Flesh & Bone - a contemporary romance: The Minstrel Series #2 by Lee Strauss, Elle Strauss Page A

“Well, his name is on the record contract. So is yours. Unfortunately, neither of you can quit.”
    Sebastian stepped into his shoes and headed for the door. “Yeah. Watch me.”

 
     
     
     
     

     
     
    It was a lot easier having a celebrity crush from a distance. Having Sebastian Weiss sit right next to her and whisper in her ear almost blew her circuits. Eva was sure he’d been drinking too much and that she’d never see him again. Still, the high of it along with her performance kept her from falling asleep until dawn. In fact, she floated along in a happy daze for a couple days afterward.
    “You seem especially chipper,” her mama noted at breakfast. “Is there something we should know about?”
    Her papa eyed her over the newspaper he read each morning, bushy eyebrows taut with curiosity.
    “I already told you,” Eva said, keeping her eyes averted, spreading marmalade on her toast. “I finally had the courage to sing at the open mic night.” She couldn’t tell them about Sebastian, but the way they kept eyeing her it was like they already knew. “What?”
    “Nothing,” her mama said quickly. “We’re happy that you’re happy. Are you going to play there again?”
    Papa added, “Maybe we can come see you next time.”
    Eva’s smile flattened. As much as she loved her parents, she didn’t want them there. She wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like she was embarrassed of them. If anything, she was the one who brought the unwanted glances their way. But what if Sebastian came again? What if he talked to her? She didn’t think her parents would approve. Not that they wouldn’t like him as a person. But he wasn’t the kind of boy they’d like to see with their daughter.
    Which was an absurd thought anyway. Sebastian Weiss wouldn’t be interested in someone like her. He liked her song , not her . It’d been three days since she’d played, since he promised to come see her, and he hadn’t shown. He was just being polite and maybe had too much to drink. She was foolish to entertain fantasies of any kind that included Sebastian Weiss.
    “ Schatzi .” Mama lay a hand on her arm. “Are you okay? Did we upset you?”
    Eva snapped out of her reverie and forced a smile. “I’m fine. Just a little tired.”
    “You’re not feeling unwell, are you?” Papa asked.
    “No, I’m fine.” A familiar annoyance rose in her chest. She was twenty years old now, but she felt like her parents couldn’t stop seeing her as their crippled teenager.
    “Good.” He pushed his glasses up on his nose and snapped his paper. “We’re serving lunch today, so there’s lots of work to do.”
    Eva knew this, of course. Her world was small, revolving around the house church that existed one floor below her. She sighed. Would she ever break free from this neighborhood? Do something different with her life? Live on her own? Travel? Go back to university?
    That would be up to her.
    The thought of branching out in any way both excited her and scared the pants off her. And as usual, fear won out. It was safer for her to stay here with her parents. She wasn’t ready to live on her own. What would she do?
    What if she fell?
    She reached for her cane that hung on the back of her chair and then carefully carried her dishes to the sink. She stopped at the WC to brush her teeth before lumbering back to her room. She’d turned her laptop on when she awoke, like she did every morning, and the page for Hollow Fellows was still up. She refreshed it, but there was nothing new. She found it a little strange since the band’s webpage generally had daily updates. She clicked on one of their music videos and indulged in her morning dose of Sebastian Weiss. She caught her reflection in the dresser mirror—cane in one hand, the computer mouse in the other, unbrushed hair and a frown. This silly crush she harbored was pathetic. She was pathetic.
    Eva pressed the laptop lid closed and moved to her bed to lay down. She was tired, but not