Fame (19 page)

Willow shook her head and smiled. “This isn’t about me; this is about you and sticking your chin up, going out there, and acting like the fact that Rook Tyler is in the same building as you doesn’t affect you the least bit. You have Cole wrapped around you and Kaid and I behind you. He will not come near you…that is a guarantee.”

There was a knock at the door, starling both Maisy and Willow, who began to laugh at how high they jumped at the loud knock.
 

“Let’s get you zipped back up. You’re going to do great, and when we go up there to call out the best song nominations…”

“Wait, what?” Maisy interrupted her.
 

“Lady Antebellum couldn’t make it; Pete told us in the car we were doing the nominations.”

“What? When?”

“Apparently, when you weren’t paying attention.”

“Willow, I can’t,” Maisy said, as Willow zipped her back up. “Shattered Souls is a nominee.”

“I know, but there’s no way they’ll win. That Meghan Trainer song is way too popular for Shattered Souls to win. Now, let’s go out there; we don’t have much time to get into our seats.”

As they left the bathroom, Willow smiled and twiddled her fingers at two of the men from Mumford and Sons, who were waiting outside the bathroom, and walked past them as they rolled their eyes.

“Oooh, they’re hot,” Willow cooed, as she looked behind her at the two men who quickly retreated into the bathroom. They must have started their drinking early.
 

“Focus, we have to find Kaid.”

There was a sea of glitz and glam in the hall of the theatre that was slightly mesmerizing. Stars were everywhere…in some pretty odd outfits and then some very classic ones. The pop artists made the biggest statements with their barely there dresses and weird shaped hats. Maisy didn’t understand what the appeal was of worrying whether or not you were going to have a nip slip the whole night; she would just rather be covered. The men were either in suits or had their own kind of style going on. Maisy thought back to Shattered Souls and how well they were put together. They didn’t do the whole rocker vibe. Instead, they were classically tailored and hipster. They were…perfect.

“There you are,” Cole came up beside her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I thought I had a wardrobe malfunction,” Maisy lied. She was wearing a light pink gown with a sweetheart top, and the fabric was a beautiful chiffon with a glittery brocade that cascaded all the way down the dress. She paired the dress with gold heels and clutch. Her hair was pulled up into a low bun, and she wore a gold headband around her forehead, making her look almost goddess-like. Kaid wore a brown suit with specks of gold in it, and Willow wore a cream colored dress that hugged every inch of her body with gold accents as well. They looked good.
 

“Everything all set then?” he asked, still concerned.
 

“Yes, thank you. We better get to our seats.”

“Yes, well, I seem to be sitting all the way on the other side of the theatre, so I’ll have to catch you after everything. Wait for me?”

“Of course,” Maisy said, as she gave him a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth and took off with Kaid and Willow, who were rushing to get to their seats. The lights in the hall were flashing, letting them know that everyone had to take their seats immediately.
 

“Twisted Perfection, you three are sitting right in front of Shattered Souls on the aisle,” the attendant said to them, as they walked up to the aisle way. Maisy’s vision started to run black, as Kaid and Willow escorted her down to their seats. She couldn’t even feel her feet moving; it felt like she was almost gliding down the aisle. This was some kind of sick and twisted joke the music gods were playing on her; it had to be.

“Breathe, baby girl, I got you,” Kaid said into her ear. “You got this. Remember, you are stronger than you think you are.”

Maisy nodded and spotted Shattered Souls, all sitting together. Rook was on the end, with his foot crossed over his knee, looking relaxed as hell, as if her mere existence didn’t disturb him one bit.
 

Willow entered their row first and then Maisy, Kaid flanked them on the end and sat in front of Rook.
 

“Well, if it isn’t our old bus mates. How the hell are ya?” Cruz asked, as he leaned forward. “My, my, my, Maisy, you fucking smell divine.”

“Fuck off,” Kaid gritted out over his shoulder.
 

“Whoa, that was a little uncalled for, Kinkaid; I was just telling the lady how good she smelled. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”

“Leave her the fuck alone,” that deep baritone voice said in a hushed tone right behind Maisy’s head. Goose bumps sprouted all over her skin at his proximity, and she reminded herself to take deep breaths, that she was going to be okay, and that she was strong enough to get through an awards show.
 

“Nice to see you,” Grey said to all of them, always being polite. “You guys look great, and I’ve heard nothing but great things about your last tour. Congratulations on your success.”

“Yeah, you guys have been killing it,” Landon added. “We couldn’t be prouder.”

“Thank you,” Kaid said, while politely smiling. “Congrats on your nominations. We’re rooting for you.”

“That means a lot to us,” Grey said.
 

Willow turned and gave the boys her biggest smile. “Well, we wouldn’t be here without you four, so really, we owe you a thank you. Even though one of you is a giant fuck-up, we still appreciate you.”

“Willow…” Maisy warned, as she leaned into her outspoken friend.
 

“What? It’s the truth.”

“Just turn around, for fuck’s sake.”

In frustration, Maisy pinched the bridge of her nose and rested her arm on the armrest. She could feel the heat of Rook’s gaze on the back of her head. She was too in-tune with the man not to feel him. As the lights dimmed and the musical beat of Drake started to pour through the speakers, she took a deep breath and tried to forget the gorgeous man behind her. The opening act of the show just began, only so many more to go, intermingled with awards, fantastic.

**Rook**

He couldn’t take his eyes off of her; even though he only was able to look at the back of her beautiful blonde head, he still couldn’t take his eyes off of her. The minute he spotted her out on the red carpet, he knew he was done for. She was it; if that moment didn’t solidify the fact that he would do anything to have her back, he didn’t know what would.
 

