He nods as he takes the first bite—if that’s what you want to call it. He looks like a chipmunk.
“I don’t really know where to start,” I confess. “Maybe you can just tell me about what goes on. What’s a normal day like?”
“It’s really just us guys hanging out. None of us have ever brought a girl on tour, so it’s going to be different this time. We all love Logan like a sister, and she makes Kace happy, but it’s just going to be different.”
“She’s going to cramp your style,” I tease him.
His grin lights up his face, and I find myself wanting to make him smile like this more often. He really is easy on the eyes.
“No, she will not cramp our style. We don’t bring girls on the bus, which is a rule we’ve all had. None of us wants to hear one of the others getting their rocks off.”
I choke on my water. “Well, okay then.”
“Being on the road is more than just singing a few songs and getting laid. This is a shorter tour, so it’s jam-packed with back-to-back concerts in different cities. We have radio spots, and I think there’s even a television appearance on the books.”
“So, why exactly do you need me?”
“Logan’s pregnant.” He says it like I should know from just those two words.
“And? Women have been having babies for a while now.” I smirk.
“Ha ha, smartass. Dealing with schedules, the label, venues—it can all get pretty stressful. We talked about it, and none of us want all that pressure on Logan. We figured we would hire someone to split the duties, take some of the pressure off.”
“I’m a teacher. Not sure how my education and experience will benefit the band.”
He shrugs. “Kace is a planner, always has been. Sounds like he expects this to be a permanent thing. Once the baby gets older, I assume they’ll hire someone to replace you and let you tutor.”
I’m surprised at his candid answers. Not only that, but he seems to understand Kacen. “That’s jumping the gun a little, don’t you think?”
“Maybe, maybe not. I know Kacen will refuse to travel without either of them.” He studies me for a few minutes, as if he needs to gather his thoughts. “The guys and I have always said if one of us wants out, then we’re all done. It’s something we started together, and it’s something we will end together. I see you as Kacen’s way of making sure his family has the best of what it needs. Logan gets her best friend, and their kid gets a good teacher—when the time comes, of course.”
“I guess I can see that. It’s just hard to believe he would be thinking so far ahead.”
“Like I said, Kacen is a planner. He’s not like the rest of us. He never was about hooking up and living the lifestyle to the stereotype that it is. He’s always just wanted to find that one person who gets him and have a family. He found that with Logan, and he won’t stop until he gives her and this baby the world.”
His words shouldn’t surprise me, and they don’t really. I know this about my best friend’s husband. He loves her fiercely. He’s why I’ve changed my ways. I don’t see the point in wasting my time with guys where I see no future; I want what Logan and Kacen have. That’s why I must avoid Cole’s advances. Well, that and the fact that I’m afraid it will be awkward as hell, and who wants to deal with that?
“And what about you, Tristan and Gavin? Do you live up to the stereotype?” I settle back against my seat, prepared for him to backpedal his way out of answering.
“We do.” He nods. “Women throw themselves at you for doing what you love. We’re all three single and unattached, so we take advantage of what’s offered. None of us give them false hope that it will ever be more. We never do repeats and yes, before you ask, we have run off an assistant or two.”
“I appreciate your honesty. I’m a little surprised, actually.”
“Don’t be. With me, what you see is what you get. I have nothing to hide. I’m not ashamed of how I’ve lived my life to this point. I’m living every man’s fantasy.”
“You’re really okay with that? A different girl in each city, never having an emotional connection?”
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s emotional. Trust me.”
“You know what I mean.” I want to tell him that I’ve thought in extreme detail more than once how “emotional” things could be between us.
“I don’t think I do,” he admits.
“Someone to wake up to every day. Someone to lie next to at night. That one person who knows you inside and out, your crutch through life.”
“I have the guys, and I have my family.”