Catching Lucy

by Terri Anne Browning

  I was half tempted to call her in and deal with everything for me so that I could spend the night hanging out with Lucy and her friend.

  I dropped down into the chair behind my desk that was already starting to get littered with the things that needed my attention tonight. I needed to make a few calls before I could get out there and start open mike night. If Kin hadn’t said something I would have still been out there, taking selfies with Lucy.

  Shit.

  I rushed through the two calls that needed my attention, both to confirm that independent record label reps would be in the audience a little later that night. I’d made some big connections while growing up in the rock world. If I didn’t already know people personally, I only had to make one or two phone calls before I did. Most of them indulged me when I called them up, asking them to stop by on a Wednesday night. Others took a little more convincing, but when that happened I just called my stepmother who worked for one of the biggest managers in the business, Emmie Armstrong.

  Or, as Lucy called her, Aunt Emmie.

  Neither of the record label executives had given me any trouble when I’d talked to them earlier in the day, but I wanted to confirm that their rep was going to be in the crowd. Once that was taken care of I made a quick call to check on Jenna.

  I’d put her on a plane to Arizona on Monday morning. Thankfully, I was able to get her into one of the leading rehabilitation clinics in the country at a moment’s notice. She hadn’t been happy about having to leave so soon, and I hadn’t been happy that she’d wanted her girlfriend to stay in our apartment while she was gone. Jenna hadn’t been able to say no because I’d told her I would go straight to her sister if she didn’t go, and I hadn’t been able to say no to Tessa staying because the apartment was half Jenna’s. She could let anyone she wanted stay there and I had no say in it whatsoever.

  Looked like we were both in for a few long, frustrating weeks.

  Seeing Lucy tonight had made the shitty week I was having bearable. I couldn’t believe that Layla had given me a wrong number and I’d been stupidly sending texts to some random number. Some of the messages I’d sent had been long rants about how I couldn’t believe that she would just throw everything we’d once meant to each other away. Sappy shit that would have made Jace laugh his ass off and call me a pussy if he had seen them.

  Lucy, however, would have never thought that. With her I could get sappy and she wouldn’t think anything of it. Back when we were best friends she had seen me at my worst and still loved me. With her I didn’t have to be the alpha rock star’s son. I could just be plain and simple Harris Cutter, a man who very few people truly saw. That didn’t make me a pussy, just human. Something that Jace understands but still laughs his fucking ass off at.

  Knowing that Jenna was resting peacefully after the last few days of detoxing gave me a little more hope that she was going to get through this. I left my office and went out to start the open mike event. By the time I could get back to Lucy’s table it was just her and Jace sitting there.

  Kin was up next so I dropped down into the chair I’d left nearly an hour ago. I wanted to see what kind of talent Lucy’s friend had. “Can she sing?” I asked Lucy as the guy on the stage finished his song and the crowd cheered him. He’d been decent, but too emo for my taste.

  Lucy shrugged. “I haven’t heard her yet, but she can play that guitar like a goddess.”

  “Caleb taught her,” Jace grumbled from the other side of Lucy, his blue eyes intent on the small stage that we set up every Wednesday night.

  “Caleb?” I had no idea who that was.

  “Kin’s stepbrother,” Lucy clarified for me. “They’re pretty close. Kin’s been pretty bummed about being away from him, his twin sister, and her stepdad.” She blew out an angry sigh. “Her dad isn’t ever home and her stepmom and her evil step bitches are making her life miserable. Before she died, Kin’s mom made her promise to spend this year getting to know her dad and his family. Pretty hard to do that when her dad is more interested in that piece of shit movie he’s directing and his family would rather she disappear.”

  Jace’s jaw clenched and he lifted his beer to his lips. I had only been able to get a little bit out of my friend about him and Kin. I knew that they had dated for a little while before he’d come to California, that he’d been the one to break it off, and that was it. I wasn’t blind, though. I could see that he regretted ending things with the smoking-hot redhead.

  Just as I’d seen that she had been sending him the stare of death all evening. Poor bastard.

