And then I’d pulled her onto me, turned onto my back, and brought her down on my cock again. Just so I could lose myself in the warmth and perfection of her.

  Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  I was supposed to be cleaning up my image so that Olivia and Connor weren’t damaged—and I was supposed to be doing it quickly so I could save my band’s spot on this tour. And instead I’d gotten drunk with the girl next door and dragged her into my bed.

  And there was no way in hell I was going to get out of this, because she was also the sweetest, most innocent person I’d ever met in my entire life. I’d not only fucked the girl next door but also fucked someone who had probably never even met a real live rock star before and had been so starstruck that she hadn’t known what she was doing.

  Oh. My. God.

  I slid out of bed as quietly as I could, grabbed my clothes off the ground, and put them on so quickly it was probably some sort of record. I found my shoes in no time flat, grabbed my wallet, and left the room.

  Please, please let her leave before I got back. And please let her keep her mouth shut. Please let her leave the tour and never come back, and please let this be the end of it. Because I couldn’t afford the trouble I was going to get in if anyone found out about this.

  And I didn’t want to see her face when she woke up and realized that she might be the biggest mistake of my entire career.

  LILA

  Anna was looking at me with eyes so narrow I wondered if she could even see through them.

  “So you’re telling me you two went to his room and just talked, and then you fell asleep on the couch and that was that? Nothing happened between you?”

  I gulped and tried to keep my face as neutral as possible. I mean I was obviously failing—the way she was looking at me told me that much—but I was going to do my absolute best. Because Anna was already mad at me for having flirted with Rivers Shine like he was the last man on earth, and like she hadn’t been warning me all night to stay away from him. She looked like she was about to explode with frustration at what I’d done.

  And she only thought I’d fallen asleep on his couch.

  She didn’t need to hear that what I’d actually done was stay up most of the night drinking and flirting with him, only to actually fall into bed with him at the end of the night, my body screaming with need for him and his body proving to be quite willing. And after that...

  I almost groaned aloud at the memory of his teeth on my skin, his fingertips dancing along my hip as he moved to spread my legs for him. I felt my back arching of its own accord as I felt the ghost of that touch and remembered the way he’d slid into me and moved so slowly, so deeply, that I hadn’t had any doubt about it being more than just sex.

  And the way he’d said my name as he increased his pace...

  “Lila,” Anna snapped. “Are you even listening to me right now?”

  No, I hadn’t been listening. I’d been too busy remembering how Rivers’ weight had felt on top of me, and the way my body had responded to him.

  “Sorry,” I gasped, knowing full well that my cheeks were flushing. “It was a long night and I’m not feeling that great.” I grabbed for my coffee and gulped it so fast that it scalded my throat. “I need more coffee, do you need more coffee?”

  I got up before she could respond and walked toward the coffee bar of the diner we’d managed to find for breakfast, trying to get my brain back on track and remind it of the only thing that actually mattered about last night.

  Namely that I’d woken up this morning to fine Rivers Shine missing from the room, his clothes and shoes gone as well, and no note of explanation. I’d waited around for half an hour, then an hour, thinking that he might have just gone down for coffee or something, but at a certain point my pride had kicked in and started talking some sense into me. He hadn’t gone down for coffee. Or donuts. He hadn’t even gone outside to make a phone call without waking me up.

  He’d walked out on me and left.

  He wasn’t coming back.

  I’d gotten out of bed and dressed so quickly at the thought that I got back out into the hallway before I was truly ready, and had paused for several moments there, trying to figure out a story for Anna.

  Because she’d be furious if she found out that I’d slept with Rivers Shine.

  But she’d be a volcano in human form if she found out that he’d then left me like I was just another of the infamous groupies he liked to sleep with in his spare time.

  Music suddenly shot through the diner, taking my mind off of that thought, and I turned to the side of the restaurant where I’d seen a stage, confused. We were here for breakfast. It was only 9 in the morning. Surely it was too early for a live show, or even music this loud.

  There was definitely someone on the stage, though, and he was grinning out at the people eating like this was all completely normal.

  “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen!” he called, like we weren’t all still half-asleep and possibly hung over. “I know it’s early and many of you haven’t had enough coffee yet, but here in Bardstown, when a tour comes through, we like to kick it off with a little performance of our own. What do you think of a little music to go with your breakfast?”

  No one groaned. Not out loud. But a quick glance at everyone’s faces told me that if he was going to take a vote, they were going to tell him thanks but no thanks. No one wanted music with their breakfast. They wanted coffee and potatoes and bacon. Preferably from a waitress that didn’t ask them too many personal questions.

  Somehow, though, the guy on the stage missed all that.

  “Terrific!” he almost shouted. “This gets even better, too, because it’s not just a performance. It’s an open mic! We have a number of local musicians in town and we like to give them a chance to showcase their talents. So, what do we think? Do we have any musicians in the house? Anyone who’d like to come up and serenade us?”

  What? This guy must actually be insane. Who in their right mind would get up there and perform in front of an audience that obviously didn’t want anything to do with the situation?

