“So I heard a rumor,” he began, stepping into her room and lowering himself onto the chair across from her bed.
“Just one?” Kylie put her pen down and let it roll off her notebook.
He grinned at her. “Well, just one that concerns me.”
“Ah. Are you pregnant?”
“Not that I know of. But I could’ve sworn you said your guitar player asked for time off. According to the other guys in the band, he’s not the type to do such a thing.” Kylie didn’t respond right away so Steven continued. “Which leads me to wonder, why exactly did you ask me to come along on this tour, Ryans?”
“Aiden’s wife just had twins. You were looking for work. It seemed like the best solution for everyone,” she said quietly.
“Uh huh. For everyone? Or for you?”
She took a deep breath and met his gaze. “If you don’t want to be here, Blythe, I can call Aiden and tell him he’s flying to Detroit to meet us. You’re not on contract. Feel free to leave at any time.”
Steven gave her a sad smile. She wasn’t sure, but his expression reminded her of the one people wore when they found out her daddy had died. Or that Trace had dumped her for Gretchen Gibson. The pity grin. She hated it. More than anything.
“I wasn’t saying I wanted to bail on you, Ryans. Relax. I just don’t like being lied to and I don’t want to look like an idiot out here. Or a charity case. If I’m here because you needed a guitar player, then okay. If I’m here because you needed a buffer between you and Corbin, then that’s okay too. But if I’m here because you felt sorry for me or something, then I wish I would’ve turned you down. I just want you to be straight with me. I don’t feel like that’s too much to ask.”
Kylie sighed. “No, it’s not. I’m sorry I wasn’t completely upfront with you.” She glanced down at the lyrics she’d written. It was a song she’d started the day Trace had walked away from her. She didn’t know why she felt the need to finish it, but she did.
“You know you don’t have to hide stuff from me, right?” Steven asked, angling his face beneath hers so she had to look at him. “If you’re not okay, you could tell me.
“Yeah, I know. And I promise I’m fine.” She felt like she was constantly reassuring everyone of this lately. “The truth is…” She paused to gather as much courage as she possibly could. She could tell him, she knew he would understand or at least try to. She was just worried it would sound stupid out loud. So she edited it a bit. “The truth is you’re here because I needed a friend.” His expressions softened and she shrugged. “I mean, Lulu is great and I love her. She’s been my best friend forever. But sometimes I just want to hang out with someone who doesn’t know everything about me, you know? And someone who gets this business, this lifestyle. Like you.”
“I get it, I do. And honestly, your band could use some eye candy for the ladies, if you know what I’m saying.”
“If only you weren’t so modest.” She laughed as Steven leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. At the exact same moment that his lips met her skin, she heard someone clear his throat.
“Sorry. There was a fresh market stand at the last stop so I, uh, got you these because I noticed there weren’t any on the bus. I’ll put them in the kitchen.”
Kylie watched Trace take the bananas he held out of her room. She opened her mouth to thank him but he was gone before she got the words out. She shot Steven a helpless look and he shook his head.
“You’re right. You do need a friend,” he said as she leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m just not sure I’m the one you need.”
“YOU STRAIGHT?”
Trace raised his eyes to meet the ones of his bass player. “Yeah, man. I’m good.”
“Thinking about drinking?”
He raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to lie. But he saw the truth in Mike’s eyes. “Yeah. Little bit.”
“Call your sponsor, Tray. Call him now. Tell him what’s going on. Or call Dr. Reynolds and tell him to meet up with us. Don’t wait until it’s too late.”
He grimaced. Damn. He’d promised himself he could do this. He’d been so strong for so long, but seeing another man kiss her, even on the fucking forehead, hurt in a way he didn’t know how to heal.
So he’d been sitting backstage at her soundcheck in Detroit letting her thick voice wash over him, tearing into all those old wounds. Which was where Mike had found him looking like a kicked puppy.