  On stage, Kin sat on the edge of the stool that was in front of the microphone. She licked her lips nervously and gave a small laugh. “Hi. I’m Kin and this…” She blew out a shaky breath causing a few strands of long burnished red hair to fly out of her face and blinked rapidly a few times, as if she were forcing back tears. “This song is for my mom.”

  Because she was nervous and obviously a little emotional, she started off a little weak, but less than a minute into the song and Kin Montez had my entire club watching every move of her lips. Her fingers strummed over the strings of her guitar so easily it was like the instrument was a physical extension of her hands. Her voice wasn’t anything remarkable, but it didn’t matter. It was the words that came from that mouth of hers that had everyone entranced, myself included. In the span of one song I felt like I knew her, as if I could actually see how much Kin had loved her mother. The song was powerful, emotional.

  From beside me I heard a soft sob escape Lucy, but when I turned my head her eyes were dry. That didn’t mean anything to me. I knew that it took a lot for her to cry. That didn’t mean she wasn’t affected by Kin’s song. Lucy Thornton was the strongest person I knew. There had been so much pain in her life, yet she was the fiercest and most loving person I knew.

  Without thinking about what I was doing, I reached out and caught Lucy’s hand, linking our fingers together. It startled her and she jumped a little. Dark eyes turned black with emotion locked with mine and after the slightest of hesitations she graced me with a smile that seemed to brighten the room.

  The sight of that smile made my stomach bottom out and my jeans tighten in a way that scared the living hell out of me. Fuck. One smile from this girl and my body responded in a way it hadn’t since I was sixteen and had lost my damn virginity. My dick went from zero to sixty in two-point-three seconds flat.

  To say I was surprised would be a lie. I wasn’t surprised in the least that I was attracted to Lucy. She was perhaps the most beautiful female I’d ever laid eyes on. And her fierce and feisty personality was sexy in a way that some guys wouldn’t ever be able to handle, but I craved. What scared me—fuck scared, I was terrified—was that I loved her as a friend and this sudden, intense attraction I felt for her could destroy that.

  Even as I thought that, a voice in the back of my head was taunting me. You love her as more than a friend, dumbass. It’s always been as more than a friend. You just needed time for her to grow up. Why else haven’t you been serious with anyone before? That girl is your soul mate.

  On stage, Kin’s song was coming to an end, people were shouting her name, screaming and clapping for her. The club was going crazy for her music. And I just sat there, freaking the hell out because I was scared shitless I would do something stupid to lose Lucy all over again. Only this time it would be a million times worse.

  With her guitar still in one hand, Kin jumped down from the stage and Lucy hopped up to meet her halfway. I sat there, watching the two girls hugging and laughing. This was a big deal for Kin, and Lucy was doing what Lucy did best—supporting someone she loved.

  My heart was pounding, my gut twisting and I thought for sure I was going to be seriously sick right then and there. No, I mentally yelled at myself. No way, man. You—I—fuck! I can’t love her as more.

  Too late, you dumb fuck.

  I raked my hands through my hair and glanced around for the closest waitress. I needed a drink, something a hell of a l
ot stronger than the beer I’d been sipping on all evening.

  I was in love with my best friend.

  “Dude, you look like shit,” Jace muttered next to me. “You’re all sweaty and you’ve got some wild eyes going on. What’s the matter with you?”

  I sucked in a deep breath and turned my gaze back to look for the damned waitress. “Yeah. Just tired and I need to get back to the office and handle things.” I spotted Nina and waved her over.

  The long-legged blonde gave me a coy smile that I ignored. Blondes weren’t my type but even if they were I would never hook up with Nina. She worked for me and there was no way I was going to get involved with an employee. First Bass was my dream and I wasn’t going to screw that up by sleeping with anyone who worked here. “What can I get for you, boss?”

