My Once and Future Love (50 page)

“None taken,” Jacob said. “Hey, I know
you…”

The redhead stuck out her hand. “Celeste. We
met after your concert last week.”

“Beth’s friend. What are you doing in New
York? With
him
?”

“Hey!”

“I’m on vacation,” she said, and grinned.
“You should call Beth. She’s probably sitting around.
You
know.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. He downed
the last of his champagne and headed for the back exit, pulling out
his cell phone.

He hoped to avoid photographers by going out
the back way, but was sorely disappointed. Flash bulbs blinded him
as soon as he opened the door. A security guard took him by the
arm, guided him out of the throng of paparazzi, and hailed a
cab.

“Here you go, Mr. Lindsey.”

“Jake! Jake! Can we get a statement? Look
this way, man!”

He got in the taxi, relieved when the car
pulled away from the curb, and tried dialing Beth again.

****

Celeste turned back to her date and smiled.
“I hope that did the trick. If she doesn’t tell him, I’m going to
kill her.” She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Bob’s
neck.

“You’re really pulling for them, aren’t
you?” he asked.

“Beth deserves to be happy, and if he’s who
she wants, then I’m going to help. All she ever talked about,
anyway, for the past few months.”

He laughed. “No kidding. Same thing on our
end, except with an influx of love songs. I knew it had to be big
when Jake is writing
love
songs. Songs about a hot girl, a
hot night…yeah, but he’s never written
love songs
.” He
rolled his eyes.

“Never? Wow.”

“Not in three years of playing
together.”

“Huh. Enough about them. Let’s dance.”

****

I sat in a chic little bistro, candles on the
tables and soft classical music playing in the background. “You’re
right: it was the best gnocchi I’ve ever had.”

“I know my food. Dessert?” Nathan asked. What
were the odds of him being the client I came to meet?

“Oh, no, I couldn’t eat another bite. I can’t
believe I ran into you here.”

“Well, I do know the owner of your magazine.
Meanwhile, look at
you
. I have to confess, I didn’t
recognize you until you spoke.”

My cheeks warmed. “People grow up,
Nathan.”

“That they do.” He handed the waiter a credit
card. “How long are you in the city?”

“A few more days. I have a couple more
assignments to complete.”

“I hope you’ll take some time to see the
city. I’d be happy to play tour guide.”

“My friend has me on a pretty full
schedule.”

“You still have to eat, Beth,” he teased.
“And we still have more meetings scheduled.”

“Nathan… I’m seeing someone.”

“An exclusive someone?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Does he appreciate you?”

I sighed. “Nathan…”

He handed me a business card. “My personal
number, if you change your mind.”

“Thank you for dinner. I should go.”

He stood with me and helped me with my coat.
His fingertips tickled my neck as he lifted my hair to fall over my
collar, but his touch didn’t hold the same electricity Jacob’s did.
We locked eyes for a moment, then he smiled and gestured for me to
precede him out of the restaurant.

He was one of those crazy people that owned a
car in the city. I sat quietly during the drive back to the hotel
and we shook hands goodbye on the curb.

“It was nice catching up. I hope you’ll like
the photographs,” I said.

“Sure I will. You have my number.”

“I do. Goodnight, Nathan.”

I entered the hotel.

Celeste wasn’t in our room. I set my purse on
the bed and shed my coat. My purse started buzzing. Seeing Jacob’s
name on the caller ID of my phone, I smiled and answered the
call.

“Hello.”

“Gotta love this Caller ID thing, unless you
always answer the phone sounding so sweet.”

“Ha, ha. I try to be polite, but I did know
it was you. How was your day?”

“I just escaped a premiere party,” he
said.

“How fun…”

“I couldn’t wait to get out of there, but,
hey, I ran into a friend of yours.”

My eyes widened. “Oh?”

“The redhead? Celeste. She was with Bob,
surprisingly. Did you know they were dating?”

“She didn’t tell me who she was seeing. I
don’t know that you’d call it
dating
…”

“They looked pretty cozy.”

“Celeste doesn’t get serious, is all I mean.
If it lasts beyond her vacation, I’ll be amazed. You know how it
goes.”

