Kiss Me, Katie (2 page)

There was a knock on her door, and Katie’s pulse raced.
Blake?
She opened the door and quickly hid her disappointment when she saw the hair stylist, armed with tools and products, ready to transform Katie from small-town girl into country music beauty. Back home in Orange Blossom, Texas, Katie was content with her girl-next-door good looks and rarely needed to dress up. She tried to look nice for gigs, but the places Sterling usually played weren’t exactly fancy. Jeans, a cute top, and a little makeup were all she really needed. Being on tour with a national act was a whole different ball game, though. Playing in arenas, opening for Blake Jackson, it was so different from playing in the small clubs that they were used to. Katie had precious little experience with hairstyles, makeup, and fancy clothes and was grateful for the professional assistance.

“Hey there, I’m Katie. Come on in,” Katie said as she stepped aside. She hopped into the chair in front of her huge mirror and let the stylist work her magic. Her mind drifted as the stylist chattered away and curled, combed, teased, and sprayed Katie’s honey-blonde hair. The makeup artist arrived, and Katie was able to relax and sink into her daydreams while the two ladies chatted with each other over her head. She allowed herself to drift into fantasies of meeting up with Blake again, walking with Blake again, touching Blake again, maybe kissing Blake, maybe happily ever after with Blake. She smiled to herself.
This is going to be a fun gig.

• • •

Blake sank down on to the sofa in his dressing room and kicked off his boots, letting them fall to the floor. After spending the past two months on the road with their last opening act, he was ready for something fresh, and Katie McCoy would do quite nicely. Blake had heard a few Sterling songs, but he had never seen pictures or read any interviews. He hadn’t realized that their fiddler was female … and beautiful. Being single, famous, and ruggedly handsome made finding female companionship fairly easy for Blake, but spending months at a time on the road meant that every woman he met was either a fan, a reporter, or a crew member. Every fan who managed to make her way backstage had started to look and seem the same as the last, and none of them sparked his interest. Sure, they were pretty, but Blake was finding it more difficult to be content with just a pretty face and was ready for someone with more substance, something special. The women he met were certainly interested in meeting him, and they were probably nice enough, but Blake always got the feeling that none of them cared to know him as a person. Everybody wanted a piece of Blake Jackson, the country star; none of the women cared much about Blake Jackson, the man. Nobody was interested in finding out more about him than what they read in magazines or saw online. Meeting him was nothing more than an experience for the women, a photo they could show off to their friends later. The more his career flourished, the harder it was to meet a woman who didn’t already know everything she wanted to know about him. Blake decided that he couldn’t feel too sorry for himself, though. He was, after all, living the dream of most red-blooded American men. He picked up his cell phone and called his assistant.

After a few moments, Caroline Mathers entered Blake’s dressing room with her usual cool efficiency, impeccably dressed and armed with her BlackBerry and a neat stack of papers. “Blake, I have your schedule for today, a few interview requests we need to decide on, and a couple of choices for local staff. Did you need something special or are you ready to get down to business?” She smiled at Blake indulgently as she set the papers down on his table and patted her perfectly coiffed auburn hair.

“Caro, I’m all yours, darlin’. Whatcha got for me?” Blake crossed the room to join her and willed himself to focus on business details. It would be good for him to get his mind off the young Miss McCoy and back on the business at hand.

Blake struggled to pay attention and make clear-headed decisions as Caroline went through the day’s business. The business he really wanted to focus on was Katie McCoy. He thought of her silky blonde hair and wondered what it would feel like in his hands. He remembered her surprisingly hearty laugh and was pleased to have been able to coax it from her. His mind wandered to her beautiful green eyes and he realized that he couldn’t remember the last time he had actually noticed the color of a girl’s eyes, much less found himself thinking that they looked like sparkling emeralds. There was something special about Katie, and Blake was willing to use his tour to explore it.

“Hey Caro, why don’t we do a little meet and greet with the opener?” Blake tried to sound casual as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair.

