Ruby Tuesday (6 page)

Explain what happened.”

“No problem. Behave yourself, Mitch.”

He grinned at her usual comment. “You too, Nat.”

“And be careful, you freak. A
hippie
,” he heard her murmur as she clicked off.

Natalie never said goodbye. It was a strange quirk of her character he found annoying and endearing at the same time.

As he turned, Tris, Ewan and Teagan emerged from below. Tris had a split lip and Ewan was sporting a large bruise on his forehead. Sky noted that—mercifully—the fake beard had remained in place. Teagan looked around the room and he could see she was confused.

“Problem?” he asked.

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“Where’s Riley?” she asked, concern written on her face. He noticed her brothers took the unexpected absence of their sister in stride.

“Who the hell knows? That girl comes and goes whenever the fuck she pleases,” Tris grumbled, clearly annoyed by his inability to control this younger, wilder sibling Sky had yet to meet.

He watched as the three of them moved toward the kitchen area—separated from the living room by a wide, long bar—and worked as a team to wash away the blood and grab some ice packs. He marveled at their silent, well-rehearsed collaboration and wondered if perhaps his parents hadn’t planned their family well. He wasn’t exactly a stranger to large families as he was the middle child of three, but his eldest brother was six years older and his baby sister was four years younger. Fights were few and far between in his childhood home, while he thought they seemed to be rather commonplace amongst the Collins kids, who all looked to be about the same age. In fact, as he watched them work, he was struggling to figure out who was the oldest.

“Okay,” Teagan said at last as she blotted at a bit of blood that had dripped onto Tristan’s shirt. “If you take that off now, I can soak it and I don’t think it will stain.” Tris removed his shirt, surrendering it to his sister, and again Sky was struck by the family’s closeness. Modesty didn’t seem to exist either.

“I want to thank you all for helping me dodge the photographers down there. I’ve called a friend and I’m pretty sure the paparazzi will start to leave soon. We’re laying down a false trail. Once the coast is clear, I’ll take off,” Sky said.

“Actually,” Ewan added, “I think you should plan on spending the night here.

There’s an extra bed in my room you can bunk in.” Sky watched Teagan’s eyes widen with surprise at her brother’s offer and he chuckled. “Not planning to smother me in my sleep, are you?” he joked.

“Why would he do that?” Tris asked suspiciously.

“No reason,” Ewan added quickly and Sky realized the man didn’t intend to tell his brother about catching him kissing their sister in the closet. “Sky pointed out 44

Ruby Tuesday

downstairs that he and Teagan are going to be working together on writing songs. I think they should do that writing here, rather than in a hotel room.” Ewan emphasized the word
hotel
and Sky watched the light go on in Tristan’s head.

“Oh yeah,” Tris agreed. “You should definitely write here.” Sky looked around the apartment, thrilled by the invite. He’d been bored to tears cooped up in the hotel suite. He had a feeling life at the Collins’ place would never be dull. Still, the devil in him prodded. “Oh, I could never inconvenience your family that way. Besides, Teagan and I would need a quiet, private place to work our magic. The hotel would be ideal for that.”

He fought not to laugh as Ewan’s face flushed at the word
magic
. Tris actually appeared to have swallowed his tongue, coughing uneasily.

“Sky,” Teagan said, her eyes narrowed. “My brothers just went out of their way to help you tonight. Don’t you think you should play nice?” He grinned. “I’d love to stay here and I appreciate the offer of a bed. Are you sure your pop won’t mind?”

Tris shook his head, his voice betraying his annoyance as he spoke. “Oh no, believe me, Pop will have no problem with the arrangement. He’s downstairs all but passing out cigars to his cronies and bragging about his little girl writing songs for The Universe. I’d be surprised if you didn’t get breakfast in bed.”

“You mean that wasn’t part of the deal anyway?” he joked, laughing when Teagan’s eyes nearly rolled all the way back into her head.

“Can you ever be serious?” she asked, exasperated.

He walked over to her, wrapping his arm loosely around her shoulder, enjoying the ever-darkening looks from her brothers. “I’m a rock star, gypsy. I don’t think breakfast in bed is too much to ask.”