  I glanced back at Anna, ready to share a laughing look with her, but saw her still glaring at me like she was sitting at the table thinking up all the different ways she could poke holes in my story about Rivers, and what she was going to say to me first when I got back to my chair.

  Right.

  I was the kind of person who would get up there and perform in front of an audience like this.

  Just as long as it meant I didn’t have to face Anna yet.

  I hustled up onto the stage and waved awkwardly to the guy, working to keep my eyes off Anna. “Hi,” I said breathlessly. “I’m a musician.”

  The man widened his eyes at me. “Oh ho, we have a volunteer! Hello darling, what’s your name?”

  “Lila Potter.”

  “And you know how to sing?”

  Better than that. I was part of a duo that had been performing for years. I wrote all my own stuff, and I could play guitar in my sleep. Since I didn’t think he really needed to know any of that, though, I just nodded.

  The guy handed me a guitar, grinning so big I thought his cheeks must hurt, and yanked me in front of the microphone. “Terrific! Then the mic’s all yours.”

  He disappeared from next to me and I found myself standing on a stage in a small town in Kentucky, staring out at an audience that definitely didn’t want to hear any music right now.

  Terrific.

  I scanned the place, looking for a friendly face... and saw a face that I’d last seen last night. Dark eyes, wide cheekbones, and lips that looked full enough to be perfect for kissing.

  Lips that were perfect for kissing, I corrected myself. I’d spent plenty of time last night doing exactly that.

  Rivers’ eyes met mine and immediately started burning. His gaze flicked down to my lips and then back up, getting even hotter, and I nearly gasped again. God, how did he even do that? My body was heating with every second that he kept his eyes on me and my voice was suddenly gone, disappeared like he’d somehow erased it.

  Wait.

  This was the guy that had slept with me and then left like it didn’t matter. Disappeared like I was someone he was ashamed to have met.

  Like I was something that hadn’t been worth his time.

  I narrowed my eyes at him, glaring with everything I had, and strummed the guitar once. It wasn’t my guitar but it would do. And now that I thought about it, I had the perfect song for this situation. I hadn’t played it yet but I’d written it a year ago and spent a long time perfecting it. It wasn’t slow or peaceful so this audience might not like it, but it was all about hating the way a man could treat a women—like she didn’t matter—and walk away from a relationship scott free.

  And as the lyrics came back to me, my brain supplying them like I’d taken them off a menu, I started to smile.

  Yep, this song would be perfect.

  And bonus: It was one of my favorites. I loved the way the words sat in the music like they’d been born there. I adored the melody. And I’d worked so hard on it that it felt a whole lot like it had been branded into my soul.

  I could sing it without even thinking about it.

  So if there were any agents hanging around the tour who happened to be here this morning, they’d get a perfect idea of what I could do.

  I yanked my eyes away from Rivers’, took a breath, and started playing.

  Only I couldn’t keep from looking at him as I sang. Despite everything he’d done and everything he was—and how much I should hate him—I couldn’t stop my gaze from swinging back to him as I sang. Our eyes clashed time and again and every time I looked at him, I remembered the way he’d told me that I’d be brilliant in LA, and that I was beautiful.

  I remembered the way he’d looked the first time I saw him when we accidentally fell into his room, and how I’d thought he looked sad and lonely.

  The guy was so gorgeous it made my heart hurt, and yet I couldn’t stop thinking that there was way more to him than that. He was like a lost boy that needed saving. An orphan in a hot, tattooed, very powerful body.

  And he’d somehow wound his way around my heart and grabbed it while I wasn’t looking.

  I finished up the song and let the last chord die out, wondering if I’d actually just sang the whole song straight at him, and when I yanked my gaze away from him and looked out at the rest of the crowd, I found them grinning and clapping wildly, turning to say things to each other. Hell, even Anna was smiling and clapping.

  God, maybe they’d been in the mood for a song after all.

  I’d barely gotten off stage when people started trying to talk to me. One diner after another came up and shook my hand or asked whether I had a contract, and I was getting so overwhelmed that by the time a girl with hair nearly as red as mine appeared in front of me, I almost pushed her away.

  “Lila Potter?” she asked.

  “Yes?” I asked, trying to figure out how short I could make this conversation.

  She stuck her hand out and gave me a smile that made me very nervous. “Taylor James, agent,” she said.

  Oh.

  Thank God I hadn’t pushed her away.

  I reached out and took her hand, my heart climbing up into my throat. “Taylor James. Of course. Agent to Olivia Johns and Connor Wheating.”

  Her smile turned more genuine. “Correct. And to the Global Authors, who are currently on tour with them. In fact, it’s those Global Authors I want to talk to you about. More specifically, their lead singer.”

  What?

  I froze, trying to understand where this might be leading. I’d been incredibly excited about her being an agent, but why was she talking to me about a band that already had a full lineup?

  Did she know about me and Rivers? Was I about to get in trouble—or be warned about his reputation?

  “What about them?” I asked haltingly.

