Giselle forced a grin. “You got it. I’ll be outside in the hallway when you’re ready.”
Kit grinned. “Thank you.” She threw on a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt with her slippers, tying her long red hair back quickly.
She left her bedroom and stepped into the hallway where Giselle was waiting as promised. She beckoned her to follow and headed for the office—the one place in the house she never wanted to set foot into again. She felt like it was too soon, but pushed the thought out as they made their way in.
When Kit entered, she noticed Sean, Jay and Sully huddled in a discussion. The rest of the band and crew were in the backyard by now, enjoying the sunny day just beyond the French doors.
Giselle gently held onto her arm steadying her as she quietly stood before them a moment. When they didn’t notice her, she spoke calmly, her words smooth as silk with a frosty undertone. “Gentlemen, good afternoon. I’ve learned that the tour is proceeding.”
Sully shifted his demeanor from tyrannical, tour dictator to sweet, doting husband. He approached Kit and took her into his arms.
He kissed her on the cheek and pulled back to stare into her eyes. “Baby, you should be resting upstairs. You shouldn’t be down here. We’re taking care of everything so you don’t have to. Giselle, Sean and the team will do all the heavy lifting under my direction. You won’t have to lift a finger, just focus on getting better. I’m saving the day for us. Don’t worry.” He attempted to give her a reassuring pat that she found patronizing.
She felt a flood of emotions course through her body—a mix of disgust, anger and confusion. She stared into his eyes and loud warning bells went off in her mind. She recognized the unhinged look in his eyes, the dilated pupils that were so large and black they dwarfed the normally stunning steel-blue irises of his eyes. She knew exactly what was going on.
Sully’s demeanor raised a red flag that rocked her to her very core. She didn’t like it and knew this was the most inopportune time to address the matter yet she couldn’t wait.
She decided it was more important to address him privately at that moment than iron out the logistics for the band. They could wait. Their personal conversation could not. As unpleasant as she knew it would be, it had to be acknowledged now.
She shifted her focus to the team. “Can you excuse us for a moment?”
Sensing the intense gravity of Kit’s words, they all nodded silently in unison as she seized Sully’s hand. She led him out of the office and into the entertainment room.
CHAPTER 5
Sully sniffled as he folded his arms in front of his chest and watched her carefully. “You’re mad, aren’t you? And don’t say you’re not, ‘cuz I can tell.”
She sighed and faced him, doing her best to stay composed and keep her tone even despite the flurry of emotions coursing through her. The last thing she wanted at this point was an argument.
Her confused emerald green eyes met his. “You made all these decisions without me?” She shook her head. “Listen, Sully, I have no intention of going back on tour. Not a one. I plan to stay here and manage the band remotely as I had been doing. Whether Giselle wants to stay or go is her decision. I’ll support it either way. I can’t neglect my responsibilities to Diamond either, I…”
He didn’t hesitate to interject. “And we can’t sit by and lose millions of dollars just because you got shot by your crazy assed ex-boyfriend.”
She stared at him for a moment, stunned by his words, before she shut her eyes and shook her head. “Wow, ok. Let’s let that one go, shall we?” Her eyes fluttered open to stare into his again. “Sully, do not be difficult now, ok?”
He let out a sarcastic chortle. “I’m being difficult because I’m getting the tour back in gear? Oh wow, that’s choice, Kit. Shit, why am I surprised? Sounds exactly like something you’d say. It’s always my fault. It’s my fault I wasn’t here to protect you from that asshole. Figures. I’ve been the fucked up one in this relationship since the day we met.” He folded his arms in front of his chest.
She swallowed hard and stared. This was turning into a standoff. She had wanted to avoid an explosive disagreement, but knew that he was already there deeply entrenched in his victimhood. It didn’t matter if she engaged or not, his fuse was lit and she felt like she was bracing for the big boom.
His demeanor and tone were speaking volumes of a story she was scared to know again. She thought this was something that was well behind them and completely beneath him. At least she had been telling herself that.
Deep down inside she knew better. The sting of betraying her own inner compass felt worse than the looming confrontation with her strung out husband. Ignoring her inner promptings had probably been going on much longer than she cared to acknowledge.
She easily recalled Sully had spun out of control with cocaine before while touring and he course corrected. He was able to quit. This had happened a few times, but now the frequency was at an alarming rate.
She hadn’t seen him this unraveled since right before they broke up, years before they married. She swallowed hard and couldn’t shake the gut feeling that history may be repeating itself, putting their marriage on the chopping block this time.
Another sniffle from him and she was unable to ignore it, even though every part of her was screaming inside to unleash her anger. Exercising self-control, she opted to tread lightly.
She surveyed him closely and decided