“Ah, sure, I suppose we can set something up. You want to do drinks after the show?” Caroline remained professional and didn’t question his unusual request. Blake rarely went out of his way to socialize with opening bands, staff, or press. He was friendly and welcoming to fans, and while he could be very casual with her, he was always clear that theirs was a working relationship.

“That sounds good. Would you mind finding somewhere good around here and setting it up?”

“Sure, I’ll call around and see what I can do. I’m sure we can find a place that won’t mind reserving a space for a large group if it includes you. We just need to make sure security won’t be an issue. Let’s see, they’ve got five guys.” Caroline scanned her papers. “Wait. Make that four guys, one young lady, plus security. I guess I can figure that out when I get info on the bar itself.” Understanding dawned in Caroline’s eyes and a knowing smile danced across her lips.

Blake was fairly sure that Caroline could figure out what he was up to, but he continued to play it cool. Caroline had worked for him for almost five years, and since they had known each other, Blake’s relationships rarely lasted more than a couple of weeks. She had to know that if he was going to this much trouble to put himself in Katie’s path that it was important.

“I’ll get it set up. Just let me know if you have any special requests.” Caroline straightened her paperwork in her arms and moved towards the door. “I’ll be on site and available all afternoon if you need me. Otherwise, I’ll see you tonight after your set. Have a good show, Blake.” She shifted the paperwork to one arm and let herself out.

Blake allowed himself a satisfied smile. Katie might not realize that tonight’s get together would be orchestrated strictly for her benefit, but the boys in the band certainly would. He would take their good-natured ribbing, though. He had a feeling that it would be worth it.

Chapter Two

Katie couldn’t tear her eyes away from the beauty queen staring back at her in the dressing room mirror. In a little over an hour, the hair and makeup team had transformed her from small-town cutie to sexy ingénue. Her wavy hair had been curled, teased and sprayed until it was a shiny mound of smooth honey-blonde curls, her eyelashes went on for miles, her lips were painted in a shimmery pink fancier than anything she’d ever applied herself, and her clothes …
wow
. She had traded jeans and a T-shirt for sequined shorts that showed off her legs and a fitted shimmery top in the most gorgeous shade of blush pink that she had ever seen. She hardly recognized herself.

“Wow, you guys … I can’t believe that it’s me. I have never looked like this, and I couldn’t have done it myself. I feel like a princess. Thank you so much!” Katie was bubbling over with enthusiasm for the team. A brisk knock on the door interrupted them.

“Hey Katie, wait … whoa!” Her band mate, Jeff, poked his head in. He stepped in and took in Katie’s new appearance. “You look beautiful.”

Katie dipped her head and looked at her friend through a fringe of impossibly long dark lashes. “Aw, thanks. These girls have outdone themselves.” She gestured at the hair and makeup team.

“I’ll say. Anyway, we are ready for the pre-show meeting if you’re good to go. Also, Blake Jackson invited us to go out for drinks tonight after his set. His assistant is going to set it up and get us the details.”

“Oh, really? Well, that sounds like fun.” Katie kept her excitement to herself, but the butterflies in her stomach were going crazy. She suppressed her gleeful grin as well as she could as she hopped off her chair and trailed behind Jeff to meet up with the band, waving good-bye to the girls as they packed up their tools and products. It was all she could do to keep herself from skipping.

Her arrival was met with wolf whistles and exaggerated compliments from the boys in the band. Sterling had spent so much time together between rehearsals, playing gigs, and traveling, that the guys were like big brothers to Katie. As an only child, the fierce protective nature of the guys had taken a bit of getting used to. Their attention was suffocating at times, but was often just what she needed as they traveled to some of their shadier gigs. Katie couldn’t recall a time when she had ever been in actual danger, but some of the clubs and bars that Sterling played were on the scary side. It was always reassuring to know that she had four men ready and willing to protect her should she need it. Tonight she took in their appreciative looks and allowed herself to forget the stress and tension of travel and preparation and just give in to the excitement that had been building in her heart all day. This was it, the day they’d all been waiting for.

