Between the new directives from the Ripper camp and all the drama that seemed to follow us around, it seemed crazy that she’d take such a chance.
Not that I knew what she was thinking half the time. Getting a straight answer out of her about things in her past was like getting Jamie out of a guitar shop when we were on the road.
I glanced over at Teagan as traffic came to a standstill. Her feathery lashes fluttered against her cheeks as her lids twitched. Then she moaned and curled toward me in her seat.
“Teag?”
“No.” She mumbled a few more nonsensical words and suddenly snapped her eyes open. She stared at me, her pupils still blown wide with sleep.
Quickly, I checked the traffic situation. We weren’t moving, so I shifted toward her. “Hey. You’re okay.”
She frowned and pushed her hands into her hair. All her curls tumbled free as her intricate girl twist unraveled. “Sorry. I must have been dreaming.”
“Tell me about it.”
She shook her head. “I can’t remember.”
“Right.”
She sat up straighter. “How long was I out?”
“Thirty minutes maybe.”
“Really?” She scooped up her hair and tied it up again. “Sorry. Not a very good passenger.”
“It’s been a day.”
“Yeah.” She glanced at her phone. “Looks like some of the band has heard about my stupidity and the fire.”
“Texts?”
“Yeah. Even Jamie.”
“They’re worried about you.”
“I guess.” She shoved her phone back into her pocket without replying to anyone.
“You’re not going to tell them you’re okay?”
“They were just being kind.”
“I wish you’d quit with that shit. You’re not the new girl anymore. You’re part of us.”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that after today.”
“What were you doing there anyway?”
“I told you. I just wanted to play.” Impatience laced her tone. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Middle of the night seems like the perfect time to get your practice on.”
“It is, for me. I like the silence. It’s really not any big thing.” She jutted out her chin before shutting her eyes. “Or it wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t wigged the hell out and caused a chain reaction of chaos.”
“Why didn’t you come to me?”
“I did, genius. Remember? I showed up in your fancy lobby and nearly got tossed out as riff-raff before you came down.”
“Not then,” I said impatiently. “When you wanted to play.”
“Do you have a piano?”
“Actually, I do.”
She twisted to face me. “What?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Just an old upright I found in a little music shop. They were going to throw it out. Seemed like a waste. Lindsey’s piano dude fixed it up and I put it in my music room.”
“Do you play?”
“Nah. Thought maybe you could play it one day.”
Her shock cleared the last of the fatigue from her eyes. “Me?”
“Sure.”
“Why would you buy it for me?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
She tipped her head forward as if she couldn’t hold it up any longer. A few curls sprang free to flirt with her cheeks. “Not sure I deserve you, Cooper Dallas.”
I gave her a quick smile she couldn’t see with her head angled downward. “Sure you do. And now that I know you cook…”
She laughed. “I can cook. I didn’t say I was good at it. I’m more of a baker.”
“I like cookies.”
“Who doesn’t like cookies?”
“Only crazy people.” I shifted gears as the traffic finally started rolling again. “You know who else is crazy? Someone who prefers to play on a stage rig rather than their own probably sweet setup at home.”
“Yeah, except I’m renovating and don’t have access to mine right now. But I actually just put a down payment on a piano. My first big purchase since I joined the band.”
“How big?”
She nibbled her lower lip. “Pretty significant.”
“And you gave me shit about my place.”
“A piano is a lot different than a million dollar penthouse.”
Bit more than a million, but I wasn’t going to correct her. “Is that why you’re renovating?”
She nodded. “Yeah. It’s my dream piano. A white Steinway.” She sighed. “First time I saw one was while shopping with my grandma. I was like seven, maybe? All I remember is this huge, gleaming, black grand piano. The saleswoman let me sit on the bench. It sounded incredible even with my fumbling.” She smiled. “My grandma started me on lessons the next week.”
“And now you’re getting one.”
“I prefer white, but yeah. I’m not even sure they could get it in my place right now.” She swallowed audibly. “Well, definitely not now.”
I reached over and covered her hand. “We’ll get it figured out.”
“It’s not your problem, Coop. I’m a big girl.”
I drew back. “Doesn’t mean you can’t lean on your friends. Just say ‘thanks, Coop.’”
She shook her head, smiling faintly. “Thanks, Coop.”
“Better. Want to grab some food?”
“I don’t think I could eat.”
“Okay.” I turned onto Columbus and headed for my building’s garage.
A few minutes later, I parked and nudged her toward the elevator. The trip to my floor was quiet. She was fiddling with her phone so I assumed she was finally replying to our bandmates.
I tossed my keys into the dish by the door in my foyer. “Do you want to freshen up?”
Tiredly, she rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, maybe. I feel gross.”
I nodded toward the stairs. “Everything is up there. I have a small one on this floor, but it’s not much more than a john.”
She gave me another one of those faint Teagan smiles that were nothing like her usual wide grins. “Pretty sure nothing in this place is small. Is the john gold-plated?”
“No, but the floor is.”
When she gaped, I poked her shoulder. “Go get cleaned up.”
“Are you sure I’m not putting you out?”
“Teagan?”
“Yeah?”
“Get upstairs.”
She sighed. “I’m going.”
I followed her up, hoping to hell my bathroom wasn’t too bad. I’d only been home for a week. I wasn’t messy by nature, but I let some stuff slide. Especially when I wasn’t expecting company.
Luckily, she went right for
