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“You look beautiful.”
Ashley smiled as she approached Chloe before a full-length mirror, grinning at her with a sisterly fondness.
“Thanks,” Chloe smiled back, glancing at both her own reflection and her sister through the mirror. “To be honest, I’m kind of nervous.”
Should she be looking pretty at a funeral, or was understated the way to go?
Ashley frowned. “Nervous? Why?”
Chloe inhaled a deep breath and turned away from the mirror, afraid of what might be revealed in her heart through her piercing blue eyes.
“I don’t know...” she trailed off, glancing at the floor while she pushed a strand of her shoulder length blonde hair off her cheek. Her hair had never been this long before; she preferred it short. Ever since her father’s diagnosis, she hadn’t taken the time to get her hair cut. She had a favorite salon and was sure that Sandy, her hairdresser was missing the tips.
“Are you anxious about seeing Roman again?” Ashley met Chloe’s gaze when she didn’t answer. Chloe marveled at her sister’s keen ability to read into her thoughts without any kind of provocation.
“Yeah,” she whispered with a slight grin. “I think that must be it.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Ashley cupped her hand over her sister’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine. I bet he’ll be glad to see you, too.” Her eyes twinkled with sincere kindness.
Would he? They hadn’t spoken since leaving Hawaii. Not even a text message, though she’d certainly thought about it often—sending him one text just to see if he’d respond. But she never had.
“Do you think so? I mean, with everything going on...”
“Right, but sometimes a familiar face goes a long way in a time like this. You spent months on the road together. It might be a comfort to see you again, you know? Just like old times.”
Chloe reeled Ashley in for a hug. “Thank you,” she mumbled into her shirt. “I can always count on you for the best pep talks.”
“What are sisters for?” Ashley shrugged humbly.
The funeral was in two hours. She was preparing to head over to Trevor and Emelia’s house to travel to the service together. The rest of the band members would be joining them at the church.
“Okay, I’m going,” Chloe said and gave Ashley another hug before walking through the front door.
She didn’t understand where these nervous jitters were coming from, but she hated the idea of seeing Roman in pain. Hopefully being with Emelia would calm her down. She hadn’t had much time to reflect or share with her friend, and she missed her company. Em needed to fill her in on all the Amsterdam drama, too. Hopefully, soon, they could catch a drink and shoot the breeze.
A half hour later, Chloe pulled into the long windy driveway up to Trevor’s mansion. It was a French Tudor style, with whitewashed brick and elegant ashen colored shutters. Green ivy crawled up the sides of the garage, giving the house a cozy and quaint feel.
“Here goes nothing,” Chloe mumbled under her breath as she climbed out of the car.
She rang the doorbell, waiting for someone to answer. She wondered how Emelia liked living in a place like this? She was happy for her friend. There wasn’t any jealousy there. Before Trevor, Emelia had been in a destructive and unhealthy relationship with a guy named Grant whose idea of being a good partner included domestic abuse and cheating. They’d had future plans, but the more their relationship progressed, the worse Grant’s behavior became.
Emelia had been through hell, but she found her one true soul mate in Trevor and Chloe was proud to see her so happy these days.
A few seconds later, the door swung open and a somber Emelia greeted her with a hug. She was wearing a flowing black dress and black gloves. Her hair was in a simple ponytail, little diamonds in her ears. Chloe was glad she’d chosen a modest black dress with a square neckline and long sleeves.
“Hi,” Emelia whispered. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“I’m happy to see you!” Chloe responded. “I can’t believe this has happened.”
“Yeah.” Emelia sighed, her thin shoulder sloping down. She had lines around her eyes, fatigue clear in her gaze. It’s no wonder, considering her fiancé had been detained in an overseas jail, and a family friend had been killed.
“A stupid asshole cut her off in traffic; then she swerved into the other lane where a car hit her head on.”
Chloe inhaled a deep breath. “I can’t imagine the pain her family is feeling right now.”
Emelia ushered her inside and took her coat, then lead her to the main living room. A quick hush settled over the room as Trevor came in. He had grown up with Roman and been cared for by the family when he was in the foster system. He wore the same look of fatigue and strain as Chloe. Slipping an arm around his fiancée, he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. They leaned on each other.
Chloe’s heart swelled with happiness for her friend to have something this special.
Touching Trevor’s arm, she hoped to lighten the mood, if even for a moment.
“So, jailbird. Tell me how that little snafu happened.”
Trevor grinned lightly and rubbed his forehead. “It was all a misunderstanding. We were detained until the surveillance tapes could reveal the truth and prove our innocence. Some jerks tried to rob us in the alley.” He rolled his eyes at the memory. “Thank God we got out of it.”
“Roman laid one hell of a beating on one of the guys,” Emelia mentioned. “No charges will be filed because they found knives at the scene and they were attacked first.”
“It was self-defense.” Trevor’s voice was grave.
“It’s been a hell of a few days huh?” Chloe said.
“Nothing we can do but move on,” Trevor said as he solemnly shook his head and glanced at the floor.
“We should get going,” Emelia mentioned, pointing to the door. “We definitely don’t want to be late.
“No, we don’t.” Trevor sighed as he led the way, out to the car.
It took them about half an hour to arrive at the burial site, but when Chloe glanced out the back seat passenger window, she noticed how packed the area was. Hundreds of people had come to pay their respects. It was a tragic end for a young woman with so much promise. Chloe couldn’t help but feel grateful and lucky that she was still alive, even if the circumstances of her own life weren’t always perfect.
“There’s Roman,” Trevor mentioned, wandering off to join his best friend and the rest of their band members on the front row around the grave.
Chloe had a knot in her throat. She wanted to approach Roman and tell him how sorry she was. She knew words would never be enough to wash his pain away, but it was a start. He kept his head down, and she noticed how his eyes were red around the rims.
