Heart of the Music (Saints & Sinners #1) (13 page)

“Baby, what’s going on?” Jarrod linked their hands together, letting her know he was there for her no matter what she had to say. He needed her to understand that he wanted her to be happy and fulfilled, and that no matter what was going on with her, he would support her; they all would.

She took a deep breath, and he pulled her close to him as she spoke. “I’ve been thinking about leaving the PR industry. I’ve been doing this for so long, and you guys don’t need me like you used to. I’m tired of dealing with the reporters, the label, and management. I just don’t love it like I used to. I’m sorry, guys. I didn’t know how to tell you. All of this chaos, and handling reporters, it’s exhausting.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. Jarrod hated seeing her distraught. He felt her pain in his gut.

“Why the hell are you apologizing for telling us the truth, Trish? Shit, how long have you been thinking about this?” Austin sat in front of them as he asked the same question that was weighing down on Jarrod's mind.

“A while. I just didn’t know how to tell you guys.” She pulled her legs under her body on the leather sofa, letting go of Jarrod’s hand, and wrapping her arms around herself.

“Baby, look at me. You’ve given up everything for us to get to where we are today, and we love you for that. But if this doesn’t make you happy anymore, then it's way past time you did something that does. We’ll support you in anything you want to do, baby. I love you, Trish. You deserve to be happy.” Jarrod wasn’t shocked by Trish’s confession, but as he let her words sink in, they made more sense.

She hadn’t been her overly excited self lately, and he should have seen that without knowing the reason why. He locked eyes with Sam and nodded in acknowledgement. This was a curveball, and he had no idea how this would affect their relationship.

“What do you want to do, Trish?” Mike asked from the kitchen table.

“I want to design. Design clothes, I mean. I’ve been sketching forever, and I’ve been thinking about creating my own line for a while now.”

“Baby, that’s great. I’ve seen your designs, and they’re really good. I think that’s a perfect fit for you.” He held her close as they let the news sink in. It would be a change to have a different publicist working with them for the first time in five years, but if it meant his woman was happy, he would do just about anything. And he wasn’t buttering her up with the compliments; she had a real talent for design, and he knew she would be successful. Hell, he wouldn’t stop helping her until she was.

He felt the tension that had been building in her for the past couple of months vanish into thin air, and he kicked himself for not seeing the need for change in her until that moment. With everything out now on the table, there was no denying that their future was bright and filled with possibilities he couldn’t wait to explore.

They checked into their hotel relatively incognito without too much fanfare, with the guys only having to stop a few times for photos and autographs. Since this was their only day off during this string of shows, they all decided to go spend the afternoon on the beach and enjoy the California sunshine, plus it meant seeing Trish in a swimsuit. So really, he was the real winner here.

When the elevator doors opened on the 23
rd
floor, Patricia and Jarrod looked at each other, the air around them buzzing with sexual chemistry. “We’ll meet you guys downstairs in an hour,” was all Jarrod managed to say before hauling her across the hallway, with the guys’ laughter in the background. He flipped them the finger as he opened their door.

Jarrod barely looked at the room before pulling Patricia close to him. “Hmmm, I want you.” His lips nipped her neck, teasing her with feather-like kisses and licks, making her need for him grow stronger.

She gripped his shirt with her fingers. “You just had me six hours ago.” She tilted her head to the side, giving him more room to torture her with his mouth.

Pushing her against the wall, he admitted, “It’s never enough…. Never—”
Kiss
“—enough.”

“I have an idea. How about we play some water games? Let’s check out the shower, babe,” she told him. Liking the idea of a naked and soapy Trish, he grabbed her hand and pulled her in the bathroom, lifting her onto the bathroom counter as he started the shower.

She kept surprising him. Who would have thought his little angel was a hellcat in the bedroom? She was just as insatiable as he was, and damn if he didn’t love that. He watched her grab the hem of her dress and pull it over her head, leaving her completely naked sitting on the counter. “Fuck, baby, you are so beautiful.”

He took off his jeans and shirt in record time, feeling her eyes on him. “See anything you like?”

“I love your tattoos…so sexy, so essentially you.” He helped her down from the counter and they walked into the shower together, letting the water fall over their bodies. Jarrod’s hands were everywhere, rubbing her arms and kneading the sore muscles around her shoulders. She moaned and leaned back into his chest, her warm and wet skin feeling so good against him.

He had his hands in her hair when someone knocked at their door. “Fuck, come on.”

“Maybe if we’re quiet, they’ll go away?” She giggled as the knocking persisted. She climbed out of the shower, wrapped herself in one of the hotel robes, and ran to the door, leaving him alone and frustrated in the shower.

Patricia

With the persistent knocking on at the door, all she could think about was that their hotel room shenanigans were cursed with interruptions. She was laughing as she opened the door to find a young woman holding a beautiful little girl’s hand.

“Can I help you?” she asked them, confused and scared about what a woman and a child were doing knocking on Jarrod Banks’ hotel room. Anxiety thrummed threw her in time with the countless scenarios running around in her head, until the beautiful woman in front of her spoke up.

“Yes, I’m Makayla from
Time Magazine
. Derek told me I could find you here to schedule the first interview with Saints and Sinners for the book.” Patricia let out the breath she had been holding when Makayla introduced herself, making her fears about a love child disappear. She smiled at the little girl who was hiding behind her mother’s legs; she was a cutie.

“Baby, who is it?” Jarrod came out of the bathroom fully dressed. He smiled at them and kneeled in front of the little girl, reminding her of how good he was with children. “Well, hello there, beautiful. What's your name?”

“Riley,” she spoke shyly. Jarrod smiled at her, and just like that, Riley was under his spell, something she could relate to.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Riley. I’m Jarrod.”

