“Don’t worry, I won’t hound you about it right now. But later I expect a full accounting.”

“Maybe by then I’ll understand whatever it is that’s happening,” Tuesday muttered.

There was a flurry of action—lights adjusted, sound done and the crowd hushed.

They turned to watch the Hurley brothers—no, more than that, Sweet Hollow Ranch—make their way up to the stairs where Natalie and Tuesday stood.

They were all the same, but more. Ezra was with them like he’d never left. Paddy took his guitar from his tech and winked at Natalie before he walked out, Vaughan behind him, and Damien jogged to his drum kit.

Ezra hung back. She took his hand, and he smiled at her. She stretched up to kiss his cheek. “Kick ass, Ezra.”

“Thanks, sweetheart, that’s my plan.”

The crowd lost their shit when Paddy tried to talk. He waited and finally got them quieted. He pointed to his guitar. “Sweet, huh? This is what happens when you have the best girlfriend on the planet.”

More hoots and shouts, and she blushed even in the dark.

“Hey, Portland, what’s goin’ on?” Paddy asked.

Something south of Natalie’s belt buckle might have pulsed at how hot he was as he owned his role as Paddy the rock star.

The crowd cheered.

“Awesome. Here’s the deal. Tonight we’ve got some new stuff just for you. We’ve been working our asses off for a few months, and before Christmas, we finished production on Day Dream. It’ll be dropping in a few weeks, and then we’ll be touring. You guys need to keep an eye on the fan club site for presales. As in, check tomorrow.”

More insanity, and Mary came to stand on Natalie’s other side.

“We’re going to give you all a special sneak peek at the new album. You’re the first people outside the studio and the label to hear it, and we figured, why not add something old to something new?”

Ezra stepped forward, taking the guitar his tech handed his way and walked onstage. And then the crowd went absolutely bat-shit crazy as they stomped and called EZZZZZZZZZ over and over.

He stepped to the mic and didn’t pause at all, just counted into the first song, and they were off.

It was hard to remember everything that happened that night. Once they started singing, it was as though she was swept up into a weird thrill ride.

Mary hugged her at one point. “You look like a deer caught in the headlights.”

“I’m overwhelmed by it.”

And it was overwhelming. Mainly in a good way. Paddy was undeniably sexy. He owned the stage. He crooned and snarled.

He handed his guitar off and headed to the piano. Mary pressed a tissue into Natalie’s hand and she nodded her thanks.

“Hush now or you won’t hear the first single.” He winked and she wasn’t the only one swooning. “This one is called ‘Silent No More.’”

He closed his eyes as he started to play, leaning in, his lips close to the microphone and began to sing.

She sang along at a whisper and when he opened his eyes, it was to track her, lock on and sing the chorus to her.

Shivers ran over her skin.

When the song ended, the crowd went wild, and he blew a kiss to Natalie before he moved out to grab his guitar and head up front once more.

* * *

BACKSTAGE AFTER THEIR ENCORE, when the lights came up, it was insanity. She would have gotten swept up, but Mary grabbed her on one side and Tuesday on the other and tugged them through the crowds.

One of the security people stopped them but recognized Mary. “This is Natalie. She’ll be around with Paddy, so don’t give her a hard time.”

He smiled at her and made some sex eyes at Tuesday, who gave him the once-over.

“Good Lord, come on.”

In one large room, the green room, it said on the door, the guys were laughing, toasting one another and giving each other sweaty hugs and shoves.

Paddy glistened with sweat, his shirt off and tucked into his waistband. His eyes gleamed like he was high, and she supposed he probably was from adrenaline.

“Ezra, my man, you killed the hell out of it.” Paddy clapped his brother on the back.

Ezra grinned. “I totally did. Wow, it’s been a while. I’m tore up.” He laughed. “Good thing I’m in shape, even so, I forgot what it was like to be up there for longer than an hour. An arena show would kick my ass.”

He pulled his shirt up and off, mopping his face with it, and Tuesday made a sound under her breath. Mary nudged her with an elbow. “Right? Good gracious.”

Damien then looked toward the door, bounding over to his wife and sweeping her into an embrace. “Curly! How’d we sound?”

“Excellent.” She laughed as he kissed her face and neck.

He put his hands on her belly, bending down. “How’d Daddy do, sprocket?”

Paddy wove his way over, looking pretty fierce and sexual, and her heart stuttered as he stopped a breath away. “I’m sweaty.”

“Yeah. You totally are.”

“You’re doing that breathless thing. It makes me feel like a wolf, and you’re the rabbit.”

She swallowed, blushing.

All around them there was noise and celebration, so no one heard him lean even closer and say, “And I want to eat you all up.”

She put a hand on his chest—partly to keep standing because he overwhelmed her. He was warm and real and sweaty or not, it was clean sweat from hard work. And it must have been laced with some major pheromones because she wanted to lick him.