Assured (Soul Serenade #2)(29)

“You sure you don’t want to come with us?” Kacen asks for the third time in the last half hour.

“I’m sure. Stacy and I are going to go over the rest of today’s schedule.” He finally agrees, kisses her, and the guys are off.

“Dish!” Logan says as soon as the bus door closes.

I laugh at her giddiness for the scoop. “Not much to dish. He wants to sleep with me, and I keep telling him no.”

“That’s it?” She sounds sad.

“In a nutshell. We hung out before I made my decision to accept the job, which you know. Then yesterday and last night, we hung out pretty much most of the time.”

“Kacen said it’s not like the three of them to not want to go out. Usually, they’re out strolling for female companions.”

“Yeah, not sure what’s up with that. Tristan and Gavin both seem to be preoccupied with their phones lately.”

“I know Gavin is spending more time with the label, learning the ropes and whatnot. They’re thinking of opening their own label someday.”

I nod. “Cole mentioned that.”

“I guess they’ve been talking about it more recently. Kacen is afraid that once the baby gets here, I won’t want to travel with him. I told him we might need our own bus, but it’s possible. I wouldn’t want to do a year-long tour, but a few months at a time with a break might not be that bad of an idea.”

“I’m sure it won’t be easy, but if anyone can do it, it’s the two of you.”

Logan smiles. “So, admit it, it’s killing you to keep telling him no.”

Leave it to my bestie to get straight to the point. “I might have maybe had a fantasy or two,” I admit sheepishly.

“I knew it! It’s the hair, right?”

“It is nice to hold onto when he’s kissing me.” Shit!

“What? When? Why the hell am I just now finding out about this?”

Ugh! Me and my big mouth. I spend the next twenty minutes giving her the basics of what’s been going on with us the past several months.

“He’s different with you,” she tells me once I’ve given her an edited version. Some things I just want for me.

“He’s chasing me. He’s realized he has to change his game. He knows I’m not going to fall for his regular bullshit. The ‘It’ll be good between us’ cheesy-ass lines.”

Logan throws her head back in laughter. “True, but it’s more than that. I just have this feeling.”

“It’s the pregnancy hormones.”

For some reason, we both find this funny. My theory is that it’s because she is deliriously happy and living life with the man she loves, starting a family. Laughter is happiness.





The radio interview lasted four hours. There was a last-minute change, so we were on the early morning show and then the four of us recorded a Hot Thirty weekend countdown. This was sprung on us when we got there. Apparently, Brian Wilson, who is our label CEO, said it would be no big deal. He’s always doing stupid shit like that. If it weren’t for Jones, we would have left a long time ago; he’s a kick-ass manager, even though his boss is a dick.

We had to go straight from the station to sound check, so we grabbed a quick bite to eat in the dressing room and then spent the last three hours doing sound check. The four of us are kind of perfectionists; we want to make sure our fans get their money’s worth every show.

I haven’t seen Stacy since this morning, and I have no idea if she’s pissed off at me for what happened. It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I actually care if she is. Another first.

“Where the hell are they?” Kacen paces back and forth in our dressing room. We take the stage in twenty minutes, and the girls are still not here. Kacen sent two of the appointed bodyguards to the bus to escort them here.

“It’s been what, ten minutes?” Tristan asks.

The door opens and the ladies in question walk in smiling and laughing. Stacy is wearing black jeans that look like she was poured into them and high-heeled boots. Her silver sweater shimmers in the light. Her hair is pulled to the side, exposing her slender neck.

I shove my hands in my pockets to keep from reaching out for her. She stands just inside the door, looking unsure.

“Look at you.” Gavin leans in and kisses her cheek. “Ready for the action?”

“This your first time being behind the scenes at a concert?” Tristan asks, giving her a one-armed hug.

I hate that their hands are on her.

“It is.” Her emerald eyes light up. “I’m excited.”

“It’s a rush.” Gavin grins.

“I want the two of you to stay together. There will be a guard with you, and you’ll be sitting stage-side,” Kacen explains.

Excitement runs through me. I love the thrill of the crowd, the lights, the screaming fans. It’s a rush, and I’m excited for both of them to get to see it firsthand. See that yes, we may be a group of goofy guys, but we take music seriously. We are damn fine musicians, if I do say so myself.

“Got it,” they reply in unison. Then they break out in laughter, and if I didn’t know better, I would think they were both a little tipsy.

“Knock, knock.” Jones slowly opens our door. “You ready to rock?” He’s asked us this before every show since the first.