Christa rifled through her suitcase with shaking hands. Her life was now in total shambles, her future about as clear as coffee, but she knew one thing for certain. She was definitely going to see Tai again. And soon, if she had any say in the matter.

She thought back to the night before and wanted to scream. With joy at having seen him again, with pain at the fury in his eyes, with grief at the sadness. No matter that she hadn’t slept a wink, or that her whole body ached from the fall. She felt alive again, in a way she hadn’t felt in ten years. Since Tai.

She bypassed the neatly folded garment bags filled with crisp suits, instead pulling out a soft, peach sweater and laying it on the bed. There was no need to dress up now that she’d taken a leave of absence from her position as Marketing VP.

She winced, wondering if her father had heard the news from one of his cronies yet. Apparently not, because he would have called to ream her out by now. He was going to flip.

She poked around for some sadness and found none. She’d never loved the job anyway, and had been biding her time, taking myriad classes at night to try to discover her true passion. With enough money socked away from investments and her stock in Reillytech, there was no need for her to work there. She’d done it to please the family and fill her days.

Now that she’d finally found Tai, she wouldn’t be able to focus on anything until they had a chance to really talk. She’d also realized some time ago that there was no pleasing her family, short of letting them live her life for her. She needed to cut the cord and there was no time like the present. Ideally, this leave of absence would roll seamlessly into a resignation.

Her cell phone buzzed and she plucked it from the bedside table, heart pounding as the familiar number lit up the screen.

“Hey, Mitch, what did you find out?”

“I’m doing well, and you?” he drawled, sarcasm thick in his tone.

“Sorry. I’m just a little frazzled. How are you?” Christa drummed her fingers against the phone, calling on her last vestiges of patience. Usually her college friend’s dry humor made her laugh, but today it made her want to shake him.

“Fine. And sorry, I can tell you’re not in the mood, so I’ll get right to it. Tai Sullivan, age twenty-seven. Changed his name to Tai Madsen about eight years ago, which was probably why we couldn’t find him the last time we looked. Madsen is his mother’s maiden name. Apparently, he changed it the year before last after being reunited with his maternal grandmother. They’re very close now, he flies out to see her at least three times a year to visit her and also pays her rent. His father, James Sullivan, is serving fifteen years in Cook County Jail for a laundry list of repeat offenses including battery and armed robbery.”

Christa slumped forward, clutching the phone tight in her suddenly sweat-slicked palm. “He was a real winner when we were young too. Sending Tai letters once every few months, making promises he never kept. I knew he was a deadbeat, but this…”

Her throat ached at the memory of Tai’s tough-guy front when his dad blew off yet another milestone event. No wonder he changed his name. That explained so much. And the love of his grandmother convinced him to change it back. That was Tai, always leading with his heart.

She swallowed a sob.

“What else? Tell me what else.”

“Well, with the new info on the names, we’ve managed to fill in a lot of holes but there’s still a big blank stretch between the ages of seventeen and nineteen. It’s like he was just totally off the grid those two years. I spoke to a buddy of mine and his records are still sealed. We’ll have to grease some palms but he’s going to poke around and see what he can come up with as far as where he was and where he might have went after juvie.”

Father had told her that Tai would do six months max, especially considering the statement she’d given. A slap on the wrist and a stay at juvie for a first-time offender.

The six months had come and gone, and he’d never come back to town. She’d been looking for him ever since, with no luck.

The shuffle of papers echoed over the line. “Put himself through music school,” Mitch continued. “Then went on to become a studio bass player, sitting in with some pretty big names. Last year he signed up with Hank Lemon and the Law. Never married and no co-habs that I can see, except his mom. Looks like he just bought a house a few blocks from hers in Maryland. You know the rest.”

She heard the rest, but one part continued to ring in her ears long after it was said.

Never married.

Neither had she, although she couldn’t even hope his reasoning was the same as hers. She’d just never found someone who could compare to him.

“As soon as I hear back from my guy with the connection at the precinct, I’ll get back to you. He’s on vacation until Wednesday, so don’t start bugging me about it until at least next week.”

“I really appreciate it, Mitch.”

She pressed the end button and tossed the phone on the bed. The fear of further rejection that had kept her up all night and in her hotel room all day melted under the burning need to learn the truth. If she had any say at all, she was going to know what happened to Tai after that terrible night long before Mitch called her back. She was going straight to the source.

“Everyone say cheese!”

* * *

Tai complied, forcing a smile. The pounding headache that had started between his eyes was making its way over the top of his head and heading down his neck. The young woman behind the camera gave them a thumbs-up and the band broke their friendly embrace.

“Thanks so much for doing that, you guys. This is a birthday I’ll never forget!”

