Page 14 of Guarding the Shadows (Pulsetunes Rock Gods #5)
R aff
I wasn’t prepared for the light feeling in my chest the instant I saw Beth again.
The moment I confirmed that she was still in one piece, I recognized something significant about myself.
I hadn’t spared another thought for my betraying ex-girlfriend all day.
And now that we breathed the same air again, a thought in my head decided that Gwen didn’t matter anymore.
“Okay, I’ll leave you two to get reacquainted,” Benny muttered awkwardly, clapping his hands with straight arms by his thighs.
He looked as uncomfortable as he sounded once I’d made his boundaries clear about Beth.
Barefooted, he padded across the room and sidestepped around me.
“I’ll be in my room. Give me a call when you’re ready to leave. ”
“Benny,” Beth called out. Her roadie turned with his hand on the doorknob to look at her. “Thanks again, you’re a lifesaver.” He gave her a sharp salute with two fingers to acknowledge the thanks she gave before he quietly opened the door and left us alone.
“That was rude,” Beth admonished, anger flushing her cheeks in that cute look that had always held my attention.
“What was?” I asked, pretending to have no clue about putting her roadie in his place.
“He saved me last night,” she argued, pointing at the door he’d left through.
“And I’m here now so he doesn’t have to,” I said evenly.
“But you weren’t when I was threatened, so you can show him the respect he deserves,” she snapped, sounding stern. Her arguing pissed me off but still managed to stir my dick in my pants at the same time.
I felt my jaw tick in frustration and inhaled a calming breath to relax. “You’re right, I’m sorry if I was insensitive, I was just worried about you.”
“As I’ve been about you,” she countered in a school marm tone. “I thought we were friends. It’s been a while, and you’ve had plenty of time to return my call. Why is that, Raff?” she challenged, watching me through narrowed eyes.
“I was in a bad headspace.” I should have felt embarrassed to admit that, and with anyone else I likely would have been, but not with her.
“I’m sorry she did that to you.”
I huffed out a sardonic laugh. “Yeah, well, I’m not.
Glad she showed her true colors, even if it took years for her to do that.
I guess love is blind because I had no clue about that other guy.
Fuck, can you believe she broke up with me by showing me her wedding invitation?
She planned to marry the guy before she’d even gotten around to telling me. ”
“Well, I bet there’s a special brand of hell for people like Gwen,” she stated, unsmiling.
“Anyway, she’s married, and I’ve moved on,” I said, dismissing the topic because I didn’t want to give Gwen more of my air.
Her concerned face fell in a frown. “Have you? Moved on?”
For a few seconds I considered if she meant was I over her but there was something about her sad expression that made me wonder if she thought I already had someone else. “What I mean is, I’m over what she did. My heart’s stopped breaking if that makes any sense,” I replied honestly.
“Good, because I can’t have you still loving a toad that I’ve never met, and I’d run over with my car if I ever saw her.”
“Aw, and I didn’t know you cared,” I mocked, grinning at the building chemistry from our conversation.
“Of course you do. At least you would have if you’d listened to my voicemail.”
“I did and it was … perfect for how I was feeling at the time. Honestly, Beth, I was in a hellish place for a while—drunk most of that time. Let’s just say my mood wasn’t pretty and leave it like that.”
Bodhi knocked on the door, interrupting us, and I stood. “We’ll continue this chat later,” I promised.
“I’m going to head back to Jacksonville. Levi’s flying up, and he’s going walkabout. I think you and Benny will be good without me. What do you think?”
“We’ll be fine. Don’t come back. I’ll bring her home when her gigs are finished.”