Through the break in the curtain he could see her—well the back of her. A shot of bourbon sounded good about then. An entire bottle of it sounded even better. But there wasn’t a brand of liquor in the world that would douse the pain having a girl like Kylie Ryans and losing her caused.
So he took a sip from his bottle of water and listened to her voice echoing in an empty stadium.
You might wake up with a smile on your face, but you’ll reach out to find an empty space. I don’t do waking up in your arms, won’t be impressed by your smile or your charm. I’ll set your night on fire. I’m a live wire. I’m a live wire.
She shimmied over toward her guitar player and rubbed her body against his as he performed his solo. Trace forced himself to look away.
“You know,” Mike began quietly, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you back down like this. You were always a take-what-you-want kind of guy. I admired that about you.”
Trace leaned back in his chair. “It’s more complicated than that.”
“Is it? Or are you just too scared to throw your hat in the ring because you’re afraid she won’t pick you?”
“You suck at minding your own business, you know that?”
Mike chuckled. “Yeah I know. Hey, you remember that time she hustled us all in poker?”
Trace grinned at the memory. Kylie had played the guys in his band and taken them for all they were worth when they were on tour together. None of them had complained much since she’d done a sexy little victory dance afterwards. “She didn’t hustle me, Brennen. I wasn’t playing.”
“Right,” Mike agreed. “And once again, she’s holding all the cards and you’re sitting out on the sidelines. Why is that you think?”
Before he could answer, his manager appeared.
“Okay, thanks for letting me know,” Pauly Garrett said into the phone before disconnecting the call.
“Everything okay?” Trace looked up at the man who was shaking his head.
“Nothing for you to worry about.”
“Well that’s a sure sign it probably is something for me to worry about.”
Pauly’s expression tensed. “You just focus on your show. Let’s try and see if you and Kylie can manage to look more like human beings and less like robots during your duet, shall we?”
Trace shrugged. “Maybe you should discuss that with her.” If she wanted to rub herself against her guitarist like a cat in heat and then pretend he didn’t exist when they were singing together, that was her issue. Not much he could do about it.
“Maybe I will,” Pauly said as she came off the stage and toward them.
Trace didn’t miss the way Blythe whispered in her ear or placed his hand on the small of her back. He felt his anger rising to a dangerous level.
So this was jealousy. He wasn’t a fan of it. And it was owning his ass at the moment.
A slap on his shoulder snapped him out of his trance.
“Doesn’t look all that complicated to me,” Mike said with a smirk as he stood.
“Kylie, can I have a minute?” Pauly asked, pulling her aside as she passed.
Trace didn’t listen to what was said as he made his way to his own soundcheck. But the fact that Pauly had distracted her from Steven kept a smile on his face through rehearsal.
THE CROWD screamed his name as he wrapped up his show. It felt good. Damn good. Trace handed off his guitar in preparation for his final song before his duet with Kylie.
He wasn’t sure what Pauly had said to her earlier and he hadn’t seen her since. Her show had gone well a
s far as he knew. He’d missed it because he’d been warming up for his own performance and taking pictures with some fans. He hoped whatever his manager had said had gotten through to her and that she would at least look at him when they sang together tonight.
The two girls who had been hired to dance on the “tailgate” the stage had been made into during Rock It On My Tailgate were conspicuously absent as he sang the opening lyrics. Alexis and Camilla were twenty-two-year-old twins and professional dancers. Mike had taken to calling them the Tailgate Twins.
He hit the first chorus and the audience went wild. Even wilder than usual. That was unexpected. Everyone in the first few rows held up camera phones and people were shouting and pointing behind him. He turned as he sang but the sight behind him nearly stopped his ability to breathe, much less sing.
It wasn’t the Tailgate Twins rocking it on the tailgate behind him. It was Kylie Ryans.
Seeing her up there with a tiny shirt that left little to the imagination and a jean skirt that barely covered her perfect ass nearly killed him. Right in front of a live audience.
