relationships. Look at Paul and Linda McCartney."
"Good try. But they were married before they began
performing together and had a family they took on the
road with them. Being around everyone while trying to
start a relationship isn't my idea of romance."
"It could be. We could get out of here," he said, the
smile on his face breaking her heart.
"Yeah-you, me, and the rest of the guys. I think I'll
pass."
His brow crinkled. "Why do you do that?"
"I'm not doing anything but declining your offer."
"You're pushing me away."
"Is that a crime?"
"If you do it for the wrong reason, yes. I enjoy your
company. I think you feel the same, but every time we
get the tiniest bit close to each other and start to move
to a new level, you either hightail in the opposite direction or push me away."
Sighing, she dropped her fork on the table again. She
wasn't all that hungry anymore. "It isn't personal."
Brock laughed sarcastically. "So you say."
"It's just..." she said, trying to think of the right
words to explain and coming up empty.
"You're still looking for a blue suit. Maybe I should
have that tailor find one instead of that flashy, God
awful red thing Will insisted on having me buy."
She chuckled and felt some of the tension ease.
"Christmas tree bulb, huh?"
"Shoot, I'm going to blind everyone in the front row
at tonight's show." Brock shifted in his seat, clearly
uncomfortable.
"Seriously," she said, clearing her throat.
He filled in the blanks she'd left with her silence.
"You and I can have some time to ourselves. It doesn't
have to be us and the band all the time. There's a whole
lot more to me than just this."
"That's just it. When we're together, all we do is talk
about the band and that's fine, except..."
"There's more to you. I understand that. And that's a
part of you I want to get to know."
"Outside of this, I don't know how to be. What are
we going to do, sneak off and then come home?"
"Are you afraid of what they'll say?"
"No, not really. I just don't relish the idea of being
under a microscope. And we will be, you know."
"I have to admit I'm not all that fond of having eyes
on me all the time-except yours, of course."
He laughed at the look she threw him. "You can do
better than that, cowboy."
"Don't push me away and I'll try better. I like you,
Josie. A lot."
"I like it when you say things like that better than
when you're trying to impress me with your words or
your songs."
He tilted an eyebrow. "Hey, you don't like my
songs?"
She laughed. "That's not the point."
"I'll leave you alone, if that's what you want. I won't
push you to do anything you don't want to do. The last
thing I want is to make you uncomfortable."
She looked at Brock a long time, looked into the
depths of his magnificent eyes and wondered how she
could have ever thought he was too young for her. In
years, maybe. But that was just a play of numbers. He
had a wise soul and it showed in what he did. And in his
beautiful eyes. It didn't seem strange to refer to them
that way. She didn't think she'd ever met a man who
didn't push his way on her. Brock was different.
But Brock was different from the kind of man she'd
convinced herself she needed. She couldn't imagine
him sitting behind a desk and filling out paperwork all
day. Growing up on a ranch had given him a different
perspective on life than she had. But she couldn't see
him lasting forever on a ranch, herding cattle and
stringing barbed wire fences, either.
"You don't make me uncomfortable," she said. "In
fact, it's just the opposite."
"That's good."
"It's this situation that bothers me. But that's the way
it is. It's not something we can change."
"Brock?" Will called from the front of the bus. Will
gave a strong look to Josie and she knew he was thinking about their conversation at the department store.
She wouldn't let Will or anyone else intimidate her.
She'd done that before and crawled home to regret it.
Before
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