Naughty and Nice

by Shannon Stacey, Jaci Burton, Megan Hart; Lauren Dane

  The concert wasn’t going to start until nine o’clock, which was his daughter’s bedtime. She hadn’t napped today, either, despite his mother’s attempt to get her to rest.

  His kid was going to be toast by the time the concert was over. Or she’d be on excitement overload and up all night.

  Ethan prayed for toast.

  “Is it time yet, Daddy? Have you seen Riley Jensen yet? I haven’t seen her. Can we go to her dressing room now?”

  Zoey tugged on his hand for the millionth time. “I’m sure Riley’s busy getting ready for her concert. How about we just try to stay out of the way and be patient.”

  Patient. A word not in a seven-year-old’s vocabulary.

  “But why can’t we go see her? I bet she won’t mind. She likes me.”

  “How about we wait until after the concert when she isn’t so busy?”

  “But, Daddy, I want to see her nowwww.”

  Whining. Sure sign of a tired kid. Ethan kneeled down and looked his beautiful daughter in the eyes. “Zoey, we’re not going to Riley’s dressing room. The concert people were nice enough to give us backstage passes, which means you need to be on your best behavior. I know you’re excited, but you still have to be good. And that means doing what I tell you to do, okay?”

  Her bottom lip trembled. Man, was this kid good or what? He should get her an agent. He was usually a sucker for the quivering lip, but not tonight. He didn’t want to be here. He’d already seen way more of Riley than he’d intended to during her visit, so his daughter was just going to have to suck it up.

  As soon as Zoey saw that her drama routine wasn’t working, she lifted her shoulders practically to her earlobes, then dropped them, accompanied by a loud, dramatic sigh. “Okay, Daddy. I’ll be good.”

  And now he had guilt. Of course, when didn’t he have guilt?

  Fortunately, Riley came out of her dressing room, zeroed in on Zoey and Zoey sure zeroed in on Riley.

  “Riley Jensen! I’ve been waiting alllll night for you!”

  Riley grinned and scooped Zoey up in her arms. “You have? Why didn’t you come to my dressing room?”

  Zoey shot Ethan a scathing look. “Daddy said we couldn’t.”

  Riley put her down and Zoey slipped her hand in Riley’s.

  “Oh. Well you could have come in. I just relax a little before I go on.”

  “Believe me, if Zoey would have been in there with you, there would have been no relaxing.”

  She laughed. “It’s no big deal.” She looked down at Riley. “From now on you’re welcome to be wherever I am.”

  “See, Daddy? I told you she liked me.”

  “You’ll be sorry you said that. You won’t even be able to go to the bathroom alone.”

  Riley arched a brow. “She’s a kid, Ethan.”

  “She’s seven. And demanding. Trust me on this.”

  Riley looked down at Zoey. “You ready for the concert?”

  “Yup.”

  Suzie came over. “I have a spot all picked out for you two side stage with a great view. Why don’t you come with me so Riley can get set up?”

  Ethan took Zoey’s hand. “Let’s go, Zoey.”

  “See you two later,” Riley said, and moved off, a few people following after her.

  Suzie set them in a chair at the side curtain where they had a perfect view of the stage. Ethan hoisted Zoey in his lap and waited while Riley set up with her band.

  She looked beautiful in tight jeans and cowboy boots, a flowing turquoise top, her hair spilling in soft waves over her shoulders and long earrings that sparkled in the light. She wore bangles on both wrists that shimmered in the overhead lights, too. She looked magical. She looked like a star. Hell, she was a star.

  The announcer came out and the packed-to-capacity crowd went crazy. Ethan had never seen so many people in the high school gym. Once word had gotten out that Riley had come home, people from the surrounding cities came in droves. The gym was at capacity, given that it was a free concert. Ethan heard Riley’s crew had set up a big screen and speakers outside for the overflow of people who couldn’t get inside, especially since the fire marshal was keeping a close count on the number of people in the gym.

