Jenn lifted her hand and knocked on the door to Kate and Josh’s condo. Knocking felt weird when she was accustomed to letting herself in. Being invited to dinner—Jenn and her husband to dine with Kate and her husband—felt hella weird. But Kate and Josh were leaving tomorrow to spend the rest of the summer in California, and Kate had insisted on having Jenn and Cole over for dinner before they left.
She suspected Kate might also be nosing around to see just how real Jenn’s relationship with Cole had become, which only made her even more uncomfortable, because lately, it felt awfully damn real, and it was confusing the hell out of her. Kate was the only one who knew the truth. And that made Jenn feel incredibly vulnerable right now.
The door opened, and Kate stood there in skinny jeans and a pale blue maternity top, beaming at them. “Come in. I’m so glad you guys could make it.”
“Me too,” Cole answered, leaning in to give her a light kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for inviting us.”
They followed her into the living room, where Josh sat looking at something on his phone. “Hey guys,” he said with a friendly wave. “Just checking the score on the game.”
“Oh yeah?” Cole’s interest sharpened, and he headed toward Josh. “Who’s up?”
“Let’s catch up while they talk sports,” Kate said, motioning for Jenn to follow her into the kitchen.
“You didn’t cook, did you?” Jenn gaped at the oven, which was on. The smell of something savory filled the air. It was weird enough that Kate hadn’t let Jenn handle the dinner arrangements for tonight, but she’d never known her boss to cook a full meal in all the years she’d known her.
Kate laughed. “Of course I didn’t. We ordered from Antonelli’s. I’m just keeping it warm.”
“Oh,” Jenn said, relieved but still somewhat off-balance by the dynamic tonight. Ben and Jerry pattered into the kitchen, tails wagging, and she bent to rub them both behind the ears.
“So how are things? How was the show?” Kate asked as she opened the oven and began pulling out foil-covered trays.
“It was good. Really good.” She could feel her cheeks heating at the memory of how much she’d enjoyed watching him up there onstage and the things they’d done afterward in his dressing room.
“I heard positive things about the new music he played.” Kate gave her a loaded look as she slipped the oven mitts off her hands.
“He only played one that we wrote together, if that’s what you’re getting at. I’ll help you carry this stuff to the table.”
“In a minute,” Kate said, still looking amused. “So how did it feel hearing one of your songs live for the first time?”
Jenn blew out a breath, but she couldn’t hide the giddy smile she knew was all over her face. “Pretty friggin’ amazing.”
“Which song?” Kate asked.
“‘Coast to Coast,’” she answered without thinking. “Wait, why? Are you going to look it up on YouTube?”
“Of course I am,” Kate said, looking smug. But then her expression softened. “I’m just so happy for you, Jenn. You’re on the way to living your dream, and I understand as well as anyone what that feels like, especially in this business.”
“Thanks.”
“And if I’m not mistaken, you and Cole are looking pretty smitten with each other these days.”
Her gaze cut automatically to Cole where he stood in the living room, talking to Josh, and she felt that zing deep in her belly that happened every time she looked at him. “Smitten is probably a good word for it.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because smitten suggests an infatuation that’s only temporary.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. You guys look like you’re falling for each other for real.”
“Well, we’re not. We’re just two people who’re having fun and a lot of sex together. We’ve had chemistry since we met. It’s part of the reason we wound up in this predicament in the first place. So now we just ride the wave until we implode, or we part ways amicably at the end of our six-month contract, whichever comes first.”
Kate looked like she had something to say about that, but before she got the chance, the guys invaded the kitchen. “What’s taking so long?” Josh asked, elbowing his way past them to the covered dishes still resting on top of the stove. “We’re starving.”
“If you’re so hungry, then you can take the food to the table,” Kate told him, giving him a playful swat on the ass. They spent the next few minutes moving all the food to the table and dishing it out. There was lasagna, garlic bread, chicken cacciatore, and steamed vegetables. “Jenn was just telling me about your show the other night,” Kate said to Cole as they dug in.
