Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
I pulled my unbuttoned shirt together just as I heard a small laugh. I shifted my gaze to Brielle, and she was smiling. Damn, she had a great smile. Even if she was currently smiling because she was laughing at me. I didn’t fucking care. I liked looking at it.
I returned her amused smile, and I could see the flicker of unease in her gaze as I did so. She wanted to hate me … and I liked it. How screwed up was that?
“Come on, Mrs. Jo,” she said. “Let’s go call Andrew.” Then, she looked at me. “Andrew is her son. He can take her to his place until this is ready for her to come back.”
I was glad she had somewhere to go until we could get her apartment cleaned up. The fire wasn’t my fault, nor was it my responsibility to replace what had been damaged, but I could, and I wanted to.
“Can I do anything to help?” I asked Brielle simply because I didn’t want our conversation to end.
She nodded toward Mrs. Jo’s apartment. “Get her apartment livable as soon as you can. She doesn’t like staying with Andrew.”
I was about to suggest Mrs. Jo stay with Brielle when she opened her apartment door, and I heard her gasp loudly. I began moving in her direction.
“Oh, honey, I am so sorry. This is all my fault,” Mrs. Jo exclaimed, sounding more upset than before.
When I came up behind them, I took in the wet apartment. There was water pooling on the floor in several areas. But it wasn’t as bad as Mrs. Jo’s. This would be easier to clean up and dry out.
“I’d better call Damar and Jim. Their apartment could be wet, too, and they won’t know until late tonight when they get home,” Brielle said, then patted Mrs. Jo’s arm. “This is okay. I’ll get my things dried up in no time. Don’t you fret. We are all safe. That’s what matters. This”—she waved her hand toward her apartment—“is just stuff.”
“I take it, that is Damar and Jim’s apartment,” I said.
Brielle turned to look back at me. She wasn’t smiling anymore. She just nodded. “If my phone didn’t get wet, then I should be able to call them and let them know that they need to come check it out.”
I reached for my cell phone to text Maegan. She had a master set of keys and could check it for them. “I’ll have my manager check on it. No need to worry them if it’s not necessary,” I told her. Then, I lifted my gaze to hers. “iPhones are water-resistant now,” I added to ease some of her worry.
“Yes, I’m sure they are, but mine is not. It’s not a new version,” she said with a touch of amusement in her voice.
“They’ve been water-resistant for several years,” I assured her.
She smirked then. “They weren’t water-resistant eight years ago,” she replied, then walked into her damp apartment.
I watched her walk and enjoyed the view. The shorts she had on were tiny, and damn, I liked that too much.
“Not your type, rock star,” Mrs. Jo said, reminding me she was there.
I turned to look down at the lady. “Excuse me?”
Mrs. Jo pointed in the direction Brielle had gone. “Brielle is a good girl. She’s not a rock-star groupie.”
I narrowed my eyes, and a smile spread across my face. “You know who I am.”
Mrs. Jo straightened her shoulders to appear taller and rolled her eyes. “Of course I do. I’m old, not dead. And that girl don’t need a tattooed, nipple-pierced rock star in her life. She’s got a good thing. Leave her be.”
I studied the older lady for a moment. “What if I was looking to change my ways? Become a normal guy. Live a normal life.”
She sighed and pointed a finger at me. “You can’t. Just like you can’t wash all that ink from your body, you can’t take back your past. You can’t decide that at … what, are you fifty now?”
I nodded. I was fifty-three, but I didn’t need to point that out.
“A fifty-year-old man doesn’t change his ways. He’s set in them. And you are worse than most. You’re spoiled from your fame and success. My Brielle, she’s not spoiled at all. Furthest thing from it. The two will not match. She sees right through you. Although that Cam, he sure would like to meet you. He’s a drummer, too, you know.”
Mrs. Jo knew about Cam then. I wondered if she knew that the drummer was going to be cheated on tomorrow night by the virtuous Brielle. I wouldn’t be the one to clue the older lady in. If she wanted to protect Brielle, so be it.
“I have no interest in Brielle. She isn’t my type—you’re right about that,” I told her.
“Andrew is on his way. I’ll help you pack up some things to stay over at his place a few nights,” Brielle said, and I lifted my gaze from Mrs. Jo to look at Brielle.