Chapter 29

Jack

The rest of the band had arrived while Juno was answering Kai's questions. Sitting on the other side of the room, I could still feel the pull. As Juno described Hunter, and therefore described me in a frightening way, considering we'd never met before she wrote the story, I felt equally vulnerable and seen in a way I hadn't been in a long time. She talked about me and her character with fondness and a lack of judgment that made me feel okay being me.

It was strange. Almost liberating, and I hadn't said a word. Occasionally, Kai glanced my way, but only when Juno looked down to think for a moment. Her hands clutched the soda can he'd given her as if it was some kind of lifeline, but she relaxed as she spoke. This was her opening up in a way I hadn't seen before.

As she moved on to talking about the woman she'd created for Hunter, I listened even more intently. Her telling began almost hesitantly after talking about Hunter so easily.

"I wanted someone both gentle and firm for him. Someone he'd need to tame a little, but not someone brash or rude. She needed empathy to see his scars and an appreciation of how long the road might be for him to walk into a better space, but the understanding that he'd be worth it if he'd just let her in and on that journey with him."

"So you gave her a…difficult history."

"Yes. I gave her mine." Juno spoke as if it was a normal thing to do for her characters and explained everything, but it made my body tense. Her character's past had been worse than difficult. Kai had put it politely when he'd said it was difficult.

"Wow," Kai said. "That couldn't have been easy to write."

"It wasn't at some points. I think I put on a few pounds in chocolate," she replied, grinning at her own words. "It made for a more believable character, though, and it remains one of my best dark romances to date."

I exhaled, not sure how to respond, and I could see Kai wasn't either. No wonder it had felt so true and so real. It was a combination of two very real people.

"Just like Hunter took on a life of his own, so did Ella. She wasn't entirely me by the end."

She continued talking about the characters a little longer as if she realized she'd put us both into a state of shock and needed to help us out of it. It was astute of her and made me like her even more. Which wouldn't have been a problem if I hadn't been trying to like her less.

The fondness for the characters came through again and again as the others arrived, making themselves at home, grabbing drinks, and settling in to listen. Kai encouraged her to keep going each time she stopped, and eventually, she reached the end of her download of information.

"I cried when they finally got their happy ending, and he swept her into his arms," she said to wrap things up.

"Properly cried?" Kai asked.

"Yeah. I cry all the time when I'm writing. Anyway, is there anything else I can tell you?" she asked.

Kai looked around the group, and I nodded at him to let him know I'd heard enough. The lyrics weren't my main area, but she'd explained so many elements I hadn't been sure of. It made the characters even more alive in my head.

I reached for the paper pad near me and immediately jotted down a few things that came to mind, some snatches of things she'd said. I played with the phrases, then I handed it to Kai.

He read them aloud to the room, and then we all started throwing in ideas. Although Juno didn't offer any whole lines, she was good at picking out words that could be changed and tweaking things we'd suggested to make it better.

At the same time, I played the music we had already arranged, and we started to fit the words to the rhythm and beat, picking out a melody for the lyrics to follow. Kai started to sing it first, but no sooner had I attempted to sing another few lines than he passed what we had back to me and got me to sing the rest.

Time seemed to fly by, the magic of creating happening quickly and in a way that all of us got into easily. We ordered takeout, and before long, I found myself sitting closer to Juno as she sat on a cushion on the floor and wrote down a final version of the lyrics.

As she put down the last word, we all seemed to collectively sigh, and silence fell.

"Wow," she said. "Is that what it's always like?"

"No," Kai replied. "That's what it's like when it goes well. It's not entirely finished yet, either, but it's a good start. We'll need to get everything recorded. Make sure it really works when we sing and perform everything together, but that will take a few days, maybe even weeks, to get settled."

She nodded and glanced around at us, although she looked down when our eyes met.

"Come on," Kai said, getting up and glancing between Juno and me. "Let's get some air and a decent meal. The ladies can join us, and we can chill out for a bit. Then we can get started on the next part tomorrow."

I smiled and nodded, needing no more persuading. If I was going to put space between Juno and me, I needed other people there. It wasn't going well so far, but she'd been nothing but professional. My problem was in the subject matter.

Every time I thought about the book, I thought about showing up at that cafe, pretending to be Hunter while she pretended to be Ella, and then taking her back to my hotel and screwing her brains out.

And it hadn't helped to hear her talk about Hunter the way she had. It had both been me and not me while she was talking.

As we gathered some stuff to leave, she grabbed her bag again and looked my way, and I couldn't help but smile. She had that slightly nervous, wide-eyed look about her again. She'd looked that way when I'd met her outside the elevator. It made me want to scoop her up, pin her against a wall, and claim that hot little mouth of hers.

Mind out of the gutter, I thought again, tensing and looking away from her, trying to find anything else to focus on. Thankfully, Kai seemed to take her under his wing, telling her where we were going and asking if she wanted to see any sights along the way.

I listened rather than talked, letting her clear English accent break through my thoughts as she responded.

"Oh, I don't really know what there is to see here. I spent all my research time making sure I remembered everything about Hunter and Ella. I didn't know if there would be time to see anything."

"There will be time. And I insist on it. Jack knows the place best. Don't you, Jack?" Kai asked, reaching for my arm.

I had no choice but to look at her, but as I did, she looked down, fiddling with her purse handle and looking as awkward as I felt.

"I'm sure I can show you a thing or two," I said before mentally kicking myself at the innuendo.

I caught Kai's amused look before I rolled my eyes and looked away. The rest of the band was finally ready, and we trooped out, relief flooding through me at the break in contact and the escape.

Just four more days and she'd be gone, and we'd be done. Four more days.