I Just Can't Stop Loving You (22 page)

“Thank you very much, beautiful lady.” He paused. “How was the concert?”

“Perfect,” Cristal said, watching Satoshi ignore her. “Aomori always puts on a good show. You need to check them out some time.”

A young female reporter sidled up to Satoshi and engaged him in conversation. She heard him laugh and her heart melted.
Why does this always happen
?

“Maybe I’ll catch their show while I’m in Amsterdam.”

“They’re performing the night before Thanksgiving. You can sit with me.”

Tae chuckled. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do. You can’t mend riffs that have been broken for years.”

“I think I can,” Cristal told Tae. “All you have to do is show up.”

He didn’t argue. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” Tae disconnected the call.

Cristal slipped the cell phone back into her pocket.

Satoshi wouldn’t even look at her when she walked back over to the group.

“I’m starving,” Kenshin announced once the reporters began to leave.

Mr. Niigata patted him on the back. “I’m taking you guys to the best restaurant in Amsterdam. Go on and remove that makeup and those costumes and join me in the limousine.” He and Masaaki walked off, pulling her with them. About a half hour later, Aomori appeared one by one with freshly scrubbed faces and street clothes. They boarded the limousine, but instead of Satoshi sitting next to her, he got in one of the other available seats. The one Shaundra would have occupied had she been with them.

They took the scenic route through around Dam Square, the real core of the city, and saw the Royal Palace. There were a bevy of souvenir stands and street performers and many restaurants. She spotted way too many pigeons even at night. Unfortunately, it was way too late to check out the Kalverstraat and Nieuwendijk, the main shopping streets. They ended up at a restaurant that served Austrian, German, and Swiss food.

****

It was very late when they arrived back at the hotel. Everyone seemed sleepy except Takumijo who was busy texting someone.

Both Satoshi and Yori noticed.

“Probably Osamu,” Satoshi said to Yori.

They didn’t talk much about the actor around her, but from the little that they did, she deduced they didn’t like him and only tolerated him because he was one of Takumijo’s oldest friends. From what she learned, Osamu was married to some CEO’s daughter, but in name only. Osamu was notorious for his fun-loving lifestyle and often dragged the gullible Takumijo into trouble with him.

Takumijo finally stopped texting when they got out of the limousine and headed into the hotel.

“I’m so tired,” Satoshi said.

“Me too,” Yori agreed. “I can’t wait to go to bed.”

Everyone seemed to agree except Ichiro. “I’m going to try to call home to check on the boys.”

“But it’s so late,” Masaaki told him. “Shaundra might be asleep.”

“I tried to call her earlier before the concert, but I couldn’t reach her. I’m starting to worry.”

“Maybe she’s trying to keep an eye on the babies,” Satoshi told him. “She might not have time to talk on the telephone.”

“I don’t know,” Ichiro said. “It’s been three weeks and I miss my babies.”

They all rode up the elevator together and disappeared into their rooms.

Cristal’s phone beeped with a message shortly after she got into her room.
What does he want now
? Tae must have forgotten to tell her something. She looked down at the ID.
Yi-jun
. She clicked on the tiny phone to retrieve the voice message.

“I’m sorry. I miss you, and I’m coming to Osaka for Christmas.”

Cristal quickly sent the message to the trash to delete. She sat down on the bed. “Damn!”

****

Ichiro dialed home. The phone rang a couple of times then went to the answering machine. He hung up without leaving a message and redialed. The same thing happened. Next, he tried to call her cell phone.

“Hello?” Shaundra said groggily.

“It’s me, Ichiro.”

“I recognized the number,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” he said. “I just wanted to talk to you and to check on the boys.”

“It’s three in the morning, Ich. Can’t this wait?”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “We just got in from the concert.” He remembered one concert a long time ago when the two of them tried to rendezvous without Masaaki or the others finding out about it. Mr. Niigata had called a meeting, blocking their initial meeting ,and then he’d snuck to her room once he returned to the hotel. Shaundra had been up waiting for him. He smirked. Then a damn fire alarm had gone off, putting an end to their lovemaking before it even began. When had they become old and tired? “How are you?”

“I’m getting better every day,” she told him.

“And the boys?”

“Sleeping.”

“Good,” he said. “I got worried when you didn’t pick up the house phone.”

“I didn’t hear it,” Shaundra replied. “How was the concert?”

Had they been reduced to this question and answer game? “Good,” he said. “I’ll let you go back to sleep. I love you.”

“Yeah,” Shaundra said. She disconnected the call.

Ichiro looked at the phone and then tossed it on the bed.

Tae climbed out of the limousine behind Cristal and followed Aomori’s manager and their boss into the huge Amsterdam Arena. His plane had landed early that morning and Aomori’s driver Kenshin had picked him up at the airport and took him to the hotel. He’d spent most of the morning resting, had lunch with Cristal, and had chatted with the rest of the members of Aomori whom he’d known for years.

Satoshi hadn’t had very much to say to him, but acted cordial. He suspected only because he didn’t want to cause a scene in front of his friends.

Tae smirked. Had it been him, he would have punched Satoshi in the mouth for stealing his girl right from under his nose.

Masaaki escorted them to a row of seats up front. Cristal sat between him and Masaaki while Mr. Niigata joined some promoters in a private booth upstairs.

Tae looked around at the huge audience. He’d never been around so many people at one time, but he supposed Aomori was used to it. “You look beautiful,” he said to Cristal.

She smiled at him. Cristal was all dolled up in a short, strapless, silver after-five dress. Her long, reddish-blond hair was piled atop her head in a bun, allowing her gorgeous face to show. She wore the barest of makeup and jewelry, which he liked. Tae sighed. Cristal was no doubt the prettiest woman in the arena, and he felt like one of the luckiest men in the world to be her date.

