Page 8 of Everything After (Everything Trilogy)

LILY

“What’s up?” Cody, my co-singing bandmate asked, frowning and eyeing me with suspicion.

“That was strange,” I admitted, staring at my cell phone when Cody caught me off guard by his question.

“What was?” he asked, leaning over and placing a hand on my knee.

I glanced down at his overly familiar gesture and sat back in my seat, out of his reach. “Alfie, he went to visit an old flame without mentioning it to me.”

“An old flame?” Cody questioned with his brows raised in surprise. For a second, I thought I detected a note of smugness in his tone

“It doesn’t mean anything,” I blurted out. “It’s… oh, I’m just tired,” I muttered, sighing and unwilling to explain her relationship to Alfie for him.

Sienna Oliver had a onetime, special, ‘before me’ history with Alfie, and she was his dead army buddy Gary’s sister and was also Alfie’s only real ex-girlfriend.

Before and after Sienna, Alfie had been a player until he’d met me and had never tied himself to one girl. However, lately, Sienna’s name had been cropping up frequently in conversation with a note of melancholy, whenever Alfie had reminisced about missing his friend.

Am I to be concerned? Aren’t Alfie and I solid?

I immediately asked myself. For a while now, Alfie and I had spent a lot less time together, that had been true for the previous eighteen months.

But I still believed we were deeply in love.

So why did I have an attack of insecurity because he’d gone to meet her without mentioning his intention to me?

As far as I knew, he had only seen Sienna once since his buddy’s funeral, and that was at Alfie’s sister, Layla’s wedding. Anyway, I reminded myself that I wasn’t Alfie’s keeper and figured, had I been home, he may well have taken me with him.

Alfie wasn’t a man who normally dwelled in the past, which made me question why this Memorial Day had been different to all the others since Gary had died.

Was it a special anniversary or something I’d had no clue about?

Or was there some unfinished business in relation to that?

Or did he think being with Sienna would somehow make him feel closer to the friend that he’d lost?

I shook off my negative thoughts and told myself that my husband adored me, while I tried desperately to squash any sense of emotional betrayal that tried to gain purchase in my conscience.

So why, if I was so certain of Alfie’s feelings toward me, had I felt insecure to know he was with her?

Since we’d been married, Alfie had never given me reason to doubt his commitment to us before.

If anything, he’d always been an alpha-type guy with a fiercely possessive streak when it came to me.

Maybe I’d reacted strongly because Sienna was the one person that had loved him long before he had a following, before his fame and groupies—before me.

A question crashed into my mind that I hadn’t welcomed. Had unresolved feelings for Sienna resurfaced?

The dull alarm of the seatbelt sign flashing dragged me out of my reverie as we began our descent into Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.

“Any plans for the rest of the weekend?” Cody asked, breaking into my thoughts.

It had been unusual for the two of us to travel alone.

But since Lennie, our lead guitarist, had stayed in New York with his partners Rick and Coral, and my other bandmates had planned visits in other States, we’d found ourselves alone for the ride home to Miami.

“None until Lennie’s barbecue on the weekend,” I responded, smiling at the thought of time alone with Alfie. Although, I don’t see why Lennie couldn’t have flown home with us and had Rick and Coral meet us in Miami,” I argued.

“Something about an appearance Rick had to do first,” Cody informed me. “Rick thought that was the plan too, but Lennie wanted to show up and surprise them.”

“Have you planned anything or are you going to chill at home for a while?” I queried.

“I’m heading down to the Keys to spend some time with Greg and Deakon from Screaming Shadows, then we’re all coming up to Miami on the weekend.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun. Alfie loves all the guys in that band, but he’s got a soft spot for Greg.” Irishman Greg had been a replacement for the old bassist in that band and a much better fit.

“Yeah, I love them all, but I’ve become good buddies with Greg too,” Cody agreed.

“Are you bringing anyone with you to the band Barbecue?” I probed, hoping he’d mention some girl or other.

“Nah, just me,” he replied in a flat tone.

“So when are you going to find a nice girl and settle down?” I asked.

“I did find a nice girl. The problem was that someone else found her first,” he mumbled and gave me the same wry smile as before.

