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  “He says he’s not, but I think he might be a little. This is their first show in almost six months.”

  “Plus, it’s home turf, so it means more,” Meg agrees. “He’s probably acting all badass, but his stomach is going crazy.”

  “Poor guy.” Stacy laughs. “God, I hope he goes shirtless tonight.”

  “Can you arrange that, Sam?” Nat asks with a giggle. “God, those stars.” She fans her face with her hand and giggles.

  “I’ll put in the request,” I respond dryly. Of course he’ll go shirtless. This is Leo Nash.

  I can’t wait.

  “Brynna, you look hot,” Jules comments and continues to tug on my head.

  “Thanks.” Brynna winks.

  Jules is right; Brynna looks great. Her curvy body looks fantastic in her skinny jeans and shiny black, low cut top.

  “Sex agrees with her.” Stacy smirks and I feel my eyes go wide.

  “No way!”

  Brynna blushes and lowers her gaze for just a moment and then turns around to face the room with a happy smile.

  “You’re getting your orgasms!” Natalie exclaims happily.

  “Boy am I.” Brynna nods. “I can safely say the Montgomery men give some amazing orgasms.” Both Stacy and Meg nod in agreement and I laugh, relieved that Jules has let go of my hair so I don’t get burned.

  “Oh my God! That’s so great!” Jules rushes around me to hug Brynna and then scowls. “Wait. Ew. That’s my brother. Yuck.”

  “Jules, I hate to break it to you, but your brothers have sex.” I grin and pour myself a flute of champagne from a bottle on the sink.

  “They have really, really great sex.” Meg applies her lip-gloss and blots her lips. “Really great.”

  “If he hurts you, I’ll fucking kill him,” Jules makes a fist and holds it to her chest, like she’s going to knock someone out.

  “You always say that.” Nat rolls her eyes and hugs Brynna. “Good for you.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s a complete stubborn ass, and he’s made it clear that it’s just sex and he’s making sure that the kids and me are safe.” She shrugs, but can’t disguise the sadness in her beautiful brown eyes. “But the orgasms rock.”

  “Here, have some liquor.” I top off her glass. “You look hot tonight. We’re gonna have a blast. Caleb is going to swallow his tongue when he sees you.”

  “Why are the guys going, anyway?” Stacy asks. “I thought this was supposed to be girls night out.”

  “I don’t know.” Jules shrugs. “They like the music.”

  “I wish Will didn’t have to go out of town this weekend.” Meg frowns.

  “We’ll send him pictures.” Nat assures her. “We’ll take pics of us from the front row, flirting with the security guards, trying to get back stage.”

  “Uh, Nat.” I chuckle and shake my head. “We’re with the band. We don’t have to flirt with security.”

  “Well, what fun is that?” She scowls, and we all laugh at her.

  “There, your hair is perfect.” Jules teases one more strand in the front and backs away. “Go check it out.”

  She did a good job. She’s made my shoulder-length blonde hair look choppy and messy in a rocker kind of way. How she managed to do that with a flat iron and some gel stuff is beyond me.

  “Thanks.” I grin. “You know, if that whole investment banking shit doesn’t work out, you could totally do hair.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind,” she replies sarcastically as I reach for my makeup bag and dig in, with Brynna hovering close by, giving me pointers on making my eyes smokey. Finally, after what seems like forever, Brynna, and the rest of the girls, are satisfied with my face.

  “I’m getting dressed,” Jules announces.

  “Me too.” I follow her into the bedroom and pull my tight, thigh-length silver-studded black dress over my hips. It has a deep V neckline, showing off my boobs, thanks to a really great push-up bra.

  “Holy fuck, you’re hot.” Jules is staring at me, her mouth open. “What shoes are you wearing?”

  I pull my super-strappy black heels out of my bag and hold them up smugly. “Fuck me shoes.”

  “Leo’s gonna need some sort of resuscitation.” She smirks and steps into a pair of tight blue jeans and a red halter-top that is loose with a cowl neckline that also dips down between her breasts. Red patent leather Choo stilettos complete the look.

