23
him every day is different now that we’re living in the same
24
place.”
25
“I get the feeling being around a band while they record an
26
album is stressful. So I’m trying to remember that part. It’s excit-27
ing, but I’m scared. What if I’m not enough?”
S28
Daisy came over, taking Mary’s hands. “You’re everything.
N29
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Lauren Dane
01
The more I’m around Damien, the more I like him. The more I
02
can see he’s all about you. Give it a chance. I like how you’re using 03
this as a way to explore lots of new avenues in your life. You’re
04
smart. You’re talented. You’re strong. You’re beautiful, and of
05
course he digs you. How could anyone look at you and not see
06
what an incredible catch you are?”
07
“Because he’s got access to everything. He’s got money. He’s
08
got women who literally throw themselves at him. I’m bitchy
09
and peculiar and I’m not willing to give up my whole life to be
10
with him, and so many would.”
11
“He could have had those women but he wants
you.
Don’t
12
underestimate yourself. My god. Baby, you’re spectacular. Not
13
just to look at, but everything about you. He doesn’t want any
14
of that other stuff. He’s all about you. Accept that.”
15
That was it really. She needed to really accept it. She was
16
deep in super- duper like with him. She thought about him all
17
the time. He’d never done anything to her but be kind and giv-
18
ing. She had to believe it.
19
“I’m trying. It’s odd, thinking about being away half the
20
week. I’m going to miss this.”
21
Daisy hugged her. “We’ve all spent time with our dudes, fall-
22
ing in love and all that jazz. It’s your turn. And that’s good too.
23
I’ll still see you three days a week. And that’s pretty damned
24
good.”
25
26
27
She arrived two days early and set about her work. Damien was
28S
busy enough preparing for recording that he didn’t have too
29N
much time to obsess over her being there in his kitchen. But it
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made him unbelievably fucking happy every time he came into
01
the house and took a deep breath.
02
Her cooking smelled so ridiculously good. Garlic and onion,
03
savory and sweet, whatever she made fi lled the air and made his
04
stomach growl. He’d cruise through, she’d hand him something
05
to taste and he’d oblige.
06
It was so damned good. Not just the food, but the way it
07
made him feel to have this with her. To know he’d see her every
08
single week. Days of every single week.
09
He usually went into recording with a lot of stress, but this
10
time was different. That fi rst day when he cruised in to the barn
11
at eleven, he was relaxed from a nearly two- hour- long sex fest
12
with his woman. He’d left her rumpled and sleepy in his bed.
13
He knew her scent would be on his sheets like it was on his
14
hands.
15
“Someone got some this morning.” Paddy looked up from
16
his spot on the fl oor. He’d been placing his pedals in his own
17
way. His guitar was on his lap as he tested the sound.
18
“I don’t kiss and tell.” He pulled his hair back and into a
19
ponytail before wrapping several drumsticks.
20
Ezra was doing double duty in the booth and would also be
21
doing backup guitar on the tracks. He had a phone to his ear
22
even as he spoke to their producer and sound tech while they
23
fi ddled around with the board.
24
Vaughan strolled in, tipping his chin. “Where’s the food? I
25
really only came for that.”
26
“She’ll be up in two hours but she wanted me to remind you
27
all there are snacks in the kitchen. She even made juice and with-
S28
held her frown when she saw how many sodas I’ve already had
N29
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Lauren Dane
01
today.” Damien grinned as he tested his sound through his head-
02
phones.
03
“You need to lock that shit in and marry her. Otherwise it’s
04
back to Doritos and stuff.”
05
“Don’t say that around her. She’s nervous enough. You go
06
talking marriage and you’ll scare her away.”
07
“Don’t fuck it up like I did.” Vaughan tuned his bass.
08
“Let’s get this show on the road, losers.” Paddy stood, ready
09
to go.
10
“Let’s make a record.”
11
She came in quietly through the door to the kitchen. She
12
didn’t want to interrupt their work. More than that, she was in
13
her own head space from cooking.
14
She loved his kitchen so much. It was a total joy to work in
15
that space. It was large and bright, there was more than enough
16
counterspace, double ovens, convection oven, six- burner stove,
17
separate grill.
18
It was like Disneyland in there.
19
Smiling, she set up their lunch. Today she was starting them
20
off with a taco bar of sorts. Spiced and marinated tofu and veg-
21
gies for Paddy; shrimp, whitefi sh and steak for the others with
22
a variety of toppings.
23
For dessert she’d made a quick and easy strawberry kiwi
24
granita. Not high in sugar, but would give them something sweet
25
and full of energy for the afternoon.
