Half Empty (First Wives #2)

Wade smiled, expecting some kind of comment on his music or recognition.

“There was a hiccup during the download.”

“Oh?”

“Some kind of tracking app kept kicking an error message.”

“Okay.”

“It was strange,” he went on. “The icon wasn’t something I’d ever seen before, and it kept flashing, but so fast it would have easily been missed.”

Wade shrugged. “What kind of tracking app was it?”

“That’s just it, I don’t know. I saw it flash a map, and then the airport in Miami, then it brought up a map of London and flashed the name of London Heathrow.”

“Probably just a glitch.”

The clerk shrugged. “It also kept flashing text in a different language. Something Slavic, I think, which was what caught my attention.”

Wade smiled. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“It seemed to be causing some havoc rebooting. I finally got it to work without an issue, but it wasn’t easy. When I looked in her app menu, there wasn’t anything there. Almost as if it was a virus running in the background. But since she said she dropped her phone in Miami, I assumed it wasn’t there by accident. If the app clogs up the phone, you might tell Ms. Petrov to remove it and download it again.”

Wade nodded. “I’ll do that.”

Instead of heading straight back to the hotel, Wade stopped at a small diner and ordered a big, greasy breakfast. For him, nothing combated a night of drinking better than a big meal. He doubted the women were done getting all the details out about how he and Trina had met, and he doubly doubted that Trina would want to watch him eat. Poor girl was bound to be ill all day after the night they’d had.

He smiled. Not because she’d gotten drunk, but because even though she didn’t know him that well, she’d felt comfortable enough to do so in his presence. That sadness he’d told her friends that had lingered in Trina’s eyes had slowly faded in just a couple of days. When she smiled, something bright pierced his breastbone and lit him up. Maybe it was the chase, the fact she didn’t fall all over him. Or maybe it was just her.

He liked her and really wanted to see her again.

He’d have to make her posse of friends like him if he was going to get anywhere. Not to mention the reason he’d been chasing the sorrow from her eyes since they met. Who was the man she’d been married to? Why the hell did he commit suicide and leave her to pick up the pieces? Trina’s friends, he could manage . . . women had a hard time resisting his charm when he turned it on. But the man talking to angels? That might prove more difficult.

Trina’s warnings about bad timing weren’t going to stop him.

No way.

He took her phone from the bag and typed in his personal number. When he typed in his name, he did so with a little extra. Wade, You Owe Me A Dance, Thomas.

That should get her attention.

He put the phone away and finished his breakfast.

Before he left the restaurant, he called the pilot and asked how quickly they could fly home. He figured his welcome back at the hotel would be limited, and there was no reason to hang around to keep Trina smiling now that her friends had found her.

Of course, he would make sure she was okay with him ducking out before taking off. He felt he owed her that.

On his way back to the hotel, his phone buzzed in his back pocket.

“Where the hell are you?” The roughness of Jeb’s voice had Wade smiling.

“Miss me?”

“Seriously. How am I supposed to sit still when I don’t know where you are?”

“Calm down, Jeb. I’m in the Bahamas.”

“What . . . why?”

“I met a woman.”

Jed groaned. “A phone call would have helped.”

“Good thing you called, then.” Wade turned the corner and onto the street of the hotel.

“I assume there aren’t any flash mobs around.”

“It’s an island. I’m safe. I’ll probably be heading back today.”

“That was quick. Did you at least get her name?”

Wade rolled his eyes. “Trina Petrov, and it isn’t like that, so knock it off.”

Jeb was unusually silent on the other end.

“You still there?”

His phone clicked twice before he heard a dial tone. “Guess not,” he said to himself.





Chapter Eight

“You don’t have to leave.”

“If I value my head, I think I should just make my way back to Texas, where the women are a tiny bit nicer than the ones in this hotel room.”

Trina glanced over her shoulder to find Avery and Lori staring.

Trina narrowed her eyes, and they both looked away.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Wade told her. “I’m glad your friends are loyal enough to hate me on sight just out of principle.”

“Misguided as that is.”

Wade chuckled.

Heaviness sat in the back of Trina’s throat.

Wade stood before her, suitcase at his side, cowboy hat on his head. Their goodbye felt oddly out of place.

She tried to smile. “Kinda glad you hit on me in Miami,” she told him.

His killer smile and flirty eyes took over. “Still bummed you didn’t take me up on my offer.”

“Bad timing.”

“I know that, darlin’.”

She sighed.

“Well, I’ll get back to my regularly scheduled life and leave you to your friends.”

Trina rubbed her hands on her pants, not sure if she should shake his hand or hug him.

Apparently she was the only one unsure of what to do.

Wade wrapped his arms round her shoulders and pressed his frame against hers in a hug that fueled her soul. When he pulled away, he pressed his lips to her forehead, stood back, and picked up his suitcase.

“Oh, by the way. The clerk at the phone place said there was a tracking app that was messing things up, and that if you had any problems, you should delete it and reinstall.”

“Tracking?”

“Like one of those friend apps you women use to keep track of each other.”

“Oh, okay, thanks.”

She walked him a few feet to the door.

He opened it. “I might have put in my number, in case you wanted to take me up on those dance lessons.”

Trina saw herself accepting his offer. She placed a hand on his arm, caught his eye. “Thanks, Wade.”

He winked before turning away.

His jeans sure did hug his hips well.

She started to close the door before she heard him say, “You can stop staring at my butt now.”

Trina laughed. “Vain much?”

Wade just chuckled as he sauntered out of sight.

Avery clicked her tongue when Trina walked back into the room. “A country singing cowboy? Really?”

“He’s a nice guy,” Trina defended.

Lori lifted her phone and started to read. “‘Wade Thomas, thirty-four years old, and one of the most celebrated country singers of this decade, and how he loves the ladies. It’s said he has broken hearts all over the country and a few places in Europe, as well.’”

“Gossip magazines. We all know how accurate those are.”

Lori twisted her phone around. “This was in the Austin Press.”

“Still sounds like gossip,” Shannon said.

“Thank you, Shannon. Glad to know someone is on my side.”

“But most gossip holds some truth,” she added.

Trina stuck her tongue out.

“He is very cute, though,” Lori said with the first smile Trina had seen on her since they arrived.

Trina felt her face heat up. “I kinda like that Texas drawl.”

“Oh. My. God!” Avery exclaimed. “He’s a musician.”

“I think you have to call him more than that.” Lori held up her phone. “Sold out concerts, platinum records . . .”

Avery wanted nothing to do with it. “Every single musician I ever went out with was a total douchebag.”

“And how many was that?” Trina asked.

“I couldn’t even tell you. I did the whole groupie thing in college just to tick off the parents, then found myself attracted to a long stream of jerks. They all cheat. They all lie. They hey baby you until you’re out of sight, and then they hey baby someone else. Trust me on this one, Trina, stay clear.”

“Not to be a total bitch, but didn’t you just describe yourself this last year?” Ever since Trina had met Avery, she hadn’t seen her with the same guy twice.