More of Us ( A Love You More Rock Star Romance #3) - Laura Pavlov Page 0,28

and I can’t wait for you to hear it,” he said.

“Send me the lyrics. You know I love your songs.” I stood in front of the restaurant, with one hand clutched to my chest.

“Alright. I can do that. I’ll talk to you soon.”

I needed to go, but I didn’t want to end the call. “Hey, Cruz?”

“Yeah?”

“I wrote a song, I um, I don’t know if it’s actually a song. I wrote it when I was in Honduras. It might be more of a poem. But I’ll show it to you after I clean it up, okay?”

“Can’t wait, More Jade. I’ll see you in a couple weeks. Go have fun tonight. You deserve it.”

A single tear rolled down my cheek and I wiped it away. Why was this so hard? “Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”

The phone went dead, and I shook it off. I stepped inside and Richard stood in the entryway. His dark wavy hair was a bit overgrown and shaggy. He wore dark jeans and a button-up.

“I was afraid you’d changed your mind,” he said.

There was humor in his tone, but I’m sure there was some truth to his words. Richard wasn’t hurting for female attention. The hostess was currently shooting daggers at me. He was gorgeous, as well as being a really good guy. His only negative was that he wasn’t Cruz Winslow.

“Don’t be silly. I’m glad I’m here.” The hostess led us to our table, and Richard and I dropped in the chairs across from one another.

He ordered a bottle of wine and an appetizer while we perused the menu. I reached for my phone to turn my ringer off so I wouldn’t be distracted during dinner, and I noticed a new email. The waiter was busy opening our wine and having Richard sample it, so I decided to take a quick peek.

“Oh my gosh, Richard.” I gasped.

“What happened?”

“I got an interview,” I squealed. I literally squealed. I never squeal. But I was overcome with excitement.

“Amazing. Where?”

I bit down on my bottom lip. I needed a minute to process. “NYU.”

“Shit, Jade. That’s amazing. That’s your top choice, right?”

“It is.”

“Things are happening. I can feel it. I guess now I won’t be an asshole telling you I heard from Harvard. I’m flying out in three weeks for my interview.”

I picked up my wine glass and held it out to him. “Cheers to us.”

“Cheers to us.”

We clanked glasses and I dropped my phone in my purse. This is what all the hard work was for.

“Thanks for coming tonight. So, are you and the rock star still friends? He didn’t seem too crazy about me at the airport.”

I laughed and reached for a piece of bread. “He’s protective. We’re good friends.”

“You know, I know a little bit about what happened before you left for Honduras.” He held his hands up in apology. “Jessica told Dean about your accident, and he told me. It’s not going anywhere. No one is gossiping to be cruel. But I care about you,” he said.

I was annoyed with Jessica, but there was nothing mean spirited about her. She was just chatty. She also didn’t know much, only that I’d been caught in an argument with one of the bandmates in Exiled and Cruz hadn’t been there. She didn’t know about him being practically unconscious from Ambien or any of the details of our breakup. I was thankful that the only ones who knew what happened were Dad, Sara, Sam, and Ari. And I trusted them one hundred percent.

“Well, thank you for caring. But I’m doing well.” I smiled.

We placed our order, and I sipped my wine.

“You just got your first interview to medical school. It’s impressive.”

“Thank you. You should be very proud too,” I said.

“I am. But I’m equally excited that you finally agreed to go out with me. I know it’s hard after you’ve been with someone for a long time. But just because you feel a