against my chest.
“You okay?”
“Never better. Well, nice chatting with you, Tristan. I hope you enjoy Brooklyn,” I said, before I spun on my heel and darted from the café.
When did I become a damn spaz?
I made it to my office with a few minutes to spare, ignoring Jessica’s raised brow. I spotted my client in the waiting area.
“Hey, Tim. Come on in.” I held my door open for him.
“Hey, Evie. It’s been a week.” He sounded exasperated, but then again, he usually did.
“How’s Connor?” I asked, mentioning his nine-year-old son, and Tim launched into Connor’s latest antics.
The appointment went smoothly, as did the two others I had that afternoon, but in between clients, I couldn’t stop thinking about Tristan and how much I wanted to run into him again, which would be a mistake.
I had thirty minutes before my next client, and instead of reviewing my notes, I pulled up Google and typed in Steelwolf and New York. A bunch of articles popped up from shows they’d done over the years, but there were also a few recent articles. The entire band was definitely living in New York. There were photos of them in various spots around town. There was even a story about Sebastian Clark hooking up with Jamie’s sister, who also lived here.
Cassie had been here all along. I could’ve looked her up over the years, but what the hell was I supposed to say? I had a one-night stand with her brother—her dead brother—and did she want to meet her nephew? Who does that?
I’d questioned my decisions from day one but had never figured out the right thing to do, so I’d left it on the backburner hoping to gain clarity eventually. Now, three years had gone by. Tristan showing up now was forcing these questions back to the front of my brain and they were not welcome.
I knew what would happen if I sprung this on them. They’d think I was lying. That I wanted money. That I wanted notoriety.
I didn’t want any of that. We didn’t want for anything. James had everything he needed, but what kid doesn’t want to know where he came from?
I was going in circles and there were no easy answers. I needed to get out of my head.
And the best way to do that was with my bestie. A girl’s night with Mackenzie always made me feel better.
I swiped on my phone and tapped on our text chain.
Evie: Hey. I need drinks. You up for a night out?
It took seconds for her to respond.
Mac: Silly question. Obviously, I’m up for drinks.
Mac: What’s up?
Mac: You okay?
Evie: Fine. I’m fine. Just haven’t seen you in ages and I’m craving lemon drops.
Mac: I’m in. Tomorrow night. Jasper’s.
Evie: See you at nine.
James was always in bed by eight and my mother was always trying to push me out of the house, so getting her to agree to watch her grandson was never hard, but I double-checked with her anyway. Once she agreed, I went back to thinking about Tristan.
Of course.
Why did his eyes have to sparkle? Those lemon drops couldn’t come soon enough.
Mac eyed me over the rim of her martini glass the following night. “So, what’s going on?”
“Can’t we just go out for drinks?”
“We can,” she drew out, goading me to spill.
“Fine. The last few days I’ve run into,” I dropped my voice to an inaudible whisper, “Tristan Sinclair.”
“I’m sorry, why are you whispering? It’s not Dustin, is it? You haven’t been seeing him, right? I love you, but I will knock you into next week.”
“Calm down, crazy. And no, I will never spend another second in the same room with that asshole. No. I’ve been running into Tristan. Like from Steelwolf, Tristan.”
“Shut up.” She swatted my arm and sent my lemon drop sloshing over the side of the glass.
I licked the sticky mixture off my hand and glared at her. “Watch the flailing.”
“I’m Italian. We flail.”
I laughed.
“Why are you just telling me this now?” she asked.
“About the flailing?” I asked, with a grin, before I took a sip, the tart liquor hitting the spot.
“Don’t be an ass. How long has this thing been going on with Tristan?”
“First, there’s no thing with Tristan.”
“And second?”
“Okay. There’s no second. Anyway, I ran into him at my office and then a few places near my house.”
“Weird.”
“I know.”
“And you’re freaking out?”
“Obviously. Apparently, they’re all living here. I have to think about James.”
Mac had been the one to drag me to the Steelwolf concert that night. My divorce