Chapter 13

Gage

After my confrontation with Bentley, I felt like a complete dick. I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that I was wrong. I wasn’t. There was no way I’d been mistaken about Bentley. So, why did I still hear Harley’s voice in the back of my head calling me a dumbass? Calvin Jameson’s doubts about Bentley’s involvement with Colin kept playing in the back of my mind.

By the time I parked in front of Colin’s home, I had come to the conclusion that I needed to fix things with Bentley. If she was marrying my brother, I had to get along with her. He was sick, and he needed everyone behind him, not fighting.

The housekeeper was just leaving, so she let me in and directed me to Colin’s den. I found him sitting at his desk, his fingers flying across the keyboard of his laptop.

“Give me a minute to finish this up,” he told me in a distracted voice. When he was done, he looked up at me with a warm smile. “Does it really take a tabloid scandal to get my baby brother to visit me?”

After dropping down onto his sofa with a sigh, I replied, “Sorry it’s been so long. Things have been crazy busy the last couple of months.”

“I understand,” he assured me. “Are you going to bitch at me for refusing to talk to you before today?”

“I’ll get to that later,” I replied. “First, let’s talk about what’s going on. This has been making me crazy. Why the hell did you refuse to see me until now?”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t ready to talk to you,” was his simple reply. “Mom also told me you’ve been busy with recording and getting ready for your tour.”

“I’m sure you knew that before Mom said anything,” I accused.

“Why would I know anything about your schedule?” he asked, leaning back in his desk chair with his fingers steepled under his chin.

“I figured as the owner of Mooncast Records, you’d know the details of our recording schedule.” I’d planned to ask about his brain cancer first, but I couldn’t seem to get the words past my lips.

If Colin was surprised I’d brought this up, he didn’t let it show. “That company runs fine without much input from me. I don’t keep up on the day-to-day operations.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you bought the label?” I demanded.

“Because you’re a stubborn ass,” he replied. “Would you have signed if you’d known I owned the label?”

Rather than answering his question, I asked one of my own. “Did you buy the company so they’d sign me?”

“Of course, I bought the label so they’d sign you,” he replied. “You guys are good, and you deserve this chance. When Mom said you were getting ready to sign with another label, I looked into them. They were a bad choice, but I knew you were desperate to make it. I also knew the label you were already with wouldn’t help you get much further.”

I blew out a frustrated breath. At least, his intentions were good, not that I’d ever doubted that.

“Other than getting them to sign you, I’m not interfering,” he assured me. “I realize you must be worried this will affect your band’s future, but it won’t.”

“What if something happens to you?” I asked softly.

“You mean if I die?” he asked. “It’s okay to say the words. I’ve come to realize that it’s going to happen. I lucked out with this accident, but I might not be so lucky next time. Who knows? I could outlive you, or I could die tomorrow.”

“What happens to the label then?” I pushed. “I already know you’re getting married. Maybe this isn’t a good investment for you to hold onto.”

Colin’s gaze shifted away from mine, and he pushed his chair back from his desk. “Mom is mistaken.”

“Does that mean you aren’t getting married?” I asked.

“That’s not what I said.” He let out a nervous laugh and stood to pace the room. “I know Mom thinks I’m marrying Marie.”

“Marie?” I asked before remembering Bentley saying she went by her middle name at work.

“James’ assistant,” Colin clarified. “She’s acting as my assistant for the time being, as well. Other than that, I’m not involved with Marie.”

“Who else could you be marrying?” I asked. “She’s the only woman you’ve been seen with.”

Colin’s eyes met mine, and he took a deep breath before speaking. “This isn’t how I pictured telling you.”

“Is this about your brain cancer?” I asked.

“Brain cancer?” He looked bewildered by my question. “What makes you think I have cancer?”

“Mom told me,” I explained.

“I don’t have brain cancer,” he assured me. “A character in a book Mom was reading when we spoke had brain cancer. We need to talk about Mom’s confusion, but first, I need to clear up this mess with Marie and my engagement.”

“Okay,” I agreed and waited.

“I’m gay,” he began. “There is nothing between me and Marie. She helps me out when I have issues with anxiety in public. It’s been a problem since my accident. She’s great, but she’s definitely not my type. I’m marrying James.”

“Is this what you were worried about telling me over the phone?” I asked.

“It seemed better to tell you in person,” he explained.

I laughed as relief washed over me. “I thought you didn’t want to tell me you’re dying over the phone,” I said with a shake of my head.

“Is that why you were in such a bad mood when you walked in here?” he asked.

“That’s part of it,” I hedged. “There was also the thing with you buying Mooncast and you seeing Bentley.”

“As far as the record label goes,” he began, “it goes to you if anything happens to me. I take it there was more to your meeting with Marie than she told me about. You clearly don’t like the idea of her being involved with me, and don’t tell me it was all about concerns for me or the label.”

I sighed and covered my face with my arm as I leaned back on the sofa. “I seriously screwed up. Sorry for getting so worked up over this.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he told me. “We haven’t talked much in the last decade. I can see why you’d worry about the label. I’d also be in a bad mood if I thought you were dying.”

“It’s worse than that,” I confessed. “I said horrible things to Bentley.”

“She didn’t mention anything about horrible things when I talked to her,” Collin told me. “Actually, she didn’t tell me much about your conversation.”

“It’s not what happened on the flight that’s the problem,” I began. “I saw her again before I came here.”

“Don’t tell me you said something bad enough to make her quit,” he practically pleaded. “James will never forgive me if Marie quits.”

“I doubt she’ll quit, but she might punch me in the balls the next time she sees me,” I muttered.

Colin cringed. “I’ll make sure she’s not here when you are. That should be easy since you don’t usually visit during normal business hours.”

“I need to talk to her,” I stated. “I have to apologize.”

Colin grinned. “I see.”

“Why do you look so amused?” I asked.

“I was thinking that this will give you an opportunity to practice your groveling skills,” he replied with a laugh.

He was right. After seeing how pissed Bentley was at the cafe, I was going to have to work hard to get her to give me another chance.