Shifting gears.
Or maybe I’d just been on the wrong road all along, and I was finally finding my way.
“Is that so?” I let the rough tease wind out of my mouth, and I shifted back on the couch, draping an arm over the back of it as I looked up at her.
Playfulness ridged her mouth. “That’s so.”
Faster than she could brace herself, I reached out and snagged her around the waist. Emily squealed as I pulled her down onto my lap and wrapped my arms around her.
Tight.
Giggles ripped free, she threw her arms around my neck, her legs draped across my lap, the girl sitting sideways all tucked up to my chest. She smiled at me with one of those smiles that hit me like a landslide.
My heart raced a frantic beat.
It was the first time I’d touched her like this. Right out in the open.
I let my gaze trip around the band sitting around the bus. Every single one of them was staring back. I met their stares, tugged her tighter, knowing I was making a statement.
Mine.
This girl was mine.
And I wasn’t going to let her go.
Didn’t give a fuck what anyone had to say about it.
From where he sat opposite us at the table, Richard lifted his chin, acceptance and a warning.
Rhys turned to Leif and smacked his open hand onto the table. “Told you, man. Pay up. One hundred bucks.”
“Shit,” Leif grumbled, digging into his wallet.
“Pssh.” Melanie huffed and waved an indulgent hand. “You deserve to lose all your money if you didn’t see that one coming, Leif.”
I hugged Emily closer as the bus rumbled out of the hotel parking lot.
Couldn’t even be pissed at Rhys.
He was right.
This girl was worth betting on.* * *“This is it.” I squeezed Emily’s hand when I felt the nerves rustle through her delicious body where she sat beside me in the limousine that was filled with all the members of her band, plus Melanie and Leif’s wife, Mia.
Thrill and dread vied for predominance in Emily’s spirit, and I leaned in, murmuring in her ear, “Are you ready?”
Emily squeezed my hand back, trying to breathe through the agitation. “As ready as I’m ever going to be,” she whispered, peering out the windows at the crush of people who were gathered behind the ropes, holding signs and hoping to catch sight of their favorite celebrities.
Musicians and actors and the famous for being famous.
But tonight?
One of their most loved was going down in a blaze of infamy.
“Holy shit,” Rhys muttered under his breath. “Do you see all those people? Think all of Nashville is out there. Probably half of Hollywood, too.”
Richard roughed a palm over his face to break up the stress.
The pressure intense.
Tonight, there was no room for mistakes.
I knew that better than anyone.
Leif pounded his fingertips onto the tops of his thighs, drumming an out-of-control beat I was pretty sure was in sync with the racing of his heart. “We’ve got this, guys. Just . . . take a deep breath.”
“Hell yeah, we do. World’s about to know how awesome we are.” Rhys proclaimed it, but his voice was subdued.
Awed.
Like maybe he was just then accepting the reality of it.
Sure, Carolina George had amassed a dedicated following.
But this?
I knew it was unlike anything any of them had ever witnessed other than through the screen of a TV.
Performing at the ACB Awards was considered the pinnacle of success.
The height of achievement.
A stage for the most sought after. The one with the most smash hits and the most dollar signs.
And Carolina George had been invited to play before they’d even signed a major record deal.
The one coveted spot for up-and-coming talent was hard to score.
Carolina George deserved it.
No doubt.
I just wondered what that prick had manipulated to get them there.
Richard cleared his throat.
“Want to say something before we go out there. We have given our entire lives for this. Given years to fighting for this. We’ve been broke. Destitute. Close to homeless. It’s cost us relationships. It’s taken a toll on our minds and our bodies. I know it hasn’t been easy. But I want you all to know . . .”
His gaze bounced around to each of them. “I want you to know I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. Couldn’t. Carolina George is the four of us. Together, we’re magic. Remove one of us, and we wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. You all make this band what it is, and I’m goddamn grateful for that.”
Rhys lifted a fist in the air before he stretched it out toward Richard. “No one else I would have gone along for this wild ride with, brother. You led us to something great. Now we get to revel in this awesomeness together.”
Blowing out an emotional sigh, Richard leaned forward and pressed his fist to Rhys’s. Leif leaned in and did the same, his eyes jumping around at the band. “And we’re just getting started.”