Taming the Storm (The Storm, #3)

That brings my attention right back to him.

“I’d do the same thing again, if presented with the same situation. The guy’s an idiot.”

I rake a hand through my hair. “You barely know him.”

“I know enough.”

“I liked him, but you’ve gone and ruined that now.”

I don’t know why I don’t tell him that I was only interested in Robbi as a friend.

Okay, I do. It’s because I’d have to explain why I kissed Robbi. And that would mean telling Tom that I did it as a knee jerk, because I was jealous that he was kissing Ashlee.

His eyes narrow. “I thought you were off men. So, why aren’t you off him? Why kiss him?”

Shit. How do I answer this?

“I…” My mouth goes dry. “I wasn’t on him,” I say slowly. I pick imaginary lint off my dress, so I can avoid his heavy stare. “I don’t know why I kissed him.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Tom grabs my hand in his and runs the pad of his thumb across the palm of my hand. “You wanted to make me jealous.”

“No!” I snatch my hand back.

He leans forward, getting in my space. “Why can’t you just tell the fucking truth? Why can’t you just admit that you want me and go with it?”

Because I’m a coward.

I stare at him, seeing the frustration etched like lines in his face. But then, in the depths of his eyes, I see a flicker of pain.

Am I hurting him? I don’t want to hurt him.

Lip trembling, I say, “Fine. You want the truth. It’s because you scare me. This”—I gesture between us—“whatever it is, feels intense.” My voice quiets. “And intense scares the shit out of me.”

Something crosses his brow, and surprisingly, he gets to his feet and puts his back to me.

It leaves me feeling wide open and vulnerable.

“You want to know why I scared Robbi off?” His voice is low. He turns to look at me.

“Of course I do.”

“Two reasons. When I tell you the first one, know that I don’t want to hurt you in any way. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you.”

My stomach starts to free-fall.

“But you need to know the truth, so you stay away from that asshole.” He rubs his forehead.

I sit up a little straighter, my stomach forming little balls of tension. I’m worried about what he’s going to say.

“The contract for The Turnstiles is up for renewal, and Rally isn’t going to renew it.”

I give him a confused look. “Why isn’t Rally renewing their contract? The Turnstiles are doing really well.”

Tom shakes his head. “Not as well as Rally wants them to be doing. You know what an asshole he is and how savage he can be with his decisions. Anything is dispensable if it’s not working for him.”

Even his daughter.

I know he’s thinking the same thing. I see it in his eyes.

“When I knew Robbi was making a move on you, I made it my business to find out his. Turns out their tour is a desperate act. They fronted the cash for the tour themselves. Luckily, I happened to walk past Robbi’s dressing room earlier, and I heard him talking to someone on the phone.” He takes a deep breath. “Lyla, when I tell you this, I’m saying it from a good place, and you have to know that Robbi is a fame-hungry asshole who will do anything to get where he wants to be.”

I start to feel a bit sick. I stiffen my spine and harden up. “Just spit it out. Whatever it is, I’m sure I can take it.”

He runs a hand through his hair and looks at me with careful eyes. “Robbi knows you’re Rally’s daughter. He was looking for an in with you to help his career. I heard him telling whoever he was on the phone with that he was gonna smooth his way into your life and get you to fall hard for him, so that you’d talk Daddy into keeping the band on his label.”

I swallow down rocks. Humiliation floods through me. I get to my feet and shake my head. Needing to protect myself, I say, “You must have heard wrong. Outside of my circle, hardly anyone knows that Rally’s my father. I’ve made sure of that. Robbi couldn’t have known.”

Tom gives me a sad look. “He knew, Ly. I’m sorry.”

My humiliation quickly turns to anger. I lift my chin and square my shoulders. “I don’t need your goddamn pity. Obviously, Robbi didn’t do his homework properly because Rally couldn’t give a shit about me. It’s not like he’d ever listen to me.” I let out a dry laugh. “I wouldn’t be able to influence jack shit over what happens to Robbi’s crappy band.”

Tom says nothing. He just stares steadily at me.

I’m starting to feel like I’m going to break apart. The whole night is crashing down on me.

I hate how men have the ability to hurt me so damn easily.

I hate how weak I am.

Most of all, I hate how I keep inviting them in to do so.

I was so stupid to let Robbi in. God, I let him kiss me, and the whole time, I was just a means to an end for him.

But Tom saved me.

My heart reaches for him. Then, I quickly remember his tongue fest with Ashlee.

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