  After the announcer left, the crowd started clapping, their raucous cries and stomping feet commanding her to come out, demanding the curtains to part. But when the lights went out and the stage went black, a hush fell over the crowd. The curtains opened to a darkened stage and the spotlight fell on Riley sitting on a stool with her guitar.

  Riley began to play, the song so familiar Ethan could hum it in his sleep. One of the songs from her first album, a song of loss and pain so deep it brought a stab of pain to him as she sang the words that had torn him apart the first time he’d heard them.

  “Turns out forever meant different things to us after all.

  Loving you was gonna hurt me after all

  After it all, after it all, all the tears and all the pain

  I still loved you, after all.”

  Her voice struck him deep in his heart. When she was younger, he’d loved to listen to her whenever she picked up her guitar. But then it had just been her and her guitar in his basement or in his room or his parents’ living room or wherever they were gathered with their friends. And later, when he’d bought her CD, he’d been struck by the sheer magic of how incredible she sounded.

  But the maturity of her voice and listening to her live was so much better than what he remembered from ten years ago, and light years from plugging in his iPod. This was the voice of an angel, and she sang only to him, about him, and even when she damned him for the sins he’d committed it was pure heaven.

  Even Zoey was enraptured, her blue eyes wide, her normally chirpy voice silent as she leaned against his chest and stared at Riley as she went through the strains of song after song. Whether fast and upbeat and singing about cutting loose and dancing, or the slow and haunting strains as she sang of love gone wrong, she wrapped her music around Ethan and his daughter, further reminding him of what he’d given up all those years ago.

  Every note further sealed for him that he’d made the right choice in letting her go, in not trying harder to find her after she’d left. This is what Riley had been meant to do, and if he’d had to fall into Amanda’s trap and lose Riley for this to happen for her, then it had been all worth it.

  The concert lasted an hour and a half, and when she ended on the soft melody of a country lullaby, his baby girl fell asleep in his arms. Not even the thunderous standing ovation the crowd gave Riley could wake Zoey. He sat there while Riley did an encore, not wanting to miss a moment of the last song she sang. When she came off the stage, she stopped, paused and stared, and tears sparkled in her eyes as she stared down at Zoey.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful,” she said, her gaze meeting his.

  He was about to say the same thing to her about her music.

  “Do you need to go home?”

  “Probably.”

  “Okay.”

  He sensed her hesitation, that she wanted to talk. What he really wanted to do was get the hell out of here. His head and his heart were filled with her and her music and the memories of the two of them. Big mistake to linger. He needed to shake the dust off the past and get his mind firmly in the present, where Riley didn’t exist.

  “Stay. Please.”

  Damn. “Okay. I just need to lay Zoey down.”

  She nodded. “Bring her on back to my dressing room.”

  Ethan lifted Zoey, followed Riley and laid her down on the sofa in the makeshift dressing room they’d set up for her in the high school drama department’s changing room. He covered Zoey with his jacket and took the bottle of water one of Riley’s staffers offered him, then sat on the arm of the sofa while Riley shooed everyone who wanted to crowd in out of the room. She shut the door behind her and turned to him.

  “That was a beautiful performance tonight.”

  She grinned. “You thin
k so? Thanks.”

  “I always loved your singing. Your voice is amazing.”

  Her lashes tilted closed as she turned away. He couldn’t believe she was unaccustomed to praise. She probably got it all the time.

  “I’m glad you came tonight.”

  “Me, too. Zoey loved it, too. She fell asleep on the last song.”

  Riley pulled up a chair next to the sofa. “Late night for her.”

  “Long day for her. She was excited about this. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the invitation.”

  She crooked a smile. “For Zoey, of course.”

  “For both of us. I enjoyed the concert, too.”

  * * *

  It hovered on the tip of her tongue, the why not me question she wanted to ask. But Zoey lay sleeping like an angel on the sofa a foot away from Ethan. Now wasn’t the time.