  “Bourbon,” I bit out. “Bring it back to the office for me. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  She nodded and rushed off to do as I’d asked, shooting me a hungry glance over her shoulder as she left. I didn’t have the time or the energy to deal with the waitresses crush. I needed to tell Lucy goodnight and get as far away from her as quick as possible until I could find a way to control whatever it was that was frying my brain.

  Still laughing, Lucy and Kin returned to the table. I really must have looked bad because Lucy’s smile dimmed and she gave a concerned frown. “Are you getting sick?” Her fingers were long, graceful and slightly cool when she placed them to my forehead. “You feel hot and you look flushed.”

  I caught her fingers and gave them a gentle squeeze. “I’m good, Lu. But I have to get back to work.” As badly as I needed to get away from her and find a way to contain whatever the hell I was feeling, I wanted to see her again. Soon. “Call me, okay? Even if it’s at three in the morning because you can’t sleep.” Her lips lifted in a small, sad smile and I bent my head to press a kiss on top of her deliciously scented hair. “And come back anytime you want to. Your name will always be on the list.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at Marcus and lifted my chin in respect at the bodyguard before turning back to her. “As long as you’re upstairs my security team will make sure you are safe, but I’m glad you have the gorilla to watch out for you.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” She bit her bottom lip and I nearly groaned. Oh damn. I wanted to kiss that lip more than I wanted my heart to beat. “At least call Dallas and ask her what she might think is wrong with you. You might need meds or something.”

  I shook my head. I didn’t need Dallas Cage, the wife of OtherWorld’s lead singer and a registered nurse, to tell me what was wrong with me. I already knew.

  I. Loved. Lucy. Thornton.

  Fucking hell.

  Chapter 7

  Lucy

  If I thought it would be hard to be around Harris with the way I felt about him, I was both right and wrong. It was hard to be around him so much because of the attraction I felt for him, but the love part kind of made it easier. It felt like old times, hanging out with him. Harris Cutter could make me laugh like no one else on the planet.

  It felt good to laugh.

  September faded into October. Halloween was spent at First Bass. There was a costume party and I actually dressed up for the first time since I was nine. That year I’d gone as zombie-fied Jane Austin. This time I decided on something a little more daring and was somehow able to get out of the house without my dad realizing I was a sexy cop, something that both Kin and I were going as. The night had turned out great and I spent more time with Harris than I had hoped I would. Well, for me anyway. Kin ended up pissed at Jace for some reason or another that she refused to discuss with me.

  Before I knew it, November was almost over. During that time I spent almost as much time with Harris as I did with Kin, and Kin only won simply because we saw each other at school. We developed an almost set in stone routine. On Tuesdays he picked me up at home and we had dinner before he went to work. Wednesdays I went with Kin to First Bass were she sometimes performed one of her songs, or we just sat and listened to whoever had the guts to get up there and show their talent. Harris always came out and spent an hour or two with me, catching up on whatever we hadn’t talked about via texts or emails throughout the day.

  Thursdays were a little trickier. Sometimes Kin went with me, sometimes she didn’t. I understood completely why she didn’t like going. Tainted Knights performed all evening on Thursdays and the way the girls all threw themselves at the band, especially Jace, was hard for her to watch. If Kin decided to go with me, Harris came out to have a drink with us and then he went back to his office to handle work. If she didn’t go then Harris would watch Tainted Knights performance with me and then I would go back to his office with him and keep him company while he handled paperwork and returned phone calls.

  I loved spending time with Kin, but when she didn’t come with me on Thursday nights we were both in a better mood on Friday mornings. Jace really screwed with her mind when she had to see him with girls chasing him, constantly touching him, and the last time we’d gone in together had been the worst. After the show, Jace had been making out with some random chick upstairs on one of the couches. Kin had run out and caught a cab home. I’d been unable to just sit back and let him hurt my friend like that.

  I’d seen the look in his eyes before he’d sat down with the chick. He’d done it just to hurt Kin. So I’d made damn sure that he got what he deserved…

  It felt like steam was pouring out of my ears as I tipped the glass over Jace’s handsome head. Seeing the tears in Kin’s eyes had been like a stab in the heart and I wasn’t going to stand by peacefully and let this dickhead do that to her.

