her eyes as she teased him.
“Good to know, love,” he said, laughing as he put the guitar back in the case. “Seriously though, are you game for this? I’ll tell you straight up I’m a difficult bastard most of the time.”
“I know, Nick. But it’s only a mask you put on so people don’t get close.”
“Letting people close only gets you hurt,” Nick answered quietly. “That’s why the way I feel about you is scaring the hell out of me. But I don’t want to spend any more time guessing whether you feel the same.”
“I can handle six weeks,” Kate said, looking at him intently.
Nick smiled broadly at her. “Ready to go back to the hotel?” He asked, standing up. He held a hand down to her and she stood up beside him.
Nick released her hand, picked up the guitar, and started down the stairs with Kate beside him. They walked over to where Brock and Mike were waiting. “You weren’t serious, were you,” Kate asked, “about this is all you do at night?”
Nick laughed, liking how she moved back into a generic conversation. “No, I was giving you all crap,” he admitted. “I’ve been spending a lot of time writing this song, but I spend most of my free time on the phone with the studio.”
“Checking up on you?”
“Not exactly,” Nick said. “I own half of it. I have lots of work to do there which has nothing to do with my music. Recording my own records and going out on the road, that’s what I do for fun.”
“Wow,” Kate exclaimed. “I didn’t know you had so many irons in the fire.”
“Keeps me busy, love,” he answered. “I do less thinking.”
Nick didn’t have to say any more. He was glad they had this conversation; he had been a little nervous starting it, for fear she was going to reject him. And he was going to have to figure out how to get past the block he had as her boss if this was going to work. But he was really pleased she was willing to be patient with the whole mechanics of this odd relationship. Women in his past experience wanted his attention full time and were not patient about anything. This was a refreshing change for him and one of the things he liked about her.
Chapter Five
T he next few weeks were smooth – everyone could feel the end of the tour looming and it was easy to see everyone was ready to have some time away. All the band members got along; it’s just hard to have the same people day in and day out in your face. Nick was making a subtle effort toward Kate, which didn’t escape her notice. Simple things like ending up next to her at dinner, being in the same limousine to each venue, or joining the almost-nightly poker game, she saw as him trying to spend more time with her. Kate asked Andy about it one night, wanting to make sure his behavior wasn’t unusual, and he told her Nick tended to be a lot more relaxed in the last shows. Andy’s opinion was there wasn’t as much chaos with only two or three weeks until the end.
The final city of the US tour was in Monterey, California, and Kate wasn’t her usual energetic self. During the last two shows she was less outspoken, and tonight, she wasn’t saying much to anyone. Tomorrow they would be back in Los Angeles and the following day, Monday, they would be in the studio recording the song for the movie. Kate knew she was sick but was doing her best to keep it from the others and especially Nick. The fever wasn’t too bad but her throat was sore. She was glad she didn’t sing because tonight there would be no chance. Her voice was giving out – it was raspy now and she kept quiet to hide it. Hot tea, which was soothing, helped with the disguise. After the show, champagne came out and everyone was celebrating in the dressing room. When the others were well into the festivities, she pulled Brock away and asked him to get her a car back to the hotel. Brock questioned why she wanted to leave early and she was as straight as she could be, telling him she had a headache and didn’t feel
“Good to know, love,” he said, laughing as he put the guitar back in the case. “Seriously though, are you game for this? I’ll tell you straight up I’m a difficult bastard most of the time.”
“I know, Nick. But it’s only a mask you put on so people don’t get close.”
“Letting people close only gets you hurt,” Nick answered quietly. “That’s why the way I feel about you is scaring the hell out of me. But I don’t want to spend any more time guessing whether you feel the same.”
“I can handle six weeks,” Kate said, looking at him intently.
Nick smiled broadly at her. “Ready to go back to the hotel?” He asked, standing up. He held a hand down to her and she stood up beside him.
Nick released her hand, picked up the guitar, and started down the stairs with Kate beside him. They walked over to where Brock and Mike were waiting. “You weren’t serious, were you,” Kate asked, “about this is all you do at night?”
Nick laughed, liking how she moved back into a generic conversation. “No, I was giving you all crap,” he admitted. “I’ve been spending a lot of time writing this song, but I spend most of my free time on the phone with the studio.”
“Checking up on you?”
“Not exactly,” Nick said. “I own half of it. I have lots of work to do there which has nothing to do with my music. Recording my own records and going out on the road, that’s what I do for fun.”
“Wow,” Kate exclaimed. “I didn’t know you had so many irons in the fire.”
“Keeps me busy, love,” he answered. “I do less thinking.”
Nick didn’t have to say any more. He was glad they had this conversation; he had been a little nervous starting it, for fear she was going to reject him. And he was going to have to figure out how to get past the block he had as her boss if this was going to work. But he was really pleased she was willing to be patient with the whole mechanics of this odd relationship. Women in his past experience wanted his attention full time and were not patient about anything. This was a refreshing change for him and one of the things he liked about her.
Chapter Five
T he next few weeks were smooth – everyone could feel the end of the tour looming and it was easy to see everyone was ready to have some time away. All the band members got along; it’s just hard to have the same people day in and day out in your face. Nick was making a subtle effort toward Kate, which didn’t escape her notice. Simple things like ending up next to her at dinner, being in the same limousine to each venue, or joining the almost-nightly poker game, she saw as him trying to spend more time with her. Kate asked Andy about it one night, wanting to make sure his behavior wasn’t unusual, and he told her Nick tended to be a lot more relaxed in the last shows. Andy’s opinion was there wasn’t as much chaos with only two or three weeks until the end.
The final city of the US tour was in Monterey, California, and Kate wasn’t her usual energetic self. During the last two shows she was less outspoken, and tonight, she wasn’t saying much to anyone. Tomorrow they would be back in Los Angeles and the following day, Monday, they would be in the studio recording the song for the movie. Kate knew she was sick but was doing her best to keep it from the others and especially Nick. The fever wasn’t too bad but her throat was sore. She was glad she didn’t sing because tonight there would be no chance. Her voice was giving out – it was raspy now and she kept quiet to hide it. Hot tea, which was soothing, helped with the disguise. After the show, champagne came out and everyone was celebrating in the dressing room. When the others were well into the festivities, she pulled Brock away and asked him to get her a car back to the hotel. Brock questioned why she wanted to leave early and she was as straight as she could be, telling him she had a headache and didn’t feel
Similar Books