  It would never be the right time to ask a question for which there wasn’t ever going to be a good enough answer.

  Because he’d preferred Amanda, and she’d never seen it coming. She’d spent years going over it in her head—all the times the three of them had been together. Why hadn’t she seen it?

  Enough. She wasn’t eighteen years old anymore. Amanda was dead, and there was no point in rehashing old hurts.

  But the question still burned inside of her, desperate to be asked.

  She hoped she could get out of this town and soon before the question spilled out.

  “Great crowd tonight,” he finally said, no doubt to fill the silence in the room.

  “Yeah, it was. Who knew everyone would come?”

  He tilted his head to the side. “Riley, everyone here is proud of you.”

  “I didn’t think anyone here liked me anymore. I hadn’t been back since I left.”

  “People don’t hold grudges like that. You know how this town is.”

  “I guess I forgot how forgiving folks could be.” She’d forgotten a lot of things. Like how to be forgiving.

  She lifted her gaze to Ethan, remembered the past, only this time the good parts instead of the bad.

  He looked good tonight in his dark jeans and long-sleeved dark blue button-down shirt, his muscles filling out every square inch. He used to be on the skinny side, but strong. Judging from the way he fit the shirt, she could only imagine the muscles now.

  He studied her and she wondered what he saw.

  Country diva who couldn’t be bothered to come home once she’d left.

  Ex-girlfriend who’d run and never returned.

  Bad friend who hadn’t been here when her best friend had needed her most.

  What else must he think of her?

  Then again, she hadn’t created this mess alone, had she? She hadn’t been the one to climb into bed with Amanda and ruin what she and Ethan had.

  And again, the question burned on the tip of her tongue, begging to be asked.

  Why?

  Ethan shifted, dragging the smoke of the past away and reminding her that she was a lousy hostess.

  “Yeah, well, I should get Zoey home and into bed.”

  Great job, Riley. “Sure.”

  He put on his coat and turned to her. “Thank you again for the backstage passes.”

  She wanted to tell him she hadn’t even known about the passes, that it had been Suzie’s doing. But what point would that serve, other than self protection?

  “You’re welcome. Glad you came.”

  “How much longer are you staying in town?”

  She cocked a brow. “Anxious to get rid of me?”

  His lips lifted. “No. No, that wasn’t it at all. I was just wondering if there was someplace you needed to be, with the holidays and all.”

  She shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “No. I have to hang out here with a few of my people until this…thing is over with.”

  “Thing?”

  “Biography thing.”

  “Oh. Yeah, right.”

  She shrugged. “Not my idea. Honest. I’m a little young for a bio.”

  “The television people seem to think otherwise.”

  He was delaying leaving. She wondered why. “They said I’ve lived a lifetime in twenty-eight years, or some nonsense to that effect.”

  “Haven’t you? You’ve gone through a lot to get where you are now.”

  Was it her imagination, or was he drawing closer?

  “Not really. I just got lucky.”

  She found herself focusing on his lips, which was such a bad idea, because it got her thinking of how great a kisser he was, and how long it had been since she’d kissed him. And then she licked her lips, and his gaze traveled to her mouth and settled there.

  “Luck had nothing to do with your success. Pure talent.”

  She really wished he’d look somewhere other than her mouth, because now her throat went dry, and she had to swallow. And lick her lips again. She suddenly wanted to kiss him more than she wanted to breathe.

  He took a step closer and reached for her.

  “Daddy, I have to go potty.”

  Riley took two steps back and so did Ethan, both of them turning to focus on a very sleepy-eyed Zoey, who sat up and rubbed her eyes.

  “Sure, muffin.”

  “Where are we, Daddy?”

  “In Riley’s dressing room.”

  Zoey blinked, yawned and grinned at Riley. “Hi, Riley Jensen. You sing good.”

  Riley laughed. “Thanks, sweetie.”

  He took Zoey’s hand and she slid off the sofa.

  “We’d better go find a bathroom, and then head home. I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay. Bye, Zoey.”

