CHAPTER NINE
On their third morning together, while Meg took his vital signs, Sky announced, “Just so you know, we’re having some company today.”
“What? Who’s coming over?”
“Jack and Becky.”
Meg put her hands on her hips. “Don’t you think you should have cleared it with me first?”
“No. It’s my house.”
“And you’re my patient. Your father left me in charge. And he specifically said ‘no hangers-on’.”
Sky turned on the charm. “Jack isn’t a hanger-on, or whatever you just called it. He’s my business partner, and we had a co-write scheduled for today. We’re working on songs for the next album, and we have a deadline.”
Meg narrowed her eyes. “Are you feeling up to it?”
“Yeah, we’ll work for as long as I can, then I’ll kick them out.”
“Does Becky always come along on co-writes?”
“Nope. I just didn’t want you to feel lonely. And, besides, she said she wanted to get to know you better.”
Meg wrinkled her brows as she made a note in Sky’s chart. That’s nice, I guess. And talking to Becky might give me more insight into what makes you tick. She took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay, but the minute you get tired you have to let me know. Will they be here for lunch? Should I run out to the store?”
“No need. Jack said he’d bring lunch over.” A text message alert sounded from his phone. “They’re coming up the driveway now. Can you get the door while I get dressed?”
When Meg opened the door, she was surprised by the hugs and kisses she received from Jack and Becky. They’re so real, so warm, she thought.
Jack placed the bags he was carrying on the kitchen counter. “How’s our patient today?”
“He’s getting better every day,” Meg replied. “What’s in the bags?”
“We figured you might not have been able to get out and go shopping,” Becky said. “So we picked up some groceries, and stuff for lunch.”
“Becky insisted we get some healthy food, but I managed to get some of Sky’s favorite treats too,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes while holding up a bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips.
Becky rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, Meg,” she said as she unpacked another bag. “We’ve got plenty of veggies here, too, as well as some organic, grass-fed steaks, chicken breasts, and whole wheat bread.”
Meg smiled and relaxed. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. Can I get you anything?”
“Maybe Jack and I can get some work done, first,” Sky said as he sauntered into the room, kissing Becky on the cheek before giving Jack a hearty handshake. “Let’s head downstairs and get going.”
As Jack opened the door to the basement, he asked, “How you doin’, buddy?”
“My angel Meg is taking good care of me,” Sky replied, turning to wink at Meg before closing the door and following Jack downstairs.
“I can see that,” Jack said with a grin. When they reached the basement recording studio, Jack asked, “So, are you still in the ‘no nookie zone’?”
Sky sat on one of the leather sofas and ran his hands through his hair. “Yeah, she refuses to let me get close to her while she’s working as my nurse. It’s frustrating as hell.”
“I can only imagine.”
Meg curled up in one of the oversized chairs in front of the fireplace. “So…how did you and Jack meet?”
Becky sat opposite her on the sofa and pulled a nubby throw over her lap. “We met on the set of one of their video shoots. I’m a stylist, and was in charge of their wardrobe. It was love at first sight.”
“Really? Does that really exist?”
“It did for us. It was hard, at first, because Jack traveled with the band every weekend, but then he asked me to start traveling with him. We haven’t spent a day apart in over two years.”
“What’s it like being the only woman on the bus each trip?”
Becky rolled her eyes. “Lots of testosterone.” She chuckled, and added, “It would be much better if Sky had a girlfriend out on the road with him.”
“None of the other guys have girlfriends?”
“Oh, some do. And Mac, their tour manager, is married. But only Jack and Sky have the option of bringing guests on the road, even though Sky never does.”
Meg was perplexed. “Why can’t the other guys bring guests out?”
“They’re called The Johnson Bishop Band for a reason. It’s Jack and Sky’s band. It was just the two of them when they started out in high school, and they each hold 45% of the shares in the corporation. But they wanted their back-up band to feel responsible and have a stake in whether they’re a success or failure, so they gave the other guys in the band 2% of the shares each.”
“So Jack and Sky each gave up 1% of their shares to each band member?”
“That’s right. I think it was a good business move. They’re smart guys.”
They sure are. I never would have thought of that. Changing the subject, Meg asked, “What’s it like out on the road?”
“It was a little boring at first, but now Jack and I try to get away from the venue and explore each city we go to… we call it ‘date day’.”
“Instead of date night?”