“Wha’d’ya’ mean,
I know
?”

“Jacob, I wasn’t inferring any--”

“I’m not denyin’ I haven’t earned that
reputation, but that’s in the past. You’re on my mind all the time,
baby.”

“Did you call to fight with me, or what?” I
so didn’t want to get into that.

“I missed you, of course.” He sighed. “I’m
sorry… It’s been a long few days. What did you do today, love?”

“Just work.” I kicked off my shoes. “Ran into
an old friend from college. Nothing interesting.” The phone slipped
out from under my chin to the floor. “Crap…sorry.”

“What were you doing?” he asked, amused.

“Taking off my shoes.”

“Ooo, what else are you going to remove?”

“
Nothing
. Geeze, you’re a horn
dog.”

“I haven’t kissed you since Friday. Forgive
me my fantasies.”

I could hear the smile in his voice. “I know
all about your dirty mind.”

“Baby, you don’t know the half of it.”

“Jacob, besides our previous relationship, I
practically lived with you for three years, including traveling on
a tour bus for months. I’m
more
than acquainted.”

He chuckled, a throaty sound that did funny
things to my insides. “You’re cute when you get snooty, though I
did say you’d be the only girl.”

“Yes, but still… You could have censored
yourselves a bit every so often.”

“What would be the fun in that? I would have
missed seeing you blush.”

“Cad.” I could imagine the self-satisfied
smirk on his face at that moment.

“Where are you?” he asked, curious.

“Where are
you
?”

“My suite, on my bed checking the sports
scores.”

“Glad to know I’m so riveting you’re already
watching TV. I
do
have to work in the morning, so…”

“Oh, quit. You know you have my full
attention!”

“Until you find a soccer game.”

“
Football
.”

“What
ever
.” My phone beeped,
indicating a low battery. “Crap, my battery is dying. Talk to you
soon?”

“Just call me back on the landline.”

“I really should go through the photos I took
today.”

“Beth…”

“Bye!”

I ended the call and flopped back on the bed
with a groan. Why couldn’t I just
talk
to him?

Chapter Fifteen

Jacob hemmed and hawed a couple minutes, then
dialed Beth’s home number. Her father answered.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Mr. Lawson, may I talk to Beth? This
is Jacob.”

“I’m sorry, son, but she’s out of town. Try
ringing her mobile.”

“Uh, yeah, will do… Thanks.”

He hung up, confused. She hadn’t said a word
about going out of town for work when they parted Friday. He tried
calling her back, but it went straight to voice mail. Frustrated,
he punched in another number.

“What’s up? I’m on a date, man.”

“Put your date on the phone, Bob.”

“Yes?” she said sweetly.

“Where’s Beth?”

“Hello to you, too, Jake. She’s obviously not
here
.”

“I know she’s not at home, pet, so you can
cut the bull.”

“A bit possessive for only dating a week,
aren’t you? Beth is a grown woman, Jacob. She can go where she
pleases,” she shot back.

He sighed and tried again. “Look, as her best
friend, you probably know where she actually is. Is she hiding
something from me?”

“Oh, this is so stupid! She’s in New York,
okay? She’s here and she was supposed to surprise you already, but
apparently Beth is a big chicken. We’re sharing a room and she’s
probably sitting there hiding and still being a
big
chicken
.”

Bob laughed through the phone at her heated
outburst.

“Jake? You still there?”

“Yeah… Beth is here?”

“Yes!” they yelled.

“But she doesn’t want to see me.”

“No, you doofus, she just doesn’t know how to
do this relationship crap. Do you realize she hasn’t had a
boyfriend since you? It’s just nerves.” She sighed. “Look, we have
tickets to tomorrow’s concert. If I get her backstage, can you
handle the rest?”

“He’ll do it,” Bob interjected.

“Hey, wanker, I can speak for myself. See you
tomorrow, pet.”

“Excellent. Goodnight!”

****

I was a very light sleeper and heard Celeste
attempt to sneak into our room around six in the morning. “I was
worried,” I mumbled.

“Sorry. I left you a voice mail.” She let her
coat drop to the floor.

