bathroom. At first, when I reached the sanctity of the small room, I felt like I might cry. These men saw scantily-clad, and probably even naked, women on a regular basis. And yet they’d both looked like they’d seen a damn ghost when they saw me in a bikini. I wasn’t horribly scarred or disfigured. I was a little boney, and I had muscle instead of soft curves. There was very little curve at all in fact. It couldn’t have been that bad, could it?
I took a deep breath. Think rationally, Dani. This isn’t because you are hideous. It’s because they think of you as a friend, maybe even a sister. My brother had walked in on me once as I was coming out of the shower. He shrieked and carried on, claiming he was scarred for life.
“Baby?” I heard Sean’s voice through the door. It was soft and gentle.
“Yeah?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah?”
“Hank’s gone.”
“Okay.”
“He’s going to come back in a half hour so we can leave for dinner.”
“Okay.”
“Are you going to come out of the bathroom?” He asked gently.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes. But I need my bag so I can change.”
Instead of arguing that I could come out and get it, Sean retrieved my bag for me and handed it through the door. Apparently, he was not interested in seeing me like that again either.
****
That night I had the boys all to myself. We went to some swanky restaurant where we walked in the back door and were escorted, through the kitchen, to a private little booth in a dark corner. They didn’t have to sign one autograph or handle one hysterical fan.
Getting them to myself was like living out all my middle child fantasies. I was the absolute center of their attention. They doted on me and spoiled me. God forgive me, but I loved it.
“Baby, you sure you can eat all that?” Henry asked, eyeing my giant brownie sundae.
“Oh, absolutely,” I said.
“Where do you put it? I swear you ate as much as I did.”
I just smiled at him, then stuck another scoop, dripping with hot fudge, into my mouth.
“Baby, there’s something we want to talk to you about,” Henry said, looking far more serious than usual.
I dropped my spoon. “Okay.”
Henry glanced at Sean before looking me in the eye and asking, “how long are you planning to stay on the tour with us?”
I felt like I’d just been punched in the gut. They wanted me leave now. They’d brought me here and treated me like a queen in order to set the stage for dumping me. I would have left the table and run, walked right out the front door of the restaurant and caught a cab to anywhere. But I couldn’t. I was trapped in the intimate booth by Sean. Across from me, Henry was waiting for an answer. I took a deep breath.
“Well,” I said, pushing my dessert aside. “I can go right now. I don’t want to cramp your style.” I tried to sound tough, but I was so close to tears I couldn’t quite pull it off.
Henry’s expression changed from patience to horror. “God no!” He spoke so loudly I was half afraid that we’d attract attention in the restaurant. The other half of me didn’t care. “We don’t want you go!”
I looked up a Sean. His brow was creased and his lips were pressed together. “You misunderstand, Baby,” he said. His voice was low and deep. He stared at me for a long moment, but was apparently unable to go on. So he looked at Henry and nodded.
I turned back to Henry, too. He reached across the table and grabbed my hands. “Here’s the thing, Baby. We’ve been talking.” His gaze fell on Sean again for a moment, then came back to me. “And we don’t think it’s fair for you to string us along.”
“What?”
“We want you to stay, for the whole tour. We want you here, with us. But at every stop there’s the possibility that you might take off. When we were at that meeting today we were both in a panic that we’d come back to the room and you’d be gone. Quite frankly, it’s not fair to us.”
This was not what I’d
I took a deep breath. Think rationally, Dani. This isn’t because you are hideous. It’s because they think of you as a friend, maybe even a sister. My brother had walked in on me once as I was coming out of the shower. He shrieked and carried on, claiming he was scarred for life.
“Baby?” I heard Sean’s voice through the door. It was soft and gentle.
“Yeah?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah?”
“Hank’s gone.”
“Okay.”
“He’s going to come back in a half hour so we can leave for dinner.”
“Okay.”
“Are you going to come out of the bathroom?” He asked gently.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes. But I need my bag so I can change.”
Instead of arguing that I could come out and get it, Sean retrieved my bag for me and handed it through the door. Apparently, he was not interested in seeing me like that again either.
****
That night I had the boys all to myself. We went to some swanky restaurant where we walked in the back door and were escorted, through the kitchen, to a private little booth in a dark corner. They didn’t have to sign one autograph or handle one hysterical fan.
Getting them to myself was like living out all my middle child fantasies. I was the absolute center of their attention. They doted on me and spoiled me. God forgive me, but I loved it.
“Baby, you sure you can eat all that?” Henry asked, eyeing my giant brownie sundae.
“Oh, absolutely,” I said.
“Where do you put it? I swear you ate as much as I did.”
I just smiled at him, then stuck another scoop, dripping with hot fudge, into my mouth.
“Baby, there’s something we want to talk to you about,” Henry said, looking far more serious than usual.
I dropped my spoon. “Okay.”
Henry glanced at Sean before looking me in the eye and asking, “how long are you planning to stay on the tour with us?”
I felt like I’d just been punched in the gut. They wanted me leave now. They’d brought me here and treated me like a queen in order to set the stage for dumping me. I would have left the table and run, walked right out the front door of the restaurant and caught a cab to anywhere. But I couldn’t. I was trapped in the intimate booth by Sean. Across from me, Henry was waiting for an answer. I took a deep breath.
“Well,” I said, pushing my dessert aside. “I can go right now. I don’t want to cramp your style.” I tried to sound tough, but I was so close to tears I couldn’t quite pull it off.
Henry’s expression changed from patience to horror. “God no!” He spoke so loudly I was half afraid that we’d attract attention in the restaurant. The other half of me didn’t care. “We don’t want you go!”
I looked up a Sean. His brow was creased and his lips were pressed together. “You misunderstand, Baby,” he said. His voice was low and deep. He stared at me for a long moment, but was apparently unable to go on. So he looked at Henry and nodded.
I turned back to Henry, too. He reached across the table and grabbed my hands. “Here’s the thing, Baby. We’ve been talking.” His gaze fell on Sean again for a moment, then came back to me. “And we don’t think it’s fair for you to string us along.”
“What?”
“We want you to stay, for the whole tour. We want you here, with us. But at every stop there’s the possibility that you might take off. When we were at that meeting today we were both in a panic that we’d come back to the room and you’d be gone. Quite frankly, it’s not fair to us.”
This was not what I’d
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