Burn Out (21 page)

He listened to his
receptionist tell him that the irate artist from L.A. had called twice in the
last hour and he refused to be put off again.

Pinching the
bridge of his nose, he closed his eyes and tipped his head back. “Call the
pilot. I’ll be at the airport within the hour.”

Courtney waited
until he set the phone in the cradle before she asked, “Problems?”

“Just another
artist throwin’ a temper tantrum. I swear some of these guys are worse than
toddlers.”

“True,” Courtney
said, smiling. “But you can’t deny they make you a lot of money.”

“Why do you think
I put up with it?”

Courtney stood,
resting her hands on the back of the swivel chair. “I know you have to get
going, but if you want to call me later to finish this conversation, feel
free.”

He reached for her
hand, bringing it to his lips. “Thanks, sweetheart. Havin’ a friend like you
that I can talk to helps.”

She leaned over to
kiss his cheek. “Anytime, hon. You know that. Don’t worry about the benefit.
I’ll take care of everything.”

By the time Erika
went over to pick up Chloe, her stomach was tied up in knots. She hadn’t heard
from Evan since she walked out on him and she was beginning to question whether
she would.

She tried to sound
nonchalant when she asked Bernice whether Evan had been in to pick up Skipper,
but she knew she wasn’t fooling anyone.

“No, he called
this afternoon on his way to the airport, asking if we would mind boarding
Skipper for a day or two while he was out of town on business.” The older woman
smiled. “I’m surprised you didn’t know about his plans. I was under the
impression the two of you were getting close again.”

Bernice had worked
for her father for years and she’d heard Erika speak of Evan dozens of times
over the years. She’d also been there to witness Erika’s utter devastation when
she finally ended their relationship.

“Um, no. It must
have been a last minute thing.” Erika was grateful when the phone in her pocket
started buzzing. She smiled when she looked at the call display. “Lena! When
did you get back?”

“Late last night.
I was hoping you ladies would be up for a drink at Jimmy’s tonight? I wanted to
show you some of the pics from the wedding.”

Glancing at her
watch, Erika considered her options. A night at home alone with Chloe, stewing
about her problems with Evan, or a night out with her girlfriends… “I just need
to go home to shower and change. I can be there by nine.”

“Sounds perfect,”
Lena said. “I’ll see you then.”

“Sounds like Mr.
Spencer’s not the only one making plans,” Bernice said, leaning over the
counter.

“Some of the girls
are getting together at Jimmy’s. I’m going to be on call though, if anyone
needs me. That bulldog who just came out of surgery will need constant
supervision throughout the night. Who’s coming in for the night shift?”

“Tracey doesn’t
have school tomorrow and she needs the hours, so she volunteered.”

“Okay, just let
her know where I’ll be and how she can reach me.”

“You got it, Doc.
You want to leave Chloe here for the night?”

“Maybe that would
be best. She doesn’t like being home alone. Besides, since Skip will be here…”

Bernice smiled.
“They have gotten quite close, haven’t they?”

That’s what
worried Erika. Not only was she putting her own heart at risk, but her poor
innocent dog stood to lose her new best friend if she and Evan didn’t work out.

***

By the time Erika
made her way through the crowd at Jimmy’s, Anna, Alisa, Lena, and Brianna were
already sitting in a booth near the front doors. “Wow,” she said, hanging her
coat on a hook fixed to the wooden booth. “I can’t believe how busy it is for a
Monday night.”

“Some hot new act
is playing here tonight,” Lena explained, getting up to hug her. “What’s her
name again?”

“Cassidy Ross,”
Brianna said, kissing Erika’s cheek. “Ryan told me Evan’s thinking about signing
her.”

Just the sound of
his name affected Erika in ways she would never admit to her friends. It scared
her to acknowledge how much she wanted this to work. The effort she’d put forth
over the past year trying to expunge him from her life was wiped clean during
the hours she’d spent in his bed this past weekend.