He was trying so hard to keep it together, but as he ran a hand through his hair, she could tell that he was only a second or two from cracking.
“Come on,” Emelia whispered. “Let’s go sit down.”
Chloe nodded and followed behind her best friend. She wanted to talk to Roman, to comfort him. Her eyes lingered on him, wandering over his black suit and gray tie. Then her breath froze in her throat.
A slender woman with exotic dark hair that fell in sheets of pure silk down her back sat down next to Roman. She placed her hand on his thigh and began stroking it with affection. She used her other hand to tenderly rub his cheek with her thumb. She delicately planted a kiss on his forehead, and he responded by hugging her, embracing her in a way that let Chloe know they were more than just friends.
She didn’t know why, but a pang of remorse and regret jabbed her in the heart. Her stomach rolled. She had no grounds to feel jealous, but envy started rotting her from the inside out.
Chloe wanted to look away, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She watched with a squared jaw as the woman continued to console Roman by stroking his back. She didn’t realize until it was too late that she had been clenching her jaw so tightly that it began to throb and ache.
Sitting down next to Emelia, she crossed her legs and inhaled a deep breath. She could get through this. After all, she was the one who put the brakes on things with Roman before they could get started.
Choe remembered back to their time together. They’d all spend a weekend in Hawaii to celebrate the end of their first tour. It had certainly been intense, full of heat and passion, but it had been completely derived from lust, not love. Chloe wasn’t stupid enough to realize that maybe over time Roman could court her properly, but she was doing some soul searching back then.
She wanted to discover who she really was before she gave herself away to someone else, especially a man — especially a damn celebrity that every woman wanted. Roman was a decent guy, but she wasn’t sure she could handle being in a relationship with someone who would be gone as much as he would and have as many temptations. Rockers weren’t always bad boys—just look at Trevor—but she hadn’t been ready to take that chance back then.
Roman stood up, and Chloe watched him as he went to a podium, his shoulders sagging with grief. His blond hair was highlighted even more in the sun and gave him a stunning, sexy look. He cleared his throat, apparently trying to compose himself as he leaned into the microphone and addressed his friends and family, paying tribute to the only biological sister he had. The speech was so compelling and moving that when it was over, Chloe didn’t even realize that salty tears were dripping down her cheeks, leaving dried streaks of sorrow behind.
As soon as he sat back down in his seat, her heart crushed again as the beautiful woman with the amber eyes grabbed his hand and held it between both of hers.
Roman stared ahead blankly as if he didn’t realize the woman was touching him. She whispered in his ear, probably something delicate and soothing. Chloe had a pang of envy, wishing that she was the one sitting there beside him, stroking his back and cooing into his ear.
She had her chance, and she had blown it. Royally. It was silly to even fathom that Roman wouldn’t move on to someone else after Chloe had denied him. In retrospect, she might have made a poor decision, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Tonight, Roman would share his bed with someone else who would nurture him.
She’d told him in Hawaii that she’d loved spending the time with him and that he made her feel special. She’d held his hand on the beach and regretfully told him that the timing just wasn’t right.
Roman had seemed disappointed at the time but told her he understood where she was coming from and that he respected her honesty. He had told her at the time that he appreciated that she didn’t fawn over him in a phony way, wanting him just because he was rich and famous.
He had told her at the time that she was special, right before he tenderly kissed her neck and her lips, whispering to her that if she ever changed her mind, she knew where to find him.
Chills of pleasure splashed across her skin at the memory, but it wasn’t appropriate. Not now. She was at a funeral for his beloved sister, and he was clearly dating someone else now. She hadn’t heard anything in the papers, and Emelia hadn’t told her about any new flame either.
She chalked it up to the fact that Emelia had been busy lately, absorbed in the European leg of the tour and the preparations that came along with it. Not to mention, Chloe had been wrapped up in her own little world, or better yet, that of her sick father’s.
Maybe if she had time to catch up with Emelia before they traveled back to Europe, she’d ask her about Roman’s new fling. Hopefully, that’s all it was, a fling, one that would burn out.
After the funeral service ended, Chloe excused herself from the group. “Sorry,” she whispered to Emelia as the band members began to form around them in a circle. “I just want to take a moment to tell Roman how sorry I am for his loss.”
“Okay.” Emelia smiled. She was already fully aware of Chloe’s history, no matter how brief, with Roman. “We’ll meet up with you in a few minutes.”
Chloe’s heart pounded as she journeyed over to Roman, making sure to capture him in a moment of privacy. She would dread it if she was talking to him and the dark-haired girl approached. It was a nightmare to think about that made Chloe cringe, but she had to take the risk. She wanted Roman to remember that she’d been there.
They had ended things on a promising note, and there were no hard feelings, especially since Chloe was going to be on board as a marketing assistant to Emelia during the European leg of the tour.
“Roman?” She said his name softly as she approached him from behind.
He turned. As soon as he saw her face, his eyes lit up for the first time since the funeral started. His expression turned into a familiar welcoming as he embraced her in a warm and affectionate hug.
“Chloe,” he whispered in her ear. “Thank you so much for coming today. You don’t know how much it means to me.”
“I’m so sorry for what happened to your sister,” she whispered. Her heart ticked up, way up.
“Thank you.” His eyes lit up as he attempted a sad smile for her. “How is your dad?”
She couldn’t believe that he was so kind to ask about her father in his time of grief. “Up and down,” she shrugged. “Fighting an uphill battle.”
She took a deep breath, relishing in his masculine, spicy cologne.
“Let me know if you need anything,” he smiled.
“Of course.” She nodded, then gently drifted away. “I won’t keep you.”
“Bye Chloe.” This time, he let her leave without a fight, but inside, her heart was screaming for her mind to convince her to stay.