Fractured Hearts: A Fractured Rock Star Romance

by L. M. Dalgleish

  Her face broke into another gorgeous smile, and his stomach did a slow cartwheel in response.

  “I loved it; you guys were phenomenal. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so much energy contained in one place before.”

  He smiled down at her. Millions of albums sold, sellout world tours, and one woman telling him she’d loved the show had made him happier than he’d felt in a long time. Or maybe it was the way the sparkle in her gray eyes made them appear almost silver. Or the way her lips looked so soft and inviting. Or the way her tight t-shirt and cutoffs clung to her curves… Okay, now he needed a shower for a completely different reason. A cold shower.

  “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m going to hit the shower, so I’ll see you back out here when I’m done. Drew will be bringing back some VIP guests soon for a meet and greet, then the after-party. Be warned though, sometimes it can get a bit crazy, especially when they break out the alcohol.”

  She nodded, looking mildly apprehensive. “I can imagine. If things get too debauched, then I’ll head back to the bus. I assume there are some things you don’t want memorialized on film.”

  He hid a smile at the look on her face. It wasn’t hard to tell what she thought was going to happen. And there was no doubt in the early years when they were just taking off, partying hard and picking up groupies after every show was standard. But eventually, the novelty had worn off and now most of the craziness that happened was on the part of the fans. Women asking for various body parts to be signed, taking their tops off, propositioning band members or the crew, even the security guys—yeah, that happened. And he and the others weren’t saints. Sometimes they took what was being offered, though they usually waited for a night when they were staying in a hotel. While they had been known to use the bedroom on the bus if needed, in those cramped quarters it was hard to let loose and really enjoy yourself.

  Now with Lexie staying with them, he doubted there’d be any action going on outside of a hotel room. Having to listen to your friend have crazy-loud sex in the bunk next to you wasn’t high on any of their to-do lists.

  “I’m more worried about you getting trampled in the stampede.” He smirked at her.

  “Well, I was caught in the middle of a stampede of wildebeest when I was on a job in Africa, but I imagine hordes of screaming, half-naked female fans might be more dangerous.” She smiled back up at him, eyes sparkling.

  Shit, he was enjoying being on the receiving end of her smiles a little too much. “Well, how did you escape the stampeding wildebeest?”

  “Climbed a tree.” She made a show of looking around the room before turning back to him. “No trees here though. I might be in trouble.”

  “I guess you’ll just have to climb the tallest thing in the room, then.” He copied her, making a show of scanning the room, before looking back into her eyes. “Looks like that would be me.”

  Fuck, was he flirting with her again? From the way she parted her lips and blinked at him, it was obvious he was. He wondered if she was going to shut him down this time, or flirt back the way she’d done before. Either way, he knew he was pushing his luck with her. Knew it, but couldn’t seem to stop.

  She bit her bottom lip, drawing his attention to her pretty mouth. When he dragged his gaze back up, her silver-gray eyes had darkened, and she paused before saying, “I think that would be the most dangerous thing I could do, don’t you? I’m pretty sure getting too close to you will guarantee I’ll get hurt.”

  Connor froze. He couldn’t tell if she meant the fans would hurt her trying to get to him, or if he would end up hurting her if the two of them got too close. Either way, it was true. He needed to keep himself in check when it came to Lexie. She wasn’t the right person to play with, and she definitely did not give off the vibe she’d be up for a one-night stand. There were plenty of women out there that would be more than happy to take only what he was willing to give them. No need to mess with a woman who was going to be living with him for the next three months.

  “You’re right. Bad idea. You could try climbing Noah; you’d be in no danger there,” he said as Noah came up alongside her.

  He sounded more flippant than he felt, and had to grit his teeth as Noah put his arm around Lexie’s shoulders and asked, “Why are you going to climb me? Not that I have an issue with that, just curious.”

  As Lexie turned and smiled up at the drummer, one of those cute blushes spreading across her cheeks, Connor backed away and headed for the dressing room. One cold shower coming up. Maybe that would knock some sense into him. What had he told the guys the day before? No one touches the photographer. Especially not him.

  Chapter 12

  Four days later, Lexie was sitting in the front of the bus keeping Maggie company as they drove toward Colorado. They had driven overnight, and the sun was starting to rise. Shafts of light were beginning to break through the heavy clouds, casting long shadows across the road in front of the bus.

  Since Lexie was used to rising early for her job, she was often the first one up. She’d started making her way to the front of the bus to sit in the comfortable passenger seat across the aisle from Maggie, keeping her company as she drove. Maggie seemed to enjoy having someone to chat with. She’d already regaled Lexie with several stories of her time in the Navy, where she’d been responsible for training and maintenance of the navigation equipment.

  “What was it like living on a ship for months at a time?” Lexie asked.

  Maggie grinned. “It was great to experience the camaraderie. And getting to visit so many other countries was amazing. Every day was a challenge, both in a good and bad way, but overall, I enjoyed it. Watching the sun rise from the deck of a ship in the middle of the ocean was one of the most beautiful and peaceful things I’ve ever experienced.”

