Cash (Sexy Bastard #2) by Eve Jagger Read Free Book Online Page B

down these old dirt
roads always felt like coming home,” I suggested, draping my
arms around him and breathing in the clean, citrus and cedar scent
from his shower gel.
    “I like that,” he said with
a slow nod. “I can work with that.”
    And just like that, it became the
center of the song. The heart of our relationship.
    Spontaneity. It’s what defined
us. Surprise trips. Long nights. I’d open the door and there
he’d be. I decided one day to try it myself. Be the one to
knock on his door and tell him all about the crazy plans I had for
us. So I flew to Nashville with stars in my eyes and a plan to play
tourist hooky all weekend.
    His house was old fashioned, with a
garden that had blooms packed into every nook and cranny. At the
time, I’d thought he just had a good gardener on staff. Then I
knocked on the door and a woman answered. She was beautiful. Blond.
Blue eyed. The sort of girl next door you expect a country singer to
end up with.
    “Can I help you?” she asked
sweetly.
    Like an idiot, I said, “I’m,
um, looking for Tanner…”
    Her pose went from casual to defensive
in two seconds flat. She crossed her arms, fully displaying the heavy
ring on her left hand.
    “Well, maybe I can help you. I
am, after all, his wife.”
    It was all I could do to get out of
there. I switched my ticket, paid through the nose just to get out of
town as fast as I could. Fights I could have handled. Screaming
matches to the stars would have been right up my alley, but instead I
was gutted. I’d never felt so betrayed. I threw myself into
work, because if I couldn’t have that happily ever after with
that garden and picket fence, then I would be the best damn lawyer
this side of the Mason Dixon Line.
    Desperate to clear the memory, I brace
myself on the sink and take a deep breath. Months of throwing myself
into my job has left me defenseless in my personal life. It’s
going to be okay, I tell myself. But one look in the mirror and I
know it’s not. I look like I’ve been run over by a truck
that backed up and ran me over again for good measure. Fumbling
inside my clutch, I fish out my phone. I dial the only number I trust
to get me out of situations like this.
    You’ve reached Cassie—
    Damn.
Shit. Fuck . I hit end. Do
not panic. Cassie’s
probably at the bar like she is most nights. Probably can’t
even hear her cell phone ringing in her bag. I dial the bar and hope
someone picks up. Cassie’s back on this side of the Atlantic,
it means I don’t have to face this alone.
    “Altitude, Cash speaking—”
    “Is Cassie there?” I ask
quietly. I take a deep breath. Don’t
cry — do not
cry . The tears don’t fall, but they aren’t far
away.
    “Savy? What’s wrong?”
    Do I sound that bad?
    I clear my throat and try to modulate
my voice. “Can you just find Cassie and tell her I’m at
the Intercontinental and I need an exit plan? Can you just tell her
that?”
    “Talk to me, Savy, are you okay?
Do I need to bring my first aid kit?”
    I let out a short, forced laugh. “No,
but some brass knuckles wouldn’t hurt. Just please tell Cassie
it’s an emergency, all right? I owe you.”
    “I tend to collect on these
things. You sure you want to owe me something?”
    “Cash,” I hiss. His playful
comments are not what I need right now.
    “Right. Collect later, move now.”
    That’s when the tears pile up and
the first one slips down my face. Then comes another. How can I go
back out there and face a room full of people supporting Tanner
Jakes? He’s got the world eating out of the palm of his hand
because he wrote a song about us .
Too bad only one of us ended up with a broken heart.
    “It’s gonna be all right,
Savy. Sit tight.”
    I hang up .
That’s right ,
I tell myself. It didn’t kill me when I found out about his
wife, and it’s not going to kill me now. All right, Savannah,
get yourself together. You’ve had your moment. Time to put your
big girl panties on and go back out there and show