California Dream (9 page)

“So?”

Margaret was not deterred by his attitude. “Are you going to marry her, Roddy?”

He thought his eyes would pop right out of their sockets. “I guess I haven’t thought that far ahead, since I barely even know her!”

“That doesn’t really matter.”

“Maybe not for a normal guy, but everything I do winds up on the front page of a magazine. I have to be careful.”

“Ha! If anyone can afford to live a little, it’s you. Didn’t I read a quote from you somewhere that bragged you do whatever you want?”

“I don’t do marriage.”

“So you’re going to keep chasing everything in a skirt until you’re too old to walk?” Margaret’s tone was caustic. “That sounds pretty stupid, if you ask me.”

Very patiently, and very slowly, Roddy attempted to explain. “Guys like me don’t have to get married.”

Margaret rolled her eyes. “You’re right, Roddy. Just play around until you’re tired, and then settle for someone like Claire. That’s a great idea.”

“What’s gotten into you?” Roddy tried hard not to shout, but failed.

His mother was undeterred. “Eddie says she’s a librarian, and smart. Not like all those stupid girls I’ve had to put up with over the years. You don’t think a woman like that is going to settle for half of a relationship, do you?”

Chapter nine

Roddy was most irritated with his mother because she knew him too well. He could only hope she had not also discerned Lee’s character as accurately as she thought because no matter what he did, he could not get Lee off his mind.

It was an impossible situation. Lee lived in Minneapolis, while Roddy’s life was in Los Angeles. Roddy had obligations and a multi-million dollar career in Los Angeles. There was simply no way he could leave it all behind and run off to Minneapolis. The idea was ludicrous. But it seemed equally ludicrous to ask Lee to give up her job and friends to move to Los Angeles, didn’t it? It wasn’t as if Roddy was prepared to ask her to marry him. Realistically, he knew he wouldn’t even have all that much time to spend with her if she lived in LA. He could only imagine her reaction if he asked her to give up her job and leave the life she knew behind so he could fit her into his busy schedule on the West Coast.

So he was back where he started, and the only sensible thing to do about Lee was nothing. He would just have to forget her. That doing it was impossible was something he would have to learn to live with. It was his fault he had been foolish enough to let her tangle in his emotions, and now he would have to suffer the consequences.

Eddie saw things from a different perspective. For some ridiculous reason, he blamed Lee for Roddy’s inability to devote the necessary efforts to their music. Roddy’s inattention affected the whole band, not just Roddy himself, and Eddie had fun reminding his best friend of his obligations every time they saw each other.

“That piece really sucks, Rod,” Eddie said point-blank one day at the end of rehearsal.

When Roddy would have gone off, Zeke tactfully piped up, “I think he means it’s not as good as your usual stuff.”

“No, I meant it sucks,” Eddie insisted. “Maybe we can sell it to a tennybopper bubble-gum band, but it’s not going on a record with my name.”

“But it’s great!” Mike chimed in from his quiet corner. “I mean, that song is inspired! The lyrics rock, and Eddie’s guitar part is sheer dynamite. That song is a hit waiting to happen.”

Eddie and Roddy went way back, and were as close as brothers. The other guys wouldn’t push their leader if he got stubborn, but Eddie wouldn’t allow that to stop him. If he believed the song would be a hit, he would put the best interests of all of them first, not just Roddy’s emotions. Instead of showing any remorse for his behavior, Eddie just sat there and grinned.

Bolstered by his offhand attitude, the other guys decided to ignore Roddy’s bad mood and sided with Eddie.

“So you wrote a song about a girl. So what? It’s not the first time that’s ever happened,” Mike piped up.

Before Roddy could put him off, Eddie chimed in. “Mike, it’s the first time
Roddy
has ever felt this way about a girl and wrote a song about it.”

A chorus of, “Oh,” went through their ranks.

“Roddy’s in love!” Zeke couldn’t resist chanting.