He shook his head and grinned when she pulled a microphone from God knows where and began singing his song along with him.
With the regular dancers, he was supposed to jump up on the tailgate and let them grind all over him. But he had no clue if that would be the plan now.
He knew his voice was probably shaking as he hopped up on the tailgate to stand next to her. He kept his eyes on her to see if she’d give him any clue as to what the hell was going on. And also, because she looked really fucking good up there.
Her sweet voice took over, and he decided to switch places with her. She could sing and he’d do the ass shaking.
She smiled when she realized what he was doing and he smiled back.
It felt like he could breathe, really breathe, for the first time since he’d walked out on her at The Rum Room over a year ago.
After they finished his song, they sat on the tailgate and sang their duet.
Looking into her eyes as they sang the lyrics they’d written together did something to him he couldn’t explain. Or understand. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to understand.
But one thing was for sure. Mike was right. He’d never been one to back down or walk away from what he wanted. And what he wanted was her.
So when the song ended and the stage lights began to dim, he placed his mouth on hers to the sound of thousands of screaming fans.
“WHAT THE hell was that?” Kylie whirled on him once they were backstage and their mics had been removed.
“What?” Trace looked genuinely shocked and slightly amused by her outburst.
“Are you kidding me? What do you mean, what? You can’t just go around kissing people in front of the whole damn world!”
Her heart pounded so hard she could barely hear herself yelling over the sound of it pumping blood into her ears.
Trace stepped into her personal space. “I’m going to have to disagree with you there, darlin’. I don’t know what you’re so mad about. You were the one shaking your ass in the middle of my show. What did you think was going to happen?”
A small crowd had gathered around them. Lulu tugged at Kylie’s arm, but she jerked free. Pauly stood off to the side with Hannah and the guys in Trace’s band. She might have imagined it, but it looked like Danny and Mike were smiling.
“I thought,” she said, trying her best to lower her voice, “that maybe, just maybe, you’d grown up and were going to be true to your word about not crossing lines. But I can see that I thought wrong.”
“Relax, Kylie Lou. It was fun for the crowd. Do you hear that? That’s the sound of all those satisfied people feeling like they got their money’s worth.”
“You’re an asshole.” She folded her arms and glared at him. She couldn’t figure out how in the world he could act like such a selfish jerk and still somehow make her feel like the childish idiot in the scenario. It was like he had a super power. And to make matters worse, her lips—well, her entire body, really—were still tingling from his kiss.
“Call me whatever you want, baby. But you kissed me back out there.”
She wanted to slap that stupid smirk right off his stupid face. “Whatever. In the future, make out with the Tailgate Twins and keep your lips off mine. And man up and talk to me if you want to change the show instead of having your manager plead your case.” With that, she stormed back to her room on the bus.
As she left, she heard Trace yelling for Pauly. She felt slightly bad about getting the man yelled at, but she was too shaken up to care much at that particular moment. She paced back and forth, rubbing her temples in an attempt to rub the memory of that kiss out of her head.
“Hey,” Lulu said softly as she peeked her head in the room. “You all right?”
Kylie stopped pacing and met her friend’s concerned stare. “No. No I’m not all right. What the hell was he thinking? Why did he do that to me?”
The other girl looked like she was fighting off a smile as she shrugged. “I think he was throwing his hat in the ring.”
“What?” Kylie was starting to wonder if the whole world was going crazy. She had the distinct feeling she was missing something.
“Never mind.” Lulu waved her hand. “Something Mike said. Anyways, Kylie, have you considered that maybe you and Trace need to have a real conversation? About why you agreed to surprise him on stage and why you’re so upset about that kiss. I mean, I could probably lay one on you right now and you wouldn’t bat an eyelash.”
Kylie shot her friend a wry grin at the mental image. “Please don’t.”
“Watch yourself. I’m an awesome kisser. But that’s not the point.”
