Night with Sole Regret

TAKE ME II

“Feeling better?” Owen asked.

“Yeah. It’s been much too long since I’ve seen her. I miss her so much.”

They returned to the Jeep, and Owen drove him to see the only girl who would ever own his heart.

Several cars were parked in the long driveway of the house that had once been Shade’s residence. His ex-wife had received most of their joint material possessions in the divorce settlement. He hadn't fought her on that; he knew he'd done her wrong. It was easy for a rock star to stray on the road. Way too easy. He’d tried not to cheat and had been successful for over a year, but she’d become bitter about his career and he’d lost interest in his own wife. Instead of trying to prove that he wasn’t a cheater—which she’d falsely accused him of every time he’d gone on tour—he’d lived up to her expectations and become an unfaithful jerk. He knew it. He owned that. He wouldn’t make the mistake of getting married again. He wasn’t the type of man who could make a woman happy outside the bedroom and he knew that too.

"Do you want me to wait for you?" Owen asked as Shade opened the door.

Shade hesitated. He wasn't sure what he'd do if Tina refused to let him in the house. She didn't want him there. She would have invited him to the party if she'd wanted him there. He was sure she’d thought he'd be out of town and unable to attend. If her sister, Amanda, hadn’t texted Shade about the party, he never would have known about it.

"No. I'll find my way home. You don't have to taxi me around all night. Go have some fun."

"I don't mind. I know this s**t weighs you down."

Shade smiled at Owen. "I appreciate you having my back, but you deserve a night off. Go on home."

"If you're sure."

"Yep." Shade didn’t care if Tina refused. He would see Julie on her birthday and give her the present he'd just bought. He wasn't going to take no for an answer. “Thanks for the ride. Do you mind swinging by my place to pick me up tomorrow?” He was sort of without a car.

“No problem. I’ll be there around noon.”

“Thanks.” He had no desire to deal with the police and the insurance company tonight. Maybe he could convince one of the band’s assistants to report the car theft for him. Didn’t they pay them to deal with this sort of bullshit?

Shade swung his overnight bag over one shoulder and shut the Jeep door behind him. He headed up the wide walk to the front door with the most ridiculous pink bag in existence dangling from one hand. He fleetingly wondered if Julie would like what he chose. All girls liked diamonds, right?

Standing on the front step trying to find his courage, Shade heard laughter from inside the house. There hadn't been much of that when he'd lived here. Arguing had been the norm. Accusations. Name calling. And a whole lot of angry s*x. Shade pressed the doorbell and waited.

After a moment the door opened, and Tina's cold blue eyes narrowed the instant she recognized him. A blond-haired, blue-eyed bombshell, the woman was centerfold gorgeous. At least until she opened her mouth. "What the f**k are you doing here?"

"I came to wish Julie a happy birthday." He lifted the shiny pink bag. "I brought her a present."

"From a jewelry store?" Tina rolled her eyes at him. "Just as stupid as always. She's four, Shade. She's too young for jewelry."

His heart faltered. He hated when Tina called him stupid, and she knew it. Even if it was true, he didn't like to hear it. And now he was even more worried that Julie wouldn't like her present. When he’d seen it, he’d thought it perfect for her. Now he wasn’t so sure. "Can I see her?"

"It's not your weekend." Tina tried to shut the door in his face, but he lifted an arm to block it.

"I haven't seen her in weeks."

"Whose fault is that? You're never home. You’re always off touring with your band, shoving your d**k into anything with holes."

"Mommy." Julie's sweet voice drifted from the foyer behind Tina. "I want more ice cream, pwease. Just the stwawberry kind."

Shade smiled at her slightly fuddled words. His little girl was talking so much better than the last time Shade had seen her. He wondered how much she'd grown in five weeks.

"In a minute, baby," Tina called.

"Just let me talk to her," Shade said. "I won't take long. I want to wish her a happy birthday."

"Seeing you confuses her, Shade. She hardly knows you. Everyone would be better off if you just sent money and got lost permanently."

Probably, but he was a self-centered bastard, and he wanted to see his daughter on her birthday. He wasn't leaving until he did.

"Mommy? Who is it?" Julie appeared at her mother's side. She paused when she saw her father standing halfway in the door. Her ice-blue eyes grew wide, and she slid her hand into her mother's. She had pink icing all over her face and was wearing fairy wings with her pink princess dress. Shade melted. Every time he looked at her, he turned to mush. His daughter looked like him. She had her mother's blond hair, but the bright blue eyes, the straight nose, the stubborn chin were all him.

"Happy birthday, baby," he said.

"Hi, Daddy. Are you singing songs at the loud place today?"

He smiled. She hadn’t enjoyed the Sole Regret concert she’d attended because the volume of the music bothered her. But she did like his music when it wasn’t too loud. His baby rocked. He assumed it was genetic.

"Not tonight, princess. But I brought you a birthday present." He lifted the pink bag in her direction.

Sucking an excited breath into her narrow chest, Julie beamed and released Tina’s hand to reach for the bag.

Tina grabbed her wrist. "No. Go find your grandma, and she'll get you more ice cream."

"I want my pwesent," she said.

"Julie, I said no. Go find your grandma."

"You can't tell her she can't have her birthday present," Shade said. That old anger he felt toward his ex-wife rushed to the surface. Like Adam, Tina knew exactly how to push his buttons.

"You can't barge in here whenever you feel like it, Shade. The custody order—"

"I just came to give her a present,” he interrupted. “Why do you always have to be such a b—?" He caught himself just in time.

Julie burst into tears. He knew better than to yell in front of her. Damn it. He had such a difficult time controlling his temper where Tina was concerned.

"If you don't leave, I'm calling the cops," Tina said and lifted Julie into her arms, cradling the back of her head to hold her face against her shoulder.

"For what?"

"I'll think of something."

"I just want to see my little girl on her birthday—"

Tina covered Julie's ears with her hands. "What about the other three hundred and sixty-four days of the year when you're too busy f*****g w****s to even call her?"

"I try to call her, but you won't let me talk to her."

"She's in bed. Three-year-olds don't party until two a.m."

"One time I called that late. I didn't realize how late it was because we were in California."

"She doesn’t party until midnight either."

"Don't yell," Julie cried, pushing her mother’s hands away from her ears. “Don’t yell. Don’t yell!”

“I’m sorry, baby,” Shade said.

"Do you see how upset you make her?" Tina wiped at Julie's runny nose with a pink napkin she pulled from her pocket, and then scrubbed the frosting off Julie’s cheek with an unused corner.