“Speaking of
Evan,” Brianna said, nudging her in the ribs when all of the women were seated.
“Ryan told me you stopped by the office today. He said you brought Evan lunch.
What was that about?”

Erika knew she
would be subjected to an inquisition tonight. Not that she could blame her
friends. If their situations were reversed, she would have been curious as
well. “Honestly, I don’t know where we stand.”

Thankfully, J.T.
McCall chose that moment to approach their table. Bending to kiss Erika on the
cheek, he said, “This is a nice surprise. I haven’t seen you around here
since…” He smirked. “That’s right, it wasn’t that long ago, was it? I seem to
recall Evan was haulin’ you out of here-”

“Stop!” she said,
holding her hand up. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

J.T. laughed. “A
good bartender knows when to keep his mouth shut. What can I get you to drink,
darlin’?”

Erika looked
around the table. Her friends all had drinks in front of them. “Um, I’m on call
tonight. Maybe just a virgin strawberry daiquiri.”

“Comin’ right up,”
he said, winking.

“We ordered a
veggie platter and some nachos too,” Anna said. “They should be coming up in a
minute.”

Erika realized she
hadn’t taken the time to eat dinner. Of course, she hadn’t had much of an
appetite since her argument with Evan. “Sounds good.” She looked across the
table at Lena. “So, tell me about your honeymoon, girl. Was it fabulous?”

Lena closed her
eyes, a huge grin spreading across her face. “It was amazing.”

Erika tried to
ignore the twinge of envy. Lena was one of her best friends, and given her
start in life, she deserved to be happy more than anyone. Just because Erika’s
future with Evan was still up for grabs didn’t mean she couldn’t be happy that
someone she cared about had finally married their soul mate.

“I wanna see the
pictures,” Erika said, sitting up straighter.

Lena reached into
her oversized designer purse and extracted a mini iPad. Turning it on, she
smiled as she scrolled until she found the folder she was looking for. “Here
they are,” she said, handing the tablet to Erika.

Erika set it down
on the table so both she and Brianna could see the images. “Wow, they’re
gorgeous. Look at that backdrop… the ocean… the flowers. It really is
breathtaking.”

“Ryan and I were
so inspired we’re thinking about doing the same thing,” Brianna said quietly.

Alisa squealed,
covering her giggle behind her hand when the bouncer posted by the door gave
her a curious look. “Oh my God, does that mean what I think it means?”

Brianna held up
her left hand to reveal a stunning pear shaped solitaire. “He asked me this
past weekend. We were going to announce it last night at his parents’ house,
but since Evan couldn’t make it…” Brianna gave Erika a pointed look. “We
decided to hold off.” She grinned. “But I just couldn’t wait another second to
share it with you guys.”

Erika put her arm
around her friend’s shoulders. “I’m so happy for you two. You guys belong
together.” It was hard to imagine any two people more perfect for each other
than Evan’s brother and Bri, except maybe… She cleared her throat. “Excuse me,
ladies. I’ll be right back. I just have to use the restroom.”

Four pairs of eyes
turned to her before Anna reached for her hand, asking, “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,”
she said, faking a smile. Rushing across the dance floor to the restrooms in
the rear of the old building, she was surprised when a strong hand reached out
to grab her wrist. She was prepared to shake the man off when she looked up to
see Jeff smiling down at her.

“I’m surprised to
see you here, pretty lady.” He looked around as though he half-expected to see
Evan making his way towards them. “You’re not here alone, are you?”

“No, of course
not.” She gestured to the booth where her friends were bent over the tablet in
the center of the table. “I’m here with the girls.”

He looked over at
their table. “Looks like they’re busy, so you have time for a drink, right?”

She didn’t want to
lead him to believe she may be willing to resume their personal relationship.
“I, uh…”

Jeff smiled. “I’m
just proposing a drink, not marriage, Erika.”

