He chuckled. “I think this big guy has already fallen hard. ”
Tori had never been distracted on stage
before. Performing her music always put her in the zone, making her untouchable
to outside diversions. But this morning was different. As soon as she felt
Mike’s eyes on her, she’d nearly forgotten the words to a song she’d sung
hundreds of times. Living under the same roof with that man was torture. Not
only was it costing her sleep, knowing he was just down the hall, but his hot
and cold attitude was costing her sanity.
“Let’s take five, guys,” Tori said into the
microphone. She reached for the bottle of water at her side as her band made
their way off stage. She tried to ignore the curious sidelong glances they were
shooting her way. They’d been working together for a long time and she knew
they’d never seen her this preoccupied.
Titan Records publicist, Avery McCall,
raised a finger, beckoning to her.
Tori groaned inwardly, half-expecting to be
read the riot act. She was supposed to have attended the opening of a hot new
club downtown last night, but she’d begged off at the last minute, claiming she
was tired and stressed. The truth was, she just wanted to go home, kick her
heels up, and enjoy a quiet dinner with Mike. Unfortunately, the hours they’d
spent together left her more confused than ever about the direction they were
taking.
She’d suspected trying to forge a
friendship with a man she’d been intimate with would be difficult, but she had
no idea that thoughts of him would intrude on every other area of her life,
including her music.
“Hey there,” Avery said, offering her a cup
of coffee, just the way she liked it. “You look like you could use a pick me
up. What happened? You didn’t sleep well last night?”
Tori felt like she hadn’t had a decent
night’s sleep in weeks. Between worrying about the man tailing her and the sexy
cop making himself at home in the bedroom down the hall, she was surprised she
managed even a few winks of shut-eye at night. “I’m okay.” She wasn’t one to
complain. She’d made it this far by convincing people she was tough, she could
handle anything they threw her way, and she was. She just had to refocus.
Avery sipped her coffee before asking,
“What happened last night? Why didn’t you make it?”
“I’m sorry I had to bail. I just needed a
night off. I hope they weren’t too pissed that I wasn’t there to sign autographs.”
Tori felt guilty for shirking her responsibilities, something she’d never done
before.
“I just told them you weren’t feeling well.
Is that true?”
Tori shrugged. She wasn’t feeling well, but
her problem was more mental than physical. She just couldn’t seem to get her
head back in the game, and with their group gearing up for a tour, her malaise
couldn’t have come at a worse time. “There’s just a lot goin’ on, ya know?”
“I know.” Avery looked around to make sure
no one was standing nearby. “Luc told me about the episode at your house the
other night. Thank God Mike was there.”
“I know, right?”
“I heard he’s staying with you. Is that
true?”
“Yeah, he insisted.” She took a fortifying
sip of coffee, suddenly wishing she drank it strong and black, like Mike.
“I think that’s a good idea, but we need to
be careful. We don’t want this getting out.”
“You mean about him staying with me?”
“That, and I don’t want people to know
about this guy who’s after you. We need to keep all of it under wraps. I don’t
want anything to overshadow this tour. I mean, come on, this is gonna be huge.
Four of the biggest names in country music touring together. Tickets in every
city have sold out in minutes. It’s crazy.”
Avery was married to Ty McCall, one of the
artists Tori was touring with, so she knew her publicist was working even
harder to make this tour a success for her husband’s benefit. “I won’t do
anything to screw this up for
Tori had never been distracted on stage
before. Performing her music always put her in the zone, making her untouchable
to outside diversions. But this morning was different. As soon as she felt
Mike’s eyes on her, she’d nearly forgotten the words to a song she’d sung
hundreds of times. Living under the same roof with that man was torture. Not
only was it costing her sleep, knowing he was just down the hall, but his hot
and cold attitude was costing her sanity.
“Let’s take five, guys,” Tori said into the
microphone. She reached for the bottle of water at her side as her band made
their way off stage. She tried to ignore the curious sidelong glances they were
shooting her way. They’d been working together for a long time and she knew
they’d never seen her this preoccupied.
Titan Records publicist, Avery McCall,
raised a finger, beckoning to her.
Tori groaned inwardly, half-expecting to be
read the riot act. She was supposed to have attended the opening of a hot new
club downtown last night, but she’d begged off at the last minute, claiming she
was tired and stressed. The truth was, she just wanted to go home, kick her
heels up, and enjoy a quiet dinner with Mike. Unfortunately, the hours they’d
spent together left her more confused than ever about the direction they were
taking.
She’d suspected trying to forge a
friendship with a man she’d been intimate with would be difficult, but she had
no idea that thoughts of him would intrude on every other area of her life,
including her music.
“Hey there,” Avery said, offering her a cup
of coffee, just the way she liked it. “You look like you could use a pick me
up. What happened? You didn’t sleep well last night?”
Tori felt like she hadn’t had a decent
night’s sleep in weeks. Between worrying about the man tailing her and the sexy
cop making himself at home in the bedroom down the hall, she was surprised she
managed even a few winks of shut-eye at night. “I’m okay.” She wasn’t one to
complain. She’d made it this far by convincing people she was tough, she could
handle anything they threw her way, and she was. She just had to refocus.
Avery sipped her coffee before asking,
“What happened last night? Why didn’t you make it?”
“I’m sorry I had to bail. I just needed a
night off. I hope they weren’t too pissed that I wasn’t there to sign autographs.”
Tori felt guilty for shirking her responsibilities, something she’d never done
before.
“I just told them you weren’t feeling well.
Is that true?”
Tori shrugged. She wasn’t feeling well, but
her problem was more mental than physical. She just couldn’t seem to get her
head back in the game, and with their group gearing up for a tour, her malaise
couldn’t have come at a worse time. “There’s just a lot goin’ on, ya know?”
“I know.” Avery looked around to make sure
no one was standing nearby. “Luc told me about the episode at your house the
other night. Thank God Mike was there.”
“I know, right?”
“I heard he’s staying with you. Is that
true?”
“Yeah, he insisted.” She took a fortifying
sip of coffee, suddenly wishing she drank it strong and black, like Mike.
“I think that’s a good idea, but we need to
be careful. We don’t want this getting out.”
“You mean about him staying with me?”
“That, and I don’t want people to know
about this guy who’s after you. We need to keep all of it under wraps. I don’t
want anything to overshadow this tour. I mean, come on, this is gonna be huge.
Four of the biggest names in country music touring together. Tickets in every
city have sold out in minutes. It’s crazy.”
Avery was married to Ty McCall, one of the
artists Tori was touring with, so she knew her publicist was working even
harder to make this tour a success for her husband’s benefit. “I won’t do
anything to screw this up for
Similar Books
