Between a Rock and a Hard Place (50 page)

“That’s so sweet of you, baby.  Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do, hon.”

Steam billowed from the head of the unit indicating it was ready, and Jessi started steaming her top.

Tommy made an excuse about leaving his wallet on the bus and Angel escorted him to the door.  “Make sure you keep her here so I can call one of her sisters about the party.”

“I won’t let her leave,” Angel said.  “Take all the time you need.”

Tommy found a bar in the hotel lobby and took a seat at a booth in the corner.  Two girls were sitting nearby, smiling at him, and he started to question the privacy of the call.  He didn’t want the details of the party to be splattered all over social media.  He glanced back at them, and they were headed toward him.

Their Spanish accents were charming.  They weren’t intrusive and stayed long enough for him to sign an autograph and take a photo together before they were on their way, probably in search of Angel since they asked about him enough.

Tommy waited a minute or two after they left to be sure no one else was lingering nearby.  He never realized that his celebrity status would make it difficult to keep something as simple as a surprise party a secret.

As the oldest of the three sisters, Maggie was the more responsible one and he knew he could count on her to get the necessary invites to the right people on an expedited basis.  Ella was more of a party girl, and although certainly trustworthy, sometimes she was distracted by her frivolous personal life.  Jessi’s personality was a mixture of the two.  She loved to go out and have fun, but she was still a responsible business woman.

“Tommy!  How’s my famous brother in law?”  Maggie greeted him through the phone.

“Hi, Maggie.  Europe is awesome and we debuted our new single.  I don’t have much time.  I’m calling to let you know that I’m planning a surprise anniversary party for Jessi in Paris and could use your help.  It’s two weeks from Saturday.”

He heard the familiar “bling” of a laptop coming to life and Maggie tapping on the keyboard.  “I’m putting it on my calendar now.  Do you have an invite list for me or do you want me to draft something and send it to you?”

That was Maggie, even more efficient than Jessi.  “That would be a big help.  Thanks.”

More tapping on keyboard indicated that she was already preparing a list.  “How’s my sister?  Does she have any clue about the party?”

“Jessi’s happy.  The job at Falcon was a lot of pressure on her that she didn’t need.  I’m glad she resigned so she could concentrate on designing.  And she has no idea about the party.  I haven’t even mentioned our anniversary once, which should have alerted her that something’s up.  I never forget our anniversary.”

“You’re one in a million, Tommy.  And how’s that gorgeous man of yours?”

“He’s very excited about the party.  I should tell him to call you.  He has a wealth of extravagant ideas, and I’m sure he’d be happy to pay for all of them.”  Tommy leaned back and smiled.  “My wallet thanks him.”

“Please give him my number.  He really is a wonderful person.  I tell my parents that all the time.”

Tommy frowned at the mention of Jessi’s parents.  He didn’t want their absence to be a reminder that they didn’t support her.  He couldn’t understand how it was so easy for them to cut her out of their life.

Maggie was quiet on her end of the phone.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes.  I was just thinking.”  She paused.  “I’d like to invite my parents if that’s OK with you.  My mother’s been following Jessi’s career.  She’s very proud.”

Tommy started shaking his head.  The suggestion didn’t sit well with him.  “I would love nothing more than your parents to be there, Maggie.  I really would.  I want Jessi to rekindle her relationship with them, but this party is for her.  I don’t want their drama.  From what Jessi tells me, your mother now thinks I’m the devil and that she’s going to burn in hell for loving me.  Jessi hasn’t repeated one word to me about what they said about Angel, which tells me it’s cruel and hurtful.  You should know that she’s just as protective of him as she is of me.”

“I know.”  Disappointment was clear in Maggie’s voice.  “I just thought that if they got together in the same room they’d .  .  .”  She drifted off and didn’t bother to finish the sentence.  “I’m sorry my parents have such a backwards way of thinking.  It hurts all of us, not just Jessi.”

His spirits deflated, Tommy slid down in the booth.  The excited phone call to Maggie about the anniversary party took a sour turn.

“Thanks for being so good to my sister, Tommy.  She’s lucky to have you for a husband.  I’ll get that list of names to you by tomorrow.  Bye.”

He put his elbows on the table and rested his chin in his hand, second guessing whether or not the party would backfire because of Jessi’s parents.  It was obvious to Tommy that she missed them at her graduation ceremony, even though she played it off well to everyone else . . . until her mother called and ruined everything.

A commotion outside the bar caught Tommy’s attention.  It was a fan, and he was gushing over Angel.  Jessi was taking their photo.  So much for Angel keeping her in the room.

The fan was having an animated conversation with Angel in Spanish when Tommy joined them.  After they signed autographs and posed for more photos, the fan moved on, but not before he turned back and gave Angel a flirtatious smile.

“The boys love me in Madrid!” Angel teased.

“The boys love you all over, A.”  Tommy gave him a playful smirk.  “Where are you and Jessi going, anyway?”

“We’re going to the hair salon,” Jessi answered.  “Do you want to come, too?”

“No.  I’m going back to the room.”

“I’ll come with you,” Angel said.  “I really don’t need anything at the salon.”

Jessi turned to him with surprise.  “Really?  You seemed so anxious to go when we were upstairs.  You practically blocked the door so I didn’t leave without you.”  She shrugged.  “No big deal.  I won’t be long.”

Tommy watched her walk through the hotel lobby and waited until she was a good distance away before he turned toward Angel.  “You were supposed to keep her in the room.”

