I was doing my best not to get noticed so I could get the hell out of there with as little fanfare as possible.
I dodged a few questions and even more girls who clearly wanted more than a pic, and rushed out to wait for the car I’d called.
Lifting my face, I pulled in a cleansing breath.
A smattering of bright stars dotted the blackened canopy above, barely peppering what promised to be a gorgeous night sky, although most of it was obscured by the glow of city lights. I was hidden down a small side street, but things were still bustling on the main streets flanking me, a stream of unending cars twisting through the urban maze. In the distance, the drone of cars flying down the freeway filled my ears, semi-trucks supplying the blare of their horn every now and then.
Still, something about it felt calm.
A black SUV pulled to the curb. I hopped in the back and shot the driver the name of the hotel where I was staying.
Releasing a heavy sigh, I relaxed into the leather as he took to the street. Streetlamps flashed through the tinted windows as he merged into the stream of traffic.
A smile curved the edges of my mouth as I dug my phone out of my bag and flicked into the messages. Knew there would be messages waiting for me.
There always were.
Sure, I had thousands of fans screaming at me night after night.
But these little gestures Shea sent my way? Her simple words letting me know I was never far from her mind? Those rang out so much louder than all of them.
Tonight there were three.
I grinned at the simplicity of the first text message.
Missing you.
God, I wondered if she could miss me even half as much as I was missing her.
Crazy.
I’d only left her at the airport three days before, and I was already back to missing her like mad, counting down the days until she met me in California and we could finally start this life together.
Funny, it was the little things I was missin’ most. Being in Shea’s kitchen, cooking with my girls, tucking Kallie in at night, waking up slow in Shea’s arms.
Yeah, we talked every day, but there was no substitution for the real thing.
The second message had the grin I wore turning wistful. Shea and Kallie were sitting outside with Savannah as their backdrop, heads pressed together, mounds of blonde curls framing their precious faces, caramel eyes warm and sweet. It filled me with a longing that physically hurt. Smiles went on forever, like they were touching me across the space.
Shea’d inscribed the picture the same as the first.
Missing you.
The third was another plain text. Call me when the show’s over. Doesn’t matter how late. Just need to hear your voice.
The driver pulled to a stop at the circular drive at the back entrance of the hotel.
“Thank you,” I said, quick to climb out.
Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I headed through the tall sliding doors that spanned the entire backside. My shoes echoed on the white floors flecked with gold. A fountain in the center of the lobby rose tall before water splashed back into the marble bowl.
The hotel was over the top like all the rest, but when you spend most of your time crammed on a bus with a bunch of guys, sometimes spreading out and indulging was a necessity. I was already checked in, so I took the elevator directly to my floor.
I went straight for Austin’s door adjacent to my suite and knocked.
A few seconds passed before I heard a rustle on the other side. My baby brother’s hair was a complete disaster when he finally cracked it open. Grey eyes squinted out at me. “What’s up, man?”
“Just was wondering how you were.”
He gave me a half-assed grin. “Same as when you checked on me before you left.”
The smile I returned was a little self-conscious. Couldn’t help that I worried about him constantly, even when he kept telling me it was time he figured out shit for himself. This kid had become my responsibility a long damned time ago. “You get dinner?”
“Yes, Father, I did,” he said with eyes bugged out. “Did you want to do a plate check?”