Backstage with Her Ex (16 page)

‘You think she's going to take you back after you walked away
from her? Twice?'

Nate's gut tightened at the risk he was going to take. ‘Hell if
I know. But I have to try to convince her. I don't care what you say, I'm not
backing down.'

‘But London—?'

He leaned into Dario's face. ‘Will you listen to me? Yes,
London.'

‘No, Dumbo.' Dario's finger prodded Nate's chest but he was
shaking his head and laughing. ‘You listen to me. Not London. Manchester.'

‘What?'

‘It's that music contest thing tomorrow. She won't be in
London. She'll be in Manchester.' He shook his head. ‘Thank God someone's kept
an eye on things while you moped around the house with a sore head for two
weeks.'

‘You kept an eye on her?'

Dario shrugged, flashing a wry smile. ‘Well, she kind of grew
on me. And you were different because of her. In a good way.'

Manchester. He'd forgotten. Dario was right: he'd been too busy
staring at the bottom of a liquor bottle to keep up with the days.

‘Cheers, mate.' He grabbed his friend's big bear face between
his hands and kissed his bald head. ‘I owe you.'

‘Yeah, yeah, I know. More than you can ever imagine.' Dario
drew away, laughing. ‘I just hope she's worth it.'

‘Oh, she is. But first I have to find her.'

FIFTEEN

‘Third place goes
to No Limits, Chesterton High School!'

‘Oh wow. Just wow.'
Oh My God.
Sasha couldn't hear her own thoughts above the screams and her hammering heart. It was more then she'd dared hope for. ‘Quick everyone. Up onto the stage.'

A sea of faces came in and out of focus as she stepped up to accept the award and passed it around to the choir. Just to see their delighted faces made this moment the proudest of her life. They'd come so far and worked so darned hard.

It was just such a shame that Nathan couldn't be here to share it with them. After all, he'd done so much to get them there.

Her heart contracted a little. Too bad. It was his loss to have made such a difference and not even know.

She drew in air and tried to steady herself. Ever since he'd left she'd ricocheted from sheer joy at the memories they'd made to utter despair. And now she had to speak through a throat thick with emotion.

‘Just a quick thank you to everyone who has helped in this wonderful achievement. You were very kind and gave of your time generously. We owe you a huge debt. Without a doubt we wouldn't have got here without you.'

She hoped, if Nathan ever saw this on the Internet, if he'd even bother to look, that he would know she meant him, more than anyone else. He'd given them all such a gift of self-belief; if only he could find it within himself.

A movement in the wings distracted her momentarily, but when she turned her head to look she couldn't see anything but blackness and the folds of open curtains.

Strange.

Focus.

‘Er...and I wanted to say how proud I am of these wonderful gifted kids—'

Now the tiny hairs all over her body prickled, making her lose track of her speech. Great. She was going to be the laughing stock of the whole competition.
Teacher struck dumb at singing contest.

But...something...

She glanced again to the side of the stage and saw the silhouette of a man. Proud jawline. The arrogant stance that told the world he didn't give a damn, when she knew he'd cared deeply.

But not deeply enough.

Nathan.

Her heart stalled as he caught her gaze. Every fibre in her body craved his touch; heat pooled in her abdomen then seeped out to her skin. Was he here for the show? The final act? But there'd been nothing on the programme about a special guest.

In which case...did that mean...? What she thought it might mean? That he was here for her? Her chest grew tighter and tighter.

Hello? An audience of three thousand...

Oops. She leaned into the microphone again. ‘And...er...so...thank you to the organisers...' Damned dry mouth.

She looked over to him again. Was he meant to be presenting an award? Was he supposed to be up here too? She raised her eyebrows to him in question.
What am I supposed to do now?

He held up his palm and shook his head, urging her to continue her speech.

Great, all very well for you to say that now, Mr Hotshot. Now that I'm truly speechless.

The sea of faces started to look bemused. People began to shuffle, stare down at their shoes, whisper.
This was the teacher who made the news? Catatonic.

Oh, hell
.

‘Er...and thank you all very much. Goodnight.' Stepping away from the microphone, she whispered to the choir, ‘Very well done. Now we just have to go backstage to wait for the other announcements.'

While she either calmed down or got arrested for the murder of an infuriating rock god with an ass to die for.

I was provoked, Your Honour.