Cole Meyer…Rook knew Maisy and Cole were casually dating, but to see him with his arm around Maisy and a predatory glare coming off of his eyes had Rook itching to drive his fist through his face. Cole had no right to hold Maisy the way Rook had, no fucking right. He didn’t care how the nice the dick was; Maisy was his and would always be his.
 

That dress, that fucking dress she was wearing would haunt him for a while. It made every beautiful feature of her face stand out; the color was perfect against her alabaster skin and light hair, and it showed off just enough skin to remind Rook what he was missing out on. Everything about her was perfect, from her toes to the damn gold band in her hair. She was just as Rook dreamed every night, fucking perfection.
 

Now that she was sitting in front of him, he could practically feel the pulse of her beating heart as she kept her face straight. She never once turned around, and that was okay with him because he enjoyed every last inch of Maisy from behind.
 

He itched to reach out and twist the loose strands of her hair, to run his finger along the slope of her shoulder, to inhale her sweet scent just once. She was so tempting, causing him to have to grip the armrests to stop himself from reaching out to her.
 

Grey sat next to him and whispered in his ear to relax, but that was easier said than done. There was no relaxing when the love of his life sat right in front of him. He wanted to talk to her, to explain to her about everything that happened that unfaithful day, to beg for her forgiveness, but now was not the time nor place for that to happen. Instead, he just spent the evening soaking her in.

The show flew by, and before he knew it, Twisted Perfection was escorted backstage to announce an award category. During the commercial break, Rook relaxed in his chair and took a deep breath that he felt like he had been holding in for the past couple of hours.
 

He leaned over to Grey and said, “She is so damn beautiful tonight.”

“They both are,” Grey said back, with sadness in his eyes. Rook forgot how much Grey was hurting from not being able to be with Willow, so he squeezed his shoulder and nodded.
 

“Maybe you take your own advice and talk to her,” Rook said.
 

Grey shook his head, “She and Cruz have something going on.”

“You know it’s not serious; look at him.” They both looked over at Cruz, who was taking a selfie of himself and texting it to someone. “He’s not texting that to Willow, that’s for damn sure.”

Grey nodded in agreement, and then replied, “But Cruz mentioned she might be with some other guy as well. Who the fuck knows what she has going on?”

“Well, looks like we get the band back together and figure out what the hell we’re going to do and how we can fix it all.”

Grey laughed and said, “You think the band is going to solve all of our problems?”

“Well, if it caused our problems, it sure as hell better fix them.”

The lights dimmed again and Jimmy Fallon, the host, stood front and center and introduced Twisted Perfection. Like the pimp he was, Kaid walked out with Maisy and Willow on either side of him, wrapped in his arms. They stood in front of the microphone and read off of the teleprompter. There was some kind of lame joke Kaid said about being a lucky guy, having two gorgeous women hanging off of him, but Rook wasn’t paying much attention. All he could focus on was the beauty that was Maisy.
 

She stood tall in her heels, but was still short compared to Willow and Kaid. Her toned legs peeked from under the slit in her dress, and her sweet face was barely touched and painted. Her makeup was natural, bringing out her big brown eyes that were almost too big for the shape of her face. She looked innocent, yet mature and beautiful. She wasn’t the same Maisy; she had grown up a bit, but she was still his edgy angel.
 

Rook didn’t know what was happening until the stricken look on Maisy’s face showed through. When she made eye contact with him, he clued in to what was going on. They’d just called his band’s name as the winner of Song of the Year. He was in total shock.

The guys were cheering and hugging, dragging Rook out of his seat and ushering him up the stage. Two models from the side brought out four Grammys and handed them to Twisted Perfection to hand out to them. Wanting to grab his from Maisy, Rook made a beeline for her; the stricken look on her face let him know she didn’t want him to come any closer, but he didn’t care. He wanted to share this moment with her, even if it was a crazy, perverse way of thinking. Did that make him a self-absorbed asshole? Yes, but at the moment, he could give zero fucks.

Taking two stairs at a time, Rook made it up the stage before any of the other Shattered Souls and walked straight to Maisy. Her eyes went wide as he reached out for the trophy. His hands brushed against hers, just as he leaned into her ear and said, “Thank you, Maisy. You look absolutely breathtaking, by the way. I just had to tell you.” He let his beard brush against her delicate skin, just as he pressed a chaste kiss against her cheek.
 

He pulled away and watched how her hand went instinctively to her cheek where he had marked her…he’d marked her as his. Rook could feel the death glare coming from Willow and Kaid, but he didn’t care; this was his moment with his guys, and he was going to do whatever he damn well pleased.
 

Stepping in front of the mic and looking down at his Grammy, he spoke to the audience. “Wow, I have no idea what to say, but thank you. This has been a dream of ours ever since we started our band, and I can’t believe it finally came true. There are so many people to thank, starting with the label and our manager Pete…without you, we would for sure be lost. Thanks for dealing with all of our antics, man. To our fans, we couldn’t be more grateful for your love and support, always being by our side. To our friends, who have been by our side through this crazy journey, thank you…that includes you, Kaid, Willow, and Maisy.” Cheers erupted from the seats up above where the fans were seated. In the far distance, Rook could hear a couple shouts of “We love you Raisys,” the fan name used for Rook and Maisy, come from the balcony section.
 

Rook smiled and said, “We love you, too. To our families, the ones that matter, thank you for loving us and supporting us through all of our fights and feuds. We couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you everyone.” Rook held up his Grammy, knowing it wasn’t the best speech ever made, but he got to the point of who he wanted to thank.
 

The models escorted both Twisted Perfection and Shattered Souls off of the stage. The whole time, Rook walked behind Maisy, just begging for her to turn around and congratulate him.