chapter one

One Year Later

“It’s sad to see, man. I’m tellin’ ya, she needs someone to give her a break. I don’t know how much longer she can go on like this.” J.T. McCall, the owner of Jimmy’s Bar, had been a friend of Drake’s for too many years for him to brush off his concerns, but his ex-fiancée was the last person he wanted to talk about, especially since his conscience told him he was the reason she’d hit rock bottom. “She using again?” Drake almost wished she was. That would mean she was the one responsible for her decline instead of him. “No, man, she’s clean.” Drake brought the vodka to his lips, pausing before he tasted it. “How do you know that?” J.T. smirked. “You’re talkin’ to a guy who’s been around the block a time or two, my friend. Trust me, I know when someone’s messed up on that stuff, and she isn’t. Well, she’s messed up, but it ain’t because of that shit.” Taking a deep swallow of his drink, he asked the question that had been haunting him for the past year. “She tell you why we ended it?” When Drake told him it was over, J.T. had stopped him before he could give him the dirty details. He said he considered both of them friends and he refused to put himself in the middle of their war. Drake admired his friend’s integrity, but the rest of his friends had formed a solid line behind him, shunning Cassidy at every opportunity. She’d been blacklisted from every decent bar, club, and studio in the city. None of the A-list managers would get behind her, and the rumor mill informed him that she didn’t have the money to finish the demo they’d started together. “No, she hasn’t said a word to me about you.” Drake threw the rest of his drink back. He shouldn’t care, but he did. Too damn much. He hadn’t been able to forget what she didn’t seem to want to remember.

“If you wanna talk, I’m willin’ to listen,” J.T. said, raising his beer bottle. Drake narrowed his dark eyes. “Why all of a sudden are you willin’ to listen? Last I heard, you didn’t wanna get involved.” “Man, this isn’t healthy for either one of you. I can tell this is eatin’ you up inside and Cassidy has just shut down, like she’s givin’ up hope.” Drake told himself he didn’t have an ounce of compassion for the woman who’d betrayed him, but the pain in his chest told him otherwise. “Maybe you should encourage her to move on, J.T. You say she’s your friend. Tell her it’s just not gonna happen for her. She should go back home, get a job, learn a trade…” He reached for the bottle of vodka J.T. left on the bar and refilled his glass. “Hell, I don’t care what she does, but this city, my city, isn’t big enough for both of us. I want her gone.” “You sure about that?” J.T. asked, raising an eyebrow. “Of course I’m sure.” He tipped his glass back a second time, but like so many other nights, it did little to dull the constant pain of living with the knowledge that he’d been so wrong about the one and only woman he’d ever trusted with his heart. “That look on your face tells me otherwise. You can lie to me, but don’t lie to yourself.” Drake wasn’t used to people calling him out, trying to force him to face feelings he’d rather bury than analyze. “Tell me somethin’. How would you feel if you caught Nikki in bed with Ty?” The shock that registered on his friend’s face was a small measure of satisfaction, especially since it came at the cost of his pride. It stung, knowing he hadn’t been man enough to keep Cassidy satisfied. He’d been trying to disprove that theory with every gorgeous woman who crossed his path in the year since he kicked Cassidy out of his home… to no avail. It didn’t matter if dozens of women were lining up for a night in his bed. The one woman he’d wanted had chosen his brother instead. “So, that’s what happened?” J.T. asked, leaning over the bar. They weren’t open for the evening crowd yet, but a few of his employees were milling about and he was obviously trying to be discreet. “Man, it’s no wonder you’ve been messed up. That must’ve hurt like hell.” “Only when I let myself think about it,” he said, reaching for the bottle. “She made her choice, so don’t expect me to feel sorry for her, J.T. If she’s hit rock bottom, she put herself there.” “You have every right to feel the way you do, and I’m not sayin’ what she did was right…”J.T. held his hand up when Drake glared at him. “Obviously, she was in the wrong. They both were, but you can’t deny the girl can sing, man.” Drake shrugged. “So can a lot of other pretty girls. You watch those singing competitions, don’t you?” “Yeah, but we both know that girl has somethin’ special. I’ve been doin’ this a long time, seen a lot of acts pass through this bar, but few people are as committed as she is.” “She needs to be committed if you ask me,” Drake muttered. J.T. chuckled. “I’m serious. She’s got that fire in her eyes. The same fire Nik had when I met her.” He grinned. “Nik was just a little bit younger than Cassidy when we met. Hotter than hell, with this fire in her eyes that turned me on…” He shook his hand in the air as a salacious grin spread over his face. “Man, that little girl brought this cowboy to his knees.” Drake couldn’t help but smile at J.T.’s account. They’d met long after he and Nikki became a couple and he’d never thought to ask the story of how they met. “You knew she was the one right away, huh?” “I was afraid she might be.” J.T. laughed. “She was too damn young when we met, barely legal, but man, I wanted her in a big way. Her daddy bein’ the almighty Luc Spencer made it tough to get within ten feet of her, so I knew I had to wait it out. See where we ended up.” Drake glanced at the gold wedding band on his friend’s left hand. “Looks like y’all ended up exactly where you were supposed to.” “I think so.” J.T. reached for the vodka bottle despite Drake’s scowl. “This ain’t gonna solve your problems. Neither will runnin’ and hidin’. She’s still gonna be there when you close your eyes tonight.” That statement was truer than Drake’s pride would ever allow him to admit. “Trust me, I’m gonna have some hot little blonde in my bed before the night’s out. Cassidy will be the last thing on my mind.”

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