  “We’re all showing off our boobs tonight.” I snicker.

  “Hell yes, why not?”

  We join the others and earn catcalls and whistles.

  “We are one group of hot bitches,” Meg nods appreciatively. She’s stunning in a green strapless, thigh-length baby doll dress with a handkerchief hemline. Nat and Stacy are both in gorgeous short black dresses.

  Meg’s right, we’re a bunch of hot bitches.

  “Are we ready? Leo will be shocked that we’re on time.”

  “Let’s go shock him,” Jules agrees.

  ***

  The place is packed. Key Arena is smaller, much smaller, than the Tacoma Dome, but it’s also more intimate. I’m not surprised in the least that the guys chose to play here tonight.

  This kicks off their twenty-day U.S. Tour. The Sunshine Tour. I grin at the t-shirts as we walk past on our way down to our seats. Leo already gave me mine.

  As we work our way down to the front row where I can already see, and hear, our guys, a security guard approaches us.

  “Which one of you is Samantha Williams?” He asks.

  The girls all point to me and keep walking to their men.

  God, the guys all look fantastic tonight.

  “Would you please come with me?” He asks. “Mr. Nash would like a word.”

  “Sure.” I follow him past the others, the stage and through a black door to the back stage area. It’s surprisingly quiet back here, despite the flurry of activity of roadies and other people bustling about, all wearing official VIP badges around their necks.

  “Right through here.” He opens a door and motions for me to go in, and closes the door behind me.

  “Thank God.” Leo pulls me to him and kisses me madly, then pulls back and those gray eyes move up and down my body. “Holy fuck, Sam, how am I supposed to concentrate on the show when you’ll be in the front row looking like this?”

  I grin and turn in a tight circle. “You like?”

  “I think I just had a stroke.” He confirms.

  “You look pretty hot yourself.” He’s in black leather pants and a tank from an ancient AC/DC concert. “How long till the tank comes off?”

  “Probably in the first song. I get too hot,” he murmurs.

  “You want to show off your stars.” I contradict him and laugh when he scowls at me. “The girls will be happy. They’re excited to see your stars.”

  “What about you?” He asks and kisses my forehead.

  “I enjoy the stars as well.” I grin and push my hands under his shirt and rub my thumbs where the stars are, right along his V. “They fucking rock.”

  “No turning me on right before a show, sunshine.”

  “Is that what I’m doing?” I ask with wide eyes.

  “You’re trouble,” he mutters and smiles. “I love it. Security will bring all of you back after the show. Just stay in your seats.”

  “Will do. You’ll be awesome,” I remind him.

  “Honestly, the show isn’t what I’m nervous about.” He frowns and kisses my forehead again.

  “What are you nervous about?”

  “You’ll see.” He shakes his head and checks his watch. “You’d better get back out there. I have to get back to the guys. We have a pre-show ritual that I’d better not miss.”

  “Sacrifice a virgin?” I ask with a laugh.

  “Nothing that dramatic.” He shakes his head, smiling softly. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

  “Okay. Break a leg.” He kisses me, hard and fast, and shows me out to the hallway where the security guard is waiting to escort me back to my se
at.

  “This is Lionel. He’s been assigned to you guys all night. If you need anything, just ask him.”

  “Okay.” I turn to Lionel. “I’m ready.”

  ***

  ~Leo~

  Aside from Samantha, there is nothing I love more than performing. The rush of being surrounded by thousands of people singing along with songs I’ve written is better than any drug-induced high.

  The first half of the show has gone without a hitch. The band is warm, playing flawlessly. I’ve been with these guys long enough that we communicate with hand movements or eye contact.

  It’s the best.

  My voice is strong and sure, and I’ve never enjoyed myself more during a show. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that my city and my girl are in the audience.

  “Are you having fun Seattle?” I scream and hold the mic out for their response, which is a deafening scream.

  I look down front and see Lionel gather Meg for me, escorting her to the wings.

  Here goes nothing.

