“What songs are they talking about? Oh, and salsa on your burrito?”

“There are burritos?”

“Damn, I think you sound more excited about a burrito than me.”

“I already f**ked you a few hours ago. I haven’t eaten since six. Priorities. Plus, it’s only a matter of time before you jump me again. I need to keep my strength up.”

“Okay, then. I’m glad you seem to have a fine grasp on the way things are.” He winked, and she rolled her eyes.

“They loved ‘Bright Light’ and ‘Silent No More’ best it seems like. Not that I’m biased or anything, but the girl you wrote that one for is pretty lucky. Anyway, they also loved ‘Chemicals’ and ‘Here Comes Trouble.’ There are pictures here, too. Of you guys.”

“We have a photographer and media guy. He was backstage tonight, and he also sends stuff to the fan club site for them to post.”

“Yeah, hang on, there’s a link to the band’s official website.” She clicked it to a gallery of shots taken from that show. “Your people are really efficient.”

She paused, smiling at one, a candid, taken of the two of them in a hallway. Before the show. Her head was tilted to look up at him, a smile on her face, eyes wide. He looked like he was about to lick her. There was so much sex between them in that moment, it leaped off the page.

“Hot damn. I sure do want to get all up in whatever you’ve got.” He stood behind her, sliding a plate within her reach. “You’re beautiful. Holy shit.”

The note beneath it said, “Silent No More.”

“Yeah, so I guess this is part of that rebranding thing.”

He turned the stool so she faced him. “You said you were okay with it. I know you’re sort of overwhelmed by my world right now, but I want to stay on the same page. I can call him and have them remove it right now if you want me to.”

It was three in the morning and she had no doubt at all he’d do it and not be angry.

She shook her head. “No, you’re right. I said I was okay with it and I am. I’d rather this than be interviewed. We talked about that.”

He kissed her forehead. “It’s a great picture.”

She smiled and wrapped her legs around him to hold him close. “Yeah. Thanks for the burrito.”

He grinned, kissing her quickly. “Eat up. We have time to have at least an orgasm or two before we sleep and rest up for the rest.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

WINTER HAD SETTLED in and didn’t seem to want to make way for spring, though March 21 had come and gone. The extended cold made Paddy’s being gone even harder. Ezra had elected to do the second secret show in Seattle and the opening and closing shows of the tour itself, but passed on the rest.

They’d left nearly two months before and had been busily blazing a trail across the country.

He called her every single day so she knew he missed her, but she heard the excitement in his voice and knew, too, that this was an important part of his life. Their album dropped and was doing amazing.

She was incredibly proud of him, and she tried to keep really busy so she didn’t have time to mope or miss him, much less think about what it might be like out there for them.

Speaking of Ezra, she needed to get a move on. She was having lunch with him in less than ten minutes at her favorite Mexican food place in town. The Hurleys had sort of taken her in while the band was out on tour. It had been...startling and yet really nice. She and Sharon had coffee or dinner at least once a week, and Ezra was her regular lunch date.

She closed the project she’d been working on, grabbed her coat, hat and gloves and headed out.

She hated driving in the snow, and Hood River was currently blanketed in it, so she walked over to the restaurant and was freezing cold by the time she hurried through the doors.

“Hey, Nats.” Ezra waved from a table, standing and moving to take her coat and give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Darlin’, you’re so cold.” He enveloped her into another hug, rubbing his big hands up and down her back and arms a moment.

It didn’t feel creepy or sexual at all. It felt...as though he was her family.

She grinned his way as he set her back with a kiss on her forehead. “Sit down. They just came by and took my order for some hot chocolate. I got two.”

“You’re the best Hurley ever.”

He laughed as she settled across from him. “How are you? You look fantastic. Even the red cheeks make you pretty.”

“Wow, I’m paying for lunch now.”

They looked over the menu, but she knew exactly what she was going to have. The same thing she always had, the giant veggie burrito.

“Been two months now. How are you? Missing Paddy?”

“I haven’t shaved my legs since he left. It’s cold, and I’m always in pants, so no one’s gonna see anything, anyway. That’s a plus. Otherwise? Yeah, I miss him.” She waited a beat. “And how are you?”

He looked up as the server brought more chips and salsa, and they gave their orders.

His smile was wry. “I could pretend I don’t know what you mean. But...there’s something about you that makes my tongue loosen up.”

“Maybe you’ve just held on to the words too long. It’s not good for you. Some things need to be said so you can be free of them.”

One of his brows rose for a moment. “Someone’s been to therapy.”