He continues to smile at me. “Because you stood by me, not a fucking question asked, and you always have.”
I nod at him but don’t say anything else; instead, I gulp back the emotions his words have stirred up. Jesus, what the hell is wrong with me? All choked up over a few words.
“I’ve got your back, too,” Hunter says, “we’ve seen the last ten years together and I sure as shit wanna see the next ten with your crazy ass by my side. West is right – fuck ‘em. They wanna see what Crave’s made of, we’ll show them.”
My head spins; this isn’t what I was expecting this morning. I turn to Tom to give it to me straight but even he shocks the shit out of me. “You’ve got your work cut out for you, but we’ll get through this.”
I shake my head. “Sure, we’ll get through it, but at what cost?” I turn to look at everyone. “I screwed up, and I’m really fucking sorry.” I scrub my face and add, “God, if I could go back and change yesterday, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
And then Van speaks up and surprises the hell out of me. “Yeah, we know, but fuck, those reporters were assholes yesterday and if it hadn’t been you that cracked, it would only have been a matter of time until one of us had.”
“So this is the plan now,” Tom cuts to the chase, “I’ve cancelled all the interviews we had lined up for this afternoon. I think we all need to regroup and I don’t think it’s in any of your best interests to subject you to anything the press has to throw at you today. I want you all to take the day and refocus. I’m going to try and organise a photo shoot for tomorrow and an interview with a friendly face.”
I frown. “Who? Who haven’t I pissed off?”
He chuckles. “You might be surprised, Jett. You’ve got ten years of good behaviour behind you and while the public are quick to judge, there are a lot of people in this industry who know what you stand for and love you. We’ll find someone.”
I drink most of my coffee in one go and stand. “You guys don’t mind if I bail, do you? I think I need some time to myself today.”
They all nod in agreement and I head out of the restaurant, security guy in tow. I have no idea where I’m going; I just know I need to get out of here.
As I’m striding through the lobby, I see a vision and know for sure I’m hallucinating.
It can’t fucking be right.
And yet, the vision keeps coming toward me.
“Jett.”
Presley.
“Fuck me, sweetheart, what the hell are you doing here?” I say as I pull her to me and plant a long, deep kiss on her lips.
Best fucking thing that’s happened to me in days.
She smiles at me and says, “I couldn’t let you go through this alone. So I’m here. For however long you need me to be.”
I stare at her. None of today has gone as I predicted. “Thank God for that because I think I’m gonna need you.”
Still smiling, she says, “I thought you might.”
14
Presley
Jett gets me settled in his hotel suite and what an amazing suite it is. I’ve only ever stayed in standard hotel rooms, but Jett has all the bells and whistles. There’s an open plan living room and dining area, an amazing kitchen you could whip a three course meal up in, a luxurious bedroom with a king bed and a bathroom complete with a spa you could hold a party in if you were that way inclined. The living areas have dark wood flooring with rugs and the bedroom has plush carpet that I just want to take my shoes off and walk on. I can’t help but stare at it all with my mouth wide open. The opulence is breathtaking and I’m speechless.
As I stand in the living room surveying it, Jett snuggles me from behind. He wants to take me straight out for lunch but I tell him there’s no way I’m going anywhere until after I’ve had a shower.
“Only if I can clean you,” he says with a grin as he turns me in his embrace to face him.
I hold my hand up, signalling for him not to come anywhere near me. “As much as I want you, I need to get clean first. I stink, and I’m all stiff after that long flight.”
“Do I look like I care if you stink? And besides, you don’t.” When I raise my brows at him to signal that I’m not changing my mind, he waves me away. “Go, before I change my mind.”
I laugh and shake my head at him. “Do you really think you had any say in this?”
Sighing, he admits defeat. “No, I fully admit that you wear the pants in this relationship, sweetheart.”