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       Sometimes the life of a rock star sucked…

       Rock bassist Giles Walker was sitting in his hotel bed in New York City, his back propped against the headboard. It was three o’clock in the morning, but he hadn’t yet slept a wink. The reason for his insomnia should be the adrenaline high of tonight’s amazing pre-tour club show. After all, it had been five years since his band had played together in front of a live audience, five years since lead singer Sebastian Roe had holed himself up in his Malibu mansion after nearly dying when he’d been shot onstage.

       But instead of basking in the rush of being back together with his mates Ro, Nick and Trevor, here he was, sitting in an empty bed, stressing out over his marriage.

       A third one down the drain. Because his wife Zara had cheated on him.

       Five years of what he’d thought was a good marriage, two beautiful kids, and she’d gone and cheated on him.

       Christ, it hurt. He rubbed a hand across his chest.

       He’d really thought this was going to be the marriage that finally worked. He’d met Zara in Los Angeles right after Ro’s shooting, so he knew she hadn’t been attracted to his glamorous rock-and-roll lifestyle. Hell, Ro had put the band on a possibly-permanent hiatus at that point, so there was never any guarantee the band would get back on a stage. Zara had stayed with him through all of that. It’s why he’d been so sure of her.

       But then she’d gone and cheated on him two months ago with their daughter’s swimming instructor.

       She claimed it had just been a kiss, only one kiss. And she’d confessed it to him immediately, as soon as he’d gotten home from the movie studio lot in Burbank where he’d been working on the soundtrack for an upcoming spy film. He’d found her crying when he’d arrived home, and her confession had come tumbling out before he’d even had a chance to put down his bass.

       It was just a kiss.

       But it was still a betrayal. A punch in the gut. She wouldn’t have kissed another man if she loved him, right?

       What made things worse was that Zara knew all about his previous failed marriages and how desperately he wanted this one to work, how much he wanted the happy family he remembered as a child. Well, at least his childhood had been happy until his mother had run off with some bloke named Sam when Giles was just seven.

       Was that the reason for Giles’ failed marriages? Was he basically unlovable? It seemed not even his own mother had cared for him enough to stay.

       On the nightstand beside the bed, his cell phone pinged with a text. What the hell? Who’d be sending him a message in the dead of night?

       He grabbed the phone, scrubbed a hand across his bleary eyes, and focused on the screen.
Ro’s shooter dead. All details tomorrow. The message was from the band’s manager, PK Gordon.
       Giles stared at the shocking words on the screen, then dropped the phone onto the mattress and leaned back against the headboard.

       The police had never been able to track down Sebastian Roe’s shooter. It had taken Ro five years to drum up the courage to announce a comeback tour, but even then, he’d needed time with a therapist to help him deal with his PTSD. But just as Ro was starting to feel comfortable about being onstage, the shooter had sent a note saying he was back to finish the job.

       Giles wouldn’t have blamed Ro if he’d cancelled the tour and run back to hide in his Malibu mansion, but instead, Ro had shown tremendous courage by playing tonight’s pre-tour club show.

       Giles glanced again at his phone.

       Ro’s shooter dead…

       Hmm. If the danger to Ro was finally over, it meant the band’s sold-out comeback tour would be safe. But…it added a definite complication to Giles’ life.

       Two weeks ago, Zara had brought the girls to New York for band rehearsals in a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, but all they’d done was argue over the same old ground. Despite her remorse, Giles couldn’t see his way to forgiving her for what she’d done. The facts couldn’t be changed. She’d betrayed his trust. And what was a marriage without trust?

       Ro’s death threat had given Giles an excuse to send Zara and the kids home to LA for their own safety, but with that danger now gone, she might want to come back to New York.

       Not a good idea. The first official show of the tour was Monday. After that, the band would be hitting the road, so Zara and the girls would only be back in New York for a day or so.

       Besides, the marriage was over. He loved his kids, he really did, but there was no way he’d ever be able to trust his wife again.

