Zoe touched her arm. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Noelle rolled her shoulders back. “Thank you. I only meant that once I let my guard down, we could create something special.”
“Tommy’s not a player.” Zoe covered her mouth as soon as the words left her lips. “I didn’t mean to say—”
“I don’t blame you. Alex can be... friendly.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it.”
“I guess I’ve gotten to know him better since I’ve been traveling with the band. I think... he hasn’t met the right woman yet.”
Zoe shrugged, directing her attention to the posters on the front windows, sporting the current fashions. Her eyes focused outside the large window. A familiar stroller caught her eye. Then her eyes diverted to the person pushing baby Celine. Not her mother, but Alex.
He bent over and handed Celine her teddy bear. She must have dropped it, or in her case, thrown it on the sidewalk. Zoe had to pick it up the few times she’d taken the baby for a stroll around the park.
Zoe’s heartstrings tugged. He was such a different man when he was around his baby cousin. Why wouldn’t he be? It didn’t mean he would be different with Zoe.
At that moment, his eyes met Zoe’s through the glass window. He waved, but his face appeared slackened. It wasn’t the usual smile he greeted her with. It was the look of disappointment.
Why? He could have any woman he wanted. Why would Alex waste his time with her? Zoe’s chest heaved.
“Or...” Noelle said behind her. “He has met the right woman.”
Zoe gasped and blinked at her words. Alex didn’t stick around much longer. He nodded and walked away, pushing the baby stroller.
***
Alex grabbed a soda from the small refrigerator on the tour bus. Their driver, Cooper, was ready to go. Tommy and Noelle had arrived ten minutes after him. Jackson and Bailey were left to show up.
Clutching his soda can, Alex gulped more of the fizzy liquid. It did nothing for the pit he felt in his stomach. He spotted Tommy and Noelle having a private conversation, noticing the couple embracing. Alex couldn’t look at them.
He walked a few steps away from the bus, wandering the parking lot. He checked the time on his cell phone. He told his dad he would call before he left. Might as well keep his word now.
“Left yet?” his father asked.
“In a few. Jackson and Bailey are on their way.” He rolled his shoulders back and rubbed at his eyes. Why did Zoe’s words haunt him in his sleep? A man like him playing with her emotions. What made things worse, Alex knew the words were true.
He hadn’t been genuine in a long time. Why should he? The women he’d dealt with were like parasites. They only wanted to take from him. With Zoe, he didn’t get that vibe. She... what was she to him? Alex couldn’t shake it.
“Son?”
Alex cleared his throat. “I’m here. Sorry about that.”
“Some woman on your mind?” his father asked.
Alex choked on his soda. “What?”
“I know woman trouble when I hear it.”
“No point. She wants nothing to do with me,” Alex said. Why did the thought make his heart feel as if it were shrinking?
“Does she have a reason for that?”
“Dad?”
“The last time I met one of your girlfriends was... what was her name? Started with an L, I think.”
“Don’t.”