Becky giggled. “Exactly! We go out to lunch, or ride our bicycles, or maybe even see a movie. It keeps us grounded, and reminds us that there is a real world out there, before we get back to the venue for sound check, meet and greet and the pre-show routine.”
“Is there a meet and greet before every show?”
“Yup. It helps the guys connect with their fans. And it’s where Sky usually...oops,” Becky said as she clamped her hand over her mouth.
“Where Sky usually…what?”
“Nothing. I shouldn’t have said that.” Becky stood up and said, “I’ll be right back. I’ve got to use the bathroom.”
Where Sky usually narrowed the field and picked out who he was going to screw that night is what she meant to say, Meg thought. I was just going to be another notch in his bedpost. This is why I can’t let myself get attached to him.
When Jack and Becky left after lunch, Sky rested on the sofa and watched while Meg cleaned up the kitchen. “Why don’t you leave that clean up for later? Come here and sit with me for a while,” Sky said, while patting the seat cushion next to him.
“I’m busy.”
“Meg…baby, come here. Please.”
Meg glared at Sky. “I said I’m busy. And I’m not your baby.” She finished loading the dishwasher, then turned her attention to wiping down the granite countertop.
“Hey, hey,” Sky said, grimacing in pain as he stood up. “What’s wrong? You were really quiet over lunch, and now you’re openly hostile.”
“I just…I don’t think I can do this pretending anymore.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I can’t go along with the game that we’re playing…that I actually mean something to you. It’s not fair to me.” Meg washed and dried her hands, and walked past Sky. “Your next pain pill is in an hour. I’ll be in my room until then.”
The slamming of Meg’s bedroom door reverberated through the house. “What the hell? Meg?” He pushed in the guest room door, and found her sitting on the bed and hugging a pillow to her chest.
“Go away, Sky.”
“But baby…”
“I’m not your baby. Please…,” she sniffed. “Please leave me alone.”
“Okay. I’ll leave you alone, but first I want to know what went on up here while Jack and I were working. Did Becky say something to upset you?”
Meg shook her head. “It’s not something she said. It’s something I realized.”
“What was that?”
“That when we met in Tampa at the meet and greet, all I was ever going to be to you was another notch in your bedpost.”
He ran his hands through his hair. “Jesus, I thought we were past this.” Sky sat down next to Meg on the bed, and brushed the hair off her face. “I care about you, Meg. More than you know,” he half-whispered. More than I’ve ever cared about any woman. And we’ve barely gotten to second base.
Meg turned and stared at Sky. “I care about you too. That’s why I need to distance myself from you. I don’t want to get hurt again.”
A combination of anger and anguish gripped Sky. “Who hurt you? How could anyone hurt you?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me. I want to know you, get to know you better.” Sky ran his fingers through Meg’s hair. “Come on, baby, I’ve confided in you, told you about the worst moment in my life. And then you went and saved my life.”
Meg turned her green eyes towards Sky and sighed. “Well, if you must know, I was engaged once. I worked and paid all our bills while he went to medical school but, as soon as he graduated, he dumped me, and traded me in for a younger, prettier nurse.”
“Shit,” he muttered. “First, I can’t imagine anyone prettier than you. Second, that guy is an asshole. Who would do something like that to you? Someone you work with?”
Meg nodded. “Yeah. I see him pretty much every day at work.”
“Anyone I might know from my hospital stay?”
“Yeah. Your doctor. Craig Conklin.”
“No way! I can’t even envision you with him.”
“I’d thank you not to,” Meg said, her nervous laughter mixing with mock horror.
“Yeah, well, now I can’t get the thought of you and Dr. Conklin out of my mind.” He covered her hands with his. “You deserve so much better than that, and I’m gonna give him a piece of my mind if I see him again.”
Meg pulled her hands away from Sky, swung her legs up onto the bed, and faced the opposite wall. She hugged her pillow and groaned. “Please, don’t. I don’t want him to know that he was even worth talking about. And I don’t want him to know about us.”
Sky was unable to suppress a grin as he lay down next to Meg. “So there is an ‘us’?”
“I don’t know.” Meg sighed and hugged her pillow tighter. “I don’t know.”
“It sounds to me like you have doubts.” Sky watched as Meg nodded her head. “Ask me anything. I promise that I’ll always be truthful with you.”
“Anything?”
“Yeah. Anything.”
“Okay.” Meg closed her eyes, before asking, “How many women have you slept with?”