  “We have a special guest with us tonight, Seattle. Back in the day, we played in bars and clubs around the city, and this gorgeous girl,” I gesture to my left as Meg walks confidently on stage, a big smile on her lips and a mic in her hand, “was a part of Nash at that time. She’s agreed to sing with us tonight! Megan McBride, everybody!”

  The crowd cheers and applauds, the front row going ballistic. Jules is screaming and jumping up and down.

  Just wait, sweetheart.

  “Hey, everybody!” Meg calls out and waves and is met with more applause.

  I asked her to join me on stage a few weeks ago, and she vehemently rejected the idea at first, but I roped Sam and Jules and the other girls into talking her into it.

  I always get my way.

  I nod back at Gary and he starts the song on the keyboard, Eric joins him on the drums, and we begin the song.

  It’s not one of ours. Will asked me to change the arrangement of Kiss Me Slowly by Parachute into a duet, and have Meg sing it with me. I lied to her and told her it was for Sam.

  She bought it.

  I sing the first verse, and she takes the second, we join together for the chorus.

  God, my girl can sing.

  The song comes to an end and the crowd is on their feet, cheering for us, and Meg’s smile is simply incredible. She should perform with us more often.

  She waves and turns to leave the stage, but I grab her hand.

  “Not so fast, Megan.” I speak into the mic and she turns back around, surprise written on her face. “So, I’m sure you don’t know this,” I tell the crowd, “but Megan is my little sister. She went and got involved with someone you all know and love, I think you’ll recognize his name, a Mr. Will Montgomery.”

  The crowd goes manic, jumping and screaming and Meg scowls at me. She thinks they’re going crazy at the mere mention of Will’s name.

  She’s wrong.

  “Turn around, Meg-pie,” I shout in her ear, so only she can hear, and her eyes go wide in shock and then well with tears when she sees Will approaching her from behind. He’s dressed in slacks and a button-down, the sleeves rolled, and he has a mic in his hand. He nods at me and I release her hand and step a few feet away to let him do his thing, but close enough so I can watch with the rest of Seattle.

  “Hey,” Will says into the mic his eyes on Meg’s, and then he waves to the crowd, who immediately erupts in joy again.

  This is a fanfuckingtastic crowd.

  I glance down to the front row to find Sam’s eyes on me, smiling broadly. All of the Montgomerys are clapping and whooping, the women crying. Will and I kept this a secret from all of them.

  “Meg.” Will begins and steps close to her, turning her so the family can see both of their profiles. “So, I obviously didn’t have to go out of town this weekend.” He smiles down at her and shrugs. “Leo helped me with this surprise.”

  Meg glances over at me, and I just smile and shrug.

  “The song you just sang was also not from Leo to Sam like he told you it was.” He laughs as she lowers her mic and swears a blue streak at me for lying to her and then he turns her chin back toward him. “It was from me to you. You see,” he clears his throat, “I wasn’t sure where this was going to go when I first met you, all I knew was that I wanted you.”

  The crowd has gone dead silent, listening in rapture to Will pour his heart out to Meg.

  If I didn’t love her so much, I’d call him a pussy, but she deserves every pretty fucking word, and so much more.

  “There’s a line in that song you just sang that says, ‘And it’s hard to love again, when the only way it’s been, when the only love you knew, just walked away.’ Well, I’m here to tell you, in front of all of these people and all of the people we love that I’m never going anywhere, Meg. I’m never letting you go. I love you more than I ever knew was possible to love someone. So,” he lowers himself to one knee and Meg covers her mouth with her hands, tears streaming down her pretty face. Will pulls a small blue box out of his pocket and opens it, showing her a fucking huge rock.

  Atta boy, Will.

  “Megan, will you do me the honor of being my wife? Marry me, babe.”

  You could hear a pin drop in Key Arena right now. No one is even breathing as they wait for Meg’s answer. The Montgomerys are standing perfectly still. Tears continue to stream down Meg’s face and a few seconds feel like hours.

  “Uh, Meg,” I mumble into my mic. “The answer is yes, sweetie, put the man out of his misery.”

