“I pulled out of the campus tour,” he whispers, sending a shockwave over me.
I jerk back, peering up into his face. He and Dr. Hammond, his former professor, have continued the Contagious campus tours, raising awareness and money for community jail funds and legal representation for the wrongly accused. It’s vital work that I know gives Grip a sense of purpose like nothing else does.
“No.” I shake my head. “It’s important. You have to do it.”
“It is important,” he agrees. “And I will do it. Later.”
“This is just a season, Grip.”
“Exactly. For this season, I can’t do the tours. Not and grind in the studio for this record and prepare for this tour and be the father I need to be.” His dark eyes caress my face. “Be the husband I need to be, which of everything, is my most important role. We only get this life together, Bris, and I don’t accept that there’s a season where you and I aren’t as close as we can possibly be. There can be a season where I’m less active in the issues that I care about. There can be a season where I don’t record as much or where I don’t tour. But there will not be a season where we miss each other.”
A dark chuckle vibrates from his chest to mine before he adds, “Or only have sex once a week.”
I swallow, emotion scalding my throat. There are so many things I’d have to adjust to take our family on tour with Grip. So many responsibilities I’d have to delegate. So many opportunities I might miss.
“Just think about it.” Grip drops a kiss onto my lips and swats my butt lightly. “Don’t be late. Go get Kai that movie.”
I’d forgotten all about the meeting.
“Okay, yeah.” I step back, slanting a glance up at him. “Tell me we’re okay, Grip. I can’t—”
I look down at the floor and shake my head, unable to wrap my mind or heart around us being on the outs.
“We’re okay,” he reassures me. “Hey, look at me.”
When I do, I see the open honesty in his face.
“We’re okay, but I’m gonna make sure we stay that way. I don’t want to drift, Bris. This business breaks marriages. You know that. I’m protecting us. I’ve pulled out of the campus tour. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
I nod, stepping away to grab my purse and my iPad from the bedside table where I left them.
“Frieda’s here for the kids,” I toss over my shoulder.
“Oh, I’ll send her home.”
“Send her home?” I stop and turn. “I thought you had a meeting this morning?”
“I told them I’d call in.” He shrugs and offers a rueful grin. “I need some time with the kids. I’ve been gone too much.”
I nod, wondering if maybe I’ve been gone too much, too.
* * *
Bristol - Chapter Three
“Your bother’s gonna kill you.” Kai laughs when we reach our cars in the parking lot. “He loves me too much, and we have sex a lot, so I’m safe. But you? You, he’s gonna kill.”
I chuckle, clicking my car unlocked and propping my hip against the hood.
“Hey, you just scored a role in one of the biggest movies of the year,” I say. “Rhyson will be proud and happy for you.”
Fingers crossed.
?
??He will be.” Kai nods, her dark hair blowing across her face. “You got them down to partial nudity, which is more of a concession than I expected.”
“Well, the director really wants you for this role.” A cynical grin tweaks my lips. “And he doesn’t want to alienate one of the most powerful men in this town, your husband.”