Roddly glared balefully at all of them. “You’re acting like a bunch of high school kids,” he snapped. “Just because I don’t want to capitalize on this one song…”

“Our contracts say we get to vote on the songs he writes,” Eddie interrupted his excuses. “And since I co-wrote this one, I can automatically put it up for the vote. So, who wants to record
I Could Love Her
?”



Lee and Debbie sprawled around a pizza in the middle of Lee’s tiny living room. Debbie was engaged in a show Lee didn’t enjoy while Lee scowled over her bills.

“Now I know why some girls get married right out of high school,” she grumbled. “It would be so nice to lay all this responsibility on someone else’s shoulders for once.”

“And when you got home from a long day of work for slave wages, you could cook his dinner and pick up after him, too,” Debbie said on a laugh.

Debbie offered the suggestion lightly, but Lee did not smile. It was hard to gauge her reaction to anything, since lately she was either depressed, on edge, or simply off in another world where no one else was allowed to go.

“He forgot to give me his number,” she said absently.

Even if she had a phone number for Roddy, she knew she wouldn’t call it. She would never go chasing after a man who was no longer interested in her, even if he was all she could think about. Lee knew Debbie was irked that Roddy hadn’t given her any contact information, though she didn’t say anything about it. No doubt, Debbie knew Lee would just defend Roddy’s actions or lack thereof, and neither of them wanted to have that conversation.

“Maybe he’ll call you, and then you can ask him all sorts of questions,” Debbie said gently. She tried to sound casual, but Lee could see through it.

“He’s not going to call.” There was finality in Lee’s tone. “If he was going to call, he would have done it by now. He’s been gone for six weeks.”

“But he drove all the way here to see you,” Debbie insisted, her words laced with exasperation. “If he went to the trouble, don’t you think he’ll at least call?”

“No.”

Lee could see her calm assurance drove Debbie up the wall.

Debbie tossed the remote onto the couch in irritation. “So, that’s it, huh? You’ve never been the kind of person to stand still for being used, Lee. So why this time? Is it because he’s famous and all that? I thought that kind of thing didn’t make a difference to you.”

“Damn it, Debbie, it doesn’t!” Lee shouted. “And he didn’t use me any more than I used him, okay? It’s just over between us because we live a thousand miles apart.”

“I’m sorry, Lee.” Debbie was immediately contrite.

Lee didn’t like to dwell on heartbreak, especially since love seemed to elude her in all aspects of life. She wasn’t one to sit around and cry because her mother abandoned her when she was young and her father took his anger and frustration out on her. She didn’t whine because they lived in the same city but he never called unless he wanted something. Instead, she tried to harden herself to life’s disappointments.

She knew Debbie could sense the strain. Lee and Debbie were as close as sisters, and Debbie sometimes looked up to her as if she was older and wiser. Lee knew Debbie wouldn’t antagonize her or cause her sadness for anything in the world, and that she was very bothered by Lee’s behavior since Roddy O’Neill had come and gone.

Debbie was probably thinking the last thing Lee needed was someone like Roddy. Men like him used women and cast them aside without a thought. Someday, Lee wanted to meet someone who would love and cherish her, and offer her the moon. She knew that man wasn’t Roddy O’Neill, and he wasn’t going to offer her anything, so it was best to move on.

She was annoyed with herself for walking into the situation with her eyes wide open. She had not asked Roddy for anything because she didn’t expect anything from him. So why was she still clinging to a tiny kernel of hope? Why had she allowed herself to fall for him? Why not someone like Paul, who was stable. Paul was sweet and kind, and a life with someone like him would not be fraught with insecurity. Loving someone like him seemed as if it would be so natural and easy, but Lee’s heart apparently wasn’t interested in that.

