Light My Fire (4 page)

His smile was wider than before. “I’ve met one of the three.”

It must be Paul. “You met a Beatle?”

He nodded. “In the flesh. And baby, you give him a run for his money.”

I felt my cheeks blush. I would never grow used to compliments. Only Cash’s.

“I want to know everything about you.”

What? “I’m not that interesting.”

“I beg to differ.” He stood up then walked out the door. “I’ll make dinner. You’re go
ing to tell me everything. When you first picked up a guitar, where you learned music, how old you were when you lost your virginity—everything.”

“This is going to be a long night
…”

“And you’ve just become my new best friend.”

Chapter Six

♬

Cash Matthews

“You don’t need to come with me.”

Denver gave me an irritated look. “You think I’m going to let you go to London alone?”

“I’ve been dozens of times.”

“Nah. I’m coming.”

“What are you going to do when I get back
together with Prudence? We’re going to be locked away for a while.”

“I’ll watch.” He gave me an evil smirk.

That’s not funny. Not when it came to Prudence.

Denver read my mind. “I’ll take a plane back alone.”

“Okay.”

We grabbed our luggage then headed to the airport. I was nervous about the trip. What would I say when
I saw her? That I went all the way across the world just to confess my undying love for her? Would that freak her out? Would she hate me? She left for a reason…

But I had to try. She was the love of my life, the only woman I could see myself spending the rest of my life with. Any time I thought of commitment, marriage, or any of that bullshit, I panicked. It wasn’t for me. But the idea of Prudence having all those things with someone else
was worse—much worse. I wanted to be the only man in her life. She was the only woman in mine.

The plane
ride was extremely anticlimactic. I was anxious in my seat, desperate to be with her. I rehearsed my lines in my head. I knew I had to get some flowers before I saw her. That would be the cherry on top of the sundae. She couldn’t possibly reject me then. At least I hoped.

Eight hours later, we finally arrived in London. But time wasn’t on my side. It was almost midnight here. Her brother was probably asleep, or not in the mood to be bothered. It would be smart to wait until the following morning, but I couldn’t. If Prudence was with him, I had to be with her tonight. I had to hold her in my arms. I couldn’t wait a second longer.

Denver and I got into a cab and gave the driver the address. The traffic wasn’t so bad at this hour. And there weren’t any bikers on the road. Thank god. My heart pounded in my chest as we drove through the city. The meter said I owed a ridiculous amount of money, even in the euro, but I didn’t care. The driver could have whatever he wanted if I was reunited with my girl.

“It’ll work out.” Denver patted my shoulder. “I know it will.”

“Thanks, man.” My brother and I fought like girls but we were always there for each other. I was secretly glad he was with me. If Prudence rejected me, I didn’t want to be alone.

The driver finally stopped in front of a townhouse. It was outlined with flowers and trees. The place didn’t look very big, but I could tell her brother made a considerable living. It was prime real estate. I handed the money over then grabbed our bags. We dropped them on the doorstep and waited.

Denver watched me. “What are you waiting for?”

I took a deep breath. “What if
she says no?”

“She won’t,” he said firmly. “This is the end of the road for you. I know it is. And Natalia needs a cousin to play with him.” He gave me a reassuring smile.

I hit my knuckles against the door and waited. When there was no answer, I did it again.

“He’s probably not going to answer,” I whispered.

“Or maybe he isn’t home. He might be getting some.”

I rolled my eyes.
Seriously, how did Vivian put up with this?

The door opened, and Jeremy stood in the doorway. He was shirtless and wore flannel pajama bottoms. His hair was messed up like he’d been tossing and turning all night. And he looked confused.

“Cash?”

At least he recognized me. “I’m sorry for showing up on your doorstep. And pardon the hour.”

His eyes widened. “Is everything okay?”

“No.” I wasn’t going to lie about it. “Can we come in?”

Jeremy eyed my brother.

“Denver,” he said. He extended his hand and shook Jeremy’s. “Cash’s brother.”

He opened the door wider. “Come in.”

We carried the luggage into the parlor while Jeremy turned on all the lights.

Jeremy opened his closet and pulled on a sweater. “I know why you’re here. But you didn’t have to come. You could have just called.”

Phew. That saved me a lot of time. “How is she?”

“What?” Jeremy raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you here to ask for my permission to marry Prudence?”

Uh, no.
Why would he think that? “No…”

“Then why are you here?”

I had no idea what the hell was going on. But I didn’t like it. “Is Prudence here…?”

“No.” His eyes narrowed. “Why would she be?”

Fuck.
“She’s not in London?”

Jeremy started to get frantic. “No. What the hell is going on? I thought she was in LA with you.”

Did Prudence lie to me? “No…she told me she was coming back to London.”

“She hasn’t said anything to me.” Jeremy grabbed his phone and held it to his ear.

At least I could talk to her and straighten this out. I didn’t want to do this over the phone but I didn’t have a choice.

Jeremy pulled the phone away and stared at it. His eyebrow raised then he called her again.

I didn’t like the look of that.

“What’s going on?” Jeremy’s protective side came out. “Why the fuck is her phone not in service?”

“You don’t have her number…?” My heart fell.

Jeremy grabbed me and shoved me as hard as he could. I fell into the
wall but got up again. If he were anybody else, even my own family, I would have beat his face in. But this was Prudence’s brother. I could never do that. “What the hell did you do to her?”

“Nothing.”

Jeremy was seeing red.

Denver pulled us apart. “Let’s act like adults and talk about this.”

Jeremy jerked his arm away. “I don’t care if there’s two of you. I’ll fucking kill you both.”

I liked her brother. He was loyal, protective, and definitely not a coward. And he reminded me of Prudence. “Let’s talk this through. I’m just as confused as you are.”

