Immortals And Melodies (Blood And Guitars #2) (39 page)

“Me too,” I said. “I could really use a drink.”

Antonio forced a smile and said, “I couldn’t agree more.” He left the room, and Trey and I sat down on the loveseat while we waited for him to return. He brought each of us a glass of straight blood and then held his up for a toast. “To Trey,” he said. I smiled at the surprised look on Trey’s face as we all raised our glasses to meet Antonio’s. “Since we’re all together,” Antonio continued. “It’s only right that we officially welcome you to the brood. It’s good to have you with us. Finally.”

Trey smiled and nodded as our glasses all clanked together before we sipped at the blood. “It’s good to be here,” he said. “There were days I wasn’t sure I was going to make it this far.”

“You’re right where you belong,” Mark said, and I wondered if he knew how much Trey appreciated the gesture.

“Actually, I have something I want to ask all of you while we’re here,” Trey said.

“Go on,” Antonio encouraged him.

“My band is releasing our new record tomorrow night. We’re having a launch party and I’d love it if you could all be there.”

“Are you kidding?” Beck said, grinning like an idiot. “Of course, we’ll come. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Bring Hana, of course,” Trey added for Mark’s sake.

“We’ll be there,” Mark said. He didn’t miss the grateful smile I threw his way.

“What time should we be there?” Antonio asked.

“I’ll send a car for you at seven,” Trey said.

Chapter 51

Aurora

“ARE YOU SURE YOU want to come?" Trey asked me, looking at me in concern.

"I'm sure," I insisted. "I've been looking forward to watching you rehearse. I'm not missing it."

"It's just that I'll understand if you feel like resting."

"Trey," I said, smiling at him. "I'm one-hundred percent again. Besides, I was hoping to paint a little today. How do you expect me to get any painting done without my source of inspiration?"

"If you're sure," he said, though he still didn't look completely convinced.

"I'll be sitting around and painting," I clarified. "It doesn't get more restful than that, anyway."

He nodded slowly. "I guess you're right."

"I'm always right," I said with a grin, making him smile. I knew I’d never convince him to feed from me before we left, which would have been the best thing for him, but I did get him to down a big glass of blood from the stash first. I wondered how long it would take for him to feel like I was strong again. He was the new vampire, but he’d been taking care of me instead of the other way around. I’d just have to be patient and work to show him I was okay now.

"Now, we just have to stop by The Waking Moon to get my supplies," I said as Trey opened the door to the garage and we got into my car. He'd already loaded three of his guitars into the trunk, so when we reached The Waking Moon, we put my portable easel and my painting supplies into the backseat. Trey insisted on loading all of it for me, which I let him do to make him feel better. I was standing in the loft, looking down over the small gallery. It was nine in the morning, an hour before
Kacie
would be here to open shop.

I took a moment to look around and appreciate just how good it was to be standing back in this place after everything that had happened. I hadn't set foot in here since before the wedding. That had been just over a week ago, but it seemed like it had been longer. My sense of the time that had passed was still skewed, thanks to the chunk of it I had spent unconscious and battling an otherworldly fog. Rather than call up to me that we were good to go, Trey quietly climbed the stairs to the loft and came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle. I leaned my head back against his shoulder and rested my hands on his as we looked out at the gallery together.

"You okay?" he said softly.

"Yeah," I answered. "It just feels good to be back here. That's all."

He kissed the top of my head and squeezed me gently. "We'll be back soon," he said casually.

"We will?"

"Sure. You're going to paint another masterpiece while I rehearse. Then we're going to bring it back here soon, and you're going to sit back and sip a Root Beer while I varnish it for you."

I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. "It's a deal."

We made one more stop to grab coffee and doughnuts for the guys before we reached Ken's place a half an hour later. I could tell Trey was hesitating when he didn’t open the car door and jump right out after parking at the studio. It only took me a second to realize why. This was the first time he’d seen any of the guys since becoming a vampire.

“What if they can tell that something’s … different?” he asked me.

“They might,” I said. “They’ll wonder if marriage and some time off looks this good on everyone.”

Trey smiled and shook his head. “I’m being stupid.”

“No,” I said, reaching for his hand. “It’s not stupid. It’s just that the truth is so farfetched their imaginations will never go there.”

“You’re right.” He gave me a resolute nod and then opened the car door and stepped out.

I had known the guys wouldn’t be more than mildly curious about the subtle changes in Trey’s appearance, but I didn’t know I’d be the cause of the diversion. They all seemed more than a little surprised to see me walk in the door with Trey.

"Aurora," Chase said when he saw me. "You're back!"

I smiled, handing him the box of doughnuts. "You didn't think I would miss this?" I asked, incredulous. Cowboy ran up to Trey just then, pawing at his pant leg eagerly. Trey laughed and picked him up, telling him what a good boy he was.

