okay, thank you,” I tell the server, who nods at us both before taking off.
“Is it difficult still? Consciously choosing to not drink?” I ask Tate.
I think of my father, who drinks a lot. Who, as he calls it, “likes to party.” I know in his twenties he often drank to excess. But he seems to have it under control now.
Mostly.
“Lately? Hell yes,” Tate admits, his voice raw. Like it took a lot for him to admit that. “Guess the pressure is already getting to me.”
My heart hurts for him, and I’m a little baffled by my internal reaction. This is a man who I found arrogant and irritating when I first met him. As I get to know him, I’m starting to realize he’s got vulnerabilities—lots of them. And he has feelings too.
Emotions that I feel protective of. He is, after all, a human being, but I never thought of him being vulnerable and a little shaken, not when he puts on such a confident, sometimes even arrogant act for the world to see. I’ve seen the mask slip more and more lately, and I worry about him.
I want to protect him.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” I ask.
The relief on his face is evident. “Just making that offer is enough, Scar. Seriously.”
“This is a lot.” I wave a hand around the restaurant. “Being here. Being in Los Angeles, knowing the expectations the label has on you.”
“Want to know the truth?” When I nod, he continues, lowering his voice as he says, “I’m scared out of my mind I’m going to produce nothing but shit. And that they’re going to hate it and drop my album from their release schedule completely. Cancel the contract. Forget the deal ever even happened. I’ve done this sort of thing before, but always with other people involved. My bandmates. Other songwriters. They provided us with the songs and the production and the musicians. We just showed up and recorded them like they wanted us to. I look back on that and realize how fucking easy we had it.”
“Still sounds like a lot,” I admit.
“Oh, it was. I can’t deny that it was, but compared to now?” He leans back in his seat, slowly shaking his head as he rubs his jaw with his fingers. “This is a whole other level of stress.”
“I want to help you in any way that I can,” I tell him, resting my arms on the edge of the table. “Whatever you need from me, just please... let me know.”
“You don’t have to?—”
“I want to,” I say, interrupting him. “Please. I want to help.”
CHAPTER24
TATE
There are all sorts of things I can think of that Scarlett can help me with.
Relieving some of this sexual tension that’s been brewing between us pretty much since the day we met? Yep.
Helping me relieve some of this stress that I’ve been carrying with any sort of sexual favor, preferably a blow job? Most definitely.
I sound like a sex-obsessed pervert in my own thoughts. It was bad enough before I saw her in the bikini, but now that I’ve caught a glimpse of that bangin’ body of hers? Held her close while in the pool and been just about to do God knows what with her before Roger so rudely interrupted us? It’s all I can think about.
Her. She’s all I can think about.
Then she has to go and be sweet too.
The server shows up before I can say anything to her, bringing with him our crab cakes and delivering them onto the table with a flourish. He offers me a particular look that says,I know who you are, and if you’re lucky, I’ll keep it to myself.
But I’m not too sure if I trust the dude. This restaurant’s clientele is made up mostly of people who want to see or be seen, and I’d guess the employees are paid to reveal who’s dining inside to whatever media outlet wants to know—for a price. Roger chose this location with purpose—he wants Scarlett and me being seen out together. I wonder if there will be paparazzi outside waiting for us when we leave.
Probably. And that just ups my stress level another couple of notches.
