More of Us ( A Love You More Rock Star Romance #3) - Laura Pavlov Page 0,51
me in. She didn’t speak. She used her hands to cover her mouth to muffle the sob that broke free. I kicked off my shoes and stretched out to lie beside her and pulled her onto my chest.
“Shhhhh,” is all I said, as I stroked her hair.
She broke down in full sobs now, and I just held her close. We stayed like this for a good hour. Her sobs subsided, and her breathing settled.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. I just hate Halloween.”
We both chuckled because this had nothing to do with Halloween. She was grieving for her mother and this day would always be tough for her.
“I can’t believe you came,” she whispered.
“Did you really doubt I’d show up?”
“Yes. I told you I had a date,” she said, tilting her head back to look up at me.
“Ah, yes. Where is Dick?”
“Well.” She fiddled with the ring that she still wore on a chain around her neck. “I don’t think that’s going to work out.”
“You don’t say.”
“I do say.” She forced a smile.
“You’re not dating him anymore?”
“I think saying we were dating is a bit of a stretch.”
“So how serious was it?”
“It was a lot more serious in your head, than it actually ever was.”
“And why is that?” I said, my tone teasing.
“Maybe I wanted you to think it was more. Just to keep you at arm’s length. But I really did want to try to date him. I thought it would help me get over you. But I just couldn’t do it.”
“Ah, so you were trying to make me jealous?”
“No. You did that on your own,” she said, and I chuckled.
“Well, I hate Dick.”
“You don’t even know him.” She hugged me tighter.
“I don’t need to.”
“I think I should be by myself right now. Focus on school and my interviews.”
“I get that.” Jade was so determined to be strong, and get through things on her own, and right now I needed to let her figure it out.
“How about you? Have you dated at all?”
“Nope.”
“How come?”
“Been there done that,” I said, tracing my finger along the lines of her face. Her cheeks, her nose, her eyes.
“You don’t want to play the field a little? There’s no guarantee that we’re going to get back together.”
Who was she trying to convince? Me or her?
“I’ll take my chances.”
“I love you, Cruz. Even if we can’t be together right now,” she whispered.
“I know you do. I love you more.”
We both dozed off, and when my alarm went off in the morning, I kissed the top of Jade’s head before shifting her onto the pillow so I could get up.
“Hey,” she said, peeking one eye open and watching me.
“Hey. I have to get going. We head out on the European tour today. You going to be okay?”
She propped up on one elbow. The sun was just coming up, and orange and pink hues illuminated her pretty face. Her eyes were puffy, her lips were chapped, and she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. Always had been.
“Yeah, of course. Thanks for coming.”
I dropped to sit beside her on the edge of the bed and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’ll always be here for you.”
I pushed to stand, and she reached for my hand. “Hey. I’m ready to show you those lyrics I wrote. They were written for you, really. I wasn’t ready to show you before, but I am now. I’ll email them to you soon, okay?”
“Can’t wait to see what’s going on in there,” I said with a laugh and kissed her forehead.
When I got to the door, I turned back to look at her. “Love you.”