e, even.”
“Admittedly, I was a little scared about being in love when he was on the cusp of greatness.”
Tague said, “Eventually, it all came to a head.”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed on her. Consternation flickered in his dark irises. His jaw worked. Then he seemed to catch himself and forced it to still. “Tell me. Let’s get this all out, Loralai. It’s time to get all of this out of our systems.”
She knew he was right. Yet this wasn’t so easy to reconcile.
“Loralai,” Tague said again. His arm shifted from the top of the sofa to wrap around her shoulders. Somehow, the protective embrace provided a safe haven for her confession.
She told him, “I was the one to get him the audition with Deft Riff. Through a friend of a friend. He nailed it. They were already a chart-topping band and had just the right sound. He felt it was the perfect match. We celebrated when he found out he’d landed the job, and I gave him what he wanted. Because he was so elated about the gig, I’d suddenly convinced myself I was ready. Not to mention, Corey had gone on and on about how bright our future was. Our future.”
She simmered over the way he’d waxed poetic about the life they were going to have. He’d told her he was going to buy them a house in Malibu and she could expand her design firm.
Never happened.
She said, “He threw himself into learning all of Deft Riff’s songs and had to quit school to finish their tour with them. He became an overnight superstar. And the fame and fortune went straight to his head. A little shocking, but then again, he’d worked so hard to get there, I guess he felt he deserved the spoils of his sacrifices. I could understand that, to an extent.”
“You really did admire his talent and dedication.”
“Yes. Until it bit us in the ass.” Her teeth ground. “Corey didn’t have the balls to tell me he was cheating on me while on tour. With his lead singer, Tamara Ryland. I was at the grocery store and there were Corey and Tamara, draped all over each other at an after-party, the photo plastered on the front of a checkout-stand tabloid. So fucking trite it makes me ill.”
For L.L., there was nothing quite like the torture of that sort of betrayal and deception.
There was a distinct edge to her voice as she said, “Initially, I wasn’t inclined to believe one photo. But there were tons of them. All over the rags from numerous parties in different cities, different countries. They didn’t just randomly hookup, they had a full-on affair.”
“Son of bitch,” Tague seethed. Then took a deep breath. Kissed her forehead. Obviously fought for a less volatile tone as he told her, “Loralai, I’m really sorry.”
She tamped down the wave of pain that came with Corey’s infidelity. The way he’d devastated her.
“We were such the perfect couple in high school. Reality hit us pretty fucking hard after we graduated. But Corey got everything he ever wanted. My surrender—which I since swore I would never give again. A famous band and a rock princess.”
She shifted out of Tague’s embrace and stood, crossing to the fire and staring at the roaring flames. “Maybe I’m just supposed to forgive and forget,” she caustically mused. “My mother did when it came to my father. But it eats at me that Corey didn’t have enough respect for me—for us and all we’d built together—to tell me he wanted to sleep with someone else. To tell me he was in love with someone else. No. I had to fucking read about it with the rest of the goddamn world.” Her voice cracked.
“That’s incredibly shitty.”
L.L. turned back to him, fat drops rolling down her flushed cheeks. “We both got shit on.”
“Yes. And since we both know how it feels,” he reasoned in his lawyerly voice, “we both know not to do that to each other.”
“I never would,” she vowed.
“Neither would I.”
They stared at each other. L.L. tried to latch onto the true source of pain that besieged her soul. And realized that she’d gotten over her fear of giving her heart to Tague. But now had another fear to face.
“You know,” she said, resisting the natural urge to gnaw her lip. “Corey and I were solid when he went on tour. Three months later…we were over.”
“Loralai.” Tague got to his feet and took a few wide strides toward her. He pulled her into his arms and said, “I am not a twenty-year-old rock star incapable of keeping his dick in his pants.”
“No, you’re not.” Her fingertips slid over his silk tie. “You’re a high-powered international attorney who is damn sexy and knows how to make a woman come so hard she sees stars.” Her gaze lifted to his. “Something tells me you have your own groupies.”
He stared deep into her eyes and said, “I won’t cheat. That’s a guarantee I can make. A promise I will never break.”
More tears spilled down her cheeks. “If you reach that point when you’re in Tokyo, Tague…”