One More Time - Ali Parker Page 0,47

said, setting her now-cold cup of tea down. “I just wanted you to know so you could evaluate him in the context of everything. It wasn’t fair to either of you, you not knowing.”

“Thanks, sis,” I said, rising when she did and hugging her as she reached for her purse. “For everything.”

“Anything for you,” she replied, returning my hug with a tight one of her own. “I know the knowledge doesn’t give you a miracle map of what to do, but I hope it sheds some light. Good luck. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do,” I told her, walking her to the door. “Say thanks to Jared for me.”

“Will do,” she repeated in a sing-song voice, and then she was gone. The bomb she’d dropped followed me around for the rest of the day. My heart and soul ached for Caleb’s sake when I thought of it all, while I also tried to figure out where that left me in the picture that was Caleb’s life and belief system.

The truth that I was loathe to admit to myself was that I didn’t know if I could live in the shadow of a woman from the past. I didn’t know how he would react when I told him about Elizabeth, and I didn’t know if and how I’d be able to be with him if he was still hung up on her.

What I did know was that I was in love with him. Head-over-heels, reach-for-the-starts in love with him. The only thing was that he was a star and that I’d already reached him once. I didn’t know if I’d be allowed or able to do it again.

Chapter 19

Caleb

Home sweet home, I thought sarcastically. It was ironic how, despite San Diego being our hometown, we were all staying in a hotel all the same. Just another hotel room among the hundreds that would be our home on this tour.

Standing at the bank of windows in my suite, I looked out over the city I’d grown up in. The streets of downtown were bustling, and the bay was sparkling, the beaches already starting to fill up.

We’d played our first show here last night, sold out since San Diegans still saw us as theirs, and we had another one next week. Then, because that show was scheduled for two days before Christmas and this was supposedly our home, we had a couple of weeks off before the tour carried on.

An unexpected knock sounded at my door, pulling me from my thoughts. I hadn’t ordered breakfast, but maybe Alicia had them bringing up fruit and all that shit she liked for breakfast. I got ready to snarl at anyone bringing me rabbit food, yanking the door open with a scowl.

Standing at my door wasn’t a room service cart or a friendly hotel employee, though. It was Kelly.

Surprise caused my heart to hammer in my chest. Well, surprise and the short shorts she was wearing. She’d paired the barely there denim shorts with a white button-up shirt that was loosely tucked in, dark sunglasses hanging on the top button.

Her golden hair shone as it cascaded over her shoulders, anything but tame. Those green eyes that I hadn’t looked into for weeks had nothing but a dab of eyeliner underneath them, and her lips were pink and glossy, but she didn’t seem to be wearing any other makeup.

She lifted a brow, planting one hand on her curvy hip. “Well? Are you gonna stand there staring at me, or can I come in?”

I moved out of the doorway and motioned her inside, dragging a hand through my hair. I’d showered shortly after waking up, but since I didn’t have any immediate plans, I’d put on a pair of drawstring pajama pants and stayed shirtless.

“Come on in. And I wasn’t staring. It’s called being surprised.” My eyes tracked Kelly as she walked to the living area of the suite and turned in a slow circle.

“You don’t say,” she mused. Once she’d completed her quick sweep of my living area, she turned her back on me, crossed her arms, and stared out the windows I’d been looking out of just before she arrived.

Tension knotted her shoulders, and I could feel it radiating from her, straight into me. Kelly and I hadn’t spoken much since that incident at the first show. In fact, we hadn’t said anything more to each other than the occasional polite greeting, and even that was strained.

She’d been traveling with the tour as I’d