  The crowd laughs, and finally she sinks to her knees before him, drops her mic on the floor, cups his face in her hands and says, “Of course I’ll marry you.”

  The crowd goes wild as Will wraps his arms around her middle and pulls her into him, kissing her long and hard.

  Too long, and too hard.

  “Hey, Montgomery, put the rock on her finger and get lost. I have a show to do.”

  They laugh and Will slips her ring on her slim finger and kisses it, then helps her to her feet. They both wave at the crowd and exit the stage through the wings to my left.

  I turn back to my band, raise the mic to my face and scream, “Okay, Seattle, let’s fucking rock!”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  ~Samantha~

  The after party is in full swing back stage. Fans who won back stage passes for autographs and photographs have come and gone. The band made it very clear that this party was just for them and their families.

  There are still more than thirty of us.

  “The show was ah-mazing!” Stacy exclaims and snuggles into Isaac’s side, a drink in her hand.

  “It was,” Brynna nods and smiles at Meg and Will, sitting on a couch, Meg in his lap. “Will, that was quite possibly the most romantic proposal I’ve ever seen.”

  “I’m a romantic guy.” He shrugs and offers us all a cocky grin.

  Meg explodes in laughter. “You’re a lot of things, babe, but romantic isn’t one of them. Did Luke give you pointers?”

  “Hey! I have my romantic moments!” Will frowns at her and then leans in to whisper in her ear, making her blush.

  “Oh, yeah, that’s right.”

  “I don’t want to know.” Matt shakes his head and then turns to Caleb, who has been dead silent all night, even during the concert. His eyes have been narrowed, his body on high-alert. “You doing okay, man?”

  “Fine,” Caleb confirms with a nod.

  Brynna frowns up at him. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m fine.” His jaw is tight, but his voice is firm and leaves no room for questioning.

  “Hey, Sam.” Jules approaches us from across the room. “Leo was looking for you a few minutes ago. You must have been in the restroom.”

  “Do you know which way he went?”

  “Out into the hallway.” Jules points toward the door.

  “Okay, thanks.” I check the time on my phone as I head out into the corridor. I wonder how long we have to stay before we c
an tactfully leave. The guys are leaving in the morning for the tour, and I want as many hours alone with my man as I can get.

  I hear voices murmuring in the hall as I turn a corner. Leo is standing with his back to me, facing Rick his manager, who is facing toward me, but hasn’t seen me yet.

  “You’ll destroy her, Leo. She loves you.”

  “I loved her too, but I sure as fuck can’t trust her now. What would you propose I do? The sooner it happens, the better.”

  What the fuck did I do?

  Rick glances over Leo’s shoulder and sees me. His mouth flattens in a grim line and he exhales hard. “Hey, Sam.”

  “Fuck,” Leo mutters under his breath, lowers his head and props his hands on his hips, and my heart feels like it’s going to beat right out of my chest. “Go back to the party, Sam.”

  His voice is cold. Angry. He doesn’t turn around to look at me.

  Rick shakes his head. “No, I think this is a conversation you need to have.” He slaps Leo on the shoulder and pats my own shoulder as he passes by me, leaving Leo and I alone in the stark white, quiet hallway.

  “Yeah, it sounds like we need to have a conversation.” I pull my walls up around me. Do not let him see you hurt, Samantha. I walk around to stand where Rick was moments ago. Leo won’t look at me; he keeps his eyes trained on the floor. “Look at me.”

  He pulls his head up, but instead of looking me in the eye, he focuses over my shoulder.

  “Fucking look at me, Leo.”

  He shakes his head, clenches his eyes shut and swears under his breath again.

  “Look, Sam…”

  “No, fuck this. Just tell me what I did wrong.”

  His head whips up and finally he pins me in his stormy, gray gaze, scowling. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “But you just said you can’t trust me. I heard you.”

  “No.” He shakes his head adamantly and rubs his hands up and down my arms. “You didn’t do anything. I wasn’t talking about you, baby.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Fuck,” he mutters again, sighs and swallows hard. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Sam.”