The Hardest Set (Willow Son #4/Brothers of Rock #19) by Karolyn James Page B

fate.
     
    10.
     
    “ How
much more are you going to drink? ”
    “ Until
I ’ m done, ” Natalie said. “ That ’ s how much. ”
    “ Okay,
Nat, ” Andrea said. She took
Natalie ’ s empty glass and
set it on the table. “ I
think you ’ ve reached your
fill on tonight. ”
    “ I
threw a drink in his face, ” Natalie said and grinned. “ Right
in his damn face. Who gets to say that about a rockstar? ”
    “ I
guess you do, ” Andrea said. “ That sounds like fun. ”
    “ It
wasn ’ t fun, ” Natalie said.
    “ Hey,
keep it down. ”
    They were in a dimly lit
restaurant, drinking wine. Well, Natalie was drinking wine. Andrea had two
small glasses and the rest of the bottle belonged to Natalie. She couldn ’ t figure it out, which was
killing her on the inside. Van shouldn ’ t
matter, at all. He was a cocky jerk and a rich rockstar. That was it. He
thought he could sleep with anyone he wanted, fine. He thought he could talk
how he wanted, fine.
    But it was beyond that.
    There was a hint of pain. That ’ s what sucked Natalie in.
    “ I
can ’ t believe he did that
though, ” Andrea said. “ Paid the rent and stuff. ”
    “ He ’ s a jerk off. ”
    “ A
lot of guys are, ” Andrea
said with a grin. “ Don ’ t take that personally. ”
    “ But
I am. And I can ’ t figure
out why. ”
    “ Which
is why you should have slept with him. I told you that. You need to just … go do it. Get it out of your
system. It ’ s bothering you
because you want some loving. ”
    “ Loving? ” Natalie asked. “ Nothing about Van is loving. He ’ s … vile. That ’ s right, vile.
He thinks he can just …”
    “ Wow, ” Andrea said. “ You ’ re getting all turned on right now just talking
about him. ”
    “ Okay.
Now you shut up. I ’ ll throw
a drink at you. ”
    “ Yeah?
Then I ’ ll fire you. ”
    “ You
never hired me. ”
    “ I
paid you for work. You ’ re
mine now. ”
    “ I
hate you, ” Natalie said.
    “ You
love me, ” Andrea said. She
poured more wine into Natalie ’ s
glass. “ This is the last
one. End of discussion. ”
    “ Yeah,
yeah. ”
    Natalie felt her bag vibrate. She
jumped and turned, grabbing for her bag.
    It ’ s him. It ’ s Van. He ’ s calling to apologize. He wants to hang out
again.
    “ Whoa, ” Andrea said. “ Easy now. ”
    Natalie looked at the phone and
then dropped it. She could feel the color drain from her face.
    “ What
was that? ”
    “ Nothing, ” Natalie said. “ Stupid stuff. ”
    “ Tell
me. ”
    “ Trust
me, it ’ s nothing. It wasn ’ t Van, if that ’ s what you were thinking. ”
    “ I
wasn ’ t thinking a thing, ” Andrea said. “ You were. You like him, don ’ t you? ”
    “ No.
It ’ s just …”
    “ He ’ s so sexy and famous. ”
    “ But
it ’ s not that. He got hurt,
Andrea. Someone really hurt him. That ’ s
why he was so drunk at the party. I don ’ t
know, I thought maybe …”
    Natalie felt her phone vibrate
again.
    I miss you
    Please don ’ t ignore me
    Natalie kept a straight face the
best she could as she stared at Andrea. Her stomach started to do front flips.
That was cue to get the hell to the bathroom.
    Grabbing her phone, Natalie excused
herself and rushed to the bathroom. She expected Andrea to tail her, just in
case she threw up, but that didn ’ t
happen. And Natalie wasn ’ t
going to throw up. Not yet at least.
    She stood at the bathroom sink and
stared at herself in the mirror. Her phone rested on the counter. Luckily she
was the only person in the bathroom.
    When she looked down at the phone,
she pressed a button to bring the screen to life.
    There were the two messages
    I miss you
    Please don ’ t ignore me
    It was like stepping back in time.
    This was what he did. What happened
now? Was his wife out of town? Were they having a fight? Or was he just drunk,
in the next room, looking for a little attention over the phone?
    Natalie opened the messages and
felt her fingers shaking as she