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“Obviously not yet.” I rolled my eyes. “I mean when we’re apart.” I took a deep breath. “You want me to believe that youwon’t have sex with anyone else for eight months? That I won’t either?”
Something passed over his face, something like disappointment and I almost said something that I might regret.
“Listen,” I said, wondering whether I was doing the right thing, considering following my heart. “Whatever happens on tour stays on tour and then when we get back, let’s see if we still feel the same way about each other.”
It was a compromise that I wasn’t sure that I wanted to make, but there were still protective instincts I had to act upon. The barriers might have come down, but it didn’t mean that I was totally cured.
Finally, Joey nodded and said, “Sounds like a plan, but you do know that anything after me will feel like faulty goods.”
His smile gave me a sense of relief, because suddenly I felt like I wanted to protect his heart as well as my own.
CHAPTER 34
JOEY
Destiny and I hadn’t seen anyone in the last two weeks. Not another single person unless you counted strangers when we went to the zoo or for a walk around the lake. The point was, no one we knew had seen us and, with only two days until we both left, I knew I had to see my friends before I went away for six months. I hadn’t wanted to leave her side, so I persuaded her to go with me.
“Is it really necessary?” she asked as I guided her towards the Chinese restaurant’s door.
“Yep, Dais’, it’s absolutely necessary.” I gave her a smack on her arse, loving the squeak that it elicited.
“I hate you,” she hissed. “You’re a prick.”
“God, I love it when you’re a bitch. I’ve missed it over the last couple of weeks.”
“You’ve loved every minute of it.” She pushed open the door, paused, and then stalked across the restaurant to our table, hissing over her shoulder, “Looks like you fucking me against the wall means we’re the last ones here. Idiot.”
Watching her storm over to the table, my stomach bottomed out. I couldn’t believe that I only had two more days with her. The constant sick feeling reminded me, even though I tried toforget about it. Eight months felt like an eternity. It was as long as Amber had been pregnant and that definitely felt like forever. That had a lot to do with Ronnie going on about it all the time, but it still seemed like too long.
“Evening all,” I said as we reached the table. “Sorry we’re late.”
I held a chair out for Destiny who dropped into it with a wave to everyone. “It’s his fault.”
“Really?” Elliot raised an eyebrow. “And you are normally so punctual, Joey.”
“He is not!”
“He’s being sarcastic, Ron,” I replied, roughing up his hair as I sat next to him.
“Why are you late, anyway?” Beau asked while he poured some wine into Simone’s glass.
I glanced at Destiny who had her head down, but I could see the slight smirk on her lips. I wasn’t about to spill about the reason, but it was pretty good flicking through the memories of it.
“I had something urgent that I had to deal with.” I sat down and reached for the water jug. “Have you ordered a banquet?”
“Is that okay?” Simmy asked. “I did suggest we wait but…”
“But we were all starving and weren’t sure how long you’d be,” Beau added.
“You’re not vegetarian, are you, Destiny?” Belle asked, looking concerned.
“God no.” She looked horrified at the thought. “That’s just weird. No offense to anyone who is.” She looked around the table but didn’t look one bit sorry.
“No way,” Ronnie added. “Amber thinks we should be but as soon as she smells bacon she changes her mind.”
“I just think for the environment it’s better,” Amber replied and shrugged. “I just can’t bring myself to give it up. We do try to stick to white meat, though.”
“Any colour for me,” Destiny replied, smiling at me as I filled her glass with water. “In fact, I love a nice thick slab of steak the most.”
