J.T. shook his head. “I remember.”
“No, I mean it. I thought about her constantly for months. I kept hoping she’d show up at Jimmy’s. I just couldn’t believe it had been one-sided that night. I was so sure she felt it, too.”
“I guess she did,” J.T. said, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. “Otherwise, what happened last night would never have happened.”
“That’s just it,” Ty said, feeling frustrated and confused. “I know she feels it, but she’s got a ten-foot brick wall built around her and she doesn’t want to let anybody in.”
J.T. grinned. “We always were good at scaling fences, bro. You think you still got what it takes?”
Ty chuckled and shook his head, appreciating the fact that he had his brother to bring levity to what seemed like a grave situation. “Yeah, I know I do.”
“Then why are you wasting time talking to me? I think you’ve got some work to do.”
Ty extended his hand. “Thanks, man. I owe you one.”
J.T. laughed and took his hand, pulling him in for a back-slapping hug. “That’s what brothers are for. I know if the situation were reversed, you’d have my back.”
Avery stared back at the images of Ty and her heart sank. She could see his face on album covers, music videos, and magazine spreads. It was only a matter of time before he began his new life and he would leave her behind.
Had she been crazy to risk pregnancy, thinking she was strong enough to raise a baby on her own, without his help? She knew that was her only option now. She’d intended to tell Ty about her decision regarding the pregnancy, if in fact she was pregnant. But after her conversation with J.T., she knew that wasn’t an option. Ty had a career to build and a new life to live, one that didn’t include being saddled with a girlfriend and newborn baby.
Ty and J.T. came back into the room talking and laughing. “So, did we get what we needed, boss lady?” Ty asked.
“Yeah, these are great,” Avery said, trying not to focus on her visceral reaction to the man. “You’re a natural in front of the camera.”
He grinned. “Glad you think so.”
She was struck by the fact that her opinion seemed so important to him. He seemed to want and need her approval. She mentally chastised herself for jumping to conclusions. He was probably just grateful he didn’t have to sit in front of the camera for another three hours, trying to get that elusive shot. “Ty, do you have some time this afternoon? I’d really like to work on that press kit.”
“I’m all yours until 7:00.”
“Really? Got a hot date tonight?” She tried to pretend she didn’t care, but the thought of him with another woman ate her up inside.
He looked at her as though her suggestion was outrageous. “What? Hell no, I’ve got to meet Luc at his place. He wants to go over some songs for the new album.”
“I see.” She checked her watch. “Okay, that should give us enough time. Let’s head on over to my office now.”
“Good thing I brought my own truck,” J.T. said. He extended his hand to Avery. “I’m glad I finally got to meet you. I was beginning to think you were a figment of my brother’s overactive imagination.”
Avery smiled and accepted J.T.’s hand. “It was nice meeting you, too.”
He winked at her. “Sorry I gave you such a hard time.”
She shook her head and grinned. “No problem. I’ve got a thick skin.”
He inclined his head toward his brother. “Listen, if you decide this guy isn’t man enough to satisfy you, you know where to find me, right?”
Avery felt the blush creep up her neck, knowing that Andrew was hanging on every word. “I, uh...”
Ty shoved his brother. “Get the hell out of here. Isn’t there a bull waiting to trample you somewhere?”
J.T. laughed and saluted Andrew. “Nice to meet you, chief.” He grabbed his brother’s chin. “You are a talented man if you could make this ugly mug look good.”
Andrew laughed. “Glad you stopped by, J.T. It was nice to have a little comic relief in the studio for a change.”
Ty rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he’s a goddamn laugh riot.” He shoved his brother toward the door. “I’m gonna help Einstein here figure out where he parked his truck.”
J.T. laughed and raised his hand in the air as Ty shoved him through the door.
Andrew pointed at her, laughing. “Aha, so there is something between you two. I knew it.”
She shook her head, pretending to be confused by his assumption. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Like hell you don’t. I could’ve cut the sexual tension in here with a knife.” He removed the camera hanging around his neck. “If you’re not sleeping with that guy, I’ll open that window and hurl this camera at innocent pedestrians.”
She laughed at his dramatic threat. “Okay, so we’re sleeping together. It’s no big deal.”
Andrew stroked his silver goatee. “No big deal, huh? I’ve known you a long time, Avery. This doesn’t seem like the kind of guy you usually go for.”
She tried to distract herself with the images on the computer screen, but watching Ty’s gorgeous face flash in a heart stopping slideshow did little to ease her torment. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know. He’s seems different, more serious somehow.”
She continued to fixate on the screen. “Serious how?”
“I don’t know. Guys like Trey and Luc were out for a good time. Everybody, including you, knew that. It seems like Ty might be looking for something more.”
“How would you know?” she asked, refusing to face her friend. “Did he say something to lead you to believe that?”
“It wasn’t so much what he said as what he didn’t say.” Andrew reached around her to pick up a framed photograph on his desk. Andrew’s wife and two little girls were wrapped in his arms, smiling at the camera, looking happy and achingly beautiful. “He was admiring this photo and I saw it in his eyes. This is what he wants.”
Avery tried not to look at the photo, tried not to imagine herself and Ty in a similar photo with their own babies. She couldn’t allow herself to go there. “If that’s what he’s after, he’s wasting his time with me.”
Andrew put his arm around her shoulders. “You sure about that? He seems like a great guy.”
“He is, but he’s not the guy for me, Andrew.” She froze when she heard someone clear their throat. She closed her eyes when she heard cowboy boots echo across the wood floor.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Ty said quietly. “I forgot my keys. I’ll meet you back at your office, Avery. Thanks again, Andrew.”