She laughed at the
absurdity of her assumption. “In that case, I’d love to hear about your new
job.” She could use a distraction from the wedding talk. As happy as she was
for her friend, she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to discuss wedding plans
tonight.

“They have a
couple of stools at the bar. Let’s go.” He reached for her hand to lead her
through the throngs of people crowding the dance floor.

J.T. raised an
eyebrow when he saw them together. “I was just about to deliver this to your
table. You saved me the trip.” He passed Erika the drink she’d ordered before
turning to Jeff. “What can I get you, man?”

“Just a ginger
ale,” Jeff said, reaching for the small bowl of pretzels to his right. He slid
it between him and Erika before popping one in his mouth. “I’m here with a
couple of friends and I’m the designated driver, as usual.”

“Wish I had a
designated driver,” she said, sighing. If ever she needed a drink or three, tonight
was the night. “I’m on call. I performed surgery on a bulldog this morning and
you know they’re famous for post-surgical respiratory distress. I have to be on
guard, just in case I get a call from the clinic.”

Jeff nodded to
J.T. when he passed him the drink he’d ordered. “Thanks.”

“Where’s Evan
tonight?” J.T. asked, looking Erika in the eye.

Evan was J.T.’s
brother-in-law and it was no secret to anyone that family loyalty meant
everything to the McCall brothers.

“From what I hear,
he had a last minute business trip.” She shrugged as though she could care
less, hoping J.T. would take the hint. “He didn’t tell me about it. I heard
about it through one of my employees because he called in to ask them to board
his dog for a couple of days.”

“Huh,” J.T. said,
looking at Jeff out of the corner of his eye. “I just talked to him a few days
ago. He gave me the impression you guys were gettin’ pretty tight again.”

She loved Evan’s
large, over-protective, meddling extended family, but she was not in the mood
to define their relationship when she didn’t even know where things stood
herself. “To be honest, J.T., I don’t know what’s going on with us. You’ll have
to ask your brother-in-law about it when he gets back.”

“Don’t worry,
sugar. I intend to.” He glared at Jeff. “In the meantime, you behave yourself,
and let me know if y’all need anything, all right?”

Offering him
little more than a tight smile in response, she asked, “Why are you here
serving drinks?”

“A couple of my
bartenders are down with the flu, so I offered to fill in tonight. Besides,
it’s always busy when Cassidy Ross is performin’. She’s the hottest ticket in
town right now.”

“Yeah, the girls
were talking about her earlier,” Erika said before taking a sip of her drink.
“They said Evan’s thinking about signing her.”

“I sure hope so,”
J.T. said, drawing a beer for another customer. “That kid’s had a rough go of
it. I’d like to see someone give her a break.” He grinned. “Of course, it
doesn’t hurt that her fiancée is none other than Drake Elliott.”

Erika’s mouth fell
open. “Seriously? As in Drake Elliott, the producer? I’ve met him a few times
at parties. Evan says he’s the most sought after producer in Nashville.”

J.T. set the beer
down in front of the customer who’d ordered it before drawing a second one for
the man’s friend. “Yeah, he produced Nikki’s last album. The guy has somethin’
crazy like a hundred number one hits to his credit. He’s a great guy though.
Been comin’ in to the bar for years.”

“Huh, well, I’m
anxious to hear his fiancé sing tonight.”

“Trust me, she’s
incredible,” J.T. said before moving on to take the next customer’s drink
order.

“So,” Jeff said,
taking a sip of his drink. “Trouble between you and what’s his name already?”

“I’d rather not
talk about Evan,” she said, reaching for a pretzel stick and popping it into
her mouth. “Tell me about the new job. How’s that working out for you?”

He set his hand on
her back, grinning. “Why? You finally realized you can’t live without me?”

She laughed to let
him know what a joke she thought that was. Getting rid of him was the best
decision she’d ever made. The new veterinarian she’d hired was settling in
nicely and she didn’t have to deal with the drama of someone questioning every
decision she made. “Everything at my clinic is just fine, Jeff.”