I rolled my eyes. “Sounds really helpful.”
My dad and George emerged from some other room.
My dad’s eyes connected with mine, and I saw real worry in his.
He was usually better at hiding his emotions. He was good at putting on a blank face. He’d mastered the art of acting. He had to. He was a person just like anybody else. He had feelings that ranged from happy to sad. He had good days and bad. But it didn’t matter what was happening in his personal life, because people paid upwards of a thousand dollars at a chance to see Black Shadow live, so he had learned to hide whatever was going on inside in order to perform the best show he knew how.
But he wasn’t hiding the anxiety he felt from me. Maybe he’d done it on purpose to give me a wake-up call, or maybe he’d forgotten to mask it in front of me. Either way, he’d just come from a meeting with his head of security. The news couldn’t be good if he had emerged looking like that.
Jadyn finally stood. “Can I get you anything, Gideon?” she asked.
What started as a semi-confrontational meeting with Jadyn had become a small party by that time, so our one-on-one conversation was over. I was sure that it would linger between us, though. I’d gone with the intention of finding some answers, but instead I just managed to burn a bridge.
forty-one
I’d performed my list of duties at the Walnut Creek Amphitheater the next day, and I’d grabbed dinner at the catering table. Between time with Flashing Light and meetings with George and my dad all day, I hadn’t seen Parker since breakfast. I felt like I should have been in those meetings with George and my dad, too, because whatever they were talking about concerned me. They made me feel like some weak and pathetic woman who wasn’t allowed in on the big manly conversations.
I knew my thoughts were dramatic, but I didn’t care.
It was a hot and humid June day at ninety-five degrees, so I headed back to the bus to freshen up and change clothes before the pre-show rituals, Bruno ever at my side. He did afford me some privacy to change my clothes, at least.
My dad had a meet and greet a scheduled for a quarter to seven. Flashing Light was scheduled to go onstage at seven. I wanted to watch Parker from the trench. I loved the nights when Parker took lead vocals on their last song, which was often. I hadn’t had the chance to watch them perform since Parker and I had made up, so I couldn’t wait to watch him perform “Trial and Error.” Somehow that song never got old, especially as I thought about the way my tongue traced across the letters tattooed on Parker’s torso.
I reached into my pocket to check the time on my phone. It wasn’t there. I realized that when I’d changed jeans, I had left my phone in the sweaty pair on the bus. “Fuck,” I muttered.
I headed toward my dad’s dressing room. Parker was just leaving as I walked in. He paused, grabbed me by my upper arms, and pressed a hard kiss to my lips.
“Make sure you check your texts,” he murmured so softly into my ear that I almost didn’t hear him. He seemed nervous. I realized then that in the past few weeks, I’d never actually seen him right before he was about to take the stage. I was always tied up doing things for my dad.
Parker headed toward the Flashing Light dressing room for their pre-show traditions, and I informed my dad that his fans were waiting for him for a meet and greet.
“Fuck,” my dad muttered. “I need to talk to you, CC.”
I glanced at the clock hanging in the room. “It’ll have to wait.”
He nodded once, and then he and George headed up toward the fans.
I sat in the empty dressing room, wondering for just a moment where Jadyn was.
I didn’t care, exactly, but I was curious. Too many strange things had been happening, and I wondered if her whereabouts were accounted for.
“Shit,” I muttered to no one in particular.
“Do you need something?” Bruno asked. I’d forgotten that I wasn’t alone.
“I need my dad’s credentials to get into the trench for Flashing Light.”
Bruno nodded. “Let’s go get them.” He typed out a text, presumably to George, and then we headed toward the meet and greet. I stood and watched for a few minutes before approaching my dad.
The clock was inching toward seven. I walked behind my dad and waited for him to finish signing a t-shirt before I knelt behind him. “Credentials?” I asked, and he reached into his pocket and passed me his all-access card.
I kissed his cheek and left him to his fans. Bruno stayed with him, and George followed me down. Apparently Bruno wasn’t a fan of loud rock music, and George could take it. He was used to it.
We entered the trench just as the house lights went down. My heart started pumping in anticipation as I saw silhouettes, and then the stage lit up and there stood Parker.
Everything seemed to stop for a moment as I drank in the sight. He was perfection up on that stage. Women behind me screamed. Fans yelled.
I watched his eyes scan the crowd, but they didn’t land on anyone in particular until they landed on me.
His eyes lit up, as if he drew his energy from the woman watching from the trench, and then the notes of their opening song sounded through the amphitheater.
I grinned as I bobbed my head to the beat.
It seemed like no time at all had passed and suddenly they were playing the closing notes to “Trial and Error.” The entire show had been perfection.
Fitz always made the band introductions right before the last song, and the last song was always the cover. He was in charge of talking to the crowd, of regaling something personal or of getting them excited for the upcoming acts. He introduced Vinnie first and then Garret, and then he nodded toward Parker.