“Do you have a point, Lu?” Kylie sighed and rushed on before her friend could answer. “Because I feel like there’s some private joke going around and it’s going to be on me. And honestly? I’m doing the best I can here. This isn’t easy for me. But professionally, this tour was the right choice.”
“Right.” Lulu nodded. “Professionally. That’s the only reason you agreed to this, right? Because you thought it was the best choice for your career?”
She frowned at her friend. “Why else would I put myself through this? Do I look like a masochist to you?”
Her friend put a hand up. “Hey, I don’t need to know what kind of kinky stuff you’re into. But I do know that I have my own opinions about why you agreed to this tour specifically. Want to hear them?”
“No,” Kylie pouted, plopping down on her bed.
“Well, too bad,” Lulu said as she sat down beside her. “So I have a few theories. The best one I have is that you still have feelings for him, and maybe you really do think this is the best professional decision and you don’t want to disappoint your fans. But then there’s the issue of rocker boy.”
Kylie side-eyed Lulu. Her friend rolled her eyes and tossed her hands up.
“Come on. You wouldn’t have invited all that tatted-up hotness if you weren’t afraid of your feelings for Country Ken. But after what I just saw during that show and after, I’m pretty sure there aren’t enough tattooed guitar players in the world to stop this runaway train.” Her friend gave her a sympathetic look and then hit her with the naked truth. “You and Corbin have shit to work out, Ky. And the only way you’re going to make it through this tour is if the two of you actually work it out.”
“How?” Kylie whispered, afraid of hearing what else her friend might have to say. Pretty much everything so far had been dead-on.
“I’m not sure. Maybe just tell each other how you feel and get it out there. Who knows? Maybe by the end of this tour you’ll ride off into the sunset together and live happily ever after.”
Kylie pulled her knees to her chest. “Or maybe we’ll destroy each other and everything we’ve worked so hard for in the process.”
And there was one thing she couldn’t even bring herself to tell her best friend.
She couldn’t tell Trace exactly how she
felt.
She’d avoided dealing with it for so long, it was all she knew how to do. She wasn’t sure she even knew how she felt anymore. Because she’d forgotten how to feel.
“YOU KISSED her? Like on the mouth? Full-on kissed Kylie Ryans?”
Trace held the phone away from his ear. Good news traveled fast apparently. “Yes, Rae. I did. And she was pissed.”
His little sister laughed. “That’s a good thing, Trace. It means she felt something at least. But, um, next time, maybe do it in private and not in front of thousands of screaming fans. You know, take her to dinner, walk her to her door. That sort of thing.”
“Like I’m a normal guy instead of a self-assured jackass?”
“Precisely. By the way, I’m watching it on YouTube right now. And it is kind of hot. Or it would be if you weren’t my brother.”
He practically growled at his sister. “Rae, what have I told you about looking me up online? Shouldn’t you be studying or something?”
Rae was a freshman at the University of Georgia. She’d enrolled under his mom’s maiden name—at his request—so that people wouldn’t give her hell about him and his rehab and all that. He didn’t make any appearances on campus but he was pretty sure her roommates knew who he was because there was a lot of squealing in the background every time he called.
“Or something,” she said, sounding distracted. “Anyways, stop stressing about it. I saw how she looked at you at the benefit. And I’ve texted her a few times. She hasn’t responded, but I’m pretty sure that’s because she knows I know you two are going to get married and have me lots of adorable nieces and nephews.”
“Rae—”
“I’m just sayin’. But back to, um, studying, I go. Later, big brother. Good luck with my future sister-in-law.” With that, she hung up.
Trace was pretty certain she wasn’t studying. If her grades were low this semester, he was going to take her car away. He was paying her tuition after all.
He sat on his bed and rubbed his neck. Rae had a point. He and Kylie had a history. He shouldn’t have just sprung that kiss on her in public like that. Especially when he’d promised not to cross lines if she came on this tour with him.
Girl in Love Page 11
