***

I returned to the room with two large coffee mugs and two Ibuprofen for my friend. I didn’t know if she had a headache from hitting her head or not, but I figured she would need them for the hangover she probably had from the last few days of partying anyway.

We sat quietly on the bed, sipping our coffee and staring out the big picture window at the back of the bus in the private bedroom, taking in the beautiful scenery of Copenhagen. The bus drove slowly on the narrow roads as we passed block after block of low-rise buildings, most standing at only four to six stories. The buildings were architecturally stunning and painted a myriad of beautiful colors. Church steeples punctuated the skyline between the yellow, burnt orange and aqua blue historic buildings. Only a few modern hotels marred the quaint charm of the beautiful, historical city.

Sienna and I were probably most excited about playing in Copenhagen. We were scheduled to perform at an outdoor summer music festival instead of a typical theatre, unlike all the other venues on the tour. It was one of Europe’s greatest rock music festivals, spanning multiple days on multiple stages. Before we departed, the tour manager had told us that we were originally scheduled to play on one of the smaller stages, but the festival had just moved us to play on the Orange Stage, the largest of the six stages. Apparently, the tour was gaining popularity as we traveled and they expected too many fans for us to play at the smaller stage. The Orange Stage was where the more popular acts usually got to perform, because the viewing area could accommodate more than sixty thousand people.

As teenagers, Sienna and I had dreamed about going to the festival. We’d even priced out tickets the year we turned eighteen, but neither of us had been able to afford it. We loved the idea of playing at a big festival, but just being able to be a part of it as spectators was enough to be a dream come true.

The only parking for the tour busses was in the camper area. We would get to live the festival right along with the fans. Unlike Justin and Kyle, most people still didn’t know who we were, so at least until it was our turn to play we could enjoy the festival in relative anonymity.

Sienna and Kyle were especially excited at the stop, as they both planned to join the “nude run,” an annual tradition held on the Saturday of the four day festival. The run was an organized activity where people literally ran around the campsites buck na**d and one male and one female would be selected to win tickets to the next year’s festival. The two of them had spent hours trying to talk me into joining them, but, unlike Sienna, I thought that activity would be more fun to observe.

***

Sienna and I spent the entire day watching bands and eating food on sticks, some of which I wasn’t even sure what it was. Some of the day we spent with Kyle and Justin and the other musicians on the tour, but it was difficult to move through the festival with so many girls stopping Kyle and Justin for autographs and pictures. More than a few lifted their shirts to reveal bare skin and requested that they each sign a breast, which the guys happily obliged. The day was a lot of fun, although I did notice that Justin kept his distance from me most of the day.

After a few hours of constant stopping for fans with Double Strife, Sienna and I decided to ditch them. With the size of the crowd of women circling them, anxious for whatever attention they could get, I doubted they would even notice for a few hours.

The rest of the afternoon Sienna and I watched bands and danced together and I couldn’t have asked for a better, more laid-back day — except, of course, if at the end of it I was going home to Jack. We met back up with the guys in time for the nude run and I found it amusing how many more of the guys from our tour had decided to join in on the fun after finding out Sienna was going to participate. Sienna, of course, would be the only woman participating from our tour group, but that didn’t seem to bother her at all.

Justin and I watched the nude run together, both laughing hysterically as drunk people ran around, falling often. The run had become a greater spectacle than usual, as the grounds were muddy from a heavy rain the night before, making the grassy campsite area slippery and muddy. The messy conditions seemed to have not mixed well with the inebriated campers, making most participants appear as if they had been mud-wrestling.

Although we didn’t talk much, I was glad that Justin and I got to spend a little time together having lighthearted fun. There had definitely been a tension between us the last week and people on the tour had been starting to notice.

After the nude run festivities wrapped up, most of our group decided to spend the evening at the beer tent. I politely declined, as my throat had become scratchy and I wasn’t sure if it was allergies or I had begun to come down with a cold. Considering I was being paid to sing, I thought it best to forego the evening festivities and call it an early night. I was excited to play the next day and wanted everything to be perfect.