“And this is Parker James, who has something he wants to say tonight!”
I looked up at Parker, who looked nervous as fuck. In fact, as I looked at him, I could not remember a time when he’d looked more nervous in his life.
“We’re going to close with a song that makes me think of someone very special to me. She’s right here in front, just like she has been almost every night,” he paused and searched my eyes out, “and I want her to know how much I love her. Roxanna, this one’s for you.”
The band launched into a cover of Motley Crue’s “Without You.”
Tears filled my eyes as I listened to the words of the song. He sang to me with his whole heart. I felt it from where I stood. I gazed up at him, the light hitting him in some perfect angle that lit up his whole face. As he sang about how he would love only me until we grew old together, I couldn’t help but think how different my life was just a few months earlier. He’d walked into Vintage and made me feel all of these things again after I’d written off getting close to people. He’d become the center of my life in such a short time.
As much as I wanted to hate him for the deceit, I couldn’t help that I’d fallen for him—that we’d fallen in love with each other.
Love begs forgiveness.
So I forgave.
And now here we stood, our entire future before us.
Nothing hit that point home more than Parker’s words when the song neared its end and he stopped singing and started talking, the band still playing the melody as he spoke.
“Roxanna Cecilia Price, my Jimi, I want to spend the rest of my life showing you that I can’t live without you. Will you marry me?”
to be continued
in Vintage Volume Two
June 5, 2015
Pre-order Here
VINTAGE VOLUME TWO
(available June 5, 2015)
Murdering a global icon was off limits, but his family was fair game.
The threats against me, the daughter of rock star Gideon Price, forced me closer to the man protecting me. I’d lost track of the number of secrets the men in my life had kept from me. But when the threat against my family turned to murder, it was time for me to learn the truth.
I was reminded once again just how short life could be, compelling me to take control of
my future.
I was no longer in the dark, but I was in more danger than I ever imagined.
acknowledgments
I always have to thank my husband first. He listens, makes suggestions, and supports so much that sometimes he thinks he’s the one writing the books. Thanks for always being my first beta reader and for being my very own rock star. And to Sadie, my fuzzy best friend, thanks for the cute puppy dog eyes and for lying next to me while I write.
Louisa Maggio, you designed the perfect cover to represent Roxy and Parker. I am in love with the cover and still haven’t stopped staring at it.
Thank you to Team LSD. Your support and friendship means the world to me. I particularly want to thank the lovely ladies on my street team who also beta read Vintage: Kelly, Katie, Anna, Crystal, Jen, April, Johnnie-Marie, Alissa, Sheri, Stephanie, Jenna, and Tiffani. In case you didn’t see it, both Katie and Anna also appeared in this book…Katie in her quest to be killed off in as many books as possible, and Anna, who won a contest to make an appearance in my next book.
A huge thank you to Bryan Wickmann for the behind-the-scenes look at an actual tour bus. Seeing what goes on behind the stage during a huge concert was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’m forever grateful you took us on a tour and offered to answer any of my questions. And thanks to my brother, Brad, for taking me to see Bryan after all these years!
Thanks to the creative and talented authors who gave me beta feedback: Madison Street, Jenni Moen, and Josie Bordeaux.
I owe a debt of gratitude to the many bloggers who spend countless hours doing everything they can to support and promote authors, especially indie authors like me. A huge thanks to Kellie Montgomery for being an all-star in every way and for running the exclusive cover reveal on Eye Candy Bookstore. Thanks also to Kylie and Beth at Give Me Books and Debra at The Book Enthusiast for the release day blitzes.
Thank you to all of the readers who take the time to get lost in the world I created. Time is a precious commodity, and to know that you spent yours with me touches my heart. I hope you found your time well spent and that you will consider leaving a review of Vintage.
Lastly, thank you to all of the creative people in this world who continue to inspire my writing. Whether it’s a good book that I just couldn’t put down or that one song that I listened to on repeat, thank you for creating something out of nothing and sharing it with the world.
XOXO,
about the author
Lisa Suzanne started handwriting her books on yellow legal pads after she took a creative writing class in high school. She still has those legal pads full of stories, but now one of them is published under the title How He Really Feels. She currently works as a full time high school English teacher, and her favorite part of the year is summer. She has been blessed with the world’s best dog, a supportive family, and a husband who encouraged her to publish after reading one of her novels. She likes the advice of Ernest Hemingway’s famous quote, “Write drunk. Edit sober.”
