More of Us ( A Love You More Rock Star Romance #3) - Laura Pavlov Page 0,65
said, staring at her father.
“Yeah, yeah. We’re heading out now. Sorry I worried you.”
“Don’t be sorry, Dad. You just need to be safe,” she said, reaching for her dad and hugging him tight once again.
Jack pulled back and looked at his daughter. Her puffy eyes were a dead giveaway that she’d been crying. “You worry too much. I’m fine.”
Sara laughed and shook her head. “You scared us, Jack. You did run back into a burning building after all.”
“I had to find that kid. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Jade and Sara both rolled their eyes and shook their heads at the same time.
“Of course you did,” Sara said.
“Thanks for taking care of our girl,” Jack said, giving me a half hug.
A lump formed in my throat, because it was the first time he’d ever called her our girl. She’d always been his girl, and I hadn’t even been offended by it.
“Always,” I nodded.
“Okay, call me when you guys get home,” Jade said.
I led Jade over to my car and turned to face her before I pulled out of the parking lot. “Hey.”
“Hey.” She smiled.
“You hungry?”
“You know I can always eat. But I also desperately need a shower, so maybe we could just pick something up?” she said. She seemed lighter now. More relaxed. Jack was going to be okay. She’d worked through all those fears and emotions that had swallowed her whole today.
“Let’s grab some Chinese food on the way home. I know a place that stays open late.” I pulled out on to the road. The wind rattled against the windows.
“Oh my god. You had a show tonight, right? I’m sorry for asking you to come,” she said as if the realization of the day was hitting her.
“Yeah. It’s fine. Shit happens.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning Zach was forced to perform. Trust me, the dude is as good as me if not better,” I said.
“I highly doubt that. I’m sure there will be some angry fans.”
“Don’t worry about it. If they complain, they can have a refund. Life happens. This is where I needed to be, and everyone understood that. Now that Jack’s okay, I’ll fly out tomorrow and make it in time for the next show.”
She covered my hand that rested in my lap with hers. Of course, my over-achieving erection sprung to life. “I can’t thank you enough for coming. When it happened—I don’t know. I just wanted you with me.”
“That’s where I want to be.”
“I was just so scared that he wouldn’t walk out of there, you know?” she said.
“Yeah. And of course, he came out holding a kid in his arms. It’s so your dad to do that, right? He’s a fucking hero.”
“You know jumping on a plane and rushing here isn’t exactly taking it slow.” She smirked.
“Yeah. Well, I’ve told you that taking it slow isn’t exactly my thing. Are we moving too fast for you?”
“No. I’m the one who asked you to come. I think I’ve been trying to protect myself in a way. I was so consumed with you for such a long time, and after everything happened, I just felt like I needed to be more guarded and cautious. And then the thought of getting hurt again terrified me.”
I parked in front of the restaurant and reached over and pulled her to sit on my lap. Her tiny frame molded against me as I wrapped my arms around her. Jade fit perfectly there. She fit perfectly everywhere. She was my other half. And I wasn’t complete without her. My lips grazed hers, and the thought of tasting her sweet mouth had me on edge.
“I won’t hurt you like that again, Jade. I can’t promise I’ll never fuck up, because we both know that isn’t realistic. But I can promise that I won’t go back to that dark place. Not ever again.”
Her lips teased mine and she tangled her fingers in my hair. “God, I missed you.”