She and her friend ran off giggling as the next group in line stepped up. Tai swallowed a groan. The buxom blonde eyed him as if he were the last life vest on a sinking ship, an almost desperate need pouring off her. Although he wasn’t into it, usually this kind of thing didn’t bother him. He knew how it was to be a fan. Hell, there was a time he would have given an arm to get this close to one of his favorite musicians. Still, this woman seemed to have much more than music on her mind and he was working on no sleep. Not a good combo.

Quinn caught his eye and raised a brow. He held up his index finger then ran it across his throat. One more photo and he was out of there. She nodded.

“Can I just take mine alone with Tai?”

It wasn’t an uncommon request, and the rest of the band melted away, Beau giving him a shit-eating grin.

Tai held out his arm and she snuggled under it, handing Quinn her camera. “Say Cincinnati rocks!”

Tai just smiled as the blonde followed Quinn’s directive with gusto, adding on a “Whoohoo!” and breast bounce for good measure.

“Thanks for coming to the show,” he said, pulling away. She kept her arm locked around his waist and gazed up at him with adoring brown eyes.

“You’re going to be here for another night, right?” she asked hopefully.

“Yeah. We’re playing at Simmon’s Theater tomorrow.”

“My friends and I are going to try to find tickets. Maybe afterward…” She licked her lips and gave him a flirty smile.

“We’re leaving right after the show.”

“What about tonight?”

“I’m pretty tired, and—”

“Hey, didn’t you say we were all going to Moody’s for a beer tonight?” Beau cut in, his eyes twinkling with repressed laughter.

“Yeah, after we hose off we might stop by there. No guarantees,” he warned as her face shone with excitement.

Shit, maybe Beau was right. He’d been on him for almost a year now to start taking advantage of the bounties fame had to offer. The thought had never appealed to him, until the driving need to fuck had come roaring back with the baffling appearance of Christa Reilly last night.

Sure, there had been a few affairs over the past ten years, but they were fleeting and unfulfilling. He had serious trust issues. So far no woman had managed to surmount them. Grueling workouts, a nimble right hand and some good old-fashioned porn had gotten him through the rest of the time.

Then Christa showed up, and ever since, despite his roiling emotions, he was a walking hard-on. When he wasn’t jerking off thinking about her, he was picturing fucking her. Hell, he even fucked her in his dreams. The softness of her skin, the sweetness of her breath, those lean, supple thighs. Her very essence surrounded him like an intangible mist.

He literally could not escape it. Maybe a nice hard lay would do the trick.

He gazed down at the woman on his arm and nodded. “Yeah, I’m thinking a beer sounds really good right now.”

She beamed at him. “Awesome. We’ll see you there. My friend Maya will be with me too. My name’s Anya, by the way. Don’t forget it.” She leaned into him, pressing her impressive rack against his chest. “Or me.” She bounced up to her tiptoes and bussed him lightly on the mouth before rushing off to find her friend.

Beau let out a low whistle. “She’s a looker, Tai. Don’t let me down, bro.”

Gigi elbowed him in the ribs and he grunted.

“Hey, I’m not saying I like looking at her, I just want to see my man get some action. Girl, you know I got all the action I can handle,” he murmured and bent low to kiss her.

The hand that had started off pushing him away suddenly curled into his shirt as she melted into him. Tai looked away.

The biggest part of him was happy for his two friends. They made such a great couple, and were obviously madly in love. But a small, bitter piece of him, lodged in the place where his heart had been, wanted to punch something.

He would never have what Gigi and Beau had because Christa had broken something inside of him. And the woman with the power to fix it just didn’t exist. Period, end of story.

When Beau finally came up for air, he called over to Quinn and Rex who were chatting with the crew about lighting for the next show.

“You two lame-o’s coming with us or what?”

“We’re going to check and see if the baby is awake first. If not, we’ll swing by for one beer.”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “If she’s awake? Babe, you go in and rub her back until she wakes up half the time.”

“Wow. That’s a pretty harsh accusation,” Rex said, feigning hurt. “But you’re not denying it because you know it’s the truth.”

“Is it my fault she knows her daddy’s touch and wakes up because she wants to spend some time with me?”

Quinn shook her head and chuckled at her husband. If Beau and Gigi were tough to watch, Rex, Quinn and baby Rosie were even worse. They were everything Tai had ever wanted in a family growing up, and still yearned for as a man.

He couldn’t even conceive of having a father who would forgo a beer so he could stand over his daughter’s crib just to be near her. And Quinn was amazing. She’d been prepared to walk away from her dream, her life’s work, if she hadn’t found the perfect nanny to bring on tour with them. That’s exactly the kind of parent he would have been if he’d ever found the right woman, but some things weren’t meant to be.

Yeah, it was definitely time for that beer.