There had to be a way around all of this.

  Now if he could just figure out exactly what he wanted, then he could figure out what he should do about this personal thing he now seemed to have with Hannah.

  THIRTEEN

  Hannah sat out on her dock with her guitar. The evening was her favorite time because she could unwind and relax so long as she didn’t have any engagements. Once she and Cash started touring, there wouldn’t be much down time or evenings spent on the lake.

  There were only a couple boats out on the water. Every now and then Hannah would glance up and see someone she knew and offer a wave. No way would she want to be anywhere else than Beaumont Bay. This was the most relaxed place to live and work.

  She didn’t bring her notebook out with her. She’d opted just to work on the new material with only her guitar. Sometimes getting back to the basics before building and layering was the best exercise for her vocal chords and mentality.

  The cell at her side vibrated against the wooden dock and Hannah stopped to glance at the screen.

  You look sexy

  Will’s text had her smiling and glancing out to the water. Sure enough, there he was on his boat. He didn’t wave and she didn’t, either. As far as anyone was concerned, they only had a working relationship.

  But she hadn’t been with him in a couple days and she was getting cranky.

  She grabbed her phone and shot off a reply.

  Sex on a boat sounds fun and private

  It didn’t take long for his comeback to pop on the screen.

  Maybe you can sneak down to my dock when it gets dark

  A shiver of excitement ran down her spine. Hannah smiled and told him she’d be there. When she set down her phone, she picked up her guitar and got back to singing, but she couldn’t get her mind off the fact that Will could see her. There was something arousing knowing he was watching her and found her sexy. She wanted him to find her attractive, to want to spend more time with her.

  They had a physical relationship right now, and a working relationship, but a part of her wanted more. She wanted to get to know him on a deeper level, to know what made him want to be a producer and get into this industry. She wanted to know about the dynamics between him and his brothers, because they all seemed so powerful in their own ways. They all complemented each other.

  But desiring a deeper relationship—a romantic relationship—could ruin her reputation. How would the media spin everything? Negative headlines typically meant more attention and that only spawned even more publicity...and not the kind she or Will needed right now, just as she was reconstructing her career and helping Cash relaunch his.

  Maybe they could just keep everything behind closed doors until they figured out how best to handle all of this. Everything was new, the professional and the personal, so this chapter in both their lives would be a delicate one. Each step had to be calculated.

  Hannah couldn’t wait until night fell. She gathered up her guitar and headed back to the dock and up the stairs toward her home. Maybe she should take a little more care with getting ready for Will. There was a flirty outfit she had in mind that would certainly drive him a little crazy.

  As anxious as she was for physical intimacy, she also wanted to dig in to his mind and find out if her feelings were just because of the lust or if there was more.

  Because something told her...she was falling for Will Sutherland.

  * * *

  Will helped Hannah step onto his boat. She wore a little black strapless dress that hugged her chest and flared out just a bit and then stopped just below that delicious ass. One tiny gust of wind and he’d be able to see exactly what panties she’d chosen for the night.

  She had on her signature cowgirl boots and her hair was down and curled. She’d lightened up on the makeup and was a little less Hannah the superstar and a little more Hannah, small-town girl.

  And damn if he didn’t enjoy both.

  “This is amazing,” she exclaimed as he led her down to the galley. “You have parties on here?”

  Will escorted her to the cabin where she could put her bag. “I have thrown a few parties. But tonight, it’s a private party.”

  She dropped her small bag onto his bed and he barely resisted the urge to toss her down and get everything going. He wanted her...bad. Which was nothing new, but he knew he needed to calm down. Obviously, that’s why she’d come here, but she’d been on board for all of two minutes. Surely, he could control himself long enough to welcome her.

  “What do you say we go up to the aft deck? I have something set up for us near the hot tub.”

  “Will anyone see us?” she asked.

  “It’s dark and I only have the dim, deck floor lights on.” He reached for her hands and squeezed. “Trust me?”

  Hannah smiled. “Of course.”

  He led her up to the deck and hoped she liked the surprise he’d planned. After seeing her on the dock earlier, he’d put a plan into motion. She’d looked like a dream sitting there with her guitar and her hair blowing in the wind, her bare feet dangling over the edge of the dock. This was the country gal the public loved so much. This was that down-to-earth woman who could relate to her fans. She hadn’t had a stitch of bling on and she had looked almost innocent.

  “Wow,” Hannah exclaimed as she glanced around. “You really went all out—unless you had some chef do all of this.”

  Will smacked his hand to his chest. “I’m offended that you think I couldn’t put this together. It’s just some finger foods and wine. Nothing major.”

  “Well, it looks really nice.”

  She removed her boots and set them aside, then took a seat on the cushions he’d placed on the floor around their deck picnic. She adjusted her dress around her as Will took a seat next to her.

  “Is this a date?” she asked.

  Will met her gaze. He really didn’t know how to answer. He hadn’t thought of the evening in that manner, but now that she was here, enjoying the surprise he’d put together just for her, he easily saw why she’d asked.

