She lets out a strangled laugh. “Uh, well, lets see, shall we?” She holds up a finger. “Your mom already hates me without even meeting me, and from what you’ve said, your brothers are talking to her. Or at least Brendan is.”
“My brothers know how she is,” I interject before she can get to her next point, because of all the things she might have to be nervous about, this is definitely not one of them. “Her opinions won’t color theirs. I promise.”
She gives me a doubtful look and continues before I can decide whether or not to go into great detail about the stunts my mother pulled where Gabby and Lauren were concerned and how my brothers each handled that.
“Your older brother is a massive star. And his wife, who you claim is excited to meet me, is one of the best songwriters on the planet.”
“Well, I mean—”
Her withering look cuts me off before I can counter that with anything.
“And if that weren’t enough, your other brother, who has unreasonably agreed to produce an album for us, is one of the most sought-after producers in the industry. Our label tried to get him for Golden Enigma’s first studio release, and he said no. Do you hear me, Colt? He’s already turned me down once, and that was when I was repped by a major recording label. Why the hell is he going to produce even a single for me now?”
“Because you’re my wife,” I say quietly.
For some reason that seems to deflate her. “Because I’m your wife,” she repeats. “I don’t even know what that means anymore. Everything is all tangled up and …” She shakes her head. “I don’t understand my life anymore.”
I suck in a deep breath, filtering through all my reactions for something that will be reassuring. But the problem is, I’m not really sure why my brother helping her because she’s my wife is upsetting. Is it the wife part? Or the fact that Brendan’s my brother? Or …? I feel like I’m missing something crucial here, and I don’t like it. And I really don’t like the way my heart seems to shrink at the quiet sorrow in her voice.
Letting go of the steering wheel, I reach for her hand, threading my fingers through hers and bringing her hand to my lips before releasing it. There’s too much traffic to drive one handed for long.
“Walk me through why you’re upset about being my wife, please.”
“Oh, Colt, no. No no no. That’s not—”
I throw a glance her way, one eyebrow raised. “That’s sure what it sounded like.”
She blows out a breath and covers her face with her hands. “I just … I feel like I’m taking advantage.”
A blue car whizzes past us on the left as I mull that over. “Isn’t that … I mean, that’s the deal, right? I help you, and you help me? My contacts, which include both of my brothers, are part of what I offered you. You weren’t upset about me using that same network to get concerts booked all over southern California over the next weeks and months.”
She lifts her hands and drops them in her lap again. “That’s different.”
“How?”
Another withering glare. “You know how. Don’t be dumb. Your brothers think that this is more than a business deal. They want to get to know me. This is a meet-the-family situation, and it makes me uncomfortable. I didn’t really care that your mom didn’t want to meet me, because it made it easier to keep things separate. But this? Your oldest brother and his wife flying in just for this dinner so they can meet me? This is crazy! Don’t you see that?”
“Is it really, though?” I counter. “I mean, I know how things started, but …” Suddenly I’m not so sure I should finish that sentence.
“But what, Colt?” she whispers when the silence lingers for too long.
It’s my turn to blow out a long breath. “But things have changed. Haven’t they? This is turning into something more. Something like a real relationship. And since we’re already married …”
Her laugh is hollow. Bitter. “See? This is why I didn’t want our relationship to turn physical. I knew emotions would get involved, and it would just make things messy.”
I flinch. I can’t help it. “It was always going to get messy,” I tell her calmly. Far more calmly than I feel. “I thought we agreed that avoiding sex would be just as messy as having it.