Page 49 of The Temptation of Truth

“Yeah,” Sav says, “that’s what I was thinking, too. I never got to go on a vacation as a kid. I know you and Tor really didn’t either, and Jo...Well, nothing he did with his family was ever a good experience. Now that we’ve got Brynn and Teddy...I don’t know. I want to make it good for them, you know? Memorable. We’re able to do something most people only dream about, and I want to make the most of it. For them and for us.”

Her voice cracks, and my eyes sting with the hint of tears. I glance at her with a smile.

“Family vacations from now on?”

She meets my eyes with a smile of her own. “From now on.”

One of the unforeseen perks of our front woman also being the CEO of our record label is the intentionality she puts into everything. No more long, grueling tour schedules with no time to breathe or sleep between shows. Now we get to enjoy the travel. We get to rest and adventure andexperienceeverything.

Family vacations from now on.

“Thanks, Savvy.”

She smirks. “The Caveat Boys don’t know how good they have it.”

On cue, Ezra whoops as he hops out of their SUV, and then he grunts as if someone socked him in the gut.

“You should have put them up in a hotel.”

She sighs. “Probably, but I didn’t want to separate them from Callie. Band bonding and all that.” She turns to look at me. “I’m sorry Kat couldn’t stay.”

I shrug but I say nothing. I don’t even know ifI’msorry she couldn’t stay. We fought before she left. Things were tense, andI’m still not sure how I feel about all of it. This weird friendship with Kaz has always weighed on me, but it’s been feeling heavier lately. More crushing and harder to carry.

I’m questioning if it’s all worth it.

If she wanted to, she would.

But do I want her to? The answer evades me. I’m not sure what I want right now.

My eyes drift to Aurora. She’s standing between Hammond and Payton Jones, her newly appointed security guard, and they’re chatting about something I can’t hear.

I’m certain she’s been avoiding me, and while that bothers me, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a bit relieved, too. In her absence, I didn’t have to analyze things I wasn’t comfortable acknowledging. I could pretend that it didn’t sting to hear that she was married. That I wasn’t hit with a wave of disappointment so strong that I was momentarily shocked.

This morning, though...

This morning, I woke up feeling...I don’t know...Pulledto her, I guess. I couldn’t ignore the itch to talk to her. To see her. She sat next to Ham on the jet, then rode in an SUV with him and Jones, so I haven’t had a chance to talk to her. I haven’t seen her since Friday morning in Sav’s suite, and now it’s like I can’t stop looking at her.

She’s wearing another dress—this one maroon with capped sleeves—her hair is in a loose French braid, and she’s got her orchid held snuggly in her arms. I smile.Arthur Orchidaceae. It might be the lighting, but he’s looking a little greener than he did last time I saw him.

Then she laughs at something her security detail says, and I feel another prickle of jealousy. Jones is a tall guy with curly brown hair and tattooed sleeves. He’s one of our more attractive guards. I wonder if this is her type. A guy who is lean and tonedwith full lips and a strong jaw. A young guy. Someone closer to her age.

I bristle and tell myself to stop being ridiculous. Aurora is married. She’s not interested in Jones. Then I frown.Married.

She’s married, and I’m in a committed relationship.

None of it should bother me.

All of it does.

When she catches me staring, I wipe away my frown and replace it with a small smile. She smiles back, and I find my feet moving before I can think better of it. I reach her side just as our group starts walking toward the lodge entrance.

“Are you feeling better?”

She glances at me quickly, then looks away. “What do you mean?”

“You weren’t at the shows this weekend. I haven’t seen you.”

It’s not fair to bring this up, but I can’t help it. She shrugs.