  Lexie smiled, her photographer’s mind immediately visualizing the scene and working out how she’d capture it on camera. Giving her head a slight shake, she brought herself back to the conversation. “So how did you end up with this job?”

  “I got my bus license after I got out of the Navy. Used to drive Greyhound buses but got a bit bored going backward and forward on the same route. I saw an ad in the paper to be a tour bus driver one day, applied, and here I am.”

  “How long have you been driving these guys around for now?”

  “This is the third tour I’ve done with them, so just over four years.” Maggie couldn’t hide the affection in her voice.

  “Do you enjoy it?”

  “I do. This job can be a bit hit or miss depending on which artists you’re driving for. Some are nicer than others. But I love these guys—they’re fun without being so crazy they make my life miserable. And they’re respectful, which makes the job much more pleasant.”

  Lexie smiled to herself. She’d only been with the band for just under a week, but she already knew she liked them all a lot.

  Maggie glanced over at her, a broad smile on her face. “They’re good men, all four of them.” A pause. “Single too.”

  Lexie turned surprised eyes toward Maggie, then squirmed uncomfortably at the knowing look on her face. “Oh, um, well I’m sure that’s the way they like it.”

  “Maybe. Could be they just think they like it that way.”

  Lexie fidgeted in her seat. She might like all the guys, but there was one that filled her thoughts more than the others. She hoped it wasn’t too obvious, though the way Maggie was looking at her made her think she wasn’t as good at hiding her feelings as she might hope. She schooled her features into an expression of pleasant inquiry, hoping her blush wasn’t too visible.

  Maggie chuckled and turned back to the road. “Now, if I were a few years younger, and as pretty as you, I’d be picking one of those boys to have some fun with.”

  Lexie’s mouth fell open, and she checked over her shoulder to make sure none of the guys had come out and overheard Maggie. “I’m not here to have fun. I’m here to do a job.” Even to Lexie’s ears, her protest came across less emphatic
than it should have.

  Maggie nodded. “Yes, you are. But I’m not convinced the two are mutually exclusive.”

  Lexie shook her head in denial, and Maggie chuckled again. “Now, I don’t have any favorites—all of those boys are something special—but…” She looked over at Lexie speculatively. “I think you and Connor would be a good match.”

  This time Lexie knew her blush would be visible. Oh God, did everyone know about her inappropriate attraction?

  Looking back at the road, Maggie nodded decisively. “Yeah, he’s the one. I’m not quite sure what it is, but there’s something about the two of you together that fits.”

  Lexie tried to laugh it off. “I don’t think so, Maggie. Connor and I have nothing in common.”

  “Really? I think you’re more alike than you realize. You’re both artists, passionate about your art. You both have big hearts, although you wear yours on your sleeve and Connor hides his away. And I could be wrong, but I think you’ve both experienced a great deal of pain in your lives.” She looked over at Lexie and gave her a sympathetic smile. “Maybe the two of you together could ease each other’s pain.” She gave Lexie a wink. “Or you could just get frisky.”

  Lexie cringed with embarrassment. As much as she found Connor attractive, she knew it was superficial. No matter what Maggie thought, the two of them didn’t have anything in common. He was a world-famous playboy rock star, and she was just a photographer. She wasn’t sure if he was in pain or not, but even if he was, she was in no position to help him. They’d been thrown together by circumstance, and in a few months, they’d go their separate ways and never see each other again.

  All she wanted was to do justice to Connor’s vision for the photo book and then get back to rebuilding her life. Maybe one day she’d be able to consider trying to find someone to share that life with, but regardless of whether she ever got to that point, having a fling with someone like Connor wouldn’t be a good idea. Now or ever. Plus, she was fairly sure the idea of doing anything more than casually flirting with her hadn’t even crossed his mind.

  “The guys will be up soon. I’d better go and get the coffee going.” She jumped up and made her escape.

  * * *

  Not long after everyone had woken, Maggie stopped for gas. She pulled the glaringly obvious tour bus behind the gas station so they wouldn’t be mobbed by fans. Lexie let Maggie know she was getting off to stretch her legs while they were pulled over. The last thing she wanted was to be accidentally left behind.

  Grabbing her camera, she stepped down from the bus and walked a little way off. She turned as she heard the others getting off too, all of them stretching after sitting on the bus for so long. She watched as Connor reached his arms over his head, his shirt riding up and giving her a glimpse of hard, tanned abdominal muscles. Warmth suffused her and she dragged her eyes away.

  Trying to distract herself, she turned and gazed off into the fields of corn that extended out on either side of the road. The day was overcast, but the rising sun turned the underside of the clouds almost violet, while the corn rippled like a green ocean in the light, fresh breeze. Inspired by the view, she raised her camera and took a couple of shots, then checked the results on the screen.

  The sound of footsteps behind her caused her heart rate to spike, as if her body already knew how to tell Connor apart from everyone else.

  “How does it look?”

  His deep voice sent a shiver down her spine; she hoped it wasn’t obvious. Turning and looking up into his vivid green eyes, she kept her camera held up between them as if it somehow offered protection from the effect he seemed to have on her. She smiled and looked back down at the screen. “Not bad. The nice thing about overcast days is there isn’t much contrast, so the details are more visible. See?”

