“You, too.”
He waved her compliment away. “It’s easy when you have a hairdresser, a personal trainer, a chef, blah, blah, blah. Sit down. It’s great to see you!” He tugged her to the sofa and she sat beside him. “Since we haven’t had the chance to catch up in a couple of weeks, tell me how your dad has been?”
“You know the Colonel. Always busy. Always running a tight unit. He’s been all over the world lately. He’ll be heading home next week for a mini-vacation. He hasn’t had one in over a year.”
Jesse nodded. “That man was always driven. Remember that week at the lake we all spent the summer he guarded me?”
Remember? That’s where she and Jesse had fallen for each other, and they’d started talking about the possibilities of a future together.
Nothing had changed since then. Yet everything had. Jesse had drifted into a wild lifestyle, according to the tabloids. Now,
Deke kept intruding in Kimber’s thoughts. Her stomach was in a constant knot of pain. Standing in front of Jesse with Ryan looking on, one big question hit her: Even if she managed to push Deke and Luc out of her heart and started a new future, how could she fit into Jesse’s life?
The details of how Jesse had become attracted to ménages—and where he got the women—should probably trouble her. It had several weeks ago. But since her involvement with Deke and Luc, she hadn’t thought much about it. Certainly, she couldn’t expect celibacy when she hadn’t seen Jesse for so long. And she had problems of her own.
Besides, the last time she and Jesse had talked, he’d said he was ready to give up his partying ways. More than ready. She wasn’t exactly sure what that meant.
Giving up ménages? No matter what, she’d have to forget Deke and Luc enough to handle being with Jesse if they were going to have any sort of future.
“Sure, I remember,” she murmured. “I have fond memories of that week.”
“You know that was my attempt to force your dad to take a vacation.” He had the good grace to look sheepish.
Really? She’d thought—hoped at the time—it had been his ploy to get some extra alone time with her.
Kimber reminded him tartly, “All he did was complain for a week that the cabin was too hard to defend and that any psycho fan could get out on the lake with a sailboat and a high-powered rifle and pick you off.” Jesse rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he never mastered the fine art of kicking back.”
“Nothing has changed.”
“So you’re still working on your nursing exams?” She shook her head. “I just finished my state exam yesterday. Once the results are in, I have to figure out where I’m going to work. I’ve got a couple of offers I’m considering, of course contingent on passing the exams.”
“You’ll pass.” He frowned. “You’re going to get a job? How soon?”
“Six weeks.” She shrugged. “I won’t get my test results until then.”
Something pensive crossed his face. “That gives us a little time—” A sudden hard rap on the door startled Kimber. She and Jesse both turned toward the sound as Ryan opened the suite’s door. An older man dressed in a camel-colored sport coat and an overstarched white shirt stood on the other side and entered the room. As he moved under the light, Kimber saw his hair was dominated by salt more than pepper. Sagging jowls puffed up an otherwise thin man.
He scowled. “Jesse, you’ve got press coming in an hour. Don’t forget.” He turned a sharp stare to the half-empty minibar. “And damn it, don’t get drunk. They spot that shit a mile away, and your reputation isn’t exactly squeaky clean.”
“Cal,” Jesse supplied. “My manager. The soul of kindness.” A deaf man wouldn’t miss the sarcasm in Jesse’s tone. All gruff and rumble, Call blustered out, “I keep you from self-destructing. Without me, you’re one party away from hasbeen.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, Dad.”
His manager turned his watery blue gaze on her. “We haven’t met.” The greeting wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t unfriendly, either.
She wasn’t sure what to make of him, since she didn’t disagree that Jesse needed to tone down the partying. But if she was delivering the message, she would have done it with a little more finesse.
She stood and held out her hand. “No, we haven’t. I’m Kimber Edgington.” Cal’s blank expression as he shook her hand said he’d never heard of her. Odd.
Then again, Jesse had only hired the seasoned veteran about eighteen months ago.
Jesse and Call weren’t close, and their relationship was strictly business.
“I’ve known Jesse for years. We’re old friends.”
“And since we’ve got a little break, Kimber and I are going to catch up,” Jesse chimed in, now standing beside her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.
“Just remember your priorities, Romeo. We’ve got a lot riding on this next album and upcoming tour.” Call frowned.