Rock Star Ex (3 page)

 
He blew off
the girls, who were now offering him other body parts for signature.
 
Mumbling something about needing to speak to
his manager, he headed over to have a look for himself.

****

The hairs on the back of Eve’s neck stood up and
that’s when she knew his eyes were on her.
 
She’d already spotted him.
 
He’d
steered a whole gaggle of girls to the bar, his arm around one of them, and it
had made her stomach churn.
 
Keeping up
her conversation with the band suddenly became difficult.
 
It was hard to concentrate on talking when
her mind was absorbed with the awareness of him.
 
As soon as she saw him put his hand on the
blonde girl and lean down to sign the satin bra, disgust had welled up.
 
She’d shifted her spot in the group as soon as
possible so her back was to it all.

She had tried to join in on Kate’s discussion with band
manager Clayton Drake, but it was hard to hear them in this crush.
 
Anyway, the band members were trying to get
her attention.
 
The lead guitarist, Tommy
Adler, seemed pretty nice actually.
 
He
had laugh lines around his eyes that she found charming.

“How did you like the concert?” he asked.

“It was amazing,” Eve said. “I’m so glad to see
Arsenal performing again.”

He grinned. “Me too.
 
Thanks to our new vocalist, we have a lot more in store.
 
Tonight was just a sort of…appetizer.”
 
The other guys agreed.

“Smile, Eve,” Kate called.
 
She had her phone out and was aiming it at
her so Eve slid her right arm around Tommy and the other guys crowded in.
 
The flash went off, blinding them all.
 
“Great, but, hold it. We need to get one more
in,” Kate said and flapped her hand at someone off to the side, waving them
into the photo.
 

Eve held her pose and felt an arm curve around her
waist from the left side.
 
The flash went
off one more time, causing spots to appear in her vision.

“Awesome!
 
Thanks, everyone,” Kate said.
 
She
turned back to the manager.
 
“This is
going to be great for our social media feeds.
 
Pictures with the new lead singer…”

Eve closed her eyes for a moment, reaching a hand up
to rub her temple, waiting for her vision to return.
 
Since when did iPhones have such a strong
flash?
 
It was probably just because it
was late and she was tired.
  
Tommy had
let go but the other arm on the left side was still supporting her.

“Oh, man.
 
Either
I’m seeing spots from that flash, or you all need to get to a doctor
immediately,” Tommy said.

“That’s what happens when you do so many drugs,
Tommy,” Drew Haley teased.

“Drugs?” chimed in Shane Nelson. “You had drugs and
you didn’t share with me?
 
That’s just
not right.”

They all laughed.
 
Eve dropped her hand from her temple and opened her eyes.
 
The spots were gone and she could see clearly
again.
 
But she wished she couldn’t.
 
Standing right next to her, one arm wrapped around
her waist, was Devon.

“Hey, Devon … meet Eve,” Tommy said cheerfully.

Devon let go of her waist and held out his
hand.
 
His expression was inscrutable.

She hesitated, and held hers out as well.
 
If she’d had any question whether he knew who
she was, the handshake answered it.
 
His
fingers wrapped firmly around hers, holding her hand for longer than was
necessary, his eyes searching deeply into hers.
 

What they searched for she couldn’t fathom, or
why.
 
He’d abandoned her long ago, taking
her heart with him, like some sad little groupie.
 
Well, he wasn’t about to get even a smidgen more.
 
She pulled her hand back.

“Nice to meet you,” he said softly.

Oh, so they were going to play that game?
 
She could play it too.
 
“Likewise,” she returned coolly.
 
Turning back to Tommy, she put on her best
flirtatious smile.
 
“Weren’t you going to
show me the band dressing room?”

Tommy’s brown eyes lit up, but before he could say a
word Devon’s hand clamped around her waist again.
 
“I’ll show her,” he said in a cool
voice.
 
His eyes were drilling into Tommy’s,
and some unspoken agreement seemed to pass between them, because Tommy nodded
his head casually and turned back to the others.

Anger flared up inside her.
 
How
dare he!
 
But she wasn’t about to
make a scene in front of everyone.
 
It
was fine.
 
If he wanted to be alone with
her then she would give him the piece of her mind that he deserved.
 
She’d been storing it for five years and if
he wanted to unlock it, then so be it.

****

Devon was surprised when Eve jerked from his grasp,
but he knew he shouldn’t be.
 
Especially
after what had happened between them.
 
Her
back had stiffened when his hand touched her waist and now she took a swift,
smooth step away so she could turn and face him.
 
One of her beautiful winged brows lifted in a
slight arch and a pleasant, or what seemed to be pleasant, smile lifted her
full, red lips.

He was stunned.
 
He hadn’t connected the girl in the crowd with the lithe figure he’d
seen from behind, talking to the band.
 
It wasn’t until after the picture had snapped and he’d turned to face
her that it had hit him.
 
It was really Eve.
 
His Eve…but all grown up now, with yards of
glossy dark hair and long shapely legs.

“Well?” she said.

He gestured with his hand in the direction of the
rooms, feeling tactless that he’d been staring.
 
“Ladies first.”

She sifted effortlessly through the crowd, and he
followed close behind.
 
