Jack didn’t respond.
“This time, your silence speaks volumes, dude.” Wendell’s grin was smug. “See, if you weren’t making time with her, you’d say so. Frankly, I don’t know what she sees in you.”
Jack wondered the same about Wendell. He may have only known Audra for three weeks, but the music producer didn’t seem to be her type. The music producer enjoyed the sound of his own voice. And, judging by his appearance, he liked to draw attention to himself. His gold hoop earrings, dark red mesh tank, and gold shorts screamed, Look at me!
The other man continued. “You’re a small-town man with a couple of fixer-uppers. She has a Grammy. Did she tell you about that?”
Jack crossed his arms over his chest. No, Audra hadn’t told him, but he’d already known. “You’re saying I’m not good enough for her?” Why did the wannabe music mogul think his opinion mattered?
Wendell gave him his snake charmer’s smile. “I want to make sure you know there isn’t any ‘happily ever after’ for the two of you.”
Wendell wasn’t telling Jack anything he hadn’t realized on his own. But knowing it and hearing it—especially from Audra’s ex-lover—were two different things. At least that’s how he explained the phantom pain around his heart. But he wouldn’t let the other man know his words had hit their target. “Afraid of competition?”
Wendell’s uproarious laughter was insulting. He’d probably meant it to be. “Dude, what competition? You’re not even part of her world.”
“You are?” Jack wasn’t prepared for the sting of jealousy.
“You know I am.” Wendell spread his arms. “I’m a music producer. She’s a songwriter. She’s like jelly to my peanut butter.”
More like a cure to his disease. Jack gripped the edge of the desk beneath the registration counter. “Then why did she leave you?”
Wendell waved a dismissive hand. “Creative differences.”
“You mean your lies.”
Wendell’s skin darkened with an angry flush. “Audra’s a sucker for a sob story, too. I hate to break it to you, dude, but you’re Audra’s summer pity project.”
Jack stiffened. “What?”
The malicious glitter returned to Wendell’s dark eyes. “She probably heard about your daughter and felt sorry for you.”
“How do you know about my daughter?” The pulse pounding in Jack’s ears made it hard to think, hard to hear.
Wendell shook his head in a mockery of sympathy. “Dude, don’t you know everyone talks in small towns? Trinity Falls isn’t any different.”
Jack forced himself to take one deep breath, then another. He wasn’t Audra’s pity project. He knew this because she’d told him so. Her words whispered across his mind, “I’m sorry Zoey died, but I don’t pity you. I admire you.” Wendell was trying everything possible to drive Jack and Audra apart. It wouldn’t work.
He grabbed for a measure of calm. “What’s your game, Wendell?”
“I’m not playing a game.” Wendell waved his hand again. “But it’s obvious that Audra’s sorry for you. She’s always trying to fix things for other people. Once she’s fixed you, she’ll move on.”
“Did Audra ‘fix’ it so that you could have the career in the music industry you weren’t able to build on your own?” Jack watched in satisfaction as Wendell’s triumphant expression darkened. A muscle ticked in the other man’s jaw.
“I made my career myself. No one did that for me.” Wendell chewed the words. “It was my hard work and talent that got me where I am now.”
Jack arched a brow. “If you don’t need Audra’s help, why did you follow her to Trinity Falls?”
“The same reason you want her to stay here, but that’s not gonna happen, dude.”
Shock shorted Jack’s system. Wendell was right. He wanted Audra to stay in Trinity Falls. How had she sneaked past his emotional guard and made their make-believe relationship real? He was falling in love with Audra Lane. He hadn’t felt this much fear since Zoey had died.
Wendell was still talking. “You’d better get over that little fantasy real quick. Audra may be playing house with you now, but she can’t stay here, not if she wants to be at the top of her game. She has to be in L.A. She needs to mix it up with other artists, hang out in the clubs. This town doesn’t have any kind of nightlife. What’s she going to do here?”
“She’s not going back to you.” Jack spoke in anger born from fear.
“But she is returning to L.A. Who knows what’ll happen from there?” Wendell licked his lips.
Jack couldn’t let that pass. “You’re deluding yourself.”