“I know.  I’m sorry.  How do you tell that woman not to do something?  I tried everything to stop her, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“Welcome to my marriage.  Once Jessi has something in her head, there’s no changing her mind.  I’m glad I was off the phone before she overheard everything.”

“Did you talk to Ella or Maggie?  Are they as excited as I am?”

“Yes and no.”

Concern drew Angel’s brows together.  “Is something wrong?”

Tommy sighed.  “Yeah.  But let’s talk about it upstairs.”

Tommy threw his room key on the table and sat on the couch alongside Angel.  With his head hung to his chest and his hands clasped between his knees, he sighed.  “Maggie wanted to invite Jessie’s parents to the party.”

“And you think that’s a bad idea?”

“Look what happened the last few times her mother called.  Jessi ended up in tears and they dug deeper wounds.  My family is going to be there.  Your family is going to be there.  It’s just going to be a reminder that her parents don’t want anything to do with her.”

“We won’t let that happen.” Angel was upbeat and determined.  “We’ll keep her mind off it.  We’ll have non-stop entertainment.  She’ll be so busy having a good time that she won’t have a moment to reflect on the fact that her parents aren’t there.”

Angel was such an optimist.  He had a solution and a vision for everything, but Tommy wasn’t as easily convinced that the night wouldn’t turn bittersweet for Jessi.  Now he worried that the party was a bad idea, and the guilt about the reasoning behind her parents’ rejection tore him apart.  He dropped his chin to his chest and stared down at his boots.

“Why so sad, mi amor? This is supposed to be a happy time for you.  It’s your wedding anniversary.”

“I hate that I broke up her family.”

“You didn’t break up anything.  She still has her two sisters.  Her parents are still adjusting to the idea of our relationship, that’s all.  They loved you before, they’ll love you again.  I’m the one they’re not going to accept.  They hate me already, and they’ve never even met me.  They probably think I ruined your marriage.” Angel’s eyes turned dark and brooding.  “I didn’t, did I? Ruin your marriage?”

“No.”  Tommy didn’t hesitate with his answer.  “You respected my marriage.”

“I still do.”  Angel smiled.  “I don’t know if Jessi ever told you, but I asked for her permission before I pursued a relationship with you.”

Tommy almost laughed with surprise.  That must have been one hell of a conversation.  It was either very awkward or very comical.  Knowing Jessi and Angel, it could have gone either way.

“Everyone saw the chemistry between me and you and the flirtation,” Angel explained, “but no one was talking about it.  I knew the boundaries of your marriage weren’t conventional, but I needed a clear cut answer.”

“And she gave you her blessing?”

“Yes.  I wouldn’t have moved forward if she didn’t.”

“I kinda asked for it too.”

Angel threw his head back and laughed.  “Poor Jessi.  The woman deserves a medal of honor.  How does she put up with us?”

Angel’s statement held a great deal of truth, and Tommy often wondered why she accepted a third person in their marriage.  But she did have a kinky side that derived pleasure out of seeing him in bed with another man.  She made that clear before they were married.  “I think she enjoys our sex life just as much as we do.  I know it took time, and a lot of understanding and huge challenges to hurdle, but I think we’re all in a good place now.  Don’t you?”

Angel looked off to the side and mulled over the question.  “Yeah.”  He nodded with confidence.  “I believe we are.  Me and Jessi are much closer and honest with our feelings now.  That’s the important thing.”

“I try so hard to find ways to show her how much I love her, but I don’t think I do enough.  I don’t know what else to do, that’s why I wanted to have the party for her.”

“She knows how much you love her.  Everyone does.”

Tension sat on Tommy’s brow and he tried to rub it away.  Of course Jessi knew he loved her, but he still felt a shard of guilt for loving Angel.  It was a mountain he climbed every day.  He always got to the top, but never really made it to the other side, and he slipped and fell more than once along the way.  “I tried to make her feel special by writing her songs that no one else heard, and now they’re on our album.”

“Not all of them.”

“Still, they were meant for her, not for the world to listen to.”  Angel gazed back at him with understanding and empathy, and Tommy always had to remind himself to share equal amounts of his heart with the both of them.  He slipped his hand across Angel’s shoulder and stroked the back of his neck.  “You’re just as special to me, A.”

Angel’s eyes glazed over and his soft smile warmed his beautiful face.

“I want you to know how special you are to me, too,” Tommy said.

“I know you love me.  There’s no need to worry.”

“I want our lives to be balanced.”  Tommy leaned over the side of the couch and reached for his guitar case.  He freed his Les Paul from its container and placed it on his knee.  He cradled the neck of the guitar and poised the pick over the strings.  “I wrote a song for you, too.  I didn’t want you to think I only wrote songs for Jessi.”

Tommy had never seen those sexy black-as-coal eyes brighten so rapidly.

“You never wrote a song just for me before, mi amor.  No one has.”

“Well, from now on I’m going to write songs for the both of you, all the time.  Your own special songs, as unique as the two of you are to me.”

The lyrics weren’t plentiful, but they were snippets of his heart and profound in their meaning.  With each strum on the guitar, Angel sunk down deeper into the couch and melted into the soft cushions.

When the last note rang through the hotel suite, Angel had the sweetest smile on his face.  “That’s my new favorite song.  I’ll cherish it, always.  I love you, my prince.  I’m so lucky to have you in my life.”

“I’m the lucky one, A.”

Angel rested his hand on Tommy’s knee.  “Do you remember when you tried to teach me how to play the guitar when we first met?”