“Towels in the cabinet there. One of my T-shirts okay to sleep in?”
“I’m not sure I can sleep.”
“At least try. It’s going to be a long day.”
She nodded. “All right.”
“No one wants to face Lila unrested,” I added, trying to coax out another small smile.
Nothing.
I didn’t want to leave her alone, but I also wasn’t sure I could control my-damn-self around her right now. Her big, bruised blue eyes were shattered and tired and she was pale as hell.
If I stayed in this room another second longer, I was going to do something stupid like wrap her up and take her to bed.
My bed.
And I’d gotten slotted so far up the friend lane that definitely wasn’t happening. She also didn’t need my stupid ass messing with her right now.
Time to go.
“Coop?”
I turned at the door. “Yeah?”
“Thanks for being there for me today.”
I hated that she felt like she had to thank me, but she seemed to be hanging on by a thread. “You’re welcome.”
Leaving her alone was the hardest thing I’d done in a damn long time.
Four
I wound my fingers together. Pulled them apart. Did it again.
The same nervous gesture I’d done about ten times now.
“I wish they could tell us more about the fire.”
“They will. They’re still assessing how much damage was done.”
“But if I could go over there myself—”
“It’s not safe yet. When we’re cleared to do so, we will.” Cooper stared at me across the table, his jaw set. “You don’t have to do the show tonight.”
“Yes, I do. We have a commitment. The fans are waiting on us. And it’s for charity.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to do the show.”
“Right, because no one cares about the new girl?”
“Jesus, Teag, you know that’s not what I meant.” Cooper sat back in his chair and shoved a hand through his already spiky damp hair.
He’d done that same move about sixteen times so far today, and I’d only been up under two hours. He was right about my being exhausted. I’d crashed hard.
Even after the sleep, I was still dragging. Add in the nervous buzz in my blood from knowing that soon, the rest of our band, Lila, and maybe even Lord Lewis—the Donovan Lewis, who owned Ripper Records—would arrive for our meeting, and I was a hot mess.
Minus the hot, at least physically. I wished I’d had some makeup with me at Cooper’s, but I did not. I didn’t even have my purse.
Never leave home without your important stuff. Lesson learned.
For all I knew, my license and credit cards were currently ash on the floor of my apartment.
Not going there now. I had bigger problems than needing concealer for my excessive number of freckles.
Like coming in the back exit of the club because the side door was being fixed due to my epic meltdown this morning.
I sighed and braced my elbows on the table. The shirt Cooper had given me to wear bagged forward, draping like a minidress over my pants from last night. I’d skipped the underwear, going without panties for the first time in my life. I couldn’t say I was a convert, but the alternative had been too icky to bear.
My bra, however, was necessary. There was no unholstering these babies, even with a dress-shirt to kind of hide them.
Oh, no. Not my bras. Were they all gone too?
“God, if I have to get all new bras, I’m going to shoot myself.” I fisted my hair in my hands. Braid be damned.
Cooper said nothing. Of course he didn’t. Because his best friend was crying about her tits when she’d destroyed private property and her townhouse was in rubble.
“You can buy more.”
“You act as if it’s so easy. Have you ever tried to shop for DDs?” Even as I asked the question, I knew it was ridiculous. That I was ridiculous.
Cooper had been nothing but sweet to me. But I was riding on not enough sleep and sorrow and embarrassment and the last thing I could handle now was someone being even-tempered while my life went up in flames—literally.
“No. But we have stylists we can use. You can have one pick you up some.”
“Some what? My entire wardrobe? Even if the fire didn’t reach the bedroom, it will be impossible to get all the smoke out.”
“You don’t know the extent of the damage yet or what you need.”
His tone was entirely too reasonable. Just as it had been when he’d told me I could skip tonight’s concert and stay home.
Right, but where exactly was home? I couldn’t go in my place. We weren’t touring right now, so I wasn’t living on the bus. Though that was a thought.
“Do you think Lila would let me live temporarily on the bus?” I asked suddenly, letting my hands drop from my hair as my gaze connected with his.
His jaw locked even more, if that was possible. “You can’t be serious.”
I frowned. “Why not? It makes sense. The buses are parked. I know we’re going back on the road soon, but until then, I think it could work for me to live on the—” The door swung open and Jamie, Lindsey, and Lila walked in, looking like a badass brigade of stupidly beautiful, put-together women.
“Bus,” I finished weakly.
For a second, the three of them looked at each other, almost as if they were having a wordless conversation on how to handle this. Me. And then their worried expressions vanished in favor of a smile from Lindsey, a fierce warrior goddess expression from Jamie, and a business shark-like look from Lila.
“Teagan,” she said calmly. “I didn’t know if you’d attend today’s meeting.”
She wasn’t calling me Ms. Daly as she tended to do when she was pissed, so I figured I was further ahead than I’d expected. “I’m all right, thank you. And this is my job.”
Cooper muttered something that could’ve been either a curse word