"It's good to see you," O'Shea added, stepping up to give me one of his increasingly familiar hugs.

"It's good to see you, too," I answered into the material of his T- shirt while he squeezed me.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked, releasing me to get a better look.

"Much better," I said. "Luckily those insane antibiotics did the trick. Thank you."

"Glad to have you back," Jonas added, giving me an awkward little side-hug.

"It's good to be back," I admitted.

"I missed you guys, too." Trey said in an exaggerated tone. His fears before walking in had been completely unfounded. Then he scratched Cowboy’s ear and said, “At least someone missed me.”

O'Shea lightly slugged him on his good shoulder, still wary of Trey's former injury from the car accident. "Don't feel bad. We missed your ugly mug, too." Trey gave him a sarcastic smile and set Cowboy down. “You look good, man,” O’Shea said, eyeing him more carefully. I had to bite back a smile as Trey’s heart sped up a little under his friend’s scrutinizing gaze. “Did you cut your hair or something?”

Trey grinned. “A haircut. Yeah.”

As the guys downed their breakfast, they fell right into talk of the live show. Neon showed up a few minutes later, and things got down to business quickly. Before the last doughnut was gone, they had knocked out a set list for tomorrow’s party, and Jonas was copying it down on four other sheets of paper so they could all have one. As he did so, Neon left the building and came back in a few minutes later carrying a large box. He sat it down nearby and pulled out a pocket knife to cut the tape open.

“Before you get started,” Neon said, standing up to get everyone’s attention. “I want to go over what’s happening at tomorrow’s album launch party.”

“Sounds good,” O’Shea said. “Give us the scoop.”

“All the fans that come to the party will be there because they won tickets through the fan club,” Neon said. “As for everyone else, the live set will be streaming online for the rest of your fans to enjoy. From what we’re hearing, there are fan-organized parties all across the country where fans are gathering together to watch the live stream and celebrate in big groups. The label tried to get promotional material out to all of them that we know about.”

“That’s amazing,” I whispered to Trey, seeing the smile on his face.

“We have the best fans in the world,” he whispered back.

“We’ll have a merchandise booth at the party so people can get the new record and any of the old ones. I want you guys to get there in time to at least sign copies of the new CD before the party starts.”

“Don’t let me forget we have to leave early,” Trey whispered to me as Neon leaned down and pulled a black T-shirt out of his cardboard box. He held it up so we could see the design on the front. It was the guys all dressed in their zombie garb.

“Ooh, that one’s mine,” Chase called out. Neon tossed it to him and then started throwing everyone else a shirt, including me.

“The coolest part is that your eyes glow in the dark,” Neon said. Trey and I shared a knowing look and chuckled as we studied the T-shirts.

“I’m wearing mine,” I said, putting it on over my other shirt.

“You totally pull off the zombie look,” Trey said, admiring it on me.

“Didn’t you hear? Zombie is the new black,” I said as Cowboy climbed onto my lap.

“And here are the new
Until Sanity
shirts.” He tossed another shirt to everyone. These were charcoal grey and had the album cover I had painted on the front of them. It was crazy seeing my work on a T-shirt. Definitely a first for me.

“These look amazing,” Trey said happily, putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me close.

“Way to go, Aurora,” O’Shea added, clapping.

Chase let out a loud whistle and I grinned while they cheered for a minute.

Chapter 52

Aurora

TREY BROUGHT MY STUFF in from the car while he unloaded his guitars. It wasn't long before the guys were all set up in the live room at the back of the studio. I was sitting in a corner with my easel, mixing colors together to get the right shade to match the soil at
Vidic
Vineyards.

Neon spent a lot of time on his phone while the guys rehearsed, which meant he was in and out of the live room every ten or fifteen minutes. I was starting to understand that having your phone attached to your ear was a requirement, if you wanted to be a good band manager. Roger, on the other hand, stayed in the live room, taking notes and calling out ideas in between songs. When the guys finally took a break a few hours later for lunch, which consisted of a pizza delivery in the lounge, Trey borrowed some of my charcoals and sketched a stage design for the live show.

"How long have you been working this out in your head?" I asked, certain he'd been planning it out for weeks.

"About ten minutes," he admitted in a whisper, making me laugh. "Just don't tell the guys I said that. They'll think I'm slacking off."

"Said what?" I grinned at him, feigning ignorance.

He finished up some details on the sketch before taking it over to Roger, who was talking business with Neon in between bites of supreme pizza. Roger looked enthusiastic about the drawing, and soon all the guys had gathered around in a huddle to lean over it while Trey explained the technical details he had in mind.

"This just makes me want to get on stage even more," Chase admitted. "It's starting to feel real again."

"We just have to make sure we won't disappoint when the time comes," O'Shea said.