silver foxes. At thirty-nine, Roman already knew he wouldn’t be one of those guys. He was already tired by ten every night and hated working until two each morning. The most depressing part of it all was that he thought he would have found himself by now. Everyone else his age seemed to have their shit together. Not Roman. He just didn’t have any real talents. Coming back to L.A. always reminded him of that.
By the time Roman weaved his way through the hospital parking lot, heading for the door, the depression he always barely kept at bay threatened to pour in. He never knew when it would strike. That was why he loved making other people smile so much. When he made other people happy, that was the only time Roman felt good about himself.
A loud whistle rent the air. “Yo. Roman.”
Roman’s steps faltered at the sound of his name being called. He looked over his shoulder to find a group of four men headed his way. He recognized three of the men, even though he had only met two. Roman had met Johnny and Wrecker the last time he came to L.A. to see Johnny’s concert. Well, truthfully, he had come to see Brett, and Johnny was Brett’s client, so the concert had been the perfect excuse. Of the three men headed his way, the only human-sized man squeezed between all the huge bodies was the one Roman couldn’t tear his gaze from. It was Jessie Thunder. Roman couldn’t even blink. He had met a lot of semi-famous people over the years, but Jessie was a legend. A rock-and-roll god. Everyone knew his name and face and he was headed Roman’s way.
The moment they reached his side, Johnny jumped in, talking a mile a minute. “I almost didn’t recognize you with your short hair. How is Brett? We heard about his accident on the news and I tried calling, but he didn’t answer. I don’t know what room he’s in or anything, but the news said he’s here. I’m glad to see you. Jessie came with us in case we had to leverage star power to find out his room number, but running into you makes things so much easier.”
Roman had to force his gaze away from Jessie. “Um, yeah. He’s okay. I’m headed up now if you want to come with me.” They all headed inside together while Roman kept filling in the blanks. “He was pinned in the crash, so he ended up with a crushed foot and ankle. They put it all back together, but he’ll be down for a while.” Johnny hissed but didn’t interrupt. “His nose is broken, and his entire left side is black with bruises. Before I left to get him some things from the house, they pumped him full of pain meds, so he’s probably sleeping. I imagine that’s why he didn’t answer when you called.” Roman met Johnny’s stare. “He was really upset about missing your wedding. I had to make him stop apologizing. Congratulations, by the way.” As Wrecker and Johnny thanked him, Roman lost his ability to pretend any longer. He focused on Jessie. “I’m Roman. I’m a huge fan.”
A sweet-looking smile touched Jessie’s lips. Roman lost his breath. Jessie looked... kind. Roman never could have anticipated that. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m glad Brett has someone taking care of him. To be honest, I half expected to get here and find out he had checked himself out of the hospital. He doesn’t strike me as the type to tolerate any interruption to his schedule. No matter what.”
A laugh burst from Roman. “If I wasn’t here, you’d be right. He was half out of it this morning and he still managed to write me a list of work he needs done today while hiring a car to drive me home. I don’t know how he could see his phone with all the drugs pumping through him, but he has shit to do. He wasn’t letting this hold him down.”
Johnny released a loud sigh. “Yep. That sounds like him.”
Roman glanced between Wrecker and Johnny as they stepped off the elevator and onto Brett’s floor. “Aren’t you two going on a honeymoon or something?”
Wrecker nodded and answered for them. “We’re headed to Maine in the morning. I own a business and it’s not as easy to walk away from as I’d like.”
“What type of business?” Honestly, Roman was merely making conversation.
“The Back Porch. It’s a coffeehouse,” Johnny answered