Back on the tour bus I made some eucalyptus tea and settled in for the night. The camping area was loud outside, but a little soft music made it easy to forget that there was a giant party going on around me. I called Jack and filled him in on the day’s antics and he told me about his day. He mentioned that he had a board meeting in the morning and his tone changed as he told me about it. I knew that a board meeting meant being in the same room as his father, something that Jack unequivocally avoided at all costs.

He planned to do a ten mile run in the morning to work off some of the stress before having to spend hours so close to his father. He had basically disowned his father years ago when his mother was dying of cancer and his father had traipsed around town with a bevy of mistresses half his age instead of taking care of his ailing wife. Since then, he tolerated his father only when absolutely necessary and restricted any interactions to solely business. Things had got progressively worse in the last few months, after Jack’s father had interfered in mine and Jack’s lives. I wanted to ask if anything new had happened to cause the current animosity in his voice, but something told me that it was best left for another time, perhaps when we were in person.

We talked on the phone for over an hour, and as we were beginning to make plans to talk the next day, there was a knock at the bus door. I stayed on the phone with Jack as I unlocked it, expecting to find a drunk Sienna on the other side. But instead it was Justin. Justin didn’t speak, he stood outside and waited for me to invite him in. I told Jack that I would call him the next day because the tour manager had come to go over the plans, and we both said goodnight. I hated to lie to Jack, but I knew how he felt about Justin and he had enough on his mind, having to deal with his father and the board meeting in the morning.

Justin waited outside the door to the bus, with me holding it open, until I had hung up the phone.

“Can I come in, Syd?”

I was leery at first, but then stepped aside while still holding the door, silently accepting his request. I knew Jack wouldn’t like me spending time alone with Justin, but I figured it might be best to clear the tension between us. I thought about my promise to Jack not to have men in my room, and justified to myself that I wasn’t breaking my promise as long as we stayed in the common area of the bus. I couldn’t imagine that it would be possible to spend three more months on tour with Justin and not sit in the front of the bus together at some point. It was best to clear the air and move forward with less tension between us.

Justin sat down and we both began to speak at the same time. We both laughed, almost nervously, and an awkward silence followed.

“You first,” he said.

“I was just going to ask why you weren’t out at the beer tent partying with the others.”

“Oh. The beer party turned into an autograph signing party so I got out at the first lull in the line.”

I smiled. “Part of the cost of your fame.”

“I guess so.” Justin ran his fingers through his hair. His body language let on that the constant attention actually bothered him more than he let on.

“What were you going to say, Justin?”

Justin pushed his hands into his pocket and looked down, playing with a small spot on the rug at his feet. His movement reminded me of a small child who was about to confess something to his mother, but was nervous of her reaction. “I was going to apologize for acting like a jackass lately.” He looked up at me with a hesitant shy smile. It was the first glimpse of the old Justin that I’d known.

“You have been a bit of a jackass.” I smiled and nudged my shoulder in to his in a friendly gesture meant to ease the apprehension of our conversation.

Justin responded with laughter in his voice. “I knew you wouldn’t let me off the hook that easy.”

I laughed, feeling some of the tension between us release at our friendly exchange. “Want me to kick your ass at Rock Band, friend?”

Justin’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and his cocky dimpled smile returned. “Bring it on, blondie.”

We played Rock Band on the flat screen in the front of the bus, while lounging at opposite ends of the couch for more than two hours. I lost track of the wins and losses, but by the time Sienna came stumbling in I was pretty sure I had lost.

Sienna and Kyle roared into the bus like wildfire. Both still had dried mud in their hair and went straight for the bottle of tequila. The four of us laughed and told old stories for another hour before I decided it was time to call it a night. The sun was coming up by the time I felt Sienna crawl into bed next to me again.