Shit. Of all the things she could have asked, why did she have to ask that? But I promised I’d be truthful. “This is really embarrassing to admit, but I don’t know.”
Meg’s eyes popped open, and she turned her head to look at Sky. “You don’t know?”
“It’s a lot. At some point I stopped counting.”
Meg clutched her pillow and turned her back to Sky. “How could you not know?”
“I know, that’s a terrible answer, but at least you know I told you the truth.”
He’s right. I asked, and he answered. I shouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know the truth. “Weren’t you afraid of getting sick?”
“I always wear a condom. And I know that my tests in the hospital came back negative.”
“Yeah, I saw that in your chart.” Meg turned towards Sky, causing the springs on the old bed to squeak. She took a deep breath, and asked, “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why so many women?”
“I don’t know.” He took a deep breath, and sighed. “I mean, at first it was a big rush when women came on to me and I had my pick of dozens of them at meet and greets, with no strings attached. It was easy, since I was on the road all the time. And I think part of me also felt that after the role I felt I played in my mother’s death, I didn’t deserve to have a real relationship. That I didn’t deserve to have what my parents had. And, part of me was just rebelling against my father, I guess.”
“Your father wanted you to settle down?”
“Yeah. Settle down, and join the family business.”
“And you chose music instead.”
“Yeah. I couldn’t imagine sitting behind a desk in a suit all day, every day. I’d have gone out of my mind. I wanted to do what I loved.” He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. “So, you didn’t answer my question before – is there an ‘us’?”
“I don’t know. It’s just…well, like I said before, I’m petrified of getting hurt again,” she said as she searched Sky’s blue eyes.
“Then let’s take it slow. Let’s consider the rest of this week off limits, like it’s supposed to be. It will give us time to get to know each other better.”
Over the next few days, Sky’s condition improved, and Meg began to wean him off his pain medication. During the time they spent together, she listened to him bare his soul about his relationship with his family, his fears, and the loss of his mother.
“I’m so grateful you came into my life that night in Tampa,” he said, as he watched her note his vital signs on the hospital chart the morning of their last full day together. “You’re one of the only people I’ve ever been able to talk to.”
She smiled, and a warm glow spread through her body. “I’m glad you feel comfortable with me.”
“I do. You’re so different from other women I meet.”
She sat on the edge of his bed. “Really? How so?”
“Because you treat me like a real person, and not a celebrity. It’s been that way since the start. It’s one of the reasons why I knew that you weren’t just another fling.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “One of the reasons?”
He chuckled. “Yeah.”
Meg was at a loss for words. She stared at the American flag blanket covering the bed, and noticed it was worn in spots. “Maybe you shouldn’t sleep with this blanket. The yarn is frayed.”
Sky bolted up. “Is it damaged? Where?”
“Here.” She pointed out the worn areas. “And here, too.”
His heart raced. “No…it’s not going to unravel, is it? My mom made it for me when I was a kid.”
Meg inspected the stitches. “I don’t think it’s going to come apart, but it’s probably not a good idea to sleep with it every night, either.” She watched Sky close his eyes and shake his head, and added, “I haven’t knit in a long time, but there’s probably a way to fix it. I can look it up.”
“You’d do that for me?”
She met his eyes. “Of course. If I can’t figure it out, then I’ll ask my cousin. She’s an expert knitter. She’ll know what to do.”
“Thanks.” He reached out and took her hand in his. “You’re amazing.”
An involuntary gasp escaped her lips as electricity coursed through her veins, and she pulled her hand back.
Sky stared at her. “You feel it too, don’t you?”
Her cheeks turned red. “What?”
He grinned. “The chemistry between us. No denying it.”
Meg agreed. “Yes. But…” I can’t even think of getting attached to him. He’ll just break my heart.
Sky rolled his eyes. “I know nothing can happen this week. That’s our deal. But I’ve gotta tell you that having you in such close proximity is driving me crazy.”
Me too. Meg stood and began to walk out of the room, but Sky jumped up and grabbed her by the arm.
“Can I ask you a question?”
She turned towards him. He was only wearing a pair of boxer briefs, and her pulse quickened when she caught a glimpse of the outline of his private parts. “Sure.”
“Why are you still wearing your scrubs every day? I know you have other clothes with you. You wore jeans when we drove here from the hospital.”
“It’s my uniform, and I thought it would help remind both of us of the boundaries set for this week.” She stared at him for a beat, before adding, “I’ll get breakfast started. Meet me in the kitchen when you get dressed.”