I smile at him and he gives me a chin jerk, which is pretty much Van’s way of smiling.
Van continues, directing this at me. “You two have been back together for nearly two weeks now and I’ve seen him easily change your mind at least three times. You didn’t even put up a fight.”
Laughing, I say, “What can I say, my man has his ways of convincing me, and let me tell you, those ways are the best I’ve ever sampled.”
Van holds his hand up at me. “Stop talking, babe. Jett’s head is already big enough; you don’t need to give him another reason.” It’s not often Van joins in with a joke so I savour this. While he’s nowhere as moody as he has been, he’s still grumpier than your average guy.
Hunter turns up while Van is giving me hell for succumbing to Jett’s charms. I greet him with a smile, and he asks, “Are you all ready for tomorrow?”
Excitement bubbles through me. “Yes, I can’t wait.” Jett and I leave for Paris tomorrow. We’re starting our three months away in France and even though I’ve visited that country before, I’m so happy to be able to experience it with the man I love.
Hunter is about to say something further when a familiar voice sounds from behind me. “Evening.”
Mr Kentucky Fire himself.
I turn to find Diesel smiling down at me. “Hello, darlin’,” he greets me with that sexy smile of his.
“Diesel,” I say, hoping like hell Jett doesn’t lose his cool.
Diesel chuckles and turns his attention to Jett. His voice softens when he says, “Sorry to hear about your sister, man.”
Jett nods, his expression growing serious at the mention of Claudia. “Thanks.” And then he adds, “And thanks for bringing your band tonight and supporting us.”
“Sure thing,” Diesel replies and then nods his head in the direction of another table. “I’d better get back to keep them in line. I just wanted to say hi.”
I watch him walk away and then ask Jett, “What was that about? How is his band supporting you?”
“When he heard about Claudia and tonight, he phoned Tom and offered his support. His band has made a donation to the charity and have also agreed to perform tonight.”
Warmth fills me at the generosity. “That’s great.”
“Yeah,” he agrees as he waves at someone. I turn to see who it is and smile when I see Tom, and Jett’s parents heading our way. Over the last two weeks, I’ve spent a fair bit of time with his parents and have fallen in love with them.
The three of them join us and take their seats next to Jett. After we’ve all exchanged greetings, Hunter says, “We need to get ready, Jett.”
“Yeah,” he agrees, and I watch the four of them make their way to the stage.
“How is he?” Monica asks, concern etched on her face.
“Actually, I think he’s doing okay.” And I really do believe that.
I hear the relief in her voice when she says, “Thank goodness. We weren’t sure if he was ready for this.”
“I wasn’t, either, but it’s like he’s got this new sense of peace.” I shrug, feeling silly saying it. “I know it sounds weird, but I can’t explain it any other way.”
Steve smiles at me. “You gave him that, sweetheart.”
I find it sweet that Jett’s father calls me sweetheart, the same as Jett does. I’ve noticed that Steve only ever uses that term of endearment with his wife and me, and it makes me feel special. It makes me feel a part of their family.
Monica nods in agreement. “Yes, that’s all from you, Presley. He’s finally opened himself up to you fully and it almost makes me want to cry with happiness. I was beginning to think he’d never be open to love.”
Tears threaten when I think of who gave him the final push towards me.
Claudia’s last gift to her brother was the most amazing gift a person can give someone else.
The gift of love.
A guitar sounds from the stage and draws our attention.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming to show your support to this amazing charity. All money raised tonight goes directly to cancer research so I’ll open by asking you to dig deep and help us fight this deadly disease. Some of you may know that my sister, Claudia, recently passed away due to her battle with cancer. I can’t even begin to tell you how devastating this disease is, not only to the people battling it, but also to the family who are by their side every step of the way. And then sometimes, the family are the ones left behind after the cancer rips their loved one away from them.” His voice wavers a little, but he carries on like the trooper he is. “Crave has supported cancer research for a while now because this disease has touched more than one of us. Tonight, I’m really fucking happy to tell you that we’ve got a new song to share with you, and to also let you know the song goes live tomorrow; all profits on it go to cancer research.”
The audience cheer him and some wolf whistle. He watches them for a beat and then the band kick in as he says, “This one’s for you, Princess.”
I’ve only heard this song once and I love it. He titled it ‘Dance’ and he sings about dancing in the rain. He gets lost in the song and my heart hurts a little to hear his pain as he sings. But this is his therapy, and I know it’s one of the things that are getting him through his grief.
The audience seem to love the song as much as I do and when the band finishes singing, they stand and cheer them with applause and more whistles. Jett’s eyes are still closed and I hope he’s okay. Van’s also watching him and he steps forward and places his hand on Jett’s shoulder while he says something into his ear.