In Your Honor (14 page)

“
It's much bigger.” His
eyes twinkled at her as he chuckled. “It's a huge, standalone
building near the beach so the employees can surf or whatever all
day.”

“
You're a pretty relaxed
boss,” Lucy teased. He removed his hand from her back and she
immediately missed it. He leaned against a railing that lined the
windows, facing her.

Shane dipped his head in
embarrassment. “It's still weird for me to think of myself as
anyone's boss.” The corner of his mouth crooked up as he met her
eyes again. “I'm just a regular guy following a dream.”

Lucy's fingers played with the stack
of handmade bracelets on her wrist as she acknowledged the thudding
in her ribcage at his close proximity. He smelled good, like
leather and fresh laundry. It was vastly different from her own
smell, Essence of Bus, which she hoped he couldn't smell but knew
he probably could.

He reached over and touched the top of
her hand, causing her to stop breathing for a moment as she tried
to understand what he was doing. “C'mon,” he grinned at her as if
he knew exactly what he was doing and he was amused by it. “Let's
have lunch with my new business partner.”

Lucy's confusion must have been
obvious because he chuckled as he led her back to where Lenny was
sitting at a table. The pizza was waiting in the middle, and Lenny
was signing the last of a stack of documents. She looked up at them
as they approached and raised a curious eyebrow at Lucy.

Lucy stepped further away from Shane
and crossed to the other side of the table to be opposite him,
hoping she didn't appear as flustered as she was
feeling.

“
Business partner, huh?”
she asked Lenny as she took her seat.

“
Yep, done deal.” Lenny
handed the stack of papers to a girl waiting nearby.

Lucy tried to keep up in the
conversation as they discussed things like board construction,
manufacturing, and vision, but most of it was lost on her. The
pizza was good, though.

“
Are you nervous about
playing Madison Square Garden tonight?” Shane directed her way,
bringing her focus back to his too-handsome-for-his-own-good face.
“Lenny said it's the biggest venue of the tour.”

“
I don't usually get
nervous.” She frowned as she corrected herself. “But that makes me
sound arrogant.”

Shane smiled. “No it doesn't, we're
athletes.” He gestured between himself and Lenny, who nodded in
agreement. “Confidence is part of the game.”

“
She's fantastic on
stage,” Lenny spoke up. “I think you'll really enjoy the
show.”

“
You're coming to the show
tonight?” Lucy almost choked in surprise.

“
Well, yeah. I mean, if
that's okay...?” He was wearing that amused look on his face
again.

“
Yeah, I... was... uh...”
She had nothing. And they knew it. Lenny snickered but didn't
rescue her. Lucy rolled her eyes at herself and went back to her
pizza with a sigh. “I am the absolute coolest I have ever been.
Gee, I wish I could meet intimidating and successful people more
often.”

Shane laughed and kicked her shoe
under the table. “If seeing me there will make you uncomfortable, I
can always come in disguise.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. “As
long as it's not one of the Beatles, I don't think I'm ready for
that kind of pressure.”

“
I don't believe you.”
Shane grinned and handed her a napkin, indicating she had something
on her chin. Yep, coolest chick that ever was.

“
She's a star,” Lenny
interjected. “I really can't wait for you to see her. Did you get
the pass I sent over?”

“
Yeah.” Shane glanced over
at Lenny and then back to Lucy. “I thought you just played
guitar...?”

“
She sings too,” Lenny
said excitedly. “Luke has discussed with me the possibility of her
having a carrier all her own.”

That was news to Lucy,
though her conversation with Taylor the other night made more sense
now. She wished people would talk
to
her about these things instead
of
about
her.

She looked up and saw Shane watching
her quietly, an unspoken question on his face. She shook her head
subtly and he quickly changed the subject, diverting Lenny's
attention back to talk of their new business venture and the next
steps they needed to take. All the while he exchanged small glances
with Lucy that she could only interpret as curious
concern.

Lunch wrapped up and Lenny announced
that they had to get back to the arena in time for sound check.
Shane walked them to the door of the elevator and shook Lucy's hand
one more time.

“
I'm so glad you could
make it today,” he said sincerely. “And I look forward to seeing
you again soon.” He said it in such a way that Lucy wondered if he
meant more than the show that evening. He broke off his gaze and
hugged Lenny good-bye, leaving Lucy without an answer to her
thought.

***

By the time they got back
to the arena, Lucy had all but forgotten Shane Brookings and his
high-end New York City office in the clouds. Lenny had gotten a
call from Luke and apparently tonight's show was going to be a very
big deal. Something about
Rolling
Stone
or some such being there to do a
profile on Taylor.

Triny had told Lucy to ignore the
critics, they only wanted to suck you dry and leave you for dead.
So she really didn't see it as the best news ever, but she
understood that they wanted to get Taylor's name out
there.

Sound check was a mess. Greg had his
hands full and Carl was freaking out, more due to his decision to
quit smoking two days prior than anything else. Lucy wanted to stay
out of the way, so she changed into her stage clothes in the bus
and made her way to the stage. She looked around the massive
complex and let the size soak into her. She tried to picture it
full of the thousands of screaming fans that would arrive in a few
hours. Instead of butterflies or nerves, a peacefulness settled
over her.

She could hear Greg and Carl
exchanging sarcastic blows from the sound booth and she settled on
the edge of the stage, dangling her legs over the side and pulling
her guitar onto her lap. She softly plucked at the strings, and a
tune she hadn't played in a long time came spilling out.

“
You always made that song
sound the best,” Blake said as he took a seat next to
her.