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BOOKS
THE HE FEELS TRILOGY BOX SET
HOW HE REALLY FEELS (HE FEELS, BOOK 1)
WHAT HE REALLY FEELS (HE FEELS, BOOK 2)
SINCE HE REALLY FEELS (HE FEELS, BOOK 3)
SEPARATION ANXIETY
SIDE EFFECTS
SECOND OPINION
VINTAGE VOLUME TWO (Pre-Order)
books by Lisa Suzanne
HOW HE REALLY FEELS (HE FEELS, BOOK 1)
Julianne Becker is desperately in love with her boss, Nick Matthews. She has daydreamed about him since the day she first met him a year earlier, but she is firmly stuck in the friend-zone until New Year’s Eve, when the game completely changes and she finds out how Nick really feels about her. They embark on a sexy affair that’s everything Julianne ever dreamed of... except she can’t tell anyone about it. What will happen if anyone finds out about their secret relationship? And how will her lifelong best friend, Travis Miller, react when Julianne begins a relationship with someone who isn’t him?
How He Really Feels is a novel that explores relationships and love between coworkers and friends. It contains some adult situations and is intended for mature readers.
AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1kNVIY9
WHAT HE REALLY FEELS (HE FEELS, BOOK 2)
He told her How He Really Feels and had his heart broken. Now Travis Miller is trying to move on from the greatest heartbreak of his life by getting out of town. But two nights before his big move to California, Travis meets a mystery woman who grabs hold of his broken heart and gives him hope that he can piece it back together.
Will Travis ever figure out What He Really Feels, or will he be stuck on his first love forever? Will he find his happily ever after?
What He Really Feels contains some adult situations and is intended for mature readers.
AMAZON: http://amzn.to/TI3FDH
SINCE HE REALLY FEELS (HE FEELS, BOOK 3)
Julianne Becker has a choice to make between love and history. She needs two men in her life, but ultimatums and secrets are forcing her to choose.
Nick Matthews has a choice to make with potential costs that will put Julianne in temptation’s way. Since He Really Feels what he does for Julianne, can Nick put aside his fears to ensure that the past doesn’t destroy the future he has always wanted?
Travis Miller thought he made his choice, but obligations may just push out the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Since He Really Feels allegiance to his family, can Travis keep his past and present from colliding?
Julianne and Nick know they should form a united front and make these decisions together, but knowing what to do and actually doing it are two very different things. Will Travis’s presence in their life pull them together or push them apart?
This is the passionate and emotional concluding book of the He Feels Trilogy.
AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1kZPxBk
SEPARATION ANXIETY
Separation.
We all get one true love in our lives, and it’s up to us to find it. Fate will act and try to push us together, but ultimately it’s up to us to recognize who that one person is when he’s standing in front of us.
It turns out that I recognized who my one person was when I was separated from my husband.
Anxiety.
On the same day I determined that I was finally going to file for divorce, I confessed my secret to Jesse Drake, my swoon-worthy colleague known for his womanizing ways. Jesse invited me to crash with him, and with each new piece of the enigmatic Jesse puzzle that I started to fit into place, I found myself wondering if Fate had pushed us together for a reason.
If only my husband would stop getting in the way of the man with whom I was meant to be.
AMAZON: http://amzn.to/SxCAlB
SIDE EFFECTS
She has been hurt. She has a past of lies, cheating, and pain. She has severe panic attacks when she’s in enclosed spaces, a side effect of a horrible accident caused by a man she thought she loved. Quinn Carpenter has a distinct type: bad boys with dark hair, dark eyes, and tattoos. Tyler, her friend with benefits, fits the bill perfectly. They have fun together and they both know that fun is where their relationship begins and ends.
Quinn’s life is exactly how she wants it until she meets Reed Porter, the typical pretty boy with blue eyes, blonde hair, and zero tattoos. He is the exact opposite of everything Quinn likes.
So why can’t she get the frustrating, preppy, blue-eyed Reed out of her head?
She isn’t interested in commitment. She doesn’t want a relationship. But Reed challenges her, he puts her in her place, and he makes her nervous. The confident Quinn is never nervous around men, so what is it about Reed that has h
er questioning everything? And what will be the side effects of attempting to juggle two men at the same time?
Side Effects contains adult situations and is intended for mature readers.
AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1iyhO1r
SECOND OPINION
What do you do when the person you love most in the world breaks your heart… twice? Grant’s solution is avoiding relationships. Four years since the last time he saw Rachelle, his heart still can’t take another break.
“You’re not marriage material.” From the time he’d first heard those words spoken by the woman he loved, Grant Carpenter believed them.
When a woman he’s known for years shows an interest in him, he starts to question Rachelle’s words about marriage material, wondering if he might need a second opinion. Someone in the present, someone who has always been in the periphery but who he never gave a second glance, starts to take over his every thought.
Grant is armed with plenty of reasons to ignore what he’s feeling, but someone who should remain off-limits is suddenly overshadowing his obsession with his past. She’s making him want a future that he thought he’d written off, but he isn’t sure that she wants a future with him.
Ultimately, he has to decide what to do when the past makes her way back into his present.
Second Opinion contains adult situations and is intended for mature readers.
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