Normally, the steak would make her mouth water, but her appetite had vanished. Instead, she picked at her salad.
“You don’t like steak?” he asked. “Sorry. I should have asked what you wanted.”
He probably couldn’t give her what she really wanted.
“It looks great,” she said quietly. “I’m just not hungry.”
When he took her hand, the caring in his eyes nearly undid her. “What did I do wrong, Dee?”
“Nothing. You did everything right. That’s the problem.”
His brow wrinkled. “I’m not following.”
She munched a tomato slice. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I just—”
“Just what, love?”
Her eyes burned, so she stared at her plate. “Wanted to be more to you than a one-night stand.”
“This isn’t a one-night stand.”
She looked at him again. “It’s not? Then, what?”
“I-I don’t know,” he said as he set down his fork. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think that far ahead. We fly out Monday morning for the West Coast portion of our tour.”
Dee ate a little of her potato because she felt lightheaded enough to pass out.
“I guess I didn’t think too far ahead, either. I know long-distance relationships are really hard. Of course, I work a lot and need a lot of space, so—I don’t mind flying, either. But, the groupies…”
“I’m not going to be touching any groupies,” he told her. “Not after today. I’ve gotten sick of all the partying, anyway.”
She finally cut into her steak. “Then, we have a chance?”
“Long distance and touring aren’t our only issues.”
The meat soured in her stomach as she pointed at the flag on his wall. “It’s about that, isn’t it?”
“Dammit, Dee, let’s not go there. Not yet, anyway. I want to savor the wonderful day we had.”
“We’ll have to deal with it eventually,” she said. “Why not now when we’re face to face?”
“You know how I feel about the flag,” he said quietly. “But the band has an image to uphold. If it was just me… But, it’s not. A bunch of people depend on Breeze for its livelihood.”
She stood, grabbed her purse, and pulled out her phone to book a rideshare back to the airport. “Then, I guess this is it.”
He stood, too. “We could keep sneaking around like we did today, but you deserve better.”
She leveled him with a cold stare. Always a survivor, Dad had taught her how to read people like books, and she could smell a white lie a mile away.
“You don’t care what I deserve,” she tossed back at Rodney. “You’re just worried about being found out, and we probably would be. Eventually.”
He clasped her wrist as she held her phone. “Reality aside, I have feelings for you.”
She turned her head to hide the tears burning in her eyes as she booked her rideshare.
“Thank you for a beautiful day,” she told Rodney. “I’ll never forget it.”
“And I’ll never forget you.” His lips, light and bittersweet, brushed hers for the last time.
Chapter Seven
Washington, D.C.
On Monday at noon, Dee managed to snag her usual table Le Diplomate, a French bistro a couple of blocks from the office. Minutes later, Rhonda swooped into the seat across from her.
“How did your weekend go?” her friend asked, waggling her eyebrows over outrageously long lashes and shrewd eyes. “Was Rodney’s dick as big as you thought it would be?”
“Watch your mouth!” Dee exclaimed, her head swiveling as she looked around for any co-workers who might have overheard. Then she sipped her iced green tea to cool the heat building inside her. “The package didn’t disappoint.”
“Tell me everything,” Rhonda said after a waitress took their orders. “Did you two do anything else? Or did you fuck the whole time?”
Dee cringed. “Girl, do I have to put a muzzle on you?”
They met here a lot because her friend worked from home and had a flexible schedule. She even wore a football jersey and exercise pants instead of a skirt, blouse, and pantyhose like Dee. Today, she wished they’d chosen a restaurant farther from the law firm.
“We went fishing in the swamp in back of his house, or should I say semi-mansion?”
“Fishing?” Rhonda wrinkled her nose. “Did you hold his worm?”
“All right, that’s it,” Dee said, slapping the table. “I’m going to ask for carry-out.”
Rhonda slapped her hand over her mouth. “I’ll be quiet. I promise.”
“Well, the swamp was hot and sticky, and we were covered with bug spray, so—”
“You did it in the shower.”
Dee nodded. Loss scratched inside her chest as she remembered how blissful she’d felt in their private, steam-filled world.
“So, did Southern Boy go down on you?” At least Rhonda had the decency to mouth the last few words silently.
“Like a true Southern gentleman. Best I ever had.” But her half-smile didn’t do justice to the bone-melting pleasure he’d wrought between her thighs.
The waitress brought Rhonda’s chai smoothie, and she took a quick sip. “If it was so good, why do you look so sad?”
“His brother was supposed to be away, but he stuck around because he had a cold.”
“Do you mean that asshole lead guitarist?”
“He’s the one,” Dee replied.
“Did he hassle you?” Rhonda asked.
“When I first got there, he did. I almost turned around and left.”
“Next time, take me along and I’ll beat the shit out of him. I’m not scared of some nasty white boy.”
The waitress brought their baguette sandwiches, but Dee could only stare at her food. She’d eaten very little since the weekend.
“There isn’t going to be a next time,” she said. “We just had a one-night stand. Well, not even that because I didn’t spend the night.”
Rhonda took a bite of her sandwich. “Let me guess. His decision?”
Dee nodded. “I really didn’t expect anything more.”
“I hate to say I told you so, but—”
“Then don’t say it.” Dee chewed on a piece of lettuce. “It’s for the best. When the rally picture came out in the paper, my boss made it clear a relationship with a bigoted white man would not advance my career.”
“Well, there
