She rises to her feet, closing the distance between us in a few strides. The wind blows through her hair, and I get a whiff of her floral shampoo. My dick twitches. She’s so close—inches away. I have to stop myself from giving in to the urge to reach out and touch her again. “What I saw when I walked in was nothing less than I expected.” She plants a hand on her hip. “That wasn’t the media. That was a rock star in his natural habitat.” She taps a hand lightly on the front of my shirt. “I know it’s probably real hard to believe, but I’m not here to go gaga and fall all over you.” She smiles a lazy smile. “As disappointing as that may be for your huge…ego.”
Did I just imagine her eyes dropping to my crotch?
“I came to see my cousin, who I haven’t seen in years. The rest of this”—her hand circles the air—“is just unfortunate.”
She stalks back into the house, leaving me to scrape my jaw up from the floor. Something about that sassy mouth of hers only makes me want her more.
I spend the rest of the evening lurking in the shadows of my own home, stalking a girl who wants nothing to do with me. It doesn’t take her long to befriend all of the girls who were making fun of her earlier tonight, including Monica. It would seem we’re all under her spell. But for some reason she’s decided to give them another chance. Me? Well, I think she’d written me off before walking through the door.
I’m green with envy. I don’t know what it is about this particular girl that has me feeling things I haven’t felt in years… but it makes me realize just how numb I’ve allowed myself to become.
For the first time since I can’t remember when, I’m feeling, and even jealousy feels a hell of a lot better than indifference.
Chapter 1
Rhett
“You’re serious right now?” Anika, my manager, paces the studio in four-inch stilettos while gnawing on the back of a pen. “You want to cancel studio time to go to…to camp?”
She’s kinda cute when she’s all riled up like this, her pale cheeks flaming red and daggers shooting from her amber eyes. I sink down further into the plush couch, crossing my arms on my chest. “It’ll be fun. I’m in need of some fun. You said so yourself. A few days on the coast with other single, college-aged adults. Real people, Anika. A break from Hollywood.”
“I said after we finish the album. Not right in the middle of recording it.” Her heels clack on the wood floors as she moves to crouch before me, resting her manicured nails on the arms of my chair. Her frustration is evident in the heaviness of her breaths. She shakes her head, tossing her long chestnut braid over her left shoulder. “It’s her, isn’t it? She’s going to be there?”
“Yes,” I answer, trying to cover a smirk. “Yeah…So, there’s no way I can put this off.” I realize the timing isn’t ideal, but it’s the perfect chance to work my magic on this girl, whom I can’t seem to get out of my head.
Pushing up from my knees, she’s again wearing a hole into the floor. “She hates you, Rhett. This is a terrible idea. Not only for your career, but because you’re going to end up disappointed.”
What she means is depressed. My first Hollywood girlfriend did a number on me, but that was before I knew how industry relationships worked. I keep my heart guarded now—locked up tight in a suit of armor. I just want the chance to play with my sword.
“I’m curious about her,” I say with a shrug, my mind wandering to my drummer Nick’s birthday party, about three weeks ago. To his cousin, Korie Potter. Her long, wavy blonde ponytail, faded jeans, and Rolling Stones tee. She stood out among the sequins and glitz. Her attempt to fade into the background had the complete opposite effect. Only adding to her appeal was the easy manner with which she carried herself. She had a confidence—an honesty—about her that I don’t see much in the circles I run. I can’t help but smile, remembering how unimpressed she was with everything Rhett Taylor. What did she call me again? Oh, yeah. The bad boy of country music. Someone’s been paying a little too much attention to TMZ.
At any rate, life gets rather boring when you can literally have anything you want. Anyone you want. I hadn’t realized how willing I’d become to settle until life dangled temptation, in the form of a sassy-mouthed, blonde-haired, green-eyed, fiery little vixen, right under my nose and shook things up a bit—shook me up a bit.
Yeah, Korie is just the challenge I need.
“The label won’t like it.”
Having had about enough of her negativity, I rise to my feet, towering over her five-foot frame. It’s not often I ignore her advice. We’ve been best friends since elementary school; she’s one of the few people in my life I actually trust. “I don’t give a damn what they like or don’t like, Anika. I’m tired. I need to rest. The boys and I are taking this trip.”
Her pointed jaw ticks as she stares me down, arms crossed on her chest in a stance that I’m assuming she means to be intimidating. “Does she know you’ll be there?”
I snort. “Of course not.”
She gives one final resigned shake of her head, blowing out a laugh. “You’re gonna regret this.”
“Or,” I say, thumping her nose because I know how much it pisses her off, “I could enjoy it very, very much.”
“And Nick is okay with this?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” the hulking, six-foot-three, tatted oaf himself announces, entering through the back door. “A week of tits, booze, and fun in the sun? And I get to watch him follow Korie around like a lovesick puppy while she hands him his balls in a sling? Sign me up for that shit.”
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