Page 64 of Driving Beats

He nods. “Yeah. I know you said to wear your earrings, but Darren gave me these, and I felt it was right to honor him. Besides, you selected everything else I’m wearing.”

Makes sense. “I didn’t realize Darren gave you those.” The tiny part of me that was sad can shove it. He’s right to honor UC’s original keyboardist. “They’re great.” I clap my hands. “How do you feel?”

His left shoulder lifts. “Good, I guess. I mean, I’m slightly more elevated than my usual stuff. Not quite stage ready—because it’s not all rocker-wear, you know—but more put together.”

I exhale. “Exactly. I think you’re getting it. You want to appear proud to be wherever you are. You’ll be the trendsetter rather than, well, not.”

“Nese.” He waits for my gaze to reach his face. “Thank you.”

Of all the compliments I’ve ever received, this has to be the most heartfelt. I’m not sure what to do with this realization. “You’re welcome.”

Walking over to the counter, he opens a drawer and pulls out his wallet—oh my, this needs to be replaced!—and key fob. “Guess I better get ready to smile.”

“And show off the new luggage. Which I can’t wait to see back here when the photoshoot’s done!”

He drops his sunglasses over his eyes. “Catch you later.”

Idly, I watch TV for a while, not registering anything on it. Tossing the freaking ice pack to the side, I decide it’s time for me to get to work and scour the web for belts. Damn. It’s really difficult not being able to touch them. After a couple of hours, I choose five. Unsure which of them he’ll like, I put all of them in the cart, then turn my attention to wallets. I find at least ten that would suit him, but purchase my favorite.

This will be my gift to him.

Because he’s my client. Sort of. Close enough. Not because I want to get together with him like Jenna and Hayden said.

To distract myself, I call Luke to check in. “I’ve been making real progress with Coop. He’s at the Tumi photoshoot now.”

“Is it a closed set? Is that why you’re not there with him?”

I move my bum foot. “I wish.” A sigh escapes. “I hurt my ankle and need to stay off it for a couple of days. Coop promised me he’d be good. I approved his outfit before he left.”

“I would’ve loved to see that. Did you make him change like ten times?”

“Nope. Not once.” I pause. “I did tell him what to wear before he put it on, though.” We both laugh.

“What happened to your ankle?”

Not wanting to rehash my accident, I give him the short version. “I was getting into Coop’s Range Rover and slipped. Rolled my ankle so I need a couple of days to heal. No big deal.” I move my foot to prove my point, but the searing pain makes me freeze. Dammit. Better get more ice.

“Ouch. Take it easy on that. We don’t need to get a bad rep after Bennett’s jump.”

“Yeah, well Jenna’s on staff now, so she can handle any incidents. But for this, I only need rest, not PT.” I stand and limp into the kitchen for another ice pack. Takes me five times as long, but at least I don’t reinjure myself.

“That’s good. By the way, Security did a thorough investigation of Coop’s luggage and it seems the pieces didn’t make it onto the SUV from the hotel. Elias’s annoyed there were no cameras in the hotel’s hallway.”

I grab an icepack from the fridge. “Makes more sense than David Copperfield made it disappear.”

“Right? Is it bad I’m happy Coop lost his clothes?” He chuckles.

I think back to something Coop said a while ago. “Maybe it was the Label? They’ve been pestering you for a while now to make him get a new personal wardrobe.”

“The timing is suspicious. I can’t imagine they would do such a thing, though.”

“I guess we’ll never know.” I better return to the sofa. Did it move since I’ve been in the kitchen? As I limp, I add, “Coop’s new stuff is gold. He’s ahead of the trends. I’m hoping he’ll keep it up as time passes.”

“We’re talking about the same guitarist, right? The one who only threw away an old t-shirt because it had holes under both arms and was fraying on the chest.”

I smile. “His shirt lived well beyond its expiration date.” I wrap the ice pack in the kitchen towel I had from before and place it on my foot. “He’s a rather complex guy.”

“That’s Coop.”