  Before she could turn the camera around so he could see the screen, he moved next to her, his arm pressing against hers as he leaned down to look. Lexie’s traitorous heart skipped a beat, apparently not having received the memo that he wasn’t the kind of man she should want.

  “It’s nice,” Connor said. “A bit dark though.” He raised his brows at her, eyes glinting with mischief.

  “Well, I haven’t done any post-processing yet.”

  “I don’t know, Lexie; I think I could do better with my cell phone camera.” His dimples appeared along with a teasing smile.

  “Is that so?” she asked, pretending to be offended, but sure that the smile twitching at the corners of her mouth gave her away.

  He nodded, his smile growing wider.

  “Okay then,” she said with mock seriousness, running her eyes up and down him as if assessing him. “Show me what you’ve got.”

  Deliberately misinterpreting her, he threw her a smoldering look. “Well, I’m not usually into exhibitionism, but I can make an exception if you really want to see—”

  He laughed as she rolled her eyes and slapped his arm, which ended up backfiring as the feel of his rock-hard bicep made the skin of her palm tingle.

  Still, two could play at that game.

  She smirked at him. “Don’t tell me you’re all talk and no action. Whip it out and show me what you can do.”

  He raised one brow and eyed her up and down. “Well, if you insist gorgeous.”

  His hands went to the button of his jeans, and Lexie realized she wasn’t going to win this one. From the grin on his face as he popped the button, he wasn’t planning to be the first to back down. She stifled a slightly hysterical giggle as his fingers slowly started pulling the zip down, his eyes sparkling as he challenged her to react.

  For a second, she couldn’t stop her eyes tracking the movement of his hand, a breathless, curious part of her temporarily beating out her more sensible side. She wondered if he was wearing underwear or if he went commando. The overwhelming urge to let him keep going so she could find out, warred with the knowledge she should be stopping him before the joke went too far. The internal conflict made her bite her lip, eyes still locked on to where the zip was edging downward.

  His hand stopped moving, and her eyes darted back up to his, which were now glittering with something other than humor. Tension flashed in the air between them as she realized she’d been staring at him like some sort of sex-starved groupie, which was embarrassing considering he’d just been messing around with her.

  Coming to her senses, Lexie shook her head and hoped she appeared completely unaffected as she conceded defeat. “I meant your phone, Connor. There’s no chance you’ll take a better photo than me with what you’re about to pull out.”

  The humor returned to his eyes, and he winked at her before pulling his zip back up and redoing the button. “Well, you should be more specific if you’re going to say things like that. Right, let’s see, then.”

  He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and tapped the screen to activate the camera, then squinted at it for a few seconds before taking the shot. He brought the phone back down so he could check the result, and she saw him frown.

  “How does it look?” she asked, as if she didn’t know.

  He glanced over at her, and she smiled innocently. He cleared his throat. “Just going to take another one. You know, to make sure I get the right atmosphere.”

  “Take as many as you want.” She kept her expression serene as he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye before snapping a couple more photos. When he checked those, he didn’t appear any happier.

  “Can I have a look?” she asked.

  He mumbled something under his breath and then walked over to where she was standing watching him.

  “Sorry, I didn’t hear you. What did you say?” Lexie didn’t try to hide her smile this time.

  “I said it might be a bit harder than I thought.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh when he thrust his phone under her nose. The photo was flat and dull, the colors muted. She looked up at him, ready to be a gracious winner, but her breath caught as they locked gazes. He was standing so close she could se
e tiny flecks of gold in the deep green of his eyes.

  All it would take was for her to rise up on her tiptoes and for him to bend his head a little and she could press her lips to his. It was almost as if he’d had the same thought because his eyes broke from hers and dropped to her mouth. The urge to do it was so strong her body swayed toward him before she became aware of what she was doing. Flustered at her reaction, she took a small step backward.

  His eyes met hers again, but his expression had shuttered, and she couldn’t tell if he’d figured out what was running through her head. Regardless, she needed to pull herself together. She cleared her throat. “I can show you how to edit these if you want. Overcast lighting is really good, but it does need a bit more post-processing afterward to make it look great.”

  Something that looked strangely like uncertainty flashed across his face, but as she held his gaze and smiled in as friendly a manner as she could manage, he nodded. “It’ll be a few more hours until we get to Denver, and I’d like to see you work your magic.”

  Maggie called out then, letting them know it was time to get on the road. Back at the bus, Lexie realized they were the last two to return. Everyone else was already ensconced in various areas of the living room.

  “I’ll get my laptop and I’ll show you what we can do with those photos.”

  “Sounds good.”

  She returned a few minutes later and slid into the seat next to him at the table. “We’ll do mine first, then yours. That way you can see what works best.”

  She transferred the photo from her camera to the laptop and opened it in Lightroom, the photo editing software she used. “So, the best thing about clouds is that they’re basically a big sun diffuser. It makes the light soft and even, and there aren’t any harsh shadows. But as you just found out, that also means photos tend to be duller, so you have to play with color and saturation in post-processing.”