“When did you get in?”
“Half an hour ago. I came here straight from the airport.”
Trent was wondering why his best friend had chosen to visit Club T’s over reuniting with the woman he loved first. “Are you meeting Melody here?”
“No, it’s late. I’ll see her tomorrow.”
“I’m sure she’d like to see you tonight.”
“I really don’t want to bother her.”
“Bother her?” Trent stared at his friend in dismay. “I was right. There is trouble between you two. Is it because she was on tour for so long?”
“What has she said?”
“Nothing. And that’s what’s weird. Normally she talks about you all the time. It’s kind of annoying.”
“Well, maybe that’s because she’s not in love with me anymore.”
“Has she said that?”
“Not in so many words.”
“Then what are you basing it on?” Trent waited for his friend’s reply. When Kyle kept his lips pressed together, a belligerent scowl pulling down his brows, Trent said, “I know my sister. If she wasn’t in love with you, she’d let you know.” Still, Kyle said nothing. “Did you do something?”
“What makes you think it’s my fault?”
Disgusted, Trent shook his head. “Because she’s down in the dumps and you sound defensive.”
“Can we not talk about your sister? I’m here to have some fun. Let’s grab some drinks and find some women who want to have a good time.”
Trent couldn’t believe what his best friend was saying. They’d just been talking about the problems he and Melody were having and Kyle wanted to chase women? But when he took a harder look at Kyle, Trent recognized the desperate edge in his friend’s expression. As if he intended to have fun even if he didn’t feel like it. Deciding Kyle wasn’t as indifferent to his problems with Melody as he was trying to appear, Trent swallowed the harsh lecture he’d been about to deliver.
“I can’t right now,” Trent said. “It’s been a crazy night, with one thing after another going wrong.” Almost as if on cue, Trent’s phone buzzed, delivering another text message. Now they were running out of a particular vodka that one of their VIPs preferred. He exhaled and got to his feet. “To top it off, our DJ got sick at the last minute, so I’ve got Nate up on stage.”
“I saw. The crowd seems to be enjoying him a lot.”
“You know, for an introvert, he’s a pretty decent showman.”
They both laughed. Few people would characterize the front man for Free Fall as an introvert, but in truth, as much as he enjoyed making music, Nate needed a lot of downtime during his tours.
“Come on,” Trent said, heading for the door. “Why don’t you come with me while I put out a couple fires, and then I’ll show you some of the upgrades we’ve done to the outside since you were last here.”
Kyle grumbled about coming to Vegas to play, not work, but he accompanied Trent on his rounds. To Trent’s surprise, his friend stuck with him the whole night, even though he had several offers to hang out with some very beautiful women. They parted ways at three. Kyle was heading off to try his luck at the tables and Trent still had work to do.
At five he debated the feasibility of heading home for a couple hours. He had a meeting with a new liquor distributor at eight. If he stayed on his couch, he could catch an extra hour of sleep. But as he lay staring at the shadowy ceiling, his overactive mind kept him awake.
He was back to thinking about Kyle and Melody. Although Trent had been opposed to their relationship when he’d originally learned of it, he’d come around after seeing how happy his sister was with Kyle. Now, however, he was worried that Melody was going to get hurt, and he knew she would be furious with him if he interfered.
A few hours later, the meeting with his potential distributor went well. Trent had managed to catch enough sleep to give the guy a fair hearing. The addition of some unique, high-end product would enhance the appeal of Club T’s in an already cutthroat market. The club’s closest competitor might be seven million a year behind them in sales, but that could change if Club T’s had a couple bad months.
Eager to catch a few more hours of sleep, Trent headed home. The smell of coffee hit him as he entered his open-concept living space from the garage. He sucked in a big breath and felt revitalized. All thoughts of heading off to bed vanished as he spied Savannah and Dylan out on the terrace. She was sitting on the concrete while Dylan put a ball through a miniature basketball hoop.
Leaving his tie and suit coat draped over the banister, Trent poured himself a cup of coffee and headed out to enjoy the cool morning.
Savannah glanced his way as he approached. “Are you just getting home?”
“It was a late night and I had a meeting at eight this morning.” He sat in the chair nearest the pair and sipped from his mug. Murphy came over to greet him, and Trent lifted the Frenchie onto his lap and gave him a thorough scratching. The dog snorted with pleasure. “I grabbed a couple hours’ sleep on the couch in the office.”