Jeremy paced in the parlor. “Fuck. I hope she’s okay.”

I hated seeing the pain on his face. It mirrored my own. “I’m trying to find her. She left me without saying a word. All I got was a note.”

“Why would she do that?” Jeremy asked. “She said she was in love with you.”

I didn’t have a response to that.

“What happened?” he asked.

Should I tell him the truth? I would have to admit I lied to him before.
“We…we had an usual relationship.”

Jeremy stared at me, his eyes never leaving my face.

“It was supposed to be a summer fling. She said she never wanted to be in a relationship again after what Isaac did to her. And I thought I felt the same. But somewhere down the line…I fell in love with her. She left before I got a chance to tell her. I think she feels the same, but unless I track her down and tell her, I’ll never know.”

Jeremy still looked angry. Actually, he was pissed. “She lied to me.”

“She just didn’t want you to worry about her.”

“And now I can’t get a hold of her! I have no idea where she is! I don’t know if she’s safe.” He gripped his hair. “Fuck.”

He and I were feeling the exact same emotions. “I was hoping she’d be here.”

“Well, she’s not,”
Jeremy snapped.

This wasn’t going well.

A woman came down the stairs, a long t-shirt covering her thighs. She stilled when she spotted us. “Baby, is everything okay?”

Jeremy didn’t look at her. “Go back to bed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Go,” he commanded.

She walked back up the stairs and disappeared.

Denver winked at me.

Now was not the time, Denver.

Jeremy took a deep breath and his pragmatism returned. “Okay. Freaking out isn’t going to find her quicker. Let’s put our heads together.”

I could work with that. “She told she was coming to London.”

“And sh
e told me she was staying in LA.” Jeremy moved to the kitchen table and sat down.

We followed suit and fell into the chairs.

“Then where is she?” Denver asked.

“Is there any possibility she’s here?” I asked.

Jeremy shook his head. “I’m the only family she has. Even though she lied to me, she’d still come to me first. If she hasn’t come here, she’s not in London. There is no doubt.”

That made perfect sense to me. But I had to make sure. “Could you call Gavin, Desi, and Mason and verify she isn’t with them? Just in case.”

Jeremy pulled out his phone and made the call. Half an hour later, after all the calls were made, he shook his head. “They haven’t heard from her.”

Great.
“She must have changed her number so I couldn’t get a hold of her.”

“Did you do something to her?” Jeremy snapped.

“I didn’t tell her I loved her when I should have.” And I would always regret that. “She probably changed her number so I wouldn’t check on her. It’s too hard to talk to me, according to her letter.”

Jeremy nodded. “But I don’t understand why she hasn’t given it to me.” He clenched his fists in frustration. “I can’t even check on her.”

“I know she will,” I said immediately. “She probably just hasn’t gotten around to it. I need that number when she calls.”

Jeremy said nothing.

“Jeremy, you will give it to me, right?”

“Unless she tells me not to.”

No.
“No, you have to give it to me.”

“What if there’s another reason why she wants you out of her life and you’re keeping it from me?”

“There isn’t,” I said firmly.

Jeremy shook his head slightly.

This couldn’t be happening. “Jeremy, give me that number. If you don’t, at least tell her everything that happened tonight. I came here to tell her I love her. I’m in love with her.” My throat hurt as I said it. It became more true with every instance.

“I’
ll pass that along.”

Denver rested his face in his hands. I knew he was tired. “Then why hasn’t she called?”

“I don’t know…” Jeremy looked worried.

“I’m sure she’s fine.” I tried to keep everyone calm even though I was scared shitless. “She’s a smart girl.”

“Obviously not,” Jeremy spat. “If she agreed to spend the summer with you and let herself get hurt again.”

Her brother hated me. “I love her. I mean it.”

Jeremy kept his mouth shut. He was upset right now, so I let the insult go.

“Where do you think she is?” Denver asked.

Jeremy shrugged. “My best guess is LA. She never left. But she has friends in France and Germany. She could be there too.”

“Could you call?”

“Believe me, I’ll call every person Pru has ever met.” Concern glinted in his eyes.

At least I had someone who cared about her as much as I did. If she was still in LA, I might be able to find her. I could ask every apartment complex for her name. It would take a long time but I could do it. “I hope she has enough money.” I wasn’t sure if she had anything. She mentioned she was broke a few times.

“She has my credit card,” Jeremy blurted. “If she’s uses it, I’ll know.”

Finally, a break.
“Monitor it. Let me know when and where she swipes it.”

His eyes darkened. “Prudence is stubborn. She wouldn’t use my money unless she absolutely had to. It’s very unlikely she will.”

Damn… “I guess we’ll wait until she calls you.”

“If she does…”

I knew she would. “Prudence told me how much she loved you on a daily basis. I know she’ll call you. There isn’t a doubt in my mind.”

He nodded. “I just hope my mom and dad don’t call her…then I’d have some explaining to do.”

“It won’t be long,” I said. “Give her some time.”

“It doesn’t look like I have a choice.” He drummed his fingers on the table.

Now I didn’t know what to do. Prudence wasn’t here so I served no purpose. But I wanted to be here when she called, but I had no idea when that would be. “I guess we should go.”

Jeremy looked at his watch. “It’s one in the morning.”

“And I’m sorry for waking you.”

“You can stay in the guestrooms. You’re probably exhausted.”

Maybe he didn’t hate me after all. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “I’m not a complete asshole.”

“I didn’t think you were one to begin with.”

“Even after all the things I said?” Jeremy asked.

“You’re just worried about your sister. I wouldn’t want you to behave any other way.”

Jeremy’s eyed brightened in approval.

“Even if Prudence doesn’t want you to give me her number, you should.”