Her slim form
easily found openings between bodies.
 
When she got to the hallway entrance she stopped and looked back at
him.
 
“Which one is it?”

“Second door on the left.”
 
He breathed a silent prayer that the room
would still be empty.
 
He moved quickly
to open the door for her and as she passed by him into the room he caught the
light scent of her perfume.

The room was empty, thank god.
 
Shutting the door, he gathered his thoughts
and turned to face her.
 
Before he could
get a word out, his breath left his lungs in a whoosh as her fist made contact
with his gut.
 
Lifting his arms, he
turned to shield himself as several more blows peppered him on the side and
shoulder.

“You asshole!
 
You creep!
 
I can’t believe I ever
had feelings for you!” she shouted.

She stopped hitting as she spoke and he took the
opportunity to move away from the door and put the couch between them, just in
case.

“Eve!
 
Hold
on!
 
Hold it!” he said, putting his hands
out in front of him in shock.
 
Never had
he expected such a reaction from the sweet college girl he had known.
 
But she was glorious in her anger.
 
Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes shot
green fire at him.
 
Never, for as long as
he lived, would he forget how she looked right at this moment.

“What?
 
What
could you possibly have to say to me?” she stormed.
 
Her hair flipped and swirled as she gestured
at him.
 

“Come on, Eve, we were just kids,” he
protested.
 

Wrong
move
.
 

Her eyes widened and she stood even straighter.
 
Gathering breath for her next onslaught, he
assumed.
 
She looked like a queen about
to do battle.
 
He was lucky there was
nothing within her arms’ reach, or he was sure she would have thrown it at him.

“Now wait a minute,” Devon said hastily, “Let me
speak.
 
I wanted to talk to you.
 
I’ve been wanting to talk to you…for a long
time now.”

She stopped, deflating just a fraction, and sealed
her lips together.
 
Then she crossed her
arms over her chest, which actually accented her cleavage nicely, and glared at
him.
 

She didn’t say anything, but he knew a ticking time
bomb when he saw one, and decided he’d better say something while he had the
chance.
 
“This has been on my mind for a
long time,” he began.
 
“Like I said, back
then, we were just kids.
 
Both of us were
just getting started with our lives...
 
I
mean if you think about it, it would never have worked out anyway.”

She was absolutely still, her eyes unwavering.
 
God, he still wanted her.
 

The slim college freshman he had known had filled
out into a sophisticated bombshell.
 
She
was no breathy, obliging groupie but a strong, confident woman that he found
utterly attractive.

He continued.
 
“You come from a good family.
 
You
went to college.
 
Someone like you… Well,
I don’t know if you’re married, but if you’re not you will be soon, settling
down and having children.
 
And me…?”
 
He stopped and ran a hand through his
hair.
 
“I’ll be on the road, like I have been
for the last five years, trying to make it in this business.
 
What kind of life might have that been for
you?
 
It wouldn’t have been fair to you.”

He stopped and waited.
 
She had to understand his concern for her.
 
It was a fraction of what he wanted to say but
he thought that summarized it nicely.
 
There was a lot more.
 
He hadn’t
really been prepared for this conversation, come to think of it, but he wasn’t
about to allow the opportunity to pass.

When he’d first gone on the road he had tried
calling her a few times.
 
But back then
neither of them could afford cell phones and she and her roommate hadn’t owned
an answering machine.
 
She’d never been
in and he hadn’t wanted to leave a message with her roommate.
 
What message could he have really left?
 
I miss
you like crazy, Eve.
 
It’s frustrating
out here, Eve.
 
I don’t know if I’m going
to make it
.
 
He imagined her either
in the library studying or partying with her new college friends and each call
had made him feel even more like crap.

There hadn’t been any way for her to call him back,
anyway.
 
Something he hadn’t thought
about before leaving.
 
Life on the road
had been hectic.
 
It had consisted of
long drives, playing gigs, partying and crashing in strange, cheap motels.
 
The manager they’d had then had been a
disorganized sleaze bag.
 
They’d finally
figured out that the guy was stealing all their money.

At least now Eve would have closure.
 
Isn’t that what women wanted? Letting go of
her was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do.
 
At least now she would know that he truly had
cared for her.
 
And that he had had
nothing but her best interests at heart.
 

“Anything else?” she asked softly.

He slowly shook his head, confused.
 
“That’s mainly what I wanted to say.”

Her arms dropped to her sides and she walked around
the couch to him, her hips swaying gracefully side to side as she approached.
 
Her eyes never left his.

She came to a stop in front of him, inches
away.
 
“Now, let me just make sure I’ve
got it all straight.”
 
Her tone was calm,
reasonable.

He relaxed.
 
Good.
 
So they could have the sensible conversation
he’d envisioned after all.

 
She continued
in a reasonable tone. “After dumping me five years ago, with absolutely no
communication at all, you get me back here to be alone with you so that you
can…dump me again?
 
Have I got that
straight?”
 
She had leaned in a little
closer as she spit out the last sentence, looking him straight in the eye.
 
She was a healthy five-foot-ten, but the four-inch
heels on her shoes brought her eyes almost level with his.