Patricia laid her hand on his shoulder, grinning down at him. “Jarrod, this is Makayla from
Time
. She’s here to make an introduction and schedule the first interview for the special edition book they are developing around the band.”

Jarrod offered Makayla his hand and stepped aside to let the woman and child into the room. “Nice to meet you, Makayla. Why don’t you two lovely ladies come in and we can set something up.”

Patricia excused herself to get dressed before she sat down with them at the table in their suite and was surprised when Riley handed her a flower. “For me?” she asked as she extended her hand to take the flower from the beautiful little girl who had a big smile on her face.

“Um-hmm, my mama says we should always have a gift when we meet new people in their home.” This little girl was the most adorable little thing she had ever seen.

“Well, thank you very much, sweetie. It’s beautiful.” Patricia hugged her and lifted her up onto her lap.

Patricia saw a flash of panic in Makayla’s eyes when Riley had approached her. “I’m so sorry. She’s not usually so friendly. My babysitter called in sick, so she’s been spending the day with me.” Patricia watched as the woman apologized for the precious child sitting on her lap and she felt her heartstrings being pulled in a million different ways.

It was obvious that Makayla wasn’t used to people being friendly with her or her daughter. She smiled at the thought of how unsettling it was going to be for her to spend time with the band once she realized how overbearing the guys could be. “Not a problem at all. She’s beautiful,” Patricia assured her softly.

“Thank you.” Makayla’s voice was as low as a whisper and Patricia watched her reaction to Jarrod, and where most women exuded lust toward him, Makayla’s eyes reflected only a certain level of admiration for the artist, which reassured her. The last thing she wanted was for a reporter to be hanging all over her man, hoping to get the front page story.

Jarrod sat down beside Patricia and took Riley onto his lap. “So, Makayla and Riley, let’s see when we can set this interview for. When did you have in mind?”

“I’m here to work with your schedule. We understand that this extended profile of the band is a long-time commitment for you and the rest of the band, so my job is to accommodate you in any way I can. This is a unique project for the magazine, and we’re thrilled to be working on this with you.” Jarrod looked at Patricia, giving her the silent go-ahead to handle this as she saw best. Having the guys agree to this book project had been a challenge, but after long negotiations with the publisher, she had assured them this wouldn’t be a gossip-type book. This was about the band’s history, their lives on and off the stage, but they had creative control at the end of the day, and that was what had sold the guys on the idea.

She took a few seconds to process the schedule for the next few days before speaking. “Well, the band has a show tomorrow night here in town. Why don’t you come to the show, and then I can introduce you to the band and we can play it by ear.”

Makayla shifted in her chair. “Oh, well, tomorrow night, well that’s….”

“You are more than welcome to bring Riley, Makayla. I can leave backstage passes so you feel comfortable with Riley. I’ll be there too, and a lot of our crew have their kids with them on the road. We’re a quiet bunch, really,” she said, hoping it would ease the other woman's concerns.

After a moment’s hesitation, Makayla accepted. “Well, okay then, if you think that’s not a problem.”

“Not at all. What do you think, Riley? You want to hear some music tomorrow?” The little girl screamed her excitement and sealed the deal in the process.

After she took down Makayla’s information, they said their goodbyes, and as soon as the door closed behind them, she turned around to look at Jarrod. “She seems nice,” she told him.

“I agree. I was a bit concerned about this book, but I have a feeling she’ll do a great job on it.”

“I know you didn’t want to do it, but we have creative control. This is a win-win, babe.”

“You know our relationship is going to end up in that book,” he told her.

Yeah, she knew, and she had come to peace with it. “I know, and I’m okay with it,” she told him truthfully before kissing him.

“As much as I want to finish what we started in the shower, the guys are waiting for us,” he told her, sounding annoyed that they’d agreed to go to the beach.

“We’ll finish it later,” she promised before getting ready for their day out.

By the time they made it downstairs, the guys were already waiting for them in the lobby. “Sorry we’re late. We had a visit from that reporter from
Time
and her beautiful daughter.”

“How is she?” Sam asked them.

“She’s cool. You’ll like her. She isn’t stuck up,” Jarrod answered before she could. The guys all nodded, trusting their judgement.

Jarrod

Being in California for a string of shows had it perks, like the ocean and spending the afternoon with Trish on the beach. Jarrod couldn’t take his eyes off her as she let the water hit her legs; she was fucking stunning in her pink sundress with her skin glowing and the sunshine bouncing off her skin. How he’d gotten so lucky was beyond him.

He was about to go join her when Austin sat down beside him. “California women make me crazy.”

“Women in general make you crazy, man. What’s so different about California women?” he asked, not taking his eyes off Trish, loving the way she was relaxing under the rays.

Austin exhaled and ran a hand through this hair. “Suzie.”

Jarrod turned around as fast as lighting when Austin mentioned that name. “Wait, what? You saw Suzie?” Well now, that explained why Austin looked like someone who had just gone three rounds with a pro-wrestler.

Suzie was Austin’s high school love, the kind of love that made it impossible for a man to get over it. The kind of love a man encountered once in a lifetime, and now that he had Trish in his life and in his bed, Jarrod understood the pain Austin had been in for more than a decade,

“She moved out here after high school, went to UCLA. I looked her up before we got here, and I went to see her at the hospital where she works. Wish I hadn’t done that. The woman drives me crazy.”

“Maybe it’s time you let her go,” Jarrod suggested, knowing his friend would never be able to do it.

“I can’t. I wish I could, but I can’t. I still love her, you know?”

Soon after, Trish joined them, sitting in between Jarrod’s legs and leaning back on his chest, enjoying the sun. “This is the perfect day,” she whispered as she laid her head on his shoulder. Jarrod wrapped his hands around hers and allowed himself to get lost in the moment, until flashes appeared in front of him.