  Behind me I heard Harris groan and felt him moving closer. One large hand tried to take the glass from me and I let him have it. After all, it was empty now. I didn’t need it anymore…unless I broke the thick glass over Jace’s hard head. Yeah, oh yeah. I liked that idea. Too late, though. Harris handed the glass to the security guy who’d stalked over from his hiding corner when blondie had shrieked at being bathed in soda.

  “Fucking hell, Lucy,” Jace had roared as he’d jumped to his feet. Blue eyes had looked wild as he’d gotten in my face. “What is your problem?”

  Before I could respond, Harris was standing between us. His body was so tense I was almost afraid to touch him. “You don’t talk to her like that. Ever,” he seethed. “And I will fuck you up fast if you touch her.” His hands were balled into fists and I was seriously worried he was about to hit his friend. I didn’t want them fighting over what I had done.

  The wild look faded from Jace’s eyes. “Whoa, bro. I wasn’t going to touch her. I don’t hit chicks.”

  I hadn’t been scared that Jace would hit me. In the months that I’d gotten to know Harris again, Jace had been around a lot. He wasn’t entirely bad, and if it hadn’t been for the whole breaking Kin’s heart thing I might have actually liked Jace St. Charles. “Harris, relax,” I murmured, trying to get him to calm down. I grabbed his hand and tried to get him to turn to face me.

  For a long, intense moment Harris glared at his friend like he would have seriously killed him right then and there. From the corner of my eye I saw Marcus standing within range to get me out of the range of fire if needed but I shook my head at him. This was my fault; I wasn’t going to let it get out of hand. Shit, I’d only wanted to get back at Jace for what he’d done to Kin, not get the poor dude killed.

  When Harris wouldn’t turn to face me I pushed myself between him and Jace. Jace wasn’t backing down, but he wasn’t about to throw a punch either. I wasn’t worried about him at the moment, though. I needed to cool Harris off before he did something stupid.

  His jaw was clenched so hard I worried he was going to break off a tooth, and those beautiful eyes were as cold as an iceberg. I cupped his face in both of my hands and stood on tiptoe so that I was a little closer to his eye level. With him just over a foot taller than me, it was nearly impossible to do so.

  “Hey, hey.”
I kept my voice calm, only talking loud enough as needed to be heard over the music. People were starting to look our way and I didn’t want to cause a scene that Harris would regret later. “Harris? Hey, come on. Look at me.” I’d never seen him so upset in all the years that I’d known him. It was a little scary… And yeah, okay, I’ll admit it, it was sexy as hell. He had gone beast-mode to protect me.

  “Lucy, maybe you shouldn’t stand so close to him like this.” Jace touched my arm, his voice full of concern. He might have been pissed at me just a few minutes ago, but he never would have hurt me. “He’s shaking he’s so pissed.”

  Harris moved so quickly I nearly yelped when he reached out and pushed Jace back with one arm while the other wrapped around my waist, holding me against him tightly. “Don’t fucking touch her.”

  “Dude, what the fuck?” Jace growled, taking two steps back after righting himself. “I was trying to get her out of the way in case you turned all Incredible Hulk on her. Chill out.” He raked his hands through his hair. “Fuck this shit. I’m going home. Call me when your brain starts working again.”

  I waited until Jace was out of sight before I started squirming against Harris’s tight hold. “Can’t breathe,” I croaked out teasingly. Honestly, he wasn’t holding me that tight, but with the scent of his delicious aftershave filling my nose I was starting to get a little lightheaded from something other than lack of oxygen.

  Harris let go of me instantly and took a step back. His devastatingly handsome face was full of worry as he cupped my face, his eyes moving quickly over every inch of me to make sure I was okay. “Did he hurt you? Did I?”

  I covered his hands, my thumbs caressing over them soothingly. “I’m fine. Not one inch has been harmed.” I grinned up at him. “You okay? Need a drink? You were pretty intense there for a second.”