  Zoey waved. “Bye, Riley Jensen.”

  Only after Ethan closed the door to the dressing room did Riley sink onto the sofa and exhale.

  Ethan had almost kissed her. Even worse, Riley had really wanted him to.

  She had to get the hell out of this town, and fast.

  Chapter Five

  “Have you seen the contract for the Lincoln project?” Tori asked him the next day.

  “No.”

  “It’s your project, Ethan. You were out yesterday having the contract signed.”

  “I don’t know where it is. Maybe my truck.” He kept his focus on the blueprint he was studying, trying to tune out anything else but work.

  “Well, do you think you could go get it so I could enter it into the system?”

  “Later. I’m busy.”

  He heard an audible sigh.

  “Ethan, only Wyatt has the market cornered on brooding asshole.”

  “Hey. I am here,” Wyatt grumbled from the corner of the office.

  “So?” Tori replied. “It’s not like your attitude is a big secret. And Brody is a close second in the annoying-me-until-I-want-to-scream department.”

  “I do my best,” Brody said, having made an appearance this morning.

  “Shut up, Brody.” She turned her attention back to Ethan. “Ethan, you’re supposed to be the nice guy of the three brothers. If you turn cranky or irritating like these two, I might just have to start cracking some heads around here.”

  He lifted his head and stared across the office at Tori. She tapped her pencil against the corner of her desk and gave him one of her trademark don’t-screw-with-me looks.

  “You wouldn’t like her when she’s angry,” Brody teased.

  “Shut. Up. Brody.” Tori’s jaw was clenched. It was clear she was reaching the boiling point.

  “Sorry. Have a lot on my mind.” Ethan fished his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to her. “I’m pretty sure the contract is laying in the seat.”

  She caught the keys and stood. “Thanks. And what made you so bitchy today?”

  “Nothing. I don’t know. Not much sleep last night.”

  “Oh, a date?” She stopped at his desk and leaned against it, obviously eager for some good gossip.

  Too bad he had none for her. “No.”

  The place went silent. Good. Until he felt eyes on him.
He lifted his gaze and Tori was still there, leaning over his desk to give him her X-ray vision, as if she could see into his brain.

  “What?”

  “You know that’s not good enough.”

  “And you’re not my mother.”

  “And you know I’m going to continue to stare at you until you tell me where you were last night.”

  Jesus, she was like a dog with a bone. “Why?”

  “Because it obviously has something to do with your less-than-stellar mood today.”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  “Then you should have no problem telling us where you were last night.”

  Shit.

  “She’s got you now, Ethan,” Brody said, propping his feet up on his desk and no doubt grateful he wasn’t the one under Tori’s microscope this morning.

  It was clear she wasn’t going to give up. “I went to Riley’s concert.”

  Tori made a face and stood. “Glutton for punishment, aren’t you?”

  “Huh?”

  But Tori was already out the door.

  Brody stood and came over to his desk, leaned against it and folded his arms. “What the hell possessed you to go to Riley’s concert?”

  Ethan was already nose down in blueprints again. “Zoey likes her.”

  “Uh huh. And you sat in the back row and sucked it up?”

  “No. We had backstage passes.”

  “Oh. Extra-strength pain and humiliation.”

  “It wasn’t bad. It’s been ten years. She doesn’t hold a grudge.”

  Wyatt snorted. “Bullshit. All women hold a grudge.”

  “Yeah, and you don’t?” His brother held a deep grudge against his ex-wife, and it was affecting everything about his life.

  Wyatt shrugged and took up his pencil again, effectively tuning them out.

  Brody, unfortunately, didn’t. “Seriously, man, what’s up with you seeing Riley?”

  “I’m not ‘seeing’ Riley. I took Zoey to her concert. Then I came home. Now I’m at work. Trying to work.” He motioned his head toward the blueprints.

  “But you can’t deny there’s some serious history between you two. And unfinished business.”