       Maybe if PK was able to keep the news of Ro’s shooter out of the media, Giles wouldn’t even have to tell Zara the danger was over. She’d stay in California with Emily and Ava and he’d focus on the tour until he’d had Zara served with divorce papers.

       He blew out a rough breath.

       Another marriage down the drain.

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       The morning sun was streaming thorough the kitchen window in Los Angeles when Zara heard a text come in on her cell phone. She glanced at the screen.

       Sebastian’s shooter is dead.

       Zara blinked, quickly scanning the rest of the text Sebastian Roe’s therapist Mia Merrill had just sent. But those four words were the only ones she really saw.

       Sebastian Roe’s shooter was dead.

       Zara carefully balanced two-year-old Ava on her left hip while the hand holding her phone shook a little.

       She glanced again at Mia’s text. It happened after the show ended. I’m sure Giles has given you all the details.

       No, he had not, and the careful wording of the text told Zara that Mia probably guessed as much. It was Mia, in her role as a therapist, who’d urged Zara not to push Giles on their marriage issues and to go back to LA as he had requested – at least until things with Ro’s shooter had been resolved.

       Zara’s gaze shifted to the time readout on her phone. 9 am. That meant it was noon in New York. Was Giles still asleep? It was possible, since the show ended late and it always took a while to come down from the adrenaline rush of a live concert. Maybe Giles hadn’t even gotten the news himself yet, since Mia said it happened after the show had ended.

       Right. Zara would give Giles a few hours to call and tell her the news himself. But why did she have a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that he wouldn’t?

       Nothing she’d said to Giles in New York had convinced him of her remorse over kissing Emily’s swimming instructor. The kiss hadn’t been her idea, but Zara hadn’t exactly stopped it. She had, however, fired Rex on the spot as soon as it was over, and confessed to Giles as soon as he’d gotten home.

       Giles wasn’t inclined to forgive her, and Zara had endlessly asked herself why it had happened. Why she had let the kiss happen. The answer always came back to the fact that her marriage was in trouble.

       Giles was a great father and a good provider. He’d worked hard after Sebastian Roe had put the band on hiatus, taking every job he could to see that the family was secure.

       Zara had everything she should want, and yet something was missing. Giles was missing. Oh, he’d come home every night, but there was always something he held back in their relationship. He was not exactly emotionally absent, but more…emotionally guarded. She’d always attributed it to his two failed marriages, and she’d been confident the longer they were together, the more he’d open up. The more he’d trust her with himself.

       But full trust, the openness she wanted, hadn’t come.

       So… had she foolishly allowed Rex to kiss her in order to force the issue? To make Giles understand there were serious problems in their marriage? If it had been a subconscious thing, that kiss had turned out to be a disaster.

       And now Giles was about to go on tour. Which meant he’d be away for three months. More time to set emotional roadblocks between them. More time for that kiss to fester in his mind. Not good.

       She had to do something if she wanted to save their marriage.

       “Mom! Mom!”

       Zara pulled herself out of her thoughts and turned to see four-year-old Emily rush into the kitchen.

       “I’m starving,” the little girl declared. “I want those trees for breakfast.”
Despite her anxiety over the state of her marriage, Zara smiled and untangled Ava’s hand from her hair. Most kids were fussy eaters, but Em was a dream. From the time she could digest solid food, Em would happily eat whatever Zara put in front of her. In fact, her taste buds had become quite eclectic.
       “Broccoli is for dinner,” Zara explained. “We’ll have it tonight.”

       Emily’s lips turned down into a pout until another breakfast option popped into her head. “Pancakes?”

       “Pancakes I can do,” Zara agreed with a nod. “And after breakfast, how about we call your dad?”

       Emily squealed in delight, which made Ava squirm on Zara’s hip, a happy smile on her face.

       Warmth suffused Zara’s chest. She had two precious girls and a husband she loved, despite their current issues. If she could just get Giles to talk to her, to honestly discuss the problems in their relationship, they could work this out. She was sure of it.

       Her marriage was not over.

       

                                                     

                                                                                                                                              © by Leigh Court