Full Circle (Rockin' Country #3) (8 page)

“Shell! Stace!”

Her friends’ heads snapped up, and they ran for each other, wrapping themselves up in a group hug.

“I’m so happy to see you,” Shell told her as they pulled back.

“I’m so happy to see you too. It feels like forever,” Hannah told her, pulling a frowny face. Turning, she pulled Stacey into a hug too, but they had seen each other much more recently, since she’d been with them the previous week at the Grammys.

Turning around, Shell looked for the two bags she’d brought on the baggage carousel. “How have things been going?”

“They’ve been great. I’m hanging out and that’s about it. I can go shopping when I want to, I can spend time with Garrett when I want to, or I can do anything else that I want. This is definitely what I was looking for when I said I wanted to quit.”

Shell took a minute to look at her friend. Hannah’s cheeks were full, not gaunt like they had been when she was so stressed. Her eyes did not hold dark circles under them, and the smile that lit up her face was genuine. This change had been good for her, and as jealous as Shell was, she was so happy for her friend. “It looks good on you. I haven’t seen you look this healthy in a long time.”

“It’s all that exercising with Garrett. Do you know how depressing it is when you get on a treadmill next to your husband and he’s got like sculpted abs, and he’s not even breathing hard five minutes into a run, but you sound like you’re dying? I had to step it up.”

Shell grinned, laughing along with her.

“The question is, how are you? Have you made a decision about what you want to do? I wasn’t kidding when I said you should come out with us. There is no reason you shouldn’t be happy too.” The words were spoken softly, as Hannah didn’t want to make her mad or spook her. She knew that anything Shell did would have to be her own decision.

Pulling her lip between her teeth, Shell reached out and grabbed one bag. “I know, and trust me, I’ve been thinking about it a lot, but I have to get there in my own head. I have to give myself permission to give up on this and to be okay with it. I know it makes no sense to anyone else, but it has to make sense to me.”

“No, I get that.” And she did. Hannah understood Shell better than anyone, and she knew before Shell would allow herself to be happy, she would have to come to grips with possibly disappointing herself. “Whenever you’re ready, we’ll be here.”

“I appreciate that, but I want to talk to Jared about it first. I’ve got to make sure he wants me around. I can’t make this decision until I know for sure what his feelings are.”

Hannah wanted to throttle her. Everyone on the bus knew what Jared’s feelings were, but Hannah knew it wasn’t her place to push Shell into a decision. Didn’t mean she liked it, but she would have to respect it.

Grabbing her other bag, Shell turned to face the other woman. “Okay, this is all my stuff. You ready to go to the hotel?”

“Yup. Stace, you got yours?”

The other woman nodded, and the three of them left together, hoping no one got a picture. Garrett’s phone wasn’t attached at the hip like it had once been, but he was still known to browse sites when bored. With Hannah’s help, Shell had gotten her and Jared a hotel room for the night. Stace was secretive about her plans, and honestly, Hannah didn’t want to know because she didn’t want to lie to her husband. They would be getting ready at Jared and Shell’s hotel before they surprised the guys.

“I have my bag in the car, and I told Garrett I may be a little late to the show because I was ‘getting ready for Valentine’s Day, so we’re clear. I have Rick texting me after they go on. I had to get your backstage passes cleared through him, but he’s been sworn to complete secrecy.”

“How did you manage that?”

Hannah grinned. “One thing I learned about these guys pretty quickly is that they love their energy drinks, but all energy drinks are not created equal. Someone keeps stealing the brand all the guys love, and no one will come clean. I caught Rick doing it the other night when I got up for a snack. I’m keeping his secret if he keeps mine.”

Shell high-fived her. “I taught you well.”

“That you did, but for the love of God, do you think you could drive us to the hotel?” She held out the keys to her friend. “Traffic wasn’t bad, but their roads here are so confusing.”

This was just like old times, and Shell was grateful. At one point, she was worried that she would never have this kind of relationship with Hannah again; now she knew she would never take it for granted.

*     *     *

Two hours later, they all sat in front of the full-length mirrors in the hotel suite, doing their hair and makeup for the night.

“I really wish Garrett didn’t like my hair curly, it’s such a pain in the butt,” Hannah grumbled as she took her curling wand and wrapped another piece of hair around it. “It lasts forever, but it takes at least forty-five minutes for me to do all my hair.”

“He likes that wild, just-been-fucked look,” Shell quipped as she finished rolling hers. Her hair wouldn’t hold the kind of curl Hannah’s did, so she never bothered trying.