Wiping her sweaty palms down her dress, she walked off the stage on extremely shaky legs flanked by fourteen hyper-excited singers, who surged towards Nate giving high fives, squealing, jumping, pulling at his arms.

Above their heads he watched her, his eyes assessing, unsure, cautious.

Good.

It took a few moments to herd them into some kind of order, then he held out his arms to her as if she might walk straight into them.

Not a chance. ‘Great timing, Mr Munro. Couldn't you have waited until I'd finished my moment of glory on stage? Now the world is going to think I haven't got a sensible brain cell in my head.'

He flashed her a grin that made him look devilishly handsome. ‘No. I think I win that particular award.'

‘Well, we knew that already.'

Wariness flickered across his eyes. ‘Can we talk?'

‘Sure, go right ahead.'

‘Somewhere private?'
Please.
His eyes pleaded with her as he gestured towards the choir, whose heads bounced back and forth between Nate and Sasha as if watching a tennis match. ‘Fourteen's a crowd?'

‘Aren't you used to dealing with large audiences?' She folded her arms, enjoying every moment of his predicament. ‘I can't leave them, and I'm sure they'd all love to hear what you have to say.'

‘Yes! Yes! Yes!'

For someone so used to working with adoring fans hanging off his every word, he looked strangely sheepish. Pale even.

He coughed, his mouth tightening into a grimace. ‘Okay. Well...That was...awesome, No Limits. Congratulations everyone. I've booked a couple of limos for afterwards and we're all going to go for a celebratory ride. Okay?' He pulled them into a tight huddle. ‘Now, Miss Sweet and I have something very important to discuss, so go back to your seats and we'll be along shortly.'

‘Are you going to kiss her?' It was George, the boy who reminded Nate so much of his brother. Lovely George. Knew all the right questions.

Nate looked right at her. Deep down into her soul, which did a little jig no matter how much she tried to stop it. ‘Yes. If she'll let me.'

More whoops.

The folded arms clenched across her chest, she shook her head resolutely. ‘No. He. Is. Not.'

‘Well, no man kisses a lady, with an audience.'

A collective of shoulders drooped. ‘Awww...sir...that's not fair.'

Silence descended as they disappeared back into the theatre.

Nate grew serious. She thought about kicking up more of a fuss, but, what the heck? She should at least hear him out. Then she'd kick that sorry splendid ass.

‘Sash, I came to apologise.'

‘And so you should. But here? Now? When I have fourteen teenagers to chaperone?'

‘I wasn't thinking straight. I thought—'

She blinked, trying to contain the hope rising in her chest. They'd been here before and it hadn't ended nicely. ‘That what Nate Munro wants, Nate Munro always gets, right? I'm surprised you didn't hop up onto the stage there and then. Do a little song or something...just for me. Or make a cringing speech. A flash mob. A huge embarrassing gesture. That would've ensured a few headlines.'

‘Some things are just better kept out of the limelight.'

His eyes were warm with flecks of gold. Or it could have been the reflection of the stage lighting. Either way, the effect was mesmerising.
He
was mesmerising, even at his most vulnerable, right now, out of his depth and yet still commanding every scrap of her attention.

A lump squeezed in her throat. ‘Oh? What kind of things?'

‘I love you,' he said, the words carrying the weight of his emotions, steady and true. ‘From the second I saw you in Dario's arms, all feisty and fighting and flustered. I just didn't think it would be enough for us to overcome all these damned obstacles.' He stopped. Took a breath. Continued. ‘And I was pretty damn stupid to run away.'

‘Again.'

‘Yes. Again.

‘See, I've been running away for a long time—from myself, mainly. And then you came along again, out of the blue, making me feel things. Things I didn't want to feel. It was too intense. I wasn't ready for it—you were so fresh, so bright and then...so brave. So beautiful. You bowled me over. You bowled me right out of the emotional wasteland I'd been wallowing in and, wham—straight into full Technicolor feelings.' He smiled his just-for-her smile. ‘I was scared. Terrified. I didn't want to feel those things. I didn't want to fall in love with you. I wasn't sure I even knew how—but you showed me.'

His arm wound round her waist and he edged her deeper into the folds of the black curtain backstage. Not in some brash Nate rock-star kind of way, but in a gentle Nathan kind of way. His closeness, his smell and heat wrapped around her like a cloak of safety.

