Hearts on Fire (The Hunter Family) (12 page)

“Yeah, honey, get with it!”  My mom sounded ridiculous and we all rolled our eyes and laughed.

I couldn’t stop giggling.  “Okay, we better get going before you embarrass yourselves further with your outdated sayings!”

“What do you mean?  We’re hip and happening!”  My mom was really being ridiculous now.

I rolled my eyes and laughed as we all stood up.  “Oh my gosh!  Now you’re embarrassing me!”

We all had a good laugh which was the perfect way to end an evening that started with so much tension.  I was really happy that Zane was able to see the fun side of my family and not just the rigid side.

My mom hugged Zane.  “Zane, dear, it was so nice to meet you and I hope we will see you again soon.”

“Thank you for having me, Mrs. Hunter, I had a really good time.”

My dad stood stern next to my mom and extended his hand.  “Zane, nice to meet you.  Good luck with your endeavors.”

“Thank you Mr. Hunter.”

Jonny stood there waiting like a puppy dog begging to be noticed, it was so cute how awestruck he was.  Zane turned to Jonny and patted him on the shoulder.

“Good to meet you bud, I’ll be sure to get that CD to your sister for you.”

Jonny’s eyes were as big as saucers again and his grin was from ear to ear.  “Thanks, man!”

Claire and I said our goodbyes and we were out the door.  Claire finally decided to speak once we were inside the car.

“Well that went better than expected.”

“Yeah, your dad is pretty intimidating but I think it went okay.  What do you think, Abby?”

“I think it was tough at first, but it’s kind of what you have to go through with my parents.  Things should be much better after this.  I think daddy was impressed by the bar idea.”

“Yeah, and I hope it happens one day.”

I looked at him and gently nudged him with my shoulder.  “It will.  I believe in you.”

He smiled at me and kissed me.  “Thanks, baby.”

“Oh, totally.  You and Logan are going to have the hottest bar in Manhattan one day.  Super hot rock stars owning the hottest bar.”

He looked at Claire and smiled.  “That’s the plan.”

Our driver dropped us off at home and Zane said goodbye to me at the door because Claire and I had to get our beauty sleep for the big performance the next day.  His car was parked right in front of our building and I stood in front of him as he leaned against his car, crossing his arms, looking sexy as hell.

“Your dad is something else.”

I reached out and gently stroked his muscular arms.

“I know, but he’s just being protective.”

“I guess, but he’s a lot, Abby.  Your mom was really sweet and your brother seems like a cool kid.”

“I know my dad is a lot but I am really happy that you met him, it’s the first step in letting him see what an awesome guy you are.”

“Let’s hope he thinks so.  I should let you get upstairs, you need to get your beauty sleep for tomorrow.”

I reached out and put my arms around him and he pulled me close.  “Yeah, you’re right.  Well thanks for coming tonight, Zane.  It means a lot to me.”

His eyes searched mine and then he placed a gentle peck on my lips.  “Anything for you.”

I wrapped my arms around him and we held each other for a minute and then I said goodnight and went upstairs.  I just finished washing my face when Claire came to my room and leaned against the door frame.

“Tonight wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  Dad wasn’t nearly as harsh as he could have been.”

“Oh, are you speaking to me now, Claire?   Are we going to have more than a two word conversation?”

“Yes, Abby.  Sorry I was being such a brat, I was being selfish and I don’t want to lose Logan.”

“Claire, you really need to calm down about Logan, even if dad doesn’t like him it doesn’t mean you can’t date him.  We are adults, you know.”

She kind of snapped at me. "I know that, Abby. But you and I both know that life is a whole lot easier for us if dad likes the person we are dating. I want him to like Logan.”

“He hasn’t even met him yet! Seriously, you need to relax!”

She narrowed her eyes at me and I could see that she was annoyed. "You know what? I'll talk to you when you are in a better mood. You better get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow.”  She turned and walked off in a huff and I just rolled my eyes.  She could be so dramatic sometimes.

Later that week we found out that our ballet company was putting on a performance of the Nutcracker, and I wanted the lead in that production more than I had wanted any other lead before.  I don’t know if it was seeing how proud my parents were of Claire, if it was the talk I had with Zane about working harder or if it was Claire telling me I was more naturally gifted than her and I just didn’t apply myself enough.  Whatever it was, a huge fire was lit under my feet and I was determined to practice my butt off so that, for once, I would be the lead and Claire would be my understudy.

We had one more week of the current show and then I was going to be all about practicing for the Nutcracker.  Zane was leaving the week after our current show ended so that timing worked out perfectly for me because I wouldn’t have him around as a distraction. I planned to do nothing but practice, sleep and eat for the next few weeks.

Friday night Claire and I went to see Zane and Logan at the bar since we couldn’t see them during the week because our show went so late.  My friend Tori and Claire’s friend Stephanie came with us and it was the first time any of our friends were meeting the guys.  As soon as we walked in the guys were super busy behind the bar and, once again, some girl was hanging out by the end of the bar, flirting with Zane.  I tried to ignore the jealousy I started to feel and I brushed it off as Claire and I pointed them out to our friends whose mouths literally dropped open.

"Okay you guys, now I see why we haven't seen you both in a while. If I found a guy like either one of those guys, you wouldn't see me for months!”  Tori was totally checking them out.

I giggled at her. “You’re silly.”

“Seriously Abby.  Do they have any cute single friends?”

Claire and I looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders.  “Honestly, we don’t know. But we will definitely ask them.”

“Yeah, let us know.  It would be fun if we could all go out together.  Have you guys gone on a double date yet?”

I thought about that for a second and realized that we had not. “No, we have haven’t.”

