“Babe, there is nothing innocent about the way Justin looks at you. He wants you.” Jack’s thumb stopped moving and he stilled for my response, keeping my eyes locked with his.

I went to speak twice, each time taking a breath and beginning to form words, but then thought better of them. Jack and I didn’t lie to each other and I had no intention of starting when I was going to be spending months away from him. “I know he had a crush on me years ago, but that was a long time ago, Jack.”

I watched Jack’s jaw tightened and a small throb in his cheekbone clenched. “He had a thing for you?”

“Yes, but nothing ever happened. He told me how he felt and then a few days later Michael proposed and he was respectful of my commitment.”

“He still has a thing for you.”

“You don’t know that. You met him for all of five minutes, Jack.”

“I knew it in three seconds from the way he looked at you, babe. You’re kidding yourself if you don’t see it.”

I was quiet for a minute, thinking.

“So no boys in my room, especially Justin. I can handle that. What else you got?” I pushed my chin up high.

Jack smirked and his eyebrows raised in amusement at my response. “Glad you can handle it, babe.”

“What else is on your agenda to discuss?” Our conversation was beginning to feel like a negotiation.

“I think you have something you want to discuss with me, something you should have talked about instead of ignoring my calls.”

My happy face disappeared. “I’m sorry about ignoring the calls. I just needed some time to think.”

“You can’t shut me out when you get upset, babe. I was climbing the walls for ten hours while I traveled to get to you.”

“I sort of freaked out a bit when I found out.” I bit my bottom lip at my admission.

“We’re back to the original problem now, babe. Freaked out about what? You never even gave me the benefit of the doubt and asked me what you thought you knew.”

One eyebrow rose and the crease between my eyebrows deepened while my nose wrinkled, conveying my sense of confusion. Then my eyes widened as I realized what Jack was trying to tell me. I had never stopped to think maybe it wasn’t true, I had never even asked him before making a major leap.

“Ah, now she gets it. Let’s back it up. Ask me what you think I did.”

“Oh my God, Jack. Are you the tour sponsor for the Double Strife tour?”

“No.”

“But … but, the tour is sponsored by Heston International. I saw it myself on the signs backstage last night.”

“The tour is sponsored by Heston International. The hotels I own with my father are Heston International Hotels. Heston International is my father’s company. I had no idea that he was the tour sponsor until Sienna told me what you were upset about and I did some digging.”

“Oh my God, Jack. I am so sorry.”

“Apology accepted, babe. But next time just ask. I’ve been honest with you since the day that I met you.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” I wrapped one hand around Jack’s neck.

“You’ll make it up to me.” The corner of his mouth twitched upward.

“I’d love nothing better than to make it up to you.”

I jumped on top of Jack and littered his face with a hundred tiny kisses all over. Then I sunk down under the covers and lowered myself to start to make it up to him.

Chapter 5

I really didn’t want to leave Jack that afternoon, but Justin had texted me to remind me to be at rehearsal early because he wanted to go over our set list again. I caught Jack’s jaw tense when I mentioned the text from Justin, but he didn’t say anything more about him. Jack had to leave the following day and it killed me not to spend all day and night with him curled up in bed. Before I left for rehearsal, Jack told me he had some work to catch up on, but that he would meet me at the show later that night. I arranged for him to pick up a backstage pass and Jack had the car service from the night before bring me to the arena.

***

As the show time drew near, I was both excited and nervous that Jack would be there to watch me. It was funny how I didn’t get nervous about how an audience of 30,000 people who had paid to see a different opening act would react, yet one man could unravel my nerves.

Sienna and I opened the show and, for the first time, I noticed that some people sang along with our songs when we repeated the chorus. The crowd was lively and I wasn’t sure if the elation I felt as we closed our act was from the energetic crowd or seeing Jack standing off to the side of the stage watching me.

I went right off the stage into Jack’s arms. I couldn’t wait to share my excitement with him. “How did you like it?” I bounced up and down on the balls of my feet with exhilaration. I normally had a post show adrenaline rush, but that night it was extra intense, I couldn’t even keep my body physically still.

“I didn’t think there was anything sexier than you underneath me, naked. But f**k, babe, I could watch you all night up there. You sing like an angel and move like the devil. A part of me wants to show you off to the world, but the other part wants to lock you up in our apartment and bolt the door shut.” Jack’s sexy half smile told me he wasn’t kidding, at least about the part of wanting to lock me up.

I was floating on a cloud for the next few hours as Jack stood behind me and held me for most of Double Strife’s concert. He held me possessively, with his arms wrapped around my waist, his front tight to my back during the slow songs. Then Sienna and I danced around like drunk teenagers to the faster ones. The way Jack watched me made me feel special and adored and I was glad that he had seemed to forget his initial feelings toward Justin and could enjoy himself during the show.

At the end of the show, Justin and Kyle exited the stage where Jack and I were standing. Kyle smiled and nodded, but Justin’s show smile seemed to have disappeared. They talked to their manager a few minutes and then, when the crowd was yelling loud enough for an encore, they went out to play one last song.

I wasn’t surprised when I heard the first few notes, as they seemed to have made a habit of closing with Gone. It was definitely a fan favorite. But as the guitar intro came to a close, and the singing was just about to start, I saw Justin look over at me and smirk. Then he stopped playing and the two of them did a repeat of their onstage chat about how having hot chicks sing with them would make it better. I felt Jack’s hand tighten on my hip when Justin crooked his finger in my direction, beckoning me to the stage. I turned to Jack before leaving and gave him a quick kiss and an apologetic smile.