The truth of the matter was that falling for Roddy was the most natural thing in the world. Roddy was nothing like Paul. He was wild and daring, while Paul was staid and conservative. Roddy’s attraction to her had been about nothing but herself. He noticed and appreciated her individuality, like her long, unruly hair and the bright colors she liked to wear. Those were two things Paul had not really seemed to appreciate. Roddy had taken her out to parts of town Paul wouldn’t visit, and Lee had loved every minute of it. Even being thrown out of the bar on Lake Street had been an adventure. How could she not love a man who seemed happy with her just the way she was?

She turned to confront Debbie’s concerned gaze. “I’m sorry,” she said as evenly as she could. “I guess I’m just a little touchy about Roddy. Just because he won’t be calling me again doesn’t make him a bad guy. A relationship between us is just impossible.”



Roddy and Eddie sprawled in chairs out by Roddy’s pool. The moon shone a silver stripe on the black water, and the only other light came from the glowing red ends of two cigarettes.

Roddy’s red glow bobbed up and down in agitation as he emphasized a point. “It has nothing to do with her!”

“Bull,” Eddie said plainly. “Since you came back from Minneapolis, you’ve been worthless. You moon around like a lovesick calf.”

“I do not.”

Eddie’s teeth gleamed in the moonlight when he laughed. “You haven’t churned out a decent song since you came back.”

“I do not
churn out
music,” Roddy hissed through clenched teeth.

“Calm down,” Eddie soothed. “No strings attached for you, of course, and you’ll be honest with her, so she can’t accuse you of stringing her along and breaking her heart.”

Roddy fixed him with a look. “Go on.”

“Invite her to come here for a visit. Set her up in a nice little suite at the Beverly Hills and keep her there until you’re over her. A week or two should do the trick. She ought to be thrilled. Find me a girl who doesn’t want a posh vacation in one of the finest hotels in California.”

Roddy, who had always been extremely casual about matters concerning the opposite sex, very nearly vaulted out of his chair to knock Eddie and his smug smile into the pool. The nerve of the man to suggest Lee be treated like a piece of baggage and sent on her way once he was through with her!

Still, something in Eddie’s suggestion struck him as a good idea.

Why not invite Lee to California for a vacation? Surely even librarians were given time off every now and then, weren’t they? It wouldn’t be outrageous to invite Lee to visit for a couple of weeks, and couldn’t necessarily be construed as leading her on. He also wouldn’t be committing himself to anything he wasn’t ready for. The idea seemed perfect.

Aloud, he told Eddie, “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.”

“Why?” he asked with a raised brow. “I think it’s perfect. Foolproof, actually. It’s…”

“I’m not setting her up in some hotel when I’ve got at least five extra bedrooms here. I don’t want to have to drive across town every day. She’ll stay with me.”

It was ridiculous that he actually felt nervous about calling Lee. He hadn’t felt that way about a girl since he was a teenager. Roddy O’Neill wasn’t supposed to be nervous about anything but record sales.

He glared at his grinning best friend as he reached for the telephone. “Why don’t you go empty the rest of my refrigerator?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Then go make yourself a drink.” Roddy’s tone brooked no argument, so with another infuriating grin, Eddie lumbered off into the house.

Quashing his trepidation, Roddy picked up the phone and dialed the number he had never called that was still burned into his memory. Disappointingly, the phone rang several times and he was just about to disconnect when it was finally picked up.

Lee’s growly voice was decidedly unfriendly. “Who the hell is this, and why are you calling me at one o’clock in the morning?”

Roddy scowled and vowed to skin Eddie alive. Leave it to his best friend to do the math backwards and make him look like a jerk.

“Lee?” he said uncertainly. He hoped she wouldn’t just hang up or tell him to kiss off and never call again. He refused to analyze why he was suddenly so nervous about it.

His fears flew away on wings when her tone immediately softened. “Roddy?”

“Yeah. I guess you remember me.” His heart lifted immeasurably.

“I told you I would.” Lee’s voice was a couple octaves lower than what Roddy was used to. “I can’t believe you actually remembered me.”