‘And—?' She should have said more, but the butterflies had hatched again in her stomach and were doing a crazy dance.

‘I want to create a future with you, Sash. Somehow. You don't fit into my life and I don't fit into yours, so let's make a new one for ourselves. You and me.'

Her body screamed
yes
. But she held back. ‘I can't. I just can't risk falling for you third time lucky. If you left me again I don't think I'd get out whole.'

‘I won't leave you. I love you.'

He loved her.

She tried to ignore the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. Yes, he was right, it was scary. But what was there in life that was really worth having, really worth taking a risk on, that wasn't just a little bit scary? If only she could believe that he actually meant every word.

‘Since you left me
for the second time
I've got busy, quit my job. I'm going to live a little before I find Mr Right and settle down with my slippers and the safest car in Europe.'

* * *

‘Mr Right?' Nate felt his fists clench... No other man would ever get the chance to touch her.

Stop.

Dragging in oxygen, he let his anger go and focused on loving her, even when she didn't want him to.

Stroking his hand over those breathtaking red curls, he told her, ‘No one could love you more than I do. Heart and soul. You got me. I know I'm far from perfect, but I have changed. I want to be with you. I don't care about anything else. Answer me this—do you think you can love someone more than you love me?'

The pause gave him hope.

‘No...Nathan. I don't. But I don't see how it can work.'

Nate's heart bounded up into his mouth. He'd blown the whole damned thing. He had to convince her that he was ready to fight for her, not with his fists, but with his heart.

‘I know you hate my world, so I've taken an indefinite sabbatical. And I've done some stupid pointless things in my past, and I want to make amends, so I've set up a foundation for kids with special needs and I want you to help me run it. You and me.'

She stepped back, placing her palm between them. ‘Whoa, not so fast. You've taken a sabbatical?'

‘Time off, just to—well—to spend time with you and hopefully run a charity in Marshall's memory. In London.'

She smiled again. ‘Gosh, really? That's such a wonderful thing to do. And I'd be honoured to help. But—'

‘I do have some commitments I have to keep. The occasional dinner, a couple of small gigs. They won't take me away for long. And I'll be back. Straight away.'

The smile slipped. ‘So I won't even be invited to these events?'

‘Do you want to be?'

‘I'd like to give it a try. It is only fair that if you step into my world, I step into yours.' Her brows lifted. ‘I'm sure a girl could get used to designer dresses, fancy shoes and fine champagne, given time.'

‘Then you'll be with me every step of the way. By my side. Whatever you want. Anything.' He took her hand and held it against his chest.

‘Anything?' A glimmer of a coy smile flitted back over her lips, a spark of light in her eyes, her hands tiptoeing up his shirt. ‘So, I have a new bucket list.'

‘Of course you have.' He felt the smile start from his heart and spread upwards. ‘Does it include kissing a famous but hapless rock star backstage at the Manchester Globe Theatre?'

‘It could.' As she pressed her lips against his he took the chance to tell her how he felt through his kiss. Just in case she missed his point.
I love you
. She stepped back breathless and flustered. ‘Check.'

God, she was beautiful. ‘Excellent. I could grow to really like lists. How about falling in love with a famous but hapless rock star?'

She nodded, hesitantly at first, then more confidently. ‘Yes. Definitely. Very definitely. Head over heels.'

‘Even more excellent.' He was on a roll, so he had to strike while the girl was hot. ‘And I don't suppose it could also include marrying that same famous but hapless rock star?'

‘Hmm. You're not exactly marriage material. You're an impulsive nomad who runs at the first whiff of commitment.' But she didn't let go of his hand. ‘Lucky for you that's exactly the kind of guy I'm looking for.'

‘So is that a yes? You'll marry me?' He whipped her into his arms, vowing silently never to let her go again.

She wound her hands round his neck. ‘Was that what you LA people call a proposal?'

‘I guess. Yes. Yes, it was. Marry me?'

‘Hmm. I don't know...' But her long slow smile gave him the answer he'd been hoping for. Then her long slow kiss confirmed it. She was his. For ever. When she pulled back she bit her lip and wriggled her hips against his. ‘But you'll have to do some serious work to convince me.'

‘As long as it takes, sweet thing.'
For ever.
‘That's the bit I'm looking forward to the most.'

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from BLAME IT ON THE CHAMPAGNE by Nina Harrington.