Chapter 7

We were all ecstatic with how the festival had turned out in Denmark, but Copenhagen passed quickly and we moved on to the next city. The trip from Denmark to Sweden wasn’t quite as peaceful of a trip as the trip to Denmark from Berlin. Instead of spending the travel time catching up on our sleep, as Sienna had done the last leg of the trip, we all piled into one bus and celebrated our success by pulling an all-nighter and singing until we could barely keep our eyes open.

By the time we arrived in Sweden, we were all ready to crash. Luckily, we had almost twenty-four hours before our next show and were checking into a hotel with real beds for a few nights while the busses went in for service. Of course, since the tour was sponsored by Heston, we were being put up at a beautiful Heston property.

***

Sienna and I were excited to spend a day watching live American TV, and had big plans to order room service and stay in our pajamas until it was time to head to the venue. Unlike the other Heston properties that I had visited, the Sweden property was quaint and understated, a contrast to the modern ultra-luxurious skyscrapers that typically represented the Heston brand.

I wasn’t surprised when the staff was overly attentive to me when we walked in. Jack seemed to always make it his business that Sienna and I were treated like royalty and received the best accommodations whenever he had any control. I smiled to myself as the staff fussed over me, I didn’t really care about having a suite but I knew it was Jack’s own way of taking care of me and I adored him for it.

After the hotel manager let us into our suite and gave us the grand tour, he turned to me before leaving and reached into his pocket, offering me a small black box.

The older gentleman smiled as he extended his hand holding the box. “Ms. St. Claire, Mr. Cole requested I give you this.”

I took the box from the man’s hand and smiled curiously. As seemed to be the norm in any of the Heston properties, the manager refused to accept a tip and encouraged Sienna and I to help ourselves to anything the hotel had to offer before showing himself out.

“So now the penthouse suite comes with jewelry, huh?” Sienna came up from behind me and took the box out of my hand. “And here I thought I was the princess.”

I attempted to take the box out of her hand but Sienna just giggled and ran to the other side of the couch, out of my reach. “I’ll give you twenty bucks for whatever is inside!”

I stopped in the middle of my chase. “Twenty bucks, Sienna, really? Did you see the insignia on the box?”

Sienna looked down at the box in her hand curiously and gaped when she noticed the small script: “K.” Kleinmans. Kleinman’s was a well-known NYC boutique jeweler that regularly loaned out jewelry to celebrities walking the red carpet. We both knew the name from hearing celebrities announce who they were wearing at award shows, not from being able to afford to shop at the store.

“Okay, fifty bucks, but that’s my final offer, Syd,” Sienna yelled, and giggled as I surprised her by jumping over the couch and grabbing the box out of her hand. I slumped into the couch and Sienna quickly followed, peering anxiously over my shoulder as I opened the velvet box.

“It’s beautiful, Syd,” Sienna’s voice was sincere and caring when she spoke. I was speechless as I looked down at the beautiful sparkling star pendant. It was a simple white gold, very thin chain, holding a delicate diamond star set with pave diamonds. The star had one of its points longer than the rest, somehow giving the look an edge that screamed rock star. It sparkled against the dark black velvet box as if it were shining high up in the sky.

Remembering the words Jack had said to me before he left, my heart swelled a little more for the crazy, controlling, sweet, thoughtful, sexy as all hell man that really was mine.

***

Sienna and I both slept for almost ten hours straight after we finally settled in. I called Jack before I crashed, and caught him before he went into his meeting. I could tell he was happy with my reaction to the necklace, even though he tried to act like it was no big deal. I adored that he put so much effort into trying to please me.

It was late afternoon before we ordered room service. We were both beyond hungry. I was a little embarrassed at how much food we had ordered when room service had to bring in two carts just to fit it all. Sienna and I packed in more calories than we typically ate in a week, then we took our spots on opposite ends of the couch, each wrapped in our own blanket, staring mindlessly at the blaring TV.