“Good things, I hope?” he asked, squeezing Jenn’s leg below the table.
“Naturally,” Kate answered, her eyes sparkling. “I heard you played one of her songs too.”
“Sure did.” Cole smiled at Jenn before returning his attention to Kate. “And she’s joining me up onstage at the next show.”
“What?” Kate’s cocky smile vanished, and Jenn’s stomach lurched. She’d never told Kate that she and Cole played together. It felt too intimate to share, which was stupid, because soon the whole world would know.
“That’s right,” Cole said with a nod. “She’s been rehearsing with us for a song we wrote together called ‘Right Away.’ I can’t get a baby grand onstage at The Lion’s Main, but we’ve got a keyboard for her. She sounds amazing.”
“I had no idea you guys were playing together,” Kate said, raising her eyebrows at Jenn.
“Well, I’m not sure I ever fully agreed to it,” Jenn murmured, turning her attention to her food.
Conversation stayed light through most of dinner. Kate and Josh both seemed preoccupied with their upcoming trip to California. Kate looked more relaxed than Jenn could remember seeing her probably since they’d left the Bahamas. She was excited about starting work on the nursery in her Malibu house. The baby would have a nursery here in New York as well, but as that one was already mostly finished, Kate was ready to work on his secondary room. Naturally, she’d focused on a beachy theme for her oceanfront house in California. Here in New York, she’d gone for more of an urban look with royal blue walls, soft gray bedding, and sleek white furniture.
After dinner, they had drinks in the living room, and Jenn couldn’t quite shake the feeling that she ought to be overseeing Kate with her guests, making sure everything was running smoothly. Instead, she was the guest.
“So, you’re going up onstage, hmm?” Kate asked, coming to stand beside Jenn at the window. Behind them, Josh and Cole were watching sports on Josh’s phone again.
“I’m going to play the keyboard on one song.” She looked out over the darkened expanse of Central Park, dotted with the glow of streetlamps along its many paths.
“Still, you’re stepping out from behind the cameras for him,” Kate said. “He brings out a side of you I’ve never seen before.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Jenn said, even though she knew exactly what Kate meant. She just didn’t know how to react to having it pointed out so directly.
“Play dumb if you want, but I think Cole was exactly what you needed this year. In fact—” Kate cut herself off, looking over Jenn’s shoulder.
“What’re you two ladies gossiping about over here?” Cole asked, sliding in behind Jenn and leaning in to kiss her cheek.
“You, of course,” Kate answered with a playful wink.
“Thought so,” Cole responded, equally playfully. “My ears were ringing.”
“Better you than me,” Josh said from behind them, and then everyone was laughing.
They headed home shortly afterward so that Josh and Kate could finish packing for their flight tomorrow morning. Jenn had already had the Malibu house cleaned and stocked for their arrival. As they rode back to Cole’s town house, Jenn’s phone buzzed with an incoming text message, and then another, and another. They were from Kate.
Two things.
1. I looked up Cole singing “Coast to Coast” on YouTube, and you’ve got talent. Still not sure how I never knew this after all our years of working together, but let’s change that with my next album, k?
2. You told me once you were holding out for a man who looked at you the way Josh looks at me. Well, you’ve found him. If you don’t believe me, look up that YouTube video I just watched and see for yourself.
Jenn’s heart lurched into her throat at Kate’s words. No way. There was no way Cole looked at her the way Josh looked at Kate. It wasn’t possible. She and Cole weren’t in love. They couldn’t fall in love…
“Who’s texting you?” Cole asked.
“Kate,” she answered numbly.
“Man, she really needs to chill. I can’t believe she’s sending you more work right after we just left her condo.”
“She’s just…double-checking travel plans for tomorrow.” Jenn fumbled her phone, and it slid across her knees toward Cole. She snatched it back before he could read Kate’s words.