Katie forced herself to pay attention to the information and last-minute details being given to her amid the frenzy of activity before the band took the stage. They had rehearsed, their road crew had checked and double-checked everything, but this was the biggest show of their career and it seemed like what they didn’t know could fill a book. Now it was time to shake off the lingering anxiety and focus on the music. There was no room for insecurity out on the stage, no hiding from the hundreds of eyes watching and ears listening. Tonight’s show was a huge step for her career, not to mention the culmination of countless hours of writing music, practicing, and networking. Sterling had paid thousands of dollars to join the tour, and they needed to start earning it back.

The band members joined hands, and Jeff offered a little prayer for the group. Katie paused, offered her own silent prayer, and centered herself before heading up the stairs to the stage. As she reached the top of the steps, she could see nothing but the stage and the blazing lights illuminating it. The crowd was an undulating blur in front of them. She could hear the audience cheering and knew that anything less than their best performance would disappoint the restless fans. Blake Jackson drew the crowds, but the members of Sterling hoped to find a few new admirers of their own. Katie and her band mates emerged onto the stage under the hot lights to a roar of cheers and applause as the announcer shouted, “Please welcome, all the way from Orange Blossom, Texas, Sterling!”

All her anxiety and doubts were erased and thoughts of everything but the music, the crowd, and the energy fell away as the band played their set. Katie allowed herself to be swept away with the music, on the wave of emotion coming from her band mates and the crowd. Sterling had been playing together for six years, so the beautiful feeling of being completely in sync with each other was nothing new to Katie. She had never experienced such a surge of adrenaline during a performance, though. The sheer size of the audience catapulted the experience to a whole new level. She marveled at her hands’ ability to seemingly play her fiddle on their own, and an irrepressible smile beamed on her face.
This is it,
she thought.
This is what it’s all about.

Their set lasted over an hour, but before she knew it, the band was taking their bows and heading off the stage. One of the things Katie loved most about music was its ability to take her away, to carry her to a place where hours felt like minutes. The ecstatic buzz in her head gradually gave way to the reality of the arena. The crowd was roaring, and Katie followed her band mates as if in a dream, turning to wave at the crowd one last time, a huge smile on her face.

The sea of bodies and the thunderous applause was unbelievable, and Katie threw kisses to the crowd until she was out of their sight. The euphoric buzz of pulling off such a successful show distracted her enough that she didn’t notice a very special fan watching from backstage.

• • •

Blake had watched Sterling’s set from the side of the stage, and he was impressed. For such a relatively new band, their stage presence, technical talent, and songwriting were phenomenal. Sterling was a great addition to his tour, and it was a shame that they would only be opening for twelve shows. He thought that they could make a good team and wondered about the possibility of hiring them for more dates. The tour had been planned out months in advance, but bands dropped out for various reasons all the time. There was always a chance a spot would open up for Sterling.

Blake was sure he was biased, but Katie McCoy was one hell of a fiddle player.
She’s probably a pretty good kisser, too.
Blake laughed to himself and shook his head, mentally clearing thoughts of Katie and her kissable lips, and headed to join his band for their own pre-show meeting. Blake Jackson was at the height of his career, and he could credit a single-minded determinedness for his success. When other men his age were out meeting women and dating, Blake was writing music and rehearsing. When other guys were getting engaged, Blake was making albums. Instead of building a family, he had built a career. He had never really had a serious girlfriend or given much thought to when he would marry and have children, he just focused on the music and becoming a giant in the industry. He didn’t get to be one of the best in the business by distracting himself with romance and beautiful blonde-haired, green eyed fiddlers.
There would be plenty of time for that later.

Chet Wilson, Blake’s longtime fiddler, approached him with a playful glint in his eyes. “I saw you watching the opening act, boss. They put on a great show, and I noticed that their fiddler’s not half bad. Pretty cute, too.”

“Yep, they’ve got some real talent. You better keep your performance up, Chet. I might decide that I’m tired of looking at your ugly mug on stage every night. You may have competition.” Blake laughed good-naturedly and clapped Chet on the back. “You ready to do this?”