Teagan surprised him by moving forward rather than away. He’d expected her to shake off his arm, so when her own wrapped around his back, touching his bare skin, 45

Mari Carr

he fought to deny the sudden pounding of his heart. Women touched him all the time, so why was he reacting like a fucking teenager?

“You’re standing here without a shirt and in my skirt. You look more like a half-dressed RuPaul than a rock star. If anyone should be getting breakfast in bed, it should be me for having to put up with you for the next few weeks.” He pulled her closer, ignoring her brothers, as he fought to retain what little bit of cocky Sky he could cling to. “Ooh, I do like the idea of us being stuck together,” he murmured.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tris and Ewan both take a step forward, but Teagan’s reaction halted them in their tracks.

She reached up and grabbed his ear, twisting so hard tears sprung to his eyes.

“I’m only going to say this to you one time, rock star, so listen up. The only music you and I will be making is going to be on the page. If you don’t knock off the sexual innuendoes, you won’t have to worry about Ewan smothering you in your sleep because that’s something you’ll beg for after I cut off that protruding part of your body you call a brain. Got it?”

He gripped her wrist and fought to loosen her death grip on his earlobe. Growing up with rough brothers had obviously trained this woman well. She was as tenacious as a Rottweiler. The idea of what she was doing to his ear should have pissed him off, but he was even more aroused now than he’d been all night. She was a wildcat dressed up in “peace and love” hippie garb. Jesus, she was awesome.

“Got it,” he said, relieved when she released him.

“Good,” she said, turning toward a hallway that led away from the living room.

“I’m going to bed. Night.”

“Night,” Ewan and Tris grumbled in unison.

For a moment, Sky expected both brothers to pounce on him and he regretted poking fun at them earlier. He was shocked when Ewan put a commiserating hand on 46

Ruby Tuesday

his shoulder. “Fucking ear twist is deadly,” he said. “Come on. I’ll show you where my room is. I’ve got a pair of sweatpants you can sleep in.” Sky smiled appreciatively. Yep, he thought as he followed Ewan, he was definitely going to like it here.

* * * * *

Teagan was startled awake by a loud noise next to her bed, followed by some colorful cussing.

Riley was home.

She glanced at the clock, surprised to discover it was nearly dawn. “Where have you been all night?” she asked sleepily.

Riley turned around. “Sorry. Did I wake you?”

“You knocked over a chair and yelled ‘Shit’. What do you think?”

“Long night,” Riley replied wearily. “The tramp dumped Aaron.” Aaron Young and Riley had been best friends practically from the cradle.

“So what? You hated the tramp.”

Riley sighed and sank down on her bed. “Aaron is unhappy. No, scratch that, he’s miserable. I think in his fucked-up head, she was the woman he was going to marry. He called earlier from his house, drunk as a skunk.”

“Aaron was drunk?” Aaron never drank. That was Riley’s role in their friendship.

She partied ‘til she dropped and Aaron carried her home.

“I know,” Riley said. “It freaked me out, so I went over and tried to cheer him up.”

“I didn’t see you leave,” Teagan said.

“Took the fire escape to the back alley.”

“Ah.” The fire escape was Riley’s main exit from the apartment. Teagan assumed it was because her sister was always moving in fast forward. Stopping to answer 47

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questions was enough to piss Riley off. God forbid she take time enough to descend a flight of stairs to the pub’s front door.

Then Teagan smiled, trying to imagine Riley cheering anyone up.
Riling
someone up, Teagan could comprehend, indeed would expect of her sister. There was no one else she’d want at her back in a fight more than Riley—but putting a smile on another person’s face? Mary Sunshine, her sister would never be. “Did it work?” she asked.

“I guess so. We just sort of talked until he passed out. I was too tired to drive home, so I dozed on his couch for a couple hours.”

“Well, you missed some excitement here,” Teagan said.

“Oh my God, that’s right! Sky Mitchell! I can’t believe I forgot about that. Don’t tell me. He listened to one of your
Blowin’ in the Wind
shit songs and hit the road.”

“I thought you liked my singing,” Teagan said, unfazed by Riley’s comments. Her sister’s continual insults about her folk songs had become an integral part of the fabric of their relationship.

“I love your freaking voice. You know that. You just waste it on stupid songs.”