  Gavin’s question about dating Hannah came back to him. Will had vehemently denied that they were dating.

  “I’ll take your silence to mean you’re terrified to answer that,” she laughed. “It’s okay.”

  Will reached for the wine from the ice bucket and uncorked it. He poured two glasses while thinking of what to say, but that’s when he realized that maybe he did want this to be a date. So what if he did? She didn’t seem upset about the idea and he wanted to know the side of Hannah that only her family knew. There was more to this woman who held so much passion for her family, her life, and her career.

  He handed her a glass of cabernet. “I respect you, Hannah. I know we have a working relationship and a closed-door relationship, but I don’t want you to think that I’m using you for sex.”

  Hannah swirled her wine and pursed her lips. “I never thought you were using me,” she told him. “Do you feel I’m using you?”

  Will couldn’t help but laugh. “Use me all you want, because I’m having a hell of a time.”

  Hannah set aside her glass and reached for a napkin and a few cubes of cheese. As she popped one after another into her mouth, she seemed to be mulling something over.

  “I wouldn’t mind if this was a date,” she finally said.

  That bold statement made him realize one thing. He wanted that, too.

  “Then it’s a date.”

  Hannah’s wide smile was so genuine, it hit him straight in the heart.

  No. Hearts should not be involved here. There was no time for more than a physical relationship, yet he’d just admitted that this evening was a date. Now he’d gone and crossed another line he could never step back from.

  Their journey was progressing at a faster rate than he could keep up with. So long as everything stayed just between them, maybe they could maneuver these uncharted waters together and hopefully keep their reputations, and Elite’s, positive and stellar.

  “Tell me about your songs.”

  Hannah’s gaze jerked to him. He’d clearly caught her off guard.

  “My songs?” she asked.

  Will nodded, then grabbed a grape and popped it into his mouth. “Tell me more about what makes you want to be a songwriter and why you’re hiding your lyrics.”

  Hannah pulled in a deep breath and reached for her wine again. “I’ve always jotted down thoughts. Even before I knew I wanted to be a singer, I’d doodle one-liners or come up with a chorus. I never did much more, but I always had little stories in my heart.”

  “All songs tell a story.”

  She nodded. “Exactly. So as I got older, once people realized I could sing and I wasn’t just going to get a deal because of my famous grandmother, I would escape from the chaos and write. It became like my therapy, if that makes sense.”

  Will shifted, crossing his legs so he could face her fully. The soft glow from the trim along the stern and around the hot tub was the perfect lighting. They were out in the open on the dark water, but private.

  “Cash says the same,” Will said. “He’s always been writing and he’s damn good. He’s done a few songs for other Elite artists. Songwriting takes a special talent. So why haven’t your lyrics gone anywhere besides that notebook?”

  “Mags wasn’t too fond of my stuff,” Hannah admitted. “She would always say she was, but then put off letting me record them, saying maybe for the next album. Or she’d try to convince me that maybe I should sell those songs and let someone else do them. But that’s not what I wanted, what I want. I’m not writing songs to make money. That’s never been the goal. I want to sing my own words from my heart.”

  Because she was that passionate. There was no denying how amazing a singer Hannah was, but he had no doubt when she sang her own music, there would be a difference.

  “Why wouldn’t Mags let you?” he asked. “Did you show her your stuff?”

  Hannah sighed. “I didn’t show her the notebook you saw. I actually wrote out one of my songs, but didn’t tell her whose it was. She loved it.”

  Will slid his hand over her bare knee and stroked his thumb back and forth. He couldn’t not touch her, especially when she was opening up to him. Hannah was the type of person who wouldn’t do that easily and he wanted to be supportive and listen.

  “Once I told her it was mine,” she went on, “Mags quickly changed her tune. She said my schedule was full and so was my song list. Maybe for the next album. That became the cycle. Anything to keep me from doing my own music. I know she and my grandmother both debuted songs at the same time, and my gram made it bigger. Maybe Mags just thought she could live through me or maybe she was trying to prove to my gram that Mags could make me an even bigger star. I’m not sure.”

  There was no doubt in his mind that Mags had some hidden agenda where Hannah was concerned. If Hannah had done her own music, likely Mags would’ve seen that as a shift in who was actually in control.

  Will knew how important that was to artists. Cash loved writing and recording his own songs and to have a piece of his creativity stripped away would certainly affect his work. He couldn’t imagine what Mags had done to Hannah’s spirit. He hadn’t thought of that before. When he and Hannah and Hallie all discussed contract negotiations, none of this had been mentioned. Had Hannah been gun-shy? Had she just wanted to get away from Mags and then try again?

  “Does Hallie know about this notebook?”

  Hannah took another sip of wine and shook her head. “She knows I’d like to do my own music, that’s why I ultimately left Mags. But she doesn’t know about the notebook that you saw. I didn’t intend for anyone to see that until it was completely ready to be presented.”

  “Yet you showed me.”

  Hannah laughed. “You stole it and looked without permission.”

