Out of the Shadow (14 page)

“
Oh, I like RJ and Ren,” Trudy said.

“
Cole is the cutest,” Sami said and Rosie nodded frantically. “I love his voice, too.”

“
He has the sexiest voice,” Rosie said. She turned to Ally. “Who is your favorite?”

She lifted a shoulder as a sudden bout of giggles threatened to take control of her body. She cleared her throat and pushed them down a little bit – just enough to spew a quick statement. “Well, I like them all but if I had to pick, I’d pick Cole.”

Sami and Shannon did giggle and Ally was so relieved when her phone rang. She ripped it out of her pocket and stifled a groan when Cole’s name popped up on the screen. She grinned grimly and stepped away from the other girls as she answered.

“
Hi,” she squeaked.

“
Hey, princess,” he said. “Something wrong?”

“
Nope,” she said as a couple giggles escaped. “I’m just standing in the midst of your fan club, that’s all.”

“
Really?” he asked, his voice totally amused. “That’s hilarious. What did you tell them?”

She snorted. “I told them that Ren was the hottest.”

“
Yeah, right,” he laughed.

“
Actually, I told them you were my favorite,” she whispered as her smile widened on her lips. She nearly sighed but managed to control it.

“
Well, tell them that you’re my favorite,” he said.

She giggled again. “Would love to but I’m trying to keep a low profile here, remember? If I told those girls that my boyfriend was
the
Cole Crawford, I’m sure I’ll not get a moment of peace.”

“
I know, princess,” he said in a low voice.

“
Don’t call me that,” she said as she glanced over her shoulder. The other girls had paused in their discussion to watch her curiously but she didn’t want to end her conversation. She hadn’t been able to talk to him much in the past few days as he’d been busy with appearances and shows. “I love you, Cole, did you know?”

“
I had a feeling,” he said. “I’m sort of partial to you, too.”

“
Yeah, well, keep it that way,” she ordered. “So, I’m counting down and I only have three weeks, five days and seven hours until I see you again.”

He laughed and her heart lifted. She loved the sound of it. “Seven hours?”

“
That’s just a guess,” she said. Her phone beeped and she frowned as she pulled it away from her ear to check the screen. “Oh, Robby’s calling in but I’ll call him back later.”

“
Robby Redden?” he asked, his tone stiff. “Maybe you should take the call, Al. Maybe it’s important.”

“
I doubt it, Cole,” she said through clenched teeth. “And I’d rather talk to you.”

“
I have to go anyway,” he said. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

“
Fine,” she said, anger beginning to seep into her heart. She couldn’t believe he’d get so uptight just because Robby had called her. It wasn’t like she hung up with him to take Robby’s call. “Call me when you have time.”

He sighed heavily. “I will, princess,” he said, his voice softening. “I love you, Al. I’ll call you after the show.”

Her anger melted as rapidly as it had formed. “I love you, too.”

She hung up and bit her lip, staring at her phone. Yeah, sure it was hard to maintain this relationship with them being separated so much, but they’d been managing just fine. Until now. She wondered what his problem was and if maybe Jamie might know.

“
Who was that, Ally?” Rosie asked.

“
My boyfriend,” she said, distracted. She continued to stare at her phone as if it would give her answers but it remained silent in her palm.

“
Where is he?” Sami asked.

Ally turned around to face them and mustered a smile. “Oh, he’s, um, at school. In, um, California.”

“
What school?” Rosie asked, her eyes challenging Ally.

She noticed my lie
, Ally thought. She knows I’m not telling the truth. She struggled to think up some obscure school just as Jamie strolled over to her and draped an arm around her shoulders.

“
Hey, cuz. Sorry I’m late.”

“
Jamie,” she said, smiling in relief. “This is Shannon, Trudy, Sami, and Rosie. Girls, my cousin, Jamie. Excuse us for a second.”

She ushered Jamie a safe distance away and clutched his arm. “Those girls are rabid Out of Control fans,” she warned him. “They were just telling who their favorites were when Cole called.”

Jamie’s eyes bored into her as his lips slowly peeled away from his teeth and a laugh spewed forth. “No way!”

Ally rolled her eyes and squeezed his arm. “Yeah, hilarious. Anyway, they wanted to know what school Cole goes to – in California – and I couldn’t think of one. I’m going to call Robby back real quick and ask him to give me one.”

The laughter drained off of Jamie’s face. “Call Robby back? Did he call while you were talking to Cole?”

“
Yes,” she said slowly. “Why?”

He grinned and hugged her briefly. “Oh, nothing, really. Cole’s just jealous, that’s all.”

Her jaw fell as she struggled to voice the questions scratching at her throat. She coughed and glanced at her phone again before meeting Jamie’s eyes. “No. He shouldn’t be. I love him, not Robby.”

Jamie put his arm around her again and turned her toward the girls. “He knows that, cuz, but he’s feeling a bit insecure with you being all the way here, close to Robby and he’s all the way, wherever he is. Plus, you and Robby have become close friends and while he knows that and is fine with it, he’s still a bit jealous.”