  She leaned in and took my arm. “Come get coffee with me. We have some things to discuss.”

  I followed her, casting a quick glance at Anna for help, but my friend was stuck in her seat with her mouth hanging open, so I was on my own.

  Luckily, it didn’t take Taylor long to tell me what she wanted.

  She was having trouble with Rivers and needed him to clean up his act. She wanted him to have a more steady reputation, maybe look like he was settling down so he’d fit better on the Olivia and Connor tour. Look like he might actually become more than the industry’s designated bad boy and Casanova.

  “Okay,” I said, confused. It made sense on the surface, but I didn’t see what this had to do with me.

  She turned away and started fixing the coffee she’d poured for herself. “The thing is, Lila, I saw the way you two were looking at each other when you were singing. I don’t know whether you know him or not, but I know a connection when I see it. I know when two people are attracted to each other. And that’s exactly what I need.”

  I turned to stare at her. “What you need?”

  She glanced up and that smile was back on her face. “Yes. I need Rivers to clean up his act. And to do that, I need him to have a girl at his side I can trust. I need someone keeping him in line and making sure he plays the good boy. While convincing the press and the fans that she loves him enough to actually be his girlfriend. I want you. Just for long enough to get him on the right road. Stick next to him. Keep him out of trouble. Convince people that you’re actually together. It won’t be that hard. Just keep looking at him the way you were looking at him when you were onstage.”

  I opened my mouth, waiting for the words to come out, but closed it again a moment later. When I tried again, my voice came out hoarse and strangled. “You want me to pretend to be Rivers Shine’s girlfriend, to help clean up his reputation?”

  “Exactly.”

  “What’s in that deal for me?”

  She straightened up and faced me. “I’m sure you’ve heard we’re doing a contest for a contract on this tour, right? Do this and do a good job and I’ll make sure you get first shot at it. I have some pull with Olivia and the record label. I can virtually guarantee you that contract. If you do your job.”

  A contract. As long as I pretended to be Rivers Shine’s girlfriend for the tour.

  Oh. My. God.

  RIVERS

  When Taylor told me the plan, I thought she must be joking.

  Only a part of me knew that she wasn’t, because this went along with what she’d already told me.

  “You want me to pretend to date a girl to rehab my reputation,” I said slowly. Just making sure she hadn’t been joking when she said what she said.

  “Right, exactly,” she said, in that no-nonsense way only Taylor James could pull off. “You date the girl, take her on the road with you and make sure there are plenty of photographers taking pictures of you. You act like you’re over the moon. Like you can’t get enough of each other. And the world at large starts to see that you’re a changed man. That maybe you’ve finally figured out what you want in life. Maybe...” Her eyes got suddenly large, like she’d just come up with the most brilliant idea ever. “Maybe we put it out there that being around Connor and Olivia, those two lovebirds, has made you realize that you want love too, and then you happened to meet this girl and everything just fell right into place.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at that one. “Me? Suddenly deciding that I want to fall in love with someone and then walking out and finding the right person immediately? What, just the girl next door? Are you serious right now?”

  Her eyes snapped back to mine and her face changed from thoughtful to hard and driving. “I’m dead serious. And do I need to remind you that your spot on the tour probably depends on you doing whatever I tell you to?”

  I scowled at her. “No, you were perfectly clear about that part. I just don’t see how you think any of us is going to pull this off. Reporters know how to do their jobs, Taylor. They’re going to spot it in three seconds if I’m trying to pass some girl off as my girlfriend. They won’t believe it in the first place, and if they see I don’t have any chemistry with her...”

  My point was obvious as far as I was concerned, so I let my argument die there. This would never work. Taylor was going to find some groupie who didn’t know anything about music and who I didn’t have anything in common with, and she was going to be stuck to me for the rest of the tour. I’d be miserable the entire time and no one would buy it once they saw that on my face. Taylor was a good agent, but this was a really, really stupid idea.

  So why the fuck did she look so cocky and triumphant?

  “What?” I asked suspiciously. “What do you know that I don’t?”

  She shrugged, looking unbearably smug. “I was worried about the same thing. You know, that whole chemistry thing. I’ve been thinking about it all night. Then I came to breakfast this morning and realized that you’d already solved my problem for me. You’ve already found a girl you have chemistry with. And she just so happens to be at our fingertips.”

  No.

  I knew without having to ask what she was talking about. Lila had gone up on stage and volunteered to sing, and the moment she was up there—the moment I’d seen her in her cute little cutoff shorts and tank top, with cowboy boots to match—I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off her. She’d been so sweet and small-town up there, so ‘aw shucks,’ all flushed with excitement, and I’d been completely entranced.

  I’d been staring, and I hadn’t cared.

  Even when she caught me doing it and spent the whole song staring right back at me.

  My heart tried to climb its way up my throat at the memory—and the ghost of her kisses on my body—and I attempted to wipe my face clean of any emotion. Taylor didn’t know about that. She had no idea who I’d been with last night or how much she’d affected me. She probably hadn’t even seen me watching Lila on stage.