Sultry Oblivion by Alexa Padgett
Nash
I’d planned to send Steve to the store to get things for Aya since she wanted to go to the shelter, but Jenna Grace showed up with bags of clothes before we rose from the breakfast table. Hugh had retreated to the room he’d set up as a home office to manage the growing media shitstorm around Aya’s appearance here in Austin.
Jenna bounced in, her blond ponytail swinging with some of her seemingly boundless energy. Her baby bump was larger than the last time I’d seen her. She smiled, which lit up her entire face, making her eyes dance.
“How’s it going, Aya? Glad you decided to come home.” She raised her eyebrows on the word, and something passed between the two women—something potent and important.
“Me, too,” Aya replied. She rose and hugged Jenna like a long-lost sister.
What the actual hell is going on?Jenna set Aya aside and hugged me, kissing my cheek.
She stepped back once more, her game face set. “Steve called last night and mentioned you’d shown up without a suitcase and that there was a press thing on Nash’s calendar today, so I gotcha covered, girl.” She added a wink.
I glanced over at Steve, who met my gaze for a moment before heading out the back door toward his cottage.
That was…nice of him. I wasn’t sure how he knew about Aya’s lack of luggage, but I decided not to care. I’d have to tell him how much I appreciated his thoughtfulness.
“Wait. How do you two know each other?” I asked.
Jenna’s cheeks heated to a dull red. “I ambushed Aya at a gala while I was in London.”
Aya smiled. “And you were right with most of what you said—well, probably all of it—so I’m going to assume we’re friends now.”
Jenna waved her hand. “Pfft. Like that was ever in actual doubt. I get along with everyone. I’m the dark chocolate coating to your fruity center.”
I couldn’t help but smile. If there was anyone I needed Aya to get along with, it was Jenna. She and Cam were an integral part of my life—of my staying clean and sober.
“I wasn’t sure what you needed, so I got lots of everything,” Jenna continued. “And shopping with Nash’s card was even more fun than shopping with Cam’s.”
Her grin turned wicked, but I just smiled. “That was nice of you. Thanks for doing this.”
“No skin off my tush and lots more fun than sanding that guitar I’m working on. But hey, what changed your mind?” She dropped into the chair across from Aya and placed her chin on her fists.
“You did, in part,” Aya said.
Jenna swished the tassel of the malas encircling Aya’s wrist. “My guess is this did. How long did it take you to open the box?”
“Five weeks.”
Jenna whistled. “You got willpower.”
Aya shot me a glance. “Fear is a powerful motivator.”
“So’s love,” Jenna said with a happy sigh. She patted her belly. “I know what I’m talking about, so don’t you worry.”
Aya giggled. “Would you help me pick out something to wear today?” Her expression turned more somber. “Hugh thinks it will help us gain control of the story if Nash and I go together to the animal shelter.”
“Absolutely,” Jenna said, her face shifting to grave, thoughtful lines. “I don’t want to scare you, but the world’s in an uproar. Even Cam’s publicist has been fielding calls this morning about you two. It’s only a matter of time before they get to your big blowtorch shame-fest, and I refuse—refuse—to let the catty bitches find a single fault with you today.” She wrinkled her nose. “I hate when people try to take others down, especially for something beyond their control.”
She turned to me. “Nash, grab Steve. Then you guys and Hugh need to grab the rest of the bags and shoe boxes from the back of my vehicle. And tell Chuck I’ll be a few minutes.”
“Chuck’s with you?” I asked. He’d always stuck close to Cam.
Jenna wrinkled her nose. “Since I’m carrying Cam’s precious scion, the two of them decided I needed better protection—i.e., Chuck. He’s been a trooper, but he hates shopping. I bet he’s texting Cam right now, whining about having to go into all those stores.” She rolled her eyes. “We went to Nordstrom’s, and I used a personal shopper, the big baby.”
Her eyes twinkled. “He’s going to hate it tomorrow when he takes Kate and me to the spa.”
“You do know he’ll see through your plan to torture him, right?”
She shrugged. “It wouldn’t be fun if he wasn’t trying to outwit me.”
I chuckled and kissed her cheek before I turned to Aya. “I’ll get your shoes and such. Okay?”
She nodded, her gaze speculative as it drifted back to Jenna.
I narrowed my eyes. “You going to pump her for information?”
“If I can,” she said with a shrug. “But I don’t think Jenna’s going to give up your secrets all that easily.”
Jenna shook her head. “Not a chance. You want ’em; you work for ’em.”
“You sound like Cam,” Aya said.
She pursed her lips. “He rubs off on a person.” She leaned toward Aya’s teacup as I turned to go. “What are you drinking? Is it herbal or decaf? I could go for something without caffeine…”
I followed Hugh and Steve outside and helped them bring in the boxes of shoes.
“She bought the place out,” Steve muttered.
“Damn near it,” Chuck said on a hefty sigh. “And she wanted me to carry boxes. No, siree. I had to be sharp in case something happened.”
My lips twitched as we carried the parcels inside, and I realized that while I still didn’t know what to do about Steve, Hugh, Cam, and Chuck had been with me just as long. And Jenna mothered me nearly as much as Mrs. Grace.
What a time to realize how many people I had in my corner, rooting for me. More than I’d ever thought possible. But only Aya’s opinion could break me.
We’d had a good morning, but she hadn’t agreed to stay. Maybe she wouldn’t, and part of me couldn’t blame her. We’d hurt each other so deeply, and while we’d dealt with some of that, more of it needed to be lanced.
I wasn’t sure how to do that—how to explain what her disappearance had done to me. Even these moments with her in the house with Jenna—away from my direct line of sight—caused an edginess I didn’t know how to process. Until I managed to get that promise from her, fear would continue to ride me.