The lights lowered and the show began. The announcer thanked everyone for coming. The orchestra struck a lively tune and Aomori appeared on stage dressed in black tuxedos and began their act. Three hours later, he joined the rest of the audience in applause after Aomori performed their latest song, a lullaby dedicated to the birth of Ichiro’s twins. Aomori disappeared from the stage, ending the show, and Tae joined Cristal and Masaaki as they went backstage to congratulate Aomori on a stellar performance.

“Well, what did you think?” Cristal asked once she got his attention.

“I enjoyed it very much,” he told her, staring into her light brown eyes. “Aomori truly has talent and that last song just blew me away. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Ichiro so animated.”

“He’s a proud father,” Cristal said. “He’s been walking on a cloud since their births.”

Tae looked around. “Is his wife here?”

Cristal shook her head. “No, she’s back home in Osaka. She’s still recovering. The twins are just five weeks old.”

“The separation must be hard on them.”

Cristal nodded. “I don’t know how Shaundra does it. I don’t think I could be separated from my husband for weeks at time.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that if you stick with me. I hardly ever travel.”

Cristal smirked and led him over to Aomori. She congratulated them and he did not miss the fact that Satoshi has stopped smiling when they approached.

“You guys put on a great show,” Tae told them. “I had no idea you were so good.”

“Where have you been, man?” Takumijo asked him. Tae smirked. He expected no less from him.

Masaaki thanked him for the compliment. “You should bring your parents to the show next time Aomori performs in Osaka.”

“Maybe I’ll do just that,” Tae said as he watched Aomori pose for pictures. He looked over at his brother and saw how happy he appeared posing for the photographers. He had to admit, Satoshi did have talent, and the fans simply loved him.

Tae joined Cristal back in the limousine and Kenshin drove everyone back to the hotel. His plan was to spend the night with Cristal, but she begged off with a headache. He smirked, lying alone in his bed in his hotel room. Even if he didn’t get that far with her, at least he’d enjoyed the sad look on Satoshi’s face when he’d stepped into the hotel this morning. He loved his brother, but he just didn’t like him much. All his life, he’d lived in Satoshi’s shadow. He was the good brother, the professional brother, or the older brother of a superstar. Satoshi always got treated special because he was the baby of the family. Well, it was time for him to be in the limelight and he’d get there no doubt by dating Cristal Gentry. The fans already loved her because of her association with Aomori and Yi-jun Lee and he had no problem using her to get what he wanted.

Tae frowned. He’d never had liked Yi-jun either. He and Satoshi had been friends since they were kids growing up in the United States. And for some stupid reason unknown to him, Satoshi had set Cristal up with Yi-jun. Some people would call the act chivalrous, but he just thought it was plain stupid. Only a fool couldn’t see that Satoshi was very much in love with Cristal. That’s why he didn’t have a problem moving in and stealing Cristal from him. If Satoshi could give her away to his best friend, then he didn’t see a reason why he couldn’t date her. After all, blood was thicker than water.

Tae rose from the bed and changed his clothes. Tomorrow, he would be spending Thanksgiving Day alone with Cristal. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have a headache tomorrow night, because he’d be flying back to Osaka the next day.

****

Satoshi lay in his bed, still awake, thinking about the events of the day and angry at himself for not saying something when Tae just showed up out of the blue. But he was even angrier at Cristal for inviting him to Amsterdam. He punched the pillow into submission, pretending it was Tae’s head. He did not understand his brother. He could have any woman in Japan. Why did he have to mess with Cristal? Well, he wasn’t going to let either of them see him like this or know how much it hurt him. If she wanted Tae, fine. He’d just step aside and let her have him. There were other women out there and he was tired of sleeping alone. He sighed. All talk. He didn’t want some other woman to warm his bed. Satoshi didn’t know what he wanted. He was torn between his love for his female best friend and the wife of his best friend. Life had been so much easier when he just slept around just for the hell of it. Now he was bogged down with these feelings and emotions, and he hated it.

Shaundra
. Now why was she on his mind tonight? He supposed it was guilt. He hadn’t called her since he left Osaka. Satoshi looked at the clock. Damn, it was two in the morning. He could always count on her to keep him sane, but he couldn’t call and disturb her. He’d call her tomorrow and wish her a Happy Thanksgiving.

Satoshi reached over on the nightstand for his MP3 player and put the plugs into his ears to help block out all the negative thoughts running through his head. Before he knew it, sleep overtook him.

****

The house smelled sinfully fattening, Shaundra discovered, as she walked through the rooms. Dae-Hyun had been busy since yesterday cooking and baking their Thanksgiving meal. She’d invited Harper and his son Damien over, since they had returned from New York. They were scheduled to arrive later, a visit she looked forward to since she hadn’t seen Harper in nearly a month. She called home to wish her kids and her mother a Happy Thanksgiving and she’d even gotten a chance to speak with her sister Deidre, whom she hadn’t spoken with in a couple of months. She and Deidre used to be so close, but had drifted apart when Shaundra moved to New York to start her writing career. Her cell phone rang. Shaundra picked it up and answered. “Hello?”

“Hello, Shaundra.”

“Satoshi. How nice of you to call.”

“I’m sorry I haven’t gotten around to calling you sooner, but we’ve been very busy.”

“That’s perfectly understandable,” Shaundra told him. “Are you enjoying Amsterdam?”

“It’s truly a nice place,” Satoshi said. “We’ve done a little sight-seeing, but not much. I just wish you were here.”

“How is Cristal?” Shaundra asked, changing the subject. Something was wrong with him, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. He sounded sad.

“I guess she’s okay.”