The Reluctant Beauty(28)

“No vaca for you?”

“Not this time, it looks like.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, whattaya waiting for? Go. Skeedaddle.” Peg hoped she masked the hurt in her voice.

Nodding curtly, he brushed past her and headed toward the escalator.

She watched his broad back as he walked away. They forgot to break up in public.

He stopped in his tracks.

Her heart stilled.



***



Austin couldn’t deny the tug that shot through him, or the way his breathing changed when he was around her, or how his heartbeat jumped to his throat whenever she was near.

She gave him a rush. A rush that only music had given him until now.

He couldn’t explain it, either. Turning around, he faced her again. Her eyes were wide and questioning. He dropped his bag. It landed with a dull thud.

Going to her, he swept her up in his arms and kissed her, fully, deeply, and for so long his head spun.

“Holy all that is good and pure,” Peg whispered, trembling in his arms, when they finally parted.

“Now, that’s a goodbye kiss,” he said, gently putting her back on her feet. He looked one last time, taking in everything about her. “From the sexiest, sassiest lady I’ve ever met.”

“Holy hotness, you don’t have to lay on the sugarcoating. Not for me.”

“Not my style, if you haven’t figured that out yet.”

He left her speechless.





Chapter 10





The band, or if he could call it now, faced him. His best friend from growing up and the new guy—The Kid, he called himself—stared back at him huddled on the seats in the touring bus. They’d snagged it and hightailed it down to him the minute they found out where he was.

“Come on, guys, we’re on a break. Relax, will you?” Austin asked for what seemed like the tenth time in as many seconds.

“They quit. Want to sue for the right to keep the band’s name.”

Something fierce tugged at Austin. “No. That’s not going to happen. We started it, Rodney—you and me. My last name. No way.”

“They got lawyers up the wahzoo.”

He sighed. “So we get more lawyers.” Something shifted in him at what he’d said. He wanted to fight: fight for what was his, and fight for what he’d created.

“They stole ours. And our manager.” Rodney winced. “I…man, Austin, I let the cat out of the bag and told them you’ve been, you know, undecided about keeping the band.” His friend couldn’t look at him in the eye.

That was like a punch in the gut. Everyone had jumped ship, except these two. “Defectors.” They’d found out. He blew out a hot breath, forgiving his longtime friend for spilling the beans. In all honesty, he couldn’t blame them. But, stealing his band away from him wasn’t cool. Not by a long shot.

His friend snorted. The Kid had his head in his hands.

“We strike back.” His mind raced with his contacts over the years. He had numbers for a couple of the hard hitters. He’d never had to use them before, but it seemed like he had no other choice now. “Look, for five minutes, put that aside, all right? No BS, guys. I’m fried right now. That’s why I wanted a break.”

“Me, too,” his friend said. “You know how many times I got to see my kids last year?” He held up his hand, fingers spread. “Five times. That’s it. They’re in school. I can’t take them on the road with me anymore.”

“My grandma’s sick,” The Kid said, for the first time looking up at Austin. His red-rimmed eyes said it all.

“Sorry, Kid.”

“I was going to spend time with her. Eight weeks until we got back to recording in the studio.”

Austin looked at his longtime friend and the young guy, knowing this was it. They either came together right now or break everything off and never look back. “We still a band or not?” He held up his hand. “Don’t answer just yet. There’s some things we gotta get straight first. No more grueling one-or two-year tours. We pick our dates, ones that work with us and not against us. We can write more, record finally, and we can do more charity gigs.”

The cutting down on tours, writing and recording more, and giving back had been a bone of contention among the other guys. They’d been butting heads for a while now. The group fractured. Tempers and tension grew while overseas.

“Seriously?” The Kid seemed to brighten up. “I miss my grandma and family.” His face flushed.

“Nothing wrong with that,” Austin agreed, knowing he should spend more time with Evelyn, especially now that she wanted a family. In the back of his mind, Peg’s name whispered. But she didn’t want that for herself. Her career came first.