26
Once she set up she left as quietly as she’d come in. She’d set
27
up on a schedule and they’d smell it. If they wanted her to break
28S
in and tell them, Damien would let her know. She’d come back
29N
in an hour to clean up.
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The freedom of this new schedule was pretty awesome, she
01
had to admit. She had plans to work on a curry recipe that after-
02
noon. She’d been fi ddling with it for the last few days and was
03
very close to being fi nished.
04
Sharon had asked her to come up to the main house anytime
05
she wanted. And she would, but for the next few days it would
06
be nice to just settle in to this new routine.
07
And she couldn’t deny how wonderful it had been to reunite
08
with Damien. He’d been in New York on some publicity stuff.
09
Originally it was supposed to be just Paddy but their manager
10
had talked them all into going.
11
But he’d sent her texts and pictures and had called. It hadn’t
12
been too different from when he was in Hood River and she’d
13
been in Bainbridge, but he’d shown her a hearty welcome when
14
he’d picked her up two days before.
15
She smiled at the sight of Violet trotting toward her.
16
“Oh, wee baby piggy.” She knelt and gave Violet love. “You’re
17
such an escape artist. Let’s get you back home before the dog-
18
gies see you.”
19
Not that the dogs would hurt her. Most of them were afraid
20
of the demon pig. But Loopy adored her and got so excited every
21
time he saw her, and it got the other dogs all worked up too.
22
“We can hang out later. I’m going for a bike ride. I bet you’d
23
fi t in the basket.”
24
Violet did a little dance and it made her laugh. “But for now,
25
back home.” Dutifully, Violet followed and went back into the
26
enclosure she shared with Mr. Big, Ezra’s other pig.
27
Big gave her a snorty hello before going back to his nap. Vio-
S28
let trotted over and lay herself against him.
N29
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Lauren Dane
01
She walked back to Damien’s house, checking her e-mail.
02
There were several from friends and one from an address she
03
didn’t recognize that had an attachment she couldn’t open on
04
her phone.
05
She had also brought her laptop though, so when she got
06
back she fi red it up to see what it was.
07
The name sounded familiar and she realized it was that shit-
08
head reporter who’d been taking pictures of Gillian, the one
09
who’d been the cause of Gillian and Adrian nearly breaking up
10
over a year before.
11
Lip curled, she opened the attachment. A picture of Damien
12
and his brothers at some red carpet thing they’d attended in
13
New York. She leaned closer as she broke into a sweat. Dread
14
crawled through her gut as she blinked.
15
The woman on his arm was someone Mary recognized. An
16
old fl ing of his who also happened to be a lingerie model. He
17
leaned in very close to her, a laugh on his features. She held on
18
to him tightly, her lips nearly on his.
19
There were others attached and she opened them, knowing
20
on some level that she shouldn’t. Knowing she was going to see
21
something that would break her heart, and yet she couldn’t seem
22
to stop herself.
23
Another of her hugging him, her hand on his ass. On. His.
24
Ass. Another with her head on his shoulder and a last one,
25
clearly taken after the event, in the lobby of a hotel.
26
She stood up, sick. Sick at heart. Sick to her stomach. She was
27
so cold. But not cold enough that she wasn’t feeling the pain.
28S
Never, ever in her whole life had she felt like this. Felt this
29N
horrible shame. This dread and humiliation. Her chest ached
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and she heard a sound, a rusty sort of laugh ,and she realized
01
she was the one who made it as her heart broke.
02
Why would he do this? How could he do this to her when
03
she’d fi nally accepted that he wanted to be with her for real?
04
Damien was a stranger to her. How could the man she’d fallen
05
in love with be so cruel? Surely he must have known he’d be pho-
06
tographed with this woman. And that she would see it. Or maybe
07
he’d been so cocky that when she’d said she avoided celebrity
08
news he thought he’d be safe.
09
She wanted to go confront him. Wanted to walk into that
10
studio and throw her laptop in his face, and while he was on
11
the ground clutching his perfect nose she wanted to kick him in
12
the junk.
13
But the thought of his brothers knowing . . . and they must
14
have since they were there. They all knew and no one stopped
15
him. No one told her.
16
She slammed the laptop shut, grabbing it and heading
17
upstairs.
18
19
20
He found it odd that she hadn’t shown up, but they’d been really
21
busy working on the fi rst two songs so he hadn’t really noticed
22
until he’d gotten very hungry and realized it was two hours past
23
dinner.
24
They’d wandered into the kitchen only to fi nd the stuff from
25
lunch still there. Which he found totally odd.
26
“Weird. She’s not the type to blow this off.”
27
“You said she was working on her cookbook. Maybe she
S28
forgot because she was super into it. There’s still a huge amount
N29
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