“My battery died.” I took in her sloppy
appearance. “I take it you had fun?”

She kicked off her shoes and started
unzipping her dress. “God, yes.” She grabbed clean clothes and
slipped into the bathroom.

“Figures,” I muttered. I pulled the covers
over my head for a couple more hours of sleep.

“And I also received a very interesting phone
call.”

I peeked one eye out. “Oh?”

She came back out in an oversized t-shirt.
“Uh-huh. From your boyfriend.”

“Oh.” Gulp. That’s not good
.

“Yeah. I spilled the beans, by the way. He
expects to see you tonight.”

“I’m not ready.”

“Well, duh, I’m not sending you over
un-showered-and-primped. I’m a hard-ass, I’m not cruel.”

I glared at her. “Not what I meant and you
know it. God, this was a terrible idea. I’ll meet with the client
this morning and then I’m going home.”

Celeste’s hands went onto her hips and she
took a stand in front of my bed. “Oh, no, you’re not! I promised
you’d be at that concert, so you are going to that concert! Grow
some balls, will you, Beth? Jake is
not
that scary.”

“What do you know, Miss Casual Sex? Falling
in love is hard. It’s scary and messy and complicated, and don’t
you dare lecture me when you never see a guy more than once!”

“Now, you’re exaggerating. And defensive.
Jake’s been putting himself full out there. Don’t you think you
should meet him half way?”

“It’s only been a week.”

“As an official couple this time around,
yeah, but come on…you two have always been building up to this. You
told me he canceled his entire schedule when you were in that car
accident. Stayed by your side the whole time you were in a coma.
Are those the actions of a guy that doesn’t love you?”

Celeste got into bed and got comfortable,
point made. I tried to go back to sleep, but her words kept running
through my mind.

She wouldn’t leave the issue alone and
dragged me shopping for tonight.

“Just put it on.”

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into
buying this,” I argued, holding up the red halter dress.

“It’s a great dress. Put it on, we’re going
to be late.” She finished putting in her earrings.

“I can’t wear this! This is at least a third
date dress. He’s going to get the wrong idea.”

“Only if you act slutty in it. It’ll be
fine!”

“It’s just a concert. I’ll be overdressed. I
always wear jeans.” I tossed the dress on the bed.

She threw her hands in the air. “I give up!
Wear burlap, for all I care. Just put on something! I promised you
would be there, so get dressed and move your butt out the
door!”

I grabbed the dress and stomped into the
bathroom. “I hate you.”

I didn’t know how Celeste scored fifth-row
tickets last-minute, but there we sat, almost dead center.

She picked up her phone
.

“Who are you texting?” I asked.

“Just a friend.”

“This smells like a set-up.”

“Relax. Enjoy the show. Your paranoia is
entirely unfounded. I’m your best friend, honey. I want you to be
happy.”

I sighed and shut my mouth. It was unfair to
look at Celeste as the enemy. It was just… I’d always been in
competition with females my age. There’d been no other way of
relating, really. You either ended up resenting each other over
grades, the better job, or the cutest guy. I never possessed what
got
a girl the cutest guy, so the place to shine was with my
mind.

Every time he looked in our direction, I felt
like hiding, though he couldn’t see detail past the front row
because of the bright lights. His ability to
seem
like he
connected with every girl he looked toward was one of the reasons
his concerts sold so well. The fans felt like they had their
“moment” with Jake Lindsey.

When Jacob sang “Sleeping Beauty”, though, I
started to wonder if he’d been clued in on our seating position. He
spent nearly the entire song looking right at me. The audience even
turned around to try to find the object of his attention. I shrank
down in my seat.

It was the longest concert of my life.

When the break came before the band encore, I
jumped out of my seat, heading for the restrooms.

“I can’t breathe…” I locked myself in a
bathroom stall and dropped my head in my hands. Get a grip, you big
baby. You haven’t locked yourself in a bathroom since high
school.

“Beth, are you in here?”

“Yeah…”

“You okay?”

“I just need a few minutes.”

“Okay…” The outer door opened and shut
again.

Celeste would be waiting right outside. I sat
there thinking over the past week.