Leaning over him, I kissed his cheek. “Call me later,” I murmured at his ear. “Love you.”
“Love you, baby,” he grumbled, turning onto his stomach, and I knew he hadn’t even woken up.
Laughing softly to myself, I got my things and headed home. After dropping off my case and tossing my laundry into the washer, I went to Aunt Emmie’s office. She had a list of bands I needed to listen to and would bring in the ones I liked the most to audition with me. I was nervous but also excited. If I could get over my stage fright, then maybe this whole touring thing might actually be fun.
“What’s different about you?” Aunt Emmie asked the second she saw me. “Girl…” She shook her head, her green eyes narrowing on me. “You got back with Jace, didn’t you?”
Grinning, I nodded.
“Of course you did.” She sighed heavily. “You sure about this?”
My grin dimmed slightly, and I lifted my shoulders in a slight shrug. “No, but I missed him so much, it was physically hard to breathe at times. You know?”
“Yeah,” she said, her eyes darkening with memories. “I know what you mean.”
“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens,” I told her as I sat in front of her desk. “I’m taking it day by day.”
“Makes sense,” she agreed. “And it will probably make the winter tour go smoother. I hope, at least. I’m sending out three of my best road managers to help Amara, so I’m sure everything will be okay.”
I pushed my hair back from my face and leaned forward. “You said you had some bands for me to listen to?”
“I do, but I was hoping you would just come home with me and listen to them with Nik. We can have dinner, and it gives me a reason to skip out on work for the rest of the afternoon.”
“So you’re using me,” I said with a smirk.
“Shamelessly.”
“What’s for dinner?” I asked with a lift of my brows.
“Nik is making lasagna,” she said with a moan. “I’ve been so hungry all morning thinking about it, too.”
“Damn, that’s a hard bargain to turn down.”
She rolled her eyes. “Invite Jace.”
I already had my phone out, sending him a text. “Have you forgiven him for what happened when he was arrested?”
“Please. I’ve dealt with guys like him all my life. I didn’t hold a grudge.” My brows lifted even higher. “Much,” she grumbled.
Laughing, I put my phone back in my bag. If Jace wanted to join us, he could, but I wasn’t going to wait around for him.
Aunt Emmie shut down her computer and grabbed her bag and phone. “My driver is downstairs. Ride with me?”
Seeing I had a text from Jace saying he would meet me there, I nodded and followed her out.
“Jagger is over at Axton’s for the night, and Mia has extra dance rehearsal, so it’s just going to be us,” she told me as we climbed into the back of her SVU. “She’s Clara in The Nutcracker again this year, and after last year’s performance, she could probably dance it in her sleep, but her teachers are pushing the entire dance company for perfection.”
“She did so well last year,” I praised. “Are you sure you won’t let her go to New York?”
“She doesn’t want New York,” Aunt Emmie said with a grimace. “She doesn’t want to focus on just ballet but every dance anyone is willing to teach her. Dancing is her life, but she doesn’t want to settle for one school and focus on one style. This past summer, Nik took her to India, and last year, we all went to Ireland for the summer. She loves the new experiences, and then she comes back and dives straight into ballet again.”
“Is she going to turn it into a career?” There was no doubt Mia had the talent. She’d had offers to study at some of the most prestigious dance academies in the country with a full scholarship. Yet, she’d turned them all down. I’d always wondered if Emmie had talked her out of it. But I knew Mia almost as well as I knew her mother, and something told me there wasn’t anything anyone could do if the girl set her mind on something.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” But there was pure pride for her daughter glowing out of Aunt Emmie’s eyes.
“Are any of the Demons’ kids going to follow in their fathers’ footsteps?” I mused aloud.
“Maybe,” she said with a secretive smile. “Jagger is definitely interested, but Jesse’s boys are too into sports to care about music. Violet has no musical inclination, but there’s always Mason. And Drake has five that could always go down that road. Well, four,” she quickly amended. “We all know Nevaeh is way too smart for this shit.”