“
I need to call him,” she said as she opened her phone.

Jamie placed a hand over hers and carefully closed the phone. He took her chin and forced her to look into his face. “Call him in a little bit, okay? Right now he’s probably a bit angry so he’s needs a second to cool off. Call him in a bit and tell him all that gooey ‘I love you’ stuff you two do and he’ll realize that his jealousy is unfounded.”

She processed his words and allowed them to sink in before giving him a curt nod. She relaxed and smiled. “Okay, you’re right. I’ll do that. Now come on and meet these girls so they can drool over you and quit talking about Cole.”

He laughed, strolled over to the table, and snatched a cup of punch as he fixed the girls with his most charming smile. Ally just watched him, grateful that he’d taken the heat off of her, and rethought his words. She would call Cole and soon, before he got too busy to be able to talk. She’d smooth things over and reassure him that she only wanted him.

But when she hung up the phone later after a rather brief conversation, a bucket of lead settled in her stomach. Things had been strained, to say the least, and the end of the tour couldn’t come soon enough for her – or their relationship.

Chapter Nine

Cole located a quiet corner in the hotel’s dark restaurant and spread the file before him. He’d called Rhys Redden earlier that day and requested facts and figures from the tour and Rhys had happily supplied them to him, via the hotel fax machine.

He ordered a cup of coffee and a piece of pumpkin pie from the peppy waitress then set about studying the statistics of each show. A small grin tugged at his lips as a surge of pride and joy shot through him. They were getting there, slowly but surely.

Rhys had had the insight to hire someone to monitor and count, using venue turnstiles, how many people showed up early for the shows, in time to see Out of Control open for the big bands. He also had someone in the seats, observing crowd reactions, seeing how many people actually watched the opening act instead of going for one last smoke, one more beer, or one last bathroom break before the main ticket band came on stage.

And the numbers were encouraging. They’d increased slightly with each show. And the little clubs that Out of Control had hit alone, those stats were mind-blowing. People were coming out to see them. Maybe curiosity was getting the better of them and maybe they were only coming because of Out of Control’s relationship with Tight Control, but they were staying for the music.

Cole thanked the waitress when she returned with his order and stirred cream and sugar into his coffee. His heart was light and his mood was through the roof.

The tour was winding down and when it was over, they’d take a short break before flying back to L.A. to work on the new CD. He was excited about that, too, for he loved working in the studio more than touring. He only wished he could take Ally with him.

His heart twitched when he thought of her. He’d been a little short with her lately out of no fault of her own. It was his stupid, petty jealousy that had caused it. He needed to call her or something, show her how sorry he was and let her know that he did trust her. Her friendship with Robby Redden was innocent and he needed to drill that into his brain. She’d grown up with three boys and adopted them as her best friends and as a result she’d always felt more comfortable in the presence of the male species than the female.

His lips peeled away from his teeth as a smile stole over his face. As soon as the tour ended, he intended to take her away for a weekend – just the two of them. Jamie had found the perfect place and Cole had been able to book a tiny, private cabin. They could spend the entire weekend in front of the fire talking and just enjoying each other’s company. That’s what they both needed after such a long separation.

“
Hi, Cole. Do you mind if I sit down?”

Glancing up, he stifled a groan as Lila rested a hip against the table. He’d come to the restaurant to get away from her but she’d obviously managed to locate him.

“
Yeah, sure,” he said as he picked up his fork and dug into his pie. “Do you need something?”

“
You’ve been down in the dumps lately,” she said as she bent over the table. Her eyes were made up demurely and her lips were painted a soft shade of pink. The scent of her perfume drifted to him, mixing with the spicy pumpkin scent of his pie and nearly sent him into a coughing fit. “Is something the matter?”

“
No,” he said as he forked the last piece of his pie and shoved it in his mouth. He used his napkin to wipe his face then pushed his plate away. “I just wanted to look over some information Rhys Redden sent me in a quiet place away from distractions.”

She leaned back in her seat and lowered her lashes. “Am I a distraction?”

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to tell her she was a large pain in the ass but he refrained. He liked Doug and thought he was a great tour manager, but his niece – not so much. Cole was beginning to think that Lila only feigned interest in her uncle’s career so she could meet people like Cole and it grated on his nerves.

“
I just wanted to go over this stuff before I go back to my room and call my girlfriend,” he said, throwing his relationship in her face like he’d done over and over since she’d joined their tour. He’d hoped she would have taken the hint by now but it seemed as if his words never penetrated her skull.

“
And how is this infamous girlfriend I hear so much about?” she asked.

“
Good,” Cole said as he motioned toward the waitress. She hurried over with his check and he paid it before she could walk away again. He gathered his papers, shoved them in his file and stood. “I need to get back to my room. Talk to you later.”

He fled as a sultry smirk slipped on her lips. He could feel her eyes on him until he left the restaurant and found the elevator bank. He shuddered and pressed the button, wishing Lila would find someone else to torment for awhile because if Ally ever found out, there’d be hell to pay.