Stacey snorted. “Pretty sure my brother just likes fucking his wife.”

Meeting their eyes in the mirror, Hannah grinned. “He does, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, but I don’t know how you do that, my arms would get so tired.”

“They do.” She sighed, setting the wand down in order to shake out her arms. “Whenever I decide to do this, I always think about cutting my hair, but then I can’t bring myself to do it.” She picked the wand back up and went about doing her final section.

“No way, do not cut your hair. You have the best hair, it’s so healthy and shiny,” Stacey begged. “I love your hair.”

“I know, and I’ve worked hard to get it that way. Once I stopped putting the blonde highlights in it, that made a huge difference.”

Shell tilted her head to the side. “Has it gotten darker?”

“A little,” Hannah confirmed. “The older I get the more red highlights I get too. It’s evolving, kind of like me.” She laughed. “Finally.” She sighed as she did her last curl and unplugged the curling wand.

“Good, we have right at an hour before we can leave, so we should be running right on time.”

They did their makeup and then went about putting their clothes on.

“Do you like these?” Hannah asked as she went to put on a pair of black leather booties.

“Yes, where did you get them?” Shell asked as put on her stilettos.

“They were actually sent to me. I’m not sure by who, but they are the most comfortable things, even though they have a four-inch heel on them.” She finished snapping the clasp that would keep them in place before standing up and smoothing her dress down her thighs. “Do I look okay?”

Stacey grinned at her sister-in-law. “You look hot. You should make me a niece or nephew tonight.”

Hannah laughed before she walked over to the full-length mirror and inspected herself as she turned this way and that. She wore a red bandage dress that was lower cut than she normally dared, but it was Valentine’s Day. Over it, she’d put on a black, leather half-jacket, along with the shoes. Her makeup was dark and her curls were perfect. She did look hot.

“As do you. C’mon, ladies, let’s go get our guys.”

*  *  *

A
s they roamed the back hallways of the Wireless Center, they could hear Black Friday already on their fifth song.

“We’ll come in at a good time, and we won’t have to wait forever,” Hannah told them as they flashed their badges to the venue’s security.

Making their way further backstage, they ran into Rick.

“I was wondering when you ladies would make it here.” He reached in, kissing Hannah on the cheek, before doing the same with Shell and Stacey.

“We had planned to be here a bit earlier, but beauty takes time,” Hannah joked.

Rick did a once-over on the three of them, and then offered them a thumbs up. “And beautiful the trio of you do look. You’re dangerous, if I do say so myself.”

Shell giggled. “Thank you.”

“Those dudes aren’t going to know what to do with themselves when they see the three of you looking this way.”

That’s what they were all hoping for.

*     *     *

Garrett glanced over to the side of the stage, wondering when the hell Hannah was going to get there. He was starting to get worried. They had one song to go, and he still hadn’t caught sight of her. As he looked closer, he saw a group of females making their way through the crowd. It was then that he finally caught a glimpse of her standing next to Shell and his sister. He completely missed his cue as he saw what she was wearing, but luckily the crowd picked it up for him. His wife was hot as hell, and there was no way he was letting his sister be alone with Brad in that little scrap of a thing she wore that some women called a dress.

Jared walked up, still playing. “What’s going on?”

He pointed over to the side of the stage, before putting the mic up to his mouth and picking up where he should, chuckling when Jared also fucked up. He must have caught a glimpse of Shell.

Normally, he savored the last song of the night—wanting to remember everything about it. Tonight, he couldn’t wait for it to be over. As soon as the last chord was played, he’d said his goodbyes, and dropped the mic.

“Holy shit,” he breathed as he hurried over to his wife. “Is this what you’ve been doing all afternoon?”

She was almost breathless as she saw the look in his eye. “This and picking them up.” She pointed over to Shell, who was wrapped tightly in Jared’s arms.

He reached out and stopped Stacey from going to Brad’s. “Does Dad know you’re wearing some gauze and a band aid?” he asked, not able to keep the smartness out of his tone.

“No, does mom know that you like to call your wife a groupie?” she retorted, glancing pointedly at her brother.

The two of them were locked in a stare down, and neither one broke away until Hannah grabbed Garrett’s hand. “It’s Valentine’s Day. Leave them alone.” She pulled him so that he stood facing her instead of the other couple. He heaved a breath and then put his lips to her ear.

“C’mon,” he whispered. “I’ve got us a nice, quiet place to go for the night. I want you all to myself.” He reached under the jacket, grasping her waist with his large hand.

She couldn’t wait.

*     *     *