Scott and Derrick stood as we reached them, but I ignored them both as I took the empty chair beside London. As I sat, the Blonde touched my leg under the table. “Thank fuck you’re here,” she whispered as she leaned in. “I was seriously about to make myself puke just get out of being here.”
I covered her hand, giving it a squeeze. “No purging tonight,” I whispered.
Her eyes darkened. “I make no promises. Not a fan of the sister. She’s way too judgmental for me.”
“You two know each other?” Shannon asked in a sweet voice as she picked up her water glass, watching London and me over the top of it.
“London is a good friend,” I told her, my eyes narrowing on her when hers passed over the Blonde with a look of disdain. “And I always take care of my friends,” I told her with a cold smile that warned her to back the fuck off.
The other woman’s eyes widened, and she set down her glass. I shot Derrick a glare as he and Scott shook Jace’s hand. He’d better keep his sister off London’s case, or I wouldn’t hesitate to kick him in the balls.
Jace took the seat beside me, draping an arm over the back of my chair. “Sorry we’re late,” he told them. “Kin was sleeping really peacefully and I hated having to wake her up, so I let her nap longer than I should have.”
“Have you not been feeling well?” Scott asked, those eyes identical to my own skimming over my face. “You do look a little peaked.”
“I’m just getting over a virus,” I excused, avoiding his gaze in favor of examining the menu. “It took a lot out of me.”
“Thank God,” he muttered, and my eyes snapped up as he continued. “I thought you were going to tell me you were pregnant or something. I’m too young to be anyone’s grandfather.”
“Funny,” I bit out. “But no. I have the implant. It’s not due to be changed out for a few more weeks. I’ll get it done before we go on tour.”
“Is that easier than the pill?” London asked, interested. “Because I’m getting tired of taking that damn thing every day.”
“I kept forgetting to take it,” I told her. “Plus, with the implant, I stopped having a period after the first year or so.”
“Hell yeah. Sign me up.”
Scott cleared his throat. “As entertaining as this conversation is, let’s
order dinner, shall we?”
Jace didn’t bother to pick up his own menu, just looked over mine. “You want to try some pasta?” he asked. “I’ll share my steak with you if you do.”
“The sauce is too acidic for me tonight. I was just going to get a salad.”
He kissed the corner of my mouth. “Get some protein on it. Steak might put some color back in your cheeks.”
The waiter appeared and took everyone’s order, but as soon as he left, the entire table seemed to fall into an uncomfortable silence. As several minutes ticked by, I grew more and more impatient to get this over with.
“Jillian is contesting the divorce, huh?” I commented. “Doesn’t surprise me. What does she want? More money? The house?”
Scott sighed heavily. “She wants me to stop paying Carolina’s tuition and pay the money to her.”
“And you said no?” He nodded, and I felt myself starting to soften toward him. “I didn’t know you were paying for her college.”
“When she decided she wanted to go to an East Coast college, I promised her I would help out any way I could. Jillian put a freeze on Carolina’s trust fund, so I’ve been footing the bill.”
“Ugh, I really hate her,” I muttered. “She’s nothing more than an attention whore. Caro knew she wouldn’t have any peace if she stayed local.”
“Well, she’s doing spectacularly at Virginia Tech. She really seems to be finding her footing in life.” His voice was gentle, full of love and affection for his stepdaughter when he spoke of her. I might have been jealous if I didn’t love Carolina so much. Maybe if he’d been talking about Georgia, I would have been, but not the girl who was just as much a sister to me as Angie.
“She busted her ass for midterms,” I told him. “She called me a few times stressing over them, but when she got her grades, she was really happy with herself.”
“Why aren’t you studying this term?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I was busy when the semester started, but I don’t think I’m going back. It’s not really my thing.”
“I’m really proud of your music,” he surprised me by saying. “I always knew you would write some great songs when you grew up.”