  “Semantics.”

  “You learn that from your lawyer brother?” she joked with a wide smile.

  “Gavin has taught me enough,” Will agreed. “We all actually feed off each other, if that makes sense. It’s just a special bond.”

  “I get that. I have a special bond with Hallie, too. Being a twin is something most people don’t understand.”

  Will slid his hand up a little higher, easing beneath the hem of her dress. “Oh, I’m very aware of how you two operate.”

  Hannah set her glass to the side and inched closer to him, causing his hand to travel farther up her thigh.

  “You didn’t suffer,” she joked. “I’ll admit the first time was totally my fault, but at the house when you thought she was me, that was all on you.”

  Will shook his head. “I have no idea how I could confuse the two of you. The difference is so clear to me now.”

  “Not many people can tell us apart when I’m not all dressed up in Hannah Banks mode.”

  His fingertips grazed the edge of her panties at her hip. “I like this Hannah. She’s laid-back, she’s calm, she’s open.”

  Hannah tipped her head and kept that killer smile in place. “Opening up to you seems easy. I haven’t found anyone other than Hallie or my gram that I can really talk to.”

  And yet he’d seen those lyrics. They were not only close to her heart, but some were also about him. That spoke volumes about where this relationship was headed.

  There was so much more here than sex. Intimacy had many different levels and they’d just dug down deeper to the next one. Two weeks ago, a night like this would have scared the hell out of him, but now... Will wasn’t opposed to the idea of seeing where this went.

  At the same time, though, they still had to be careful. If the press caught wind of the fact that he was seeing Hannah outside of work, they would speculate as to why she’d signed on with Elite, and they would wonder why Will’s brother was the only opening act for her new tour. Elite and Hannah would have a black mark.

  His name and his label’s reputation had been important to him since he’d become the owner. With some of the top names in the industry trusting him, Will refused to let his hormones get in the way of his business.

  The burden was his to carry and he had to protect all parties involved if he couldn’t let Hannah go back to being only a professional acquaintance.

  “What do you say we take this picnic into my cabin?” he suggested.

  Hannah’s eyebrows rose. “I think you have the best ideas.”

  Will guided her toward his cabin, but didn’t tell her that he’d never taken a woman in here. He’d had parties on his boat, of course, but nothing wild or out of control. His boat was his escape when he wanted to be alone and he’d never once brought a date back here.

  Hannah was special. She was working her way further and further into his personal world. He just had to figure out how far he was willing to let this go, because if he wasn’t careful, someone could wind up getting hurt.

  FOURTEEN

  “It’s absolutely perfect.”

  Hannah turned from side to side in her floor-length mirror and made sure her white dress was smoothed down, her hair wasn’t frizzy, and her makeup was perfect. Hallie had brought in a team to make sure everything was top-notch for the photo shoot today.

  But Will wasn’t here yet.

  He’d texted that he’d gotten caught up with the contractor going over some final details at his studio and would be here as soon as he could break away.

  She really shouldn’t have butterflies in her stomach. This shoot was just about doing pictures for another magazine. She’d done hundreds in the past. But she’d never done one celebrating women or for anything about inspiring future artists. She’d never done one where she was also trying to relaunch her look and sound. She was nervous and excited and, damn it, she wanted Will by her side.

  In the past, she’d wanted Hallie, but lately, she wanted both of the people who were special to her.

  So what did that say about the relationship she’d developed with Will? And what did that say about the future? She not only had her career to protect, but she also had her heart.

  “Are you happy with how everything turned out?” Hallie asked, meeting Hannah’s eyes in the reflection in the mirror.

  Hannah nodded. “I think this was the best choice.”

  They were going with the simple white theme, but some photos would be outside on the dock and some would be inside in the studio. Hannah wanted her fans to see all sides of her. After Will had said he was attracted to both sides of her, she realized her fans likely were, too.

  “Are you ready to go downstairs?” Hallie asked. “I believe they are all set up for you.”

  Hannah had stalled as long as possible, waiting on Will to arrive, but she didn’t want to hold up the crew anymore.

  She turned to her sister and smiled. “Let’s go.”

  Once they were downstairs, the photographer went over what they had in mind and the specifications from the journalist and the art department from the magazine.

  She would start outside on the dock with one of her guitars. Hannah chose the one that her gram had given her when she’d turned twenty-five and won her first major award. Hannah loved this one most of all and her gram would love seeing this in the spread.

  Hannah and Hallie escorted the crew out to the dock, where they had already set up their equipment. Hannah lifted the flowy white skirt so as not to drag it over the grass. She’d never worn this dress, but the sexy, down-to-earth, almost boho style really spoke to her and she had a feeling she was going to love these photos more than any others she’d had done.

  Which got her mind going in the direction of her new album cover. She and Will hadn’t discussed that, but she already had some ideas.

  Hannah listened to the photographer, about how he wanted her to pose. She took a seat on the dock and Hallie adjusted the skirt and Hannah’s hair. Once everything was in place, Hallie handed over the guitar.