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Matt, Riley, Julian, and Dylan—along with the girls—were still in town the next day, and at some point, he found himself alone with the guys.
“Um...what just happened?” he asked as they were finishing lunch when he realized Sienna and all the wives were gone.
“Our girls are like Ninjas when they want to be,” Riley said with amusement. “I arranged for a little spa time for the five of them so we could talk to you.”
Mick’s eyes went wide. “Talk to me? About what?”
“Dude, seriously?” Dylan asked. “Come on. Like you haven’t sat all of us down when we got serious with anyone?”
Oh, for crying out loud...
“That’s completely different,” he argued lightly. “I’m your manager and I need to look out for the four of you. It’s part of my job. And if you were going to be adding anyone to the equation, I needed to know.”
“Yeah, well...as we said yesterday, we’re a family and, as such, we look after one another,” Matt said. “We’re just curious about what’s going on, that’s all.”
Mick looked across the table at Riley. “You’ve got a big mouth, pal.”
With the smile he was famous for, Riley simply shrugged. “Considering our conversation last week, the timing is a little...suspect. I guess we’re just curious if this is something genuine or are you just killing time?”
He hated this. It was one thing for him to know about their private business. It was another when the tables were turned on him. He didn’t owe them any kind of explanation, and yet...it was kind of cool how they all dropped everything to fly out here to see him.
Leaning back in his chair, he let out a long breath. “Okay, fine. Is it genuine?” he asked. “To me it is, but...it’s only been a few days. I already put all my cards on the table to Sienna, and I think I spooked her a little, so...”
“But it’s only been a few days,” Julian reminded him. “And before that, how long had it been since you saw her?”
“Twenty-three years.”
They all groaned.
“Mick, dude, come on,” Matt said. “I mean, I kind of get it because I grew up with Vivienne and all that, but...you can’t possibly think that either of you are the same people you were back then. Neither of you are kids anymore and maybe you should slow this shit down and take the time to get to know each other as adults.”
“As much as I hate to admit it,” Riley said solemnly, “I have to agree with Matt. I think the two of you meeting up again is great, but...you know you weren’t in a great headspace and maybe you’re just...you know...latching on to some old feelings.”
Mick stared at the man he considered to be a best friend and had to fight the urge to lunge across the table at him.
Instead, he did what he always did.
Presented some logic.
“Do you remember when you first got involved with Savannah and how I made light of it and you tried to kick my ass?”
Riley’s expression fell slightly. “Uh...yeah.”
Then he looked over at Julian. “And you. When you screwed things up with Charlotte, how long had you known her?”
“Um...not long,” he murmured.
Then he turned to Matt. “I was freaking over the moon for you when you hooked up with Vivienne!” Then he let out a small laugh. “The time you really hooked up with her, not that night that I threw her out of the arena. I was fucking happy for you!” Then he met Dylan’s gaze. “And what about you? What have you got to say?”
Dylan grinned. “Honestly? I think as long as you’re happy, we should all shut the hell up. You’ve never steered any of us in the wrong direction and sometimes you told us shit that we didn’t want to hear, but you still said it.” He shrugged. “We just felt like maybe we should talk to you and make sure you’re okay and that your head’s clear.” Another shrug. “I’ll admit that maybe you should be a little cautious and make sure you’re living in the present and not in the past, but this is all new and the two of you are figuring it out.”
Looking around the table at the guys who gave him his start in the music business—the guys who were like brothers to him—he let himself relax.
“Is it me or does it seem weird when Dylan is the one making the most logical statements out of all of us?” he teased, and fortunately, it did the trick. Everyone was smiling and laughing, and Dylan took the ribbing in stride. “And I say that with love, brother,” Mick added, just for good measure.
“You know we’re just looking out for you,” Riley said. “I can’t remember ever seeing you look so happy and...like Dylan said, we just want to make sure you’re seeing the current version of Sienna and not the girl you left behind.”
Sadly, he knew what they were saying and...he’d be lying if he said that he was having to make a conscious effort sometimes to make sure they were both living in the present.