Claire chimed in.  “Yeah, we both have been spending time with them by ourselves, you know, so we can get to know each other. I’m sure once we’re done with this production and they get back from their tour, we will all go out.”

Stephanie looked at Claire.  “How long are they going to be gone?”

Claire looked at me. “I can’t remember, is it four weeks or five weeks? I don’t remember what Logan told me.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s five weeks.”

A spot opened up at the bar so we went over to order drinks.  The girl at the end of the bar was whispering something in Zane’s ear and Claire looked at me with a “who the hell is that?” look.  Logan smiled at us when he saw us and came over right away, leaned over the bar and kissed Claire.  He reached out and slapped Zane on the arm.

Zane turned to us and I could tell that it took a minute for it to register that I was standing in front of him, and then I saw it click in his eyes.

“Hey!  What a nice surprise!”  He leaned across the bar to kiss me and the girl he was chatting with glared at me.  I looked at him with cool eyes and turned my face so that his kiss landed on my cheek.

He raised an eyebrow and gave me a curious look and I discreetly glanced over at the girl he had been chatting with.  He leaned down to whisper in my ear.  “She’s just a fan, that’s it.  I’m just being nice.”

How long would I have to listen to that as an excuse and how long would I accept it?

I stepped away from him and turned to my friends. 

“Abby!”  He reached out and grabbed my hand but I snatched it away. 

Logan was chatting with Claire and I tapped her on the arm.

“Can you order a sparkling water for me?”

She looked totally confused until she saw me glance at the girl at the end of the bar.  Claire threw a nasty look at Zane and ordered for me from Logan.

He looked at Zane who threw his hands up in the air and walked to the other side of the bar to help customers down there.  After Logan handed me my water, he turned to the other girls.

“Ladies, what can I get for you?” 

Tori and Stephanie were staring at Logan with total googly eyes, like starstruck teenagers.

I nudged Tori.  “Girls, what do you want to drink?”

She snapped out of her little trance.  “Oh, sorry, I’ll have a rum and Coke.”

I looked at Stephanie.  “And I’ll have a Lemon Drop Martini.”

He handed us our drinks and I motioned to the girls.  “These are our friends Tori and Stephanie.”

“Nice to meet you, ladies.  Is this going to be a late night for you girls?”

I had forgotten how good-looking Logan was.

Claire was all smiles as she answered him.

“No, we have a show tomorrow so we just decided to come out for a little bit.”

“Abby, we still on for tomorrow night?”  Zane came back to our side of the bar and held my gaze, his voice firm.

I hesitated but didn’t want to cause a scene, so I just agreed.  “Of course.”

“Good.  We’re getting slammed so I’ll give you a call tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.”  I decided that I would ask him more about the girl the next night.

Logan said basically the same thing to Claire and we all went to a different part of the bar and let other people in so they could order their drinks.

Claire and I sipped our sparkling water and we chatted with Tori and Stephanie for a little while longer.  When we left the bar we promised those guys we would ask Zane and Logan about their single friends.

Claire wanted to talk about the girl at the bar but I wasn’t in the mood.  I was so exhausted I told her I would tell her later.  I literally crawled into bed a minute later and stared at the ceiling wondering if I could really trust Zane.  The whole fans-hanging-around-all-the-time was annoying and I had to decide if I would really be able to deal with it.

Zane called me the next afternoon and left a message telling me he had to work at the last minute so he would have to cancel.  He sounded kind of cold in his message and he didn’t ask to reschedule so, of course, my paranoia set in.  Was he going to break up with me?

We talked a couple of times during the week but I didn’t get a chance to see Zane until dinner the night before he was leaving on tour.  I was so happy when we had our final show, which was a matinee, because I knew that it would then be my time to practice my butt off and really go for the lead in The Nutcracker.

Zane and I walked into his place after dinner and I plopped down on the couch, totally stuffed.

“So are you guys ready for the tour?”

“Yeah, we’re pretty stoked.  A couple of reps are supposed to come out to see us so hopefully it turns into something.”

“I hope so too.”

‘What about you?  You’ll be practicing non-stop, right?  I know you can get the lead this time, Abby.”

“Yep, that’s the plan.”

“I’ll call you whenever I can but I’ll be back before you know it.”

I smiled at him.  “I know, the time will fly by.  I’m really happy that I have practicing for this new production to focus on while you’re away because it will keep me distracted and help me get through these next few weeks without you.”

Zane sat next to me on the couch and was silent for a minute as his eyes searched mine. "Abby, I need to talk to you about something.”

I could hear that there was something different in his voice so he immediately had my attention.

“Okay.”

“Why did you have that reaction last week when you saw me talking with another girl?”

My eyes searched his and I suddenly felt like I had done something wrong.

“You two looked very cozy and, honestly Zane, she was whispering in your ear a few too many times.  I know you told me that she was just a fan, but it’s so obvious that she wanted to be more than a fan.”

"But I told you that nothing was going on. If this is going to go anywhere we are going to have to be able to trust each other. I don’t do well with jealousy, Abby.  I have fans who get excited when they see me and I’m not going to just ignore them, that would be shooting ourselves in the foot.  The fans are the reason we can make a living doing what we do.”

I let out a deep sigh and looked at him.  “Do you have to let them hang all over you?”

He looked annoyed but I didn’t care.  I didn’t like seeing girls falling all over him.

"They don't hang all over me, they want to talk to me and I listen, that's it.  Do you think it's something that you can deal with?  Because this is the way my life is right now, Abby, it’s not going to change anytime soon.”

I let his words sink in and I knew that I would just have to deal with it, because I wasn’t ready to have things end between us.