I should have been flattered because Cody was a great guy, and had I not fallen hard for my husband from the beginning, he might well have been in with a shot at some point. But once smitten by Alfie, I’d only ever seen Cody in platonic terms.

“Aw, trust me, Cody. There’s a gorgeous girl who’s just right for you, waiting out there.”

“Funny, I thought I’d already met her,” Cody hinted again, his smile sad now. “But it’s okay, I know Alfie makes you happy.”

My affectionate smile hid the dull ache in my heart that he couldn’t see past me. Cody had the world at his feet and the pick of beautiful women world-wide, yet he appeared still fixated on me.

I’d made it clear from the moment I’d joined XrAid that I would never date anyone in our band. Yet Cody’s devotion toward me had never wavered. Of course, he’d been with plenty of women since he’d voiced his attraction for me, but he’d never gotten serious with a girl since I’d known him.

Professionally, he’d been the one person who has always calmed my stage fright with his gentle, uplifting words in the moments prior to us taking the stage.

Both he and Lennie, our lead guitarist, were super-supportive and indeed, it had been Cody who’d coaxed me back to work after a horrible accident on stage during one of our concerts.

“Let’s not do this again,” I suggested, sounding tired.

“I love you, but not how you want me to. Even though Alfie and I tried not to fall in love, it happened anyway. Let’s not give him any reason to doubt how solid our marriage is.

Do you realize how difficult it would be for us to continue to work together if he heard this conversation? He’d go ballistic.”

“I know but you asked me a question so I should be allowed to express how I feel, even if you don’t feel the same. I’ve tried to look forward, but you set the bar high. I’ve never found another girl that measures up.”

My heart ached again with his confession.

I sighed and stared at him for the longest time, before talking again.

“Your friendship means everything to me… I-I just wish…” I shrugged, unable to say anything that might have made him feel better.

A crushing pain grew in my chest as a feeling of helplessness settled in there.

I stared at a man who deserved the world, and I wished more than anything that Cody would meet his match. All he needed was someone who would steal his breath and leave him dazed by how hard he was in love with her.

“I know,” he said in a philosophical tone, covering for my lack of soothing words. He sighed. “I get it. It’s because I don’t have a chunk of metal speared through the crown of my dick, right?” he joked, suddenly lightening the heavy vibe between us, and casting me a rueful smile.

Thankfully our conversation was disrupted by the plane landing, sparing my blushes about his kinky reference to my husband’s sexy apadravya piercing.

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I stood and gathered my belongings while the male cabin crew member unlocked and opened the door. Cody moved past him and jogged down the steps.

“See you Sunday, I guess,” Cody muttered as he held out a hand to guide me down onto the asphalt.

“Of course,” I said as I stepped off the plane. I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Still holding my hand, Cody led me to the small passenger transport cart that sat, waiting to transfer me from the airplane to the helipads.

Slipping my hand from his, I smiled, nodding toward the driver of the chauffeur driven car loading our luggage into the trunk. “Go catch your ride… and remember to turn up sober to Lennie’s, there’ll be kids there.”

“I know,” he replied in a singsong voice. “Jack needs to tie a knot in it now,” he joked.

“Tell me about it,” I grumbled. “But he and Mya make beautiful babies so…” I trailed off, grinning when the image of my best friend, Jack, surrounded by his children floated through my mind.

I might have been biased, but Jack’s duo Spanish-English heritage made him and his children look utterly stunning.

Jack and Mya were flying into Miami over the weekend with their brood of five kids—their youngest being David—in honor of David Bowie.

“Right, I’d better…” he mumbled awkwardly, hitching a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of his car. “Sorry about the convo, I’m already feeling bummed with myself that I took us to that weird place again,” he admitted.

“You’re always weird,” I teased in return to lighten the mood as we were leaving. “See you Sunday.” I tapped the cart driver to let him know we were done, because the last thing I’d wanted was for things to turn awkward again.

As my transport put distance between us, I breathed a sigh of relief that our strained conversation was over.

Over the years, Cody had gotten less verbal about his feelings toward me. However, today was the anniversary of the day that I’d auditioned to join XrAid.

The tight feeling I’d had in my chest since the dialogue with Cody, dissipated the instant I set eyes on my gorgeous husband. Butterflies swarmed in my chest, and a familiar electrical buzz of anticipation ran through my veins.