Girl in Love (23 page)

She didn’t know how bad the storm that was Trace Corbin was going to be this time. All she knew was that it was coming. What terrified her most was that she knew the precautions she should take, knew there were ways to avoid it. She just couldn’t seem to make herself hunker down and hide this time.

Her heart and her head were at war as she waited for Lulu to join her on the bus and help her get ready.

On one hand, she wanted to be honest with Trace, with Steven—with everyone.

On the other, she wanted to keep her already scarred heart locked away where it would stay safe.

But the way he’d looked at her moments ago, he was changing the game. They’d both had walls up. Or she had them up and he’d respected them. She’d thought it was for the best. But she hadn’t felt as alive as she did right that second since…since he walked away from her a year ago.

She closed her eyes. Remembering the pain helped keep her sane. It kept her from losing control and throwing herself into his arms. Besides, his arms belonged to someone else now. Or did they?

She wondered if Gretchen was at all concerned about them being on tour together. She’d heard Trace on the phone with her a few times. He always stepped away to take her calls. But it never sounded like they were professing their love or even arguing for that matter. Mostly, the few tidbits she’d overheard sounded like business talk. She could’ve sworn she’d heard him saying things about building permits.

Feeling overjoyed at the fact that she hadn’t yet overheard them making plans to meet up or for Gretchen to catch a show, she wanted to slap herself. It was dangerous and stupid to be this invested in his relationship. If Gretchen did join them at some point, Kylie knew damn well she’d be bunking in a roost on a different bus.

My, how the tables have turned
, she thought to herself as she hopped up and sat on the kitchen counter. It wasn’t too awfully long ago that she was the girlfriend visiting him on his tour with Gretchen. And yet, in some ways, it felt like a lifetime ago.

She leaned back on the counter as she decided that no matter how painful the outcome might be, she was going to tell Trace there wasn’t anything going on with her and Steven. And she was going to ask him point blank, straight-faced with no tears or sobbing nonsense, what exactly was going on with him and Gretchen Gibson.

She wasn’t sure how long she spent lost in thought, but when the noise from Trace’s soundcheck went quiet, she snapped out of it.

Just before she could work herself into a full-blown panic attack over the fact that he would be back any minute so they could talk, Lulu burst onto the bus.

“I have a surprise!”

Kylie nearly jumped out of her skin. “You startled the piss out of me, Lu!”

“Sorry, but look who I found!”

Before Kylie could even begin to guess, Mia Montgomery and Lily Taite bounded onto the bus behind her.

Lily squealed and hugged her like they hadn’t seen each other in a hundred years.

“Hey, Lil. Lose anything lately?”

She pulled back and gave Kylie an apologetic grimace. “Kylie, I am sooo sorry about that. I heard you got tons of prank phone calls.”

Mia grinned at her. “Oklahoma probably liked all the attention.”

Kylie nodded. “Oh, I did. Lots of heavy breathers and dirty talkers. My favorites.”

“Speaking of heavy breathing and dirty talking, have you and Mr. Hotpants got it on yet?”

“Lily!”

Lulu and Mia cracked up laughing while Kylie gaped at them.

“I’m starting to think I might be on the wrong bus,” Trace said as he ascended the steps.

“Sweet baby Jesus,” Kylie muttered. Mortification swept over her. She was pretty sure he knew they’d been talking about him.

“Well if it isn’t Mr. Hotpants himself,” Mia said, giving him a quick hug.

If he hadn’t known before, he did now.

Kylie couldn’t bring herself to look at him directly as the other girls chatted with him. When she did meet his eyes, they were dark and hooded. The warning in his look confused her. Until she realized she was still sitting on the countertop.

They’d had a few bouts of making out and more on a similar countertop. She felt her face heat with the realization, and she was pretty certain he noticed.

“Talk later then?” he finally asked her as he headed back to his room.

“Um, yeah. Sounds good.”

When he was out of sight, she returned her attention to her visitors. Who were all looking at her suspiciously.

“No, they haven’t done it yet,” Mia said, side-eying her before turning to Lily. “But they’re getting there.”

“Shut up,” Kylie whisper-yelled at her.

Mia smirked at her. But then she suddenly looked aghast for a brief second.

“Ryans, you ready?” Steven poked his head onto the bus.

Kylie checked the time on her phone. It was barely an hour until showtime and she had a few changes to the set list she wanted to run through once more with the band.

“Crap. No. Just a sec. I’ll be right there.”

Once he was gone, Kylie glanced back at Mia. She seemed to be working awfully hard to keep her even expression in place.

“I didn’t know he was touring with you,” Mia said quietly.

Kylie tried to fight off her guilt. She hadn’t mentioned it to Mia for a few reasons. Mainly because she hadn’t had time to, and also because she still secretly wondered if Mia knew Steven had feelings for her—whatever kind of feelings he was capable of. She was the main reason his band was taking a breather, after all. But he was her friend, too, and she didn’t want to go blabbing his secrets.

She did her best to shrug and appear nonchalant. “He’s filling in for my guitar player for a bit.”

Lily squealed. “Plot twist!”

“Come on, maneater,” Lulu said, helping Kylie down off the counter. “Let’s get you ready.”

O
F COURSE
Mia and Donovan Taite’s daughter would appear right when Trace was about to pour his feelings out all over the place.

Because that was the way the universe worked.

The night before, he’d stayed awake mostly to torture himself. He wondered if maybe, just maybe, he could live through hearing Kylie and Steven together, then he could survive anything.

But he also knew that if he really had heard anything more than them discussing alternating time signatures, choruses, and bridges, he was going to barge into her room like a goddamn maniac and kick the shit out of Steven for hooking up with a Tailgate Twin and Kylie. In the same night, no less.