He’s not the guy for me. He’s not the guy for me. He’s not the guy for me. The words echoed in Ty’s head like a mantra when he got in his truck and gunned the engine. He cranked the tunes and maneuvered the traffic on autopilot as he thought about driving past the city limits sign. He wanted to find a dark little honkytonk and drink until he passed out in his truck.
He didn’t want to think about Avery or babies or his divorce or how many people were counting on him. He didn’t want to think about the fact that he wasn’t the right man for her. Those words sliced deep.
The signs had been there all along. She walked out on him once, made no attempt to contact him after their one-night stand, and had been cold and reserved in the days since they’d reconnected. He had been a fool to think he could convince her to feel for him what he felt for her.
He gripped the steering wheel as he pounded the brakes at a red light. He was so tired of looking like a fool. If she didn’t want him, then the hell with her. He’d find someone who did.
He pulled into the parking lot of her upscale office building and eased his truck into a spot. He cut the engine and stared up at the building, wishing he didn’t have to go in, wishing that fate hadn’t brought Avery Collins back into his life.
He opened the door, but before he could set foot on the pavement, she was there, crowding his space.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and settled herself between his thighs. “I’m sorry you overheard my conversation with Andrew,” she said, kissing his lips gently. “And I’m sorry about last night.”
He wanted to be strong, to pull away, put some distance between them, but he was defenseless where this woman was concerned. Instead of pushing her away, he pulled her closer. “Did you mean what you said to Andrew?” he asked.
She bit her bottom lip, her eyes sliding down his chest. “I don’t know.” She sighed. “I’m just so confused, Ty.”
He chuckled, not amused in the least. “I know how you feel, darlin’.”
“Maybe we need a little distance to sort things out,” she suggested, looking up to meet his eyes. “Maybe when you’re on tour with Trey...”
He hated the thought of putting distance between them. He wanted to get closer, not give her an excuse to push him further away. “Luc wants you to come on the road with us, to set up the radio interviews and local television spots.”
She shook her head. “I know.” She raked her hands through her hair. “God, this is such a mess.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” He gave in to the urge to kiss her, losing himself in the erotic sensation of his tongue probing her sweet mouth. When they finally broke apart, he was breathless and fully aroused. “Don’t make things more complicated than they have to be. You want me; I want you. Let’s do something about it.”
Her eyes fell to the front of his jeans and she grinned. “You mean right now?”
“Your place is only a few minutes from here.” He gripped her waist, holding her firmly between his legs. “Come on, Avery,” he whispered, kissing her neck. “Hop in. I need you, baby. Right now.”
She looked torn, confused, and definitely interested. “What about the press kit?”
He grinned against the smooth column of her neck. “You can take notes in bed.”
She smacked his shoulder. “I’m serious. We’re on a tight timeline. We’re never gonna get any work done if we keep hitting the sheets every time we see each other.”
He growled, wanting nothing more than to hit the sheets every time he saw her. Her lush little body inspired all kinds of naughty thoughts, making music and his career the last thing on his mind… unless it helped his cause.
He brushed her hair off her neck so her ear was exposed to his lips and he started singing a sexy ballad in the low, raspy baritone that routinely reduced women to molten lava.
Her head lolled back and her eyes drifted closed. “Oh God,” she whispered. “That is so not fair.”
He sang low and intimate, for her ears only, a song about making love until the morning light.
“Okay,” she said finally, gripping the back of his head. “I give up. You win. My place, now.”
He laughed and jumped out of the truck to open the passenger’s door. “I thought you’d see it my way, darlin’.”
She scowled and crossed her arms as she waited for him to open her door. “You may have won, but you don’t fight fair,” she said, pouting.
He couldn’t resist smiling at her, though he knew she wouldn’t appreciate it. “I don’t care how I win, as long as I get what I want, and baby, I want you.”
She stuck her tongue out and jumped in the big truck, unassisted.
He took the opportunity to smack her round bottom before she planted it on the leather seat, eliciting a little squeal. He leaned inside the cab and stole her breath with a mind-numbing kiss. When he finally let her come up for air, he said, “Honey, if you stick your tongue out at me it best be because you’re prepared to put it to good use.”
Avery knew inviting Ty back to her place was a bad idea, for a dozen different reasons, but she couldn’t have resisted him if her life depended on it. The man oozed sex from every pore of his body and that voice... Lord have mercy. Chills raced up her spine just thinking about it.
She turned to look at him. The man was gorgeous, tall, dark, and sexy, but too rugged to be considered classically handsome. “You ever sing to a woman in bed?” she asked suddenly.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and laughed. “I can’t say that I have. Why?”
“Because I think just the sound of your voice could get me aroused,” she said, embarrassed by the admission.
He wiggled his eyebrows. “We’ll just have to put that to the test now, won’t we?”
The short drive to her condo was silent, but she could tell from the set of his jaw and the way he gripped the steering wheel that Ty was wound as tight as she was.
Her skin was so hot and tingly. She couldn’t wait to shed her clothes.
She didn’t have to direct him to the building since he’d been there before, the previous night. She remained quiet, her mind racing. She knew she should tell him about her doctor’s appointment, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to worry him, or build up his hopes, depending on his reaction, until she knew whether or not she was pregnant. She had no experience to draw on, had never tried to get pregnant before. She couldn’t imagine they would conceive a baby the first time they had unprotected sex, even if the timing seemed ideal.
“What’s wrong?’ he asked. “You seem kind of quiet. You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”
She winced, wishing she weren’t so transparent. “You know this is a really bad idea, right?”