“Well, for your information, Sky did
not
leave after one song. He listened to the whole set and then invited me to join him at his table.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Riley yelled, suddenly wide awake. She rushed across the room and jumped beside her on the bed so hard, Teagan nearly bounced off. “No way.”

“Way.” Teagan laughed.

“You lucky bitch. Tell me every gory detail. Don’t leave out a thing.”

“He heard me sing
Maybe Tomorrow
and he wanted to buy it. Record it on his next album.”

“I told you that song was awesome,” Riley interjected. “Holy shit. Your song’s gonna be on the radio! Hell, it could be nominated for Song of the Year. You could be invited to the MTV Awards! Can I walk down the red carpet with you?” 48

Ruby Tuesday

“Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you?” Teagan grinned at Riley’s enthusiasm. Her sister’s mind always raced at a speed most mortal humans could never achieve.

“Not at all. Everything Sky touches turns to gold. I swear this guy is Midas incarnate.”

“Yeah, well, I turned his offer down.”

Riley sat frozen for several seconds and Teagan could see she’d shocked her outspoken sister into speechlessness. “Tell me you’re kidding,” she said at last, her voice far too quiet. Teagan figured she’d better tell the rest of the story fast before Riley’s head blew off her shoulders.

She quickly related the details of the contest, the arrival of the paparazzi, the storage closet—omitting the bit about the kiss—and ended the story by informing her sister that Sky Mitchell was sleeping in their brother’s room across the hall.

Without a word, Riley rose from the bed and tiptoed over to Ewan’s room. Teagan listened as her sister slowly opened the door. She imagined Riley peeking inside and screaming silently when she spotted her favorite musician snug as a bug in Sean’s old bed.

When she returned to the room, she was eyeing Teagan with an expression that left her uneasy. “You’re going to be writing songs with Sky Mitchell for weeks,” Riley said, her voice far too even and controlled.

Teagan nodded in agreement, wondering what was going on inside her sister’s mind.

“You should totally sleep with him.”

“What?” Teagan asked.

“I’m serious.” Her sister’s face proved that she was, even though her words were utterly preposterous, even for Riley. “You have the opportunity to have sex with Sky Mitchell. Do
not
blow this.”

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“Have you considered the fact that I might not want to sleep with him? He’s a cocky, arrogant asshole.” Even as she spoke the words, Teagan knew they were false.

She suspected he adopted that persona as a means of protecting himself and his flirting was little more than a part he was playing. People expected rock stars to be highly sexed creatures, so Sky gave them their money’s worth. Besides, most of his sexual come-ons had merely been jokes, harmless teasing. She liked the part of him that tried so hard to make her laugh.

“Teagan,” Riley said, placing her hands on her hips. Teagan settled in for the twisted lecture she was sure was about to follow. “You aren’t exactly the most experienced woman in the world when it comes to sex. I mean, do you need two hands to count how many lovers you’ve had?”

Teagan narrowed her eyes, refusing to answer.

Riley continued. “Your silence proves that you don’t. Besides, I’m your sister, I know exactly how many guys you’ve slept with and who they were.” Riley shook her head sympathetically. “You poor girl. It’s a pitiful list, you know.” She started to refute her sister’s words, but she held on to the secret truth. Her sister believed the lies Teagan had perpetuated and she was happy to let them remain in place.

Fact was, she’d never slept with anyone. She’d long ago accepted the fact that most guys found her a bit quirky, a bit strange. Her outdated fashion style, antiquated taste in music, old-fashioned values and, well, pretty much everything else, set her apart. She wouldn’t sleep with someone who couldn’t accept her as she was and so far, that simply hadn’t happened. Of course, that wasn’t to say she hadn’t fooled around, hence Riley’s confusion.

“You have a chance to gain some real experience in the bedroom. I can’t even begin to imagine what tricks Sky Mitchell must have up his sleeve as a lover. I bet he could fuck curls into that straight red hair of yours. Besides, this is something you can tell your children, your grandchildren.”

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Ruby Tuesday

“I’m going to tell my grandchildren that I had sex with Sky Mitchell?”

“Think about it, Teag. If Mom had pulled us aside and confessed to fucking Elvis before marrying Pop, you would have been impressed. Admit it.” Riley said the words with such assurance, Teagan couldn’t do anything but laugh. Her sister’s warped vision of the world never failed to amuse her.