Assured (Soul Serenade #2) (19 page)

It’s been two weeks since I woke up wrapped around Cole on the couch here on the bus. Two weeks of non-stop running and organizing for the tour. That stretch of fourteen days, they played seven of them. It was constant, exhausting and life-saving all at once, since I was able to avoid Logan and her questioning. Any time she would start to ask, one of the guys would interrupt us, one of our phones would ring, or we were backstage.

Until now.

Finally, we get a break that is more than one day off in a stretch. We get four. Four entire days to do with as we wish. Sure, Logan and I will have a few things to take care of here and there—confirming security, location clearance, things like that. But between the two of us, we can knock that out in no time.

“There’s not really anything to spill,” I tell her honestly. I’m just as confused as she is.

“I call bullshit. He’s always touching you, and you two spend all your spare time together. What gives?” She slides into the table across from me.

“Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on. For months he pursued me, told me how great we would be together. The last few weeks, he’s been different. I barely get a sexual innuendo from him, and if I do, it’s backed up with something that only sweet Cole would say and I’m all mushy inside. Too mushy to care that he propositioned me for sex.”

“Sweet Cole?” She grins.

“Yes! The man, I swear, it’s like he has a microphone that goes straight to my heart. Some of the things he says. . . .”

“Like?” she prompts.

I don’t want to reveal too much—not because I don’t trust her, but I don’t know what it all means. Hell, it could all be in my head. She knows him pretty well, though, so it could be nice to get her opinion. Decision made, I give her an example. “Okay, that night we fell asleep.” I point over my shoulder to the couch, and she nods. “He said that lying like that was nice. Then he told me I was his favorite.” It was more than that, the way he said it. I might have been half asleep, but it didn’t make the effect on me any less profound.

“I literally melted into him,” I confess.

“He’s into you.”

That’s it? He’s into me? “I kinda already know that, but what does the rest of it mean?”

“He’s never been in a relationship.”

“I know that too.”

This information causes a surprised look to cross her face. “Sounds like it’s more serious than I thought.”

“Logan!”

She laughs. Fucking
laughs.

“Look, Cole is a great guy. He’s an open book, and he will never lie to you, but he doesn’t easily open up in regards to personal stuff. Not unless he trusts you.”

“Will you just spit it out already?” I ask, exasperated.

“Kace says you’re his Logan.”

Holy shit!

“He’s. . . . That’s not. . . . He doesn’t do that.” I struggle to find the words.

“He didn’t used to. Not because he’s damaged or been burned. It was just never something he thought he wanted. My guess is that he found something . . . some
one
who made him change his mind.”

Just as I’m about to debate, the door to the bus opens and in rolls Soul Serenade. Cole heads straight to me, sliding in beside me in the booth. His arm goes on the back of the seat before he leans down and kisses my shoulder.

“Hey.” He winks.

“You all are back early,” Logan comments.

“These two”—Gavin points to Cole and Kacen—“couldn’t be away from their women any longer. We decided to put them out of their misery and stop here to get a bite to eat before heading into the stadium.”

His comment doesn’t seem to faze either one of them.

“How was your day?” Cole’s lips are next to my ear.

Kacen and Logan are already in their own conversation, while Gavin and Tristan are digging in the cabinets.

“Good, it was nice to just hang out. So, what’s left to do for the day?”

“Just need to clean out our stuff from the room from the show last night. We did two radio spots this morning. After that, we’re done for four long days. I’ve missed hanging out with you.” He nudges my knee with his.

“Hey,” Logan says, getting our attention. “We’ve been talking.” She motions between her and Kacen. “What do you all think about finding a hotel and crashing for a few nights? Sleep in a full-size bed for a change.”

I watch as Kacen whispers something in her ear that causes her to blush.

A resounding yes comes from all of us.

“Stacy, do you mind calling to book the rooms?” Kacen asks.

“Sure. Any specifics?”

“Nope, just make sure they understand the privacy.”

“Got it, I’ll use my first name and just pick one of your last names for the reservation.”

“Mine,” Cole says beside me.

“You mind if I use your room to make the reservation? I don’t want to sound like I’m with a bunch of rock stars.”

Cole rises, allowing me to stand up. He starts to follow me, but I stop him. “I got this. Eat something.”

“You want anything?”

“No, thank you, though.” With that, I close the bedroom door. Well, it’s more of a really small closet with a bed that takes up the entire floor space. A hotel room sounds like pure Heaven right now.

I pull up the spreadsheet Cassidy created with hotels in every city. They’re all prepared to go to great lengths to have our identity remain secret just to announce that we stayed there after we’ve already gone.

Picking one, I dial the number. “Hi, I would like to make a reservation.” It only takes a few minutes once I announce who I am, and I reserve everything under Stacy Hampton.

Cole will love that.

“All set,” I state, joining them in the kitchen.

“Great, pack what you need, ladies,” Tristan says.

“Yeah, get what you need, babe. You guys can go with us to the stadium.”

“Don’t you have people for that?” I ask.

This causes all of them to break out in a fit of laughter.

“We do, but we like to do it. We like to make sure nothing is left behind.”

“I’m getting cheated,” I mumble.

“What’s that, sweets?” Cole asks.

Of course he would hear me. “Nothing,”

“How are you getting cheated?” Gavin questions.