“
It was one of your
favorites.” Lucy smiled but didn't pause the song.

“
Only when you did it.”
Blake sighed and nodded to the sound booth. “Who do you think would
win if it came to blows?”

“
Hmm,” Lucy thought about
it, “I don't know. Greg is pretty strong, but Carl has that
nicotine withdrawal that might give him an edge.”

Blake chuckled softly and crossed his
arms over his chest. “You're not nervous about tonight, are you.”
It wasn't a question.

“
Not even a little bit.”
Lucy grinned at him and finally saw him crack the serious look on
his face.

***

“
How are you always so
happy?” he asked her, his eyes searching her face for any sign of
dishonesty. It wasn't there. She really was who she appeared to
be.

“
You already know the
answer to that, Blake.” She smiled and rolled her eyes.

“
Remind me,” he persisted,
his voice coming out rough.

She sighed and stilled her playing.
Her teeth came down on her bottom lip then she reached over,
touching the clenched part of his jaw. Her fingertips pressed
lightly until his jaw relaxed. That used to be her signal for when
he was frowning at her, and he tried to soften his expression.
“Because I feel what I feel while it's happening. I don't bottle it
up and save it for later. When I'm mad, I let it out. When I'm sad,
I cry until I can't. That way, it can't sneak up on me and ruin my
day.”

“
I wish I could be as
brave as you are.” He bumped her shoulder with his own.

“
You are.” She looked at
him seriously, a small frown pulling her eyebrows together. “Blake,
you're the bravest person I know.”

“
Ah.” He suddenly felt
very uncomfortable and his mind raced for a way out. He grit his
teeth together as she read his face perfectly.

“
Let me guess, you have to
go?” She raised a dark eyebrow at him and he gave her a crooked
smile.

“
It's freaky how well you
know me,” he confessed.

She didn't say anything, only smiled
in that knowing way and went back to strumming her guitar. He
waited a few more minutes before he stood up, and she raised her
head and waggled her eyebrows at him. He shook his head at her
before jogging down the stairs and heading to the green
room.

“
That seemed like it went
well,” Kendra muttered as she followed him into the empty dressing
room. “Don't forget, she's got a solo tonight, you won't want to
miss it.”

“
Not going to be a
problem.” Blake offered a fist-bump to her and she rolled her eyes
but indulged him anyway.

Blake was feeling good
about things. He hadn't lost control of his thoughts and actions in
weeks. He'd been getting along really well with Lucy on a regular
basis but he still limited how much one-on-one contact they had. He
needed to take this slow. He needed to show her he wasn't the
messed up, whiskey-soaked adolescent she used to know. He could be
a man. He could be
her
man.

***

Shane stood with his back to the open
office area, gazing out at the city below. It was a magnificent
view, but he missed the mountains. He was anxiously looking forward
to his flight to New Zealand tomorrow, he needed to get back on a
board.

He rubbed the stubble on his face and
felt his mouth curve into a smile. He couldn't stop thinking about
the weird girl that Lenny had brought with her earlier that day.
Lucy Newton. Weird wasn't the right word, but he hadn't been able
to find a better one yet.

He had enjoyed her easy laugh and lack
of grace. She was... unusual. But he had found an easy rapport with
her.

He had noted the many handmade
bracelets, the natural windblown tan of her skin, the sweet smell
of honeysuckle that seemed to surround her. Her dark eyes were
framed by thick lashes that gave them a smoky, seductive quality
that was alluring and sweet at the same time. Her long, chocolate
hair kept swinging into her face and she would push it back with
annoyance.

She was wildly, dangerously,
haphazardly... beautiful. That was the word.

If she was that magnetic out of her
element, he couldn't wait to see her in the spotlight.

Lucy's heart raced as she took her final bow
and waved at the energetic crowd. She had never played in front of
so many people all at once and she felt... full. It was everything
she had dreamed of since as far back as she could remember.

She handed her guitar to one of the techs
and jogged down the stairs, where Blake caught her in a hug and
swung her around.

“
That was incredible,” he gushed as he
buried his face in her hair. He set her down but kept his arms
encircled around her waist. She grinned broadly at him, seeing the
pride on his face. His approval meant the most to her, no matter
how much she wished it didn't.

“
You did great, Newton,” Taylor nodded
at her, downplaying his own elation. “You definitely make my job
easier.”

Lucy looked up at Blake again, his strong
arms still holding her. His smile twitched, as if he had something
extra to say, but he only stared at her. Her body was reacting to
their close proximity and she didn't know if this was within the
parameters of friendship.

“
You have to get ready for your own
show,” she reminded him, biting her lip as her face began to heat
up from a whole new reason.

He leaned in close, his lips grazing the
outside of her ear and her heart stuttered. “Don't go far, I want
to see you after.”

He pulled away just enough for her to have
eye contact with his nearly emerald green eyes. She gave him a
crooked smile and nodded. He released her with a wink and left to
join the rest of his bandmates for their pre-show ritual.

Lucy blew the air out of her lungs and
watched his back until he was gone. When his eyes were that dark
green color, she had a hard time focusing on the friendship part of
this arrangement. But she really
really
needed to remember that. Even
if that look he gave her had her remembering too many instances of
sneaking out her window and into the night.

She took one more careful
breath
and started down the hall. Her thoughts and
forward movement stopped abruptly when she collided with a strong
body. She'd managed to run straight into Shane Brookings, in all
his massive, athletically perfect glory.

“
Careful!” Shane steadied her, placing
both hands on her hips then removing them quickly.

“
I'm sorry,” Lucy laughed at herself.
“That's what I get for walking with my eyes closed.”