to talk about my mother and how much I missed her. I was breathing salt-filled air and there were no trees, just a sandy beach and the Pacific Ocean in the back yard. I just wanted to go home.
Making sure I had my keys, I closed the door behind me just as Lucy’s Range Rover pulled into the driveway. I picked up the guitar case and practically ran toward the vehicle. Lucy greeted me with a grin and a hug and I soaked up the affection from her before settling back into my seat and fastening my seatbelt.
“You looked like you were escaping something worse than death when we pulled up,” Lucy said with a laugh as Marcus pulled out of the driveway and headed for L.A.
I laughed. “Yeah, well, I did. My dad had just gotten home. He actually talked to me.”
Her eyes widened. I hadn’t held back when I’d told her about how it was at home—no, not ‘home.’ That was never going to be home for me. Home was where you felt safe and loved. How it was at their house.
Of course I hadn’t held back when I’d told her about me and Jace on Monday, either. I hadn’t meant to unload it all on her, but she was just so easy to talk to and I hadn’t been able to keep the words in any longer.
It had taken longer than I had thought to get Lucy to go back to First Bass, however. She hadn’t told me what was up with her and that Harris guy, but it didn’t take a brain surgeon to realize they had history. Why else would her name be on a list that some people would kill to be on, yet she was reluctant to use?
The drive into the city was a long one, but since we both had a late curfew—one my mother would have lost her shit over if she knew about it—we didn’t have to worry. Lucy was quiet most of the ride but I didn’t push her to talk. I was going over the song that I was going to sing later and trying to remember the chords that I’d decided needed to be changed.
Thanks to Caleb, I had been playing guitar since I was six. His mother had been a music teacher and had gotten him hooked on learning instruments. He’d taught me how to read and write music and I’d bonded with him more than Angie because of our shared love of all things musical.
Marcus pulled to a stop in front of Frist Bass and I glanced out my window to see the flash of cameras already going off. Damn. That was the one drawback about going out with Lucy. The paps were hungry for anything they could get on her movements because she was a ‘rock princess,’ being the adopted daughter of a Demon.
I heard the paps screaming her name as soon as I opened my door and stepped out. Lucy was slower getting out so I waited for her at the rear of the Range Rover. Just as she met me, I heard the damn paps start calling my name too, wanting me to talk to them. Double damn.
Seeing the look on Lucy’s face, however, told me that maybe I shouldn’t have twisted her arm so hard to get her to come with me tonight. I reached for her hand, offering a comforting squeeze. “You really don’t want to be here, do you?” She tensed and I grimaced. “Look, we don’t have to do this. We can just go and I’ll come back another time on my own.”
Something close to relief flashed across her face but then she shook her head. “No. We’re doing this. I’m sorry for being such a drag. I’m over it now, though. I’m going to go in there and fan girl the place down when you get up there.”
I let out a relieved breath and smiled down at her. Lucy wasn’t the smallest chick I’d met, but I stood above the majority of the females I came in contact with. “Thanks, Lucy.” As much as I didn’t want to push her into something she really didn’t want to do, I was glad she was going in there with me. I didn’t want to do this on my own. I would probably chicken out.
It took a few minutes to get inside and then past the scary yet delicious security guy at the door. Marcus was right behind us the