I can feel my face heat with embarrassment. “You all are not rock stars.”

“We’re not?” Tristan asks.

“No! Where are the parties and the groupies and the people waiting on you hand and foot?” I’m genuinely asking. This is not what the media portrays them to be, or all of the others for that matter.

“Sorry to disappoint,” Kacen says, laughing.

“No, it’s not necessarily that I’m disappointed, just confused. The media acts like you all are man-whores and divas all rolled into one.”

“Well, we
are
man-whores. Don’t let the last month fool you. The three of us have had our fair share,” Gavin explains. “This one”—he points to Cole—“is stuck on you.” Again, I feel the blush. “I can’t speak for Tristan, but I’ve been busy with the label and learning what I can. I’m excited on where the future might lead us.” That’s what he says, but I can tell he’s leaving something out. Something important.

“I’m just not into it.” Tristan shrugs. “I guess we all grow up eventually.”

I want to call bullshit, but instead, let it drop. Besides, my face already looks like a damn tomato.

“Get packed. You can go with us and we’ll head straight to the hotel.”

I don’t argue; instead, I pack a bag, throwing in toiletries and clothes for a couple of days.

“Don’t worry about forgetting anything. We’re going to get the crew rooms too. The bus will be close by.”

“Do you want me to call and arrange it?” I ask.

“No, Kacen is having Cassidy take care of it. The label will cover it.”

I throw a few more things in my bag and zip it up.

“You forgot something, babe,” he says with a smile.

“What’s that?”

Leaning down, he reaches into my cubby and pulls out my Kindle charger. “Thought you might want to take this too.”

Really? As if he doesn’t make my heart race on a normal day, sweet Cole has to go and remember my Kindle charger. Most men would bitch about their girl “reading all the damn time.”

“Thank you.”

He nods, and I stand and wait for him while he throws a few things into a bag. Once he’s finished, he reaches out and takes mine from me. “I’ll have the crew load this up.”

So I guess I’m getting to see a little of the “spoiled rock star,” but this is still not at all what I expected.

I managed to fold my six-foot-four self into the back of our Suburban. Gavin likes to drive, Tristan called shotgun, and Kacen, of course, wanted to sit with his wife. Not that I’m complaining; I’m not going to make the pregnant girl climb into the back, of course. So here I sit, with Stacy squished beside me. I couldn’t have planned it better if I’d tried. The radio is up, so each of us are having our own conversations.

“You’re all scrunched.” She giggles

I rub my thumb across her knuckles; I can’t be this close to her and not be touching her. She never resists anymore.

“I’m not complaining. I’m scrunched with you.”

“I guess you think that’s a good thing?”

“I do. So tell me, what do you want to do the next couple of days?”

“Cole, it’s your time off. You’ve been working nonstop. Go out, have some fun.”

Here we go. Not exactly how I wanted to have this conversation, but it needs to finally happen. I slouch in the seat and pull her close to me. She’s facing away from me, but my arms are wrapped around her. My lips next to her ear, I start to talk.

“Stacy, I want to be your more. I want to try this with you. I haven’t touched—hell,
looked
at another woman in months. You consume me. I want you to be my girl. I want to give this a go, see if we can make this work.” I kiss the top of her head.

She doesn’t respond for a long time. Finally, she looks up at me, those green eyes putting me under her spell. “This is real to me, Cole.”

Fuck! This is not where or how I wanted to do this. I move to sit up and she does the same; her back against the seat, I lean over and block us from the view of our friends. I gently cup her face, feeling her soft skin. “Baby, I’ve never been more real about anything in my life. I want this. I want you. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but whatever it is, being in a relationship, all of that, I want it with you.”

She bites down on her lip and her eyes fill with tears. I’m just about to take it all back, to tell her we can do what we’ve been doing, anything to stop her tears. Until she nods.

“Baby?”

“Okay,” she whispers, as if she’s still uncertain. “Don’t break my heart, Cole.”

Never.

Leaning in, I kiss her, just a soft touch of my lips to hers. I feel tears on my lips.

“Don’t cry, sweets. We’re going to rock this. You and me, okay?”

“Okay,” she says again.

Fuck, I sound like I’m giving her a fucking pep talk before a damn basketball game. She’s going to dump my dumb ass before we get started.

“We’ll take it as fast or as slow as you want, but I want you to be mine. Above all else, I need to know that you’re mine.” I know with all that I am that we will make this work. Failing her, these feelings I have for her, is not an option.

“Okay,” she repeats. This time, a slow smile graces her lips.

She’s mine. That was easier than I thought, but then again, I’ve been showing her every fucking day that she’s all I see.

We pull into the hotel and the paparazzi are ready and waiting. Someone tipped them off, and I’m sure it was Brian fucking Wilson, none other than the CEO of Stone Records.

“Fucking Brian,” Kacen seethes. He’s pissed too.

We want a few nights to just be us. Most of the time, people will leave us alone if we don’t roll in a huge entourage. Unless someone tips them off. We’ve had a feeling it’s been Brian for a while now. It all traces back to him. Jones wouldn’t do that; he’s one of the good guys.

“Stacy, I need you to stay close to me. The valet will take care of the car and our bags, so just grab your purse and stay close.”