But he hadn’t even heard flirtatious laughter. Just them writing music and playing a few chords on her guitar from time to time.

He was pretty sure this was the confirmation he needed. Kylie Ryans and Steven Blythe weren’t a thing. Not really, anyway. He knew there was a good chance they’d slept together in the past. But he’d have to find a way to live with that. Hell, he had quite the past himself. And he knew something now, after seeing Claire Ann all lit up about her new fella, that he hadn’t realized before.

None of it mattered. The other people, the past, the media, the fights, the ways they’d hurt each other. Those were meaningless details in the grand scheme of life. The fact of the matter was that he loved her. He still loved her and he was pretty damn certain he would always love her.

She was still guarded though, and he’d yet to really see that ‘feel first, think second’ girl he fell in love with, but he knew she was in there. If he could just get her to come out, then he’d know for sure if she still loved him back. And he had a plan.

Because the Kylie Ryans he knew and loved—the real her—couldn’t really contain her true feelings. They tended to shoot straight from her heart right out of her mouth.

That was what he loved most about her.

Or so he thought.

When he was finished getting dressed for the show, he stepped out of his room and nearly ran right into her.

Her tight little body was sheathed in a short silver dress that sparkled when she moved. Her long blond hair was swept to one side, and the smooth strip of her neck that was visible to him practically screamed for his mouth to explore it inch by inch.

She looked up at him from under thick, dark lashes. Smiled at him with pouty red lips. His crotch tightened in response.

Jesus.

Okay, so there were some less virtuous things that he loved about her as well. But that was the point. It was everything. She was everything.

“I was going to tell you that you looked beautiful, but you took my breath away.”

Her eyes went wide and he winked at her. Her friend slash stylist made a small “aw” noise.

“Um, thanks,” Kylie said, averting her eyes as her cheeks turned a sweetly sexy shade of pink.

“After you, ladies.” He moved aside so they could get through.

His heartbeat sped both at the exquisite view of her perfectly toned backside and the knowledge that his plan was either going to send her running into his arms or running in the other direction.

There was only one way to find out.

T
RACE WAS
surrounded backstage by Rae and a few of her friends. When she hugged him, he caught the faintest scent of alcohol and cigarette smoke. He sincerely hoped it was coming from her friends and not from her. Though he knew good and well that was probably wishful thinking.

Looked like he would be pulling the dad card with her after all. Once her friends were busy with Kylie, Mia, and the Taite girl, he took her aside.

“Hey, baby girl, can we talk a minute?”

She looked up at him with pleading eyes. “Can it wait? I haven’t gotten to talk to Kylie in forever. And she promised to introduce me to Lily Taite!”

He knew the feeling. He was on tour with her, living on the same bus even, and he felt like he couldn’t manage to get a word in. Between Steven, the friend from home, the assistant, and the two newest members of her entourage who had just arrived, he was starting to wonder if he ever would.

He sighed. He’d never really been able to say no to her. “I guess so, Rae. But after the show, I’m coming to the house. Be there, okay?”

“Yes sir,” she said with a mock salute before she practically skipped over to Kylie.

He watched as Kylie and Rae hugged and complimented one another’s outfits and whatever else women did. Kylie was all smiles as she made introductions until her assistant came over and whispered something in her ear.

He waited until Hannah was walking away to catch up with her. “Everything okay?”

The woman looked slightly affronted by his accosting her. Understandably. “Everything’s fine, Mr. Corbin. Can I help you with something?”

“You could tell me why Kylie looks like you just told her you ran over her dog, which I know you didn’t because I know she doesn’t have one.” He flashed his most charming smile. But the woman remained unfazed.

“No dogs have been harmed that I know of. I’ll pass your concern on to Miss Ryans.”

“Hannah,” he called out as she tried to walk around him. “I care about her, okay? Whatever she’s said about me, or whatever you think my intentions are, I can assure you, I’m not fishing for information. Just concerned. As a friend.”

Thankfully she stopped and sighed. “Actually she hasn’t said much of anything about you to me, friendly or otherwise. But you were present when she asked me to make a trip to the bookstore for her. And I do my job. So you can guess what her reading for the evening will be.”

Son of a bitch. He’d been so caught up in his own personal revelations about his feelings for her that he’d almost forgotten about her crazy stepmom. Before he could calculate whether or not he had time to jog back to the bus and light that damn book on fire before she saw it, he caught a glimpse of Pauly and Claire Ann out of the corner of his eye.

Judging from the way Claire Ann was standing, arms folded and face turned away from whatever Pauly was trying to tell her, they appeared to be arguing. He scratched his head. That was odd.

When he’d gotten out of rehab, Claire Ann had gone on and on about how helpful Pauly had been. He’d asked his manager to keep an eye on his sisters and protect them from any paparazzi assholes who might come sniffing around.

Before he could head over to them to find out what the problem was, Kylie appeared at his side. “Not to alarm you,” she began quietly, “but I think Rae might be slightly intoxicated. She reeks of booze and she’s told me she loves me about a dozen times.”

Once again, he felt like the universe was hell-bent on interfering with his plan to confess his feelings for her. Apparently his little sister didn’t have any trouble with it though.

“Yeah. Claire Ann thinks she’s been partying a little too hard at college. It wouldn’t be a big deal, but given our family history…well, you know.” He huffed out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Not like I can really say much to her. Some role model I am.”

A gentle hand on his arm caused him to stiffen. Fucking hell her touch undid him. He had to clench his own fists to keep from reaching out and grabbing her.

She pulled her hand back, clearly misinterpreting why he’d tensed. “I could try and talk to her.”