“She’s a nice lady and all,” Cole said, not paying the least bit of attention to her phone, “but she’s pretty high maintenance if you ask me.”
“She’s one of the most popular and highly paid recording artists in America. Of course she’s high maintenance,” she responded to Cole as her fingers typed, That’s crazy talk to Kate and pressed Send.
“So what are we going to do tomorrow while the boss is out of town?” Cole asked, giving her a heated look.
She blinked, staring hard at him. There was lust in his expression, sure. But more than that? No way. It just wasn’t there. “I have some work to do, but I can do most of it remotely. I just need to check in at Kate’s after the cleaners have finished to make sure everything’s taken care of.”
“You really are thorough.”
“She pays me to be.”
Watch the video, Kate texted back. You’ll see.
Cole’s gaze slid over the crowd as he sang. The Lion’s Main was packed to bursting tonight. The air sizzled with energy and adrenaline. His fingers skimmed over the frets of the guitar, finding rhythm in the noise. His body moved automatically to the beat, swaying as his foot stomped along with Naveen’s drumbeat. The song was “King of Manhattan,” and right now, that’s what he felt like.
The crowd screamed and sang, hands up and bodies moving. If he let his vision blur, it almost looked like a multicolored ocean before him, seething and rocking as one entity, pulled by the force of the music. He’d grown bitter toward this song after the nickname it earned him, but now that it seemed to be behind him, he remembered how much he used to love it.
“Don’t tie me up or tear me down. I don’t need your fancy crown. I’m the king…the king…the king of Manhattan,” he sang, feeling the echo of the crowd roll over him in a wave of energy that sent fire through his veins.
Fuck, yeah.
His gaze darted to the right of the stage where Jenn stood in the shadows as she waited for her moment in “Right Away.” She wore black pants that shimmered beneath the stage lights with a snug black tank top. Her red hair was loose and wavy over her shoulders, her eyes locked on his. Even though it was too dark to see her expression, he felt the heat of her gaze like a shock wave that rolled over him.
Just the thought of her joining him up onstage in a few minutes was enough to make his dick thicken inside his jeans. He winked at Jenn before turning back to the crowd. He belted out the rest of the chorus, then moved out from behind the mic stand, roaming to the front of the stage to slap hands from the crowd as the final bars of music played behind him. He leaned back to grab the mic. “The king of Manhattan!”
The crowd roared. He pumped his fist in the air, turning again to catch Jenn’s eye. She was still hidden in shadow against the wall, but he could tell she was smiling. So was he. These club shows had been exactly what he needed to wake up the creative beast inside him. He felt revitalized and rejuvenated, and maybe it was his imagination, but the fans seemed to treat him differently since he’d gotten married. They were less grabby, more focused on the music, and it suited him just fine.
He and the guys played two more songs—older hits that kept the energy in the room high. As they finished playing “Gambler,” he saw the tech wheeling Jenn’s keyboard onto the stage. His pulse quickened, and his gaze tracked once more to where she stood by the wall.
He could feel the nervous energy rolling off her, and his gut tightened in response. Damn, but he hoped everything went off perfectly for her first performance. Not that he cared personally if she messed up, but he worried what it might to do her confidence—both in her music and in her progress over what had happened in Vegas—if she did.
“I have a special treat for you guys tonight,” he told the crowd, never taking his eyes off Jenn. “A special guest, I should say.”
They screamed with excitement, glancing around the room. No doubt they were expecting a big-name celebrity guest—probably Kate—but in his eyes, this was even more exciting.
“My wife is going to join us for this next song,” he said, motioning to Jenn. She stepped out of the shadows, a wide smile on her face, her cheeks almost as red as her hair. “This is a song we wrote together, and we’re so excited to play it for the first time live for you guys tonight.”
Maybe the crowd had been expecting a big name, but they applauded their approval of this news just as enthusiastically. Through the cheers, he heard quite a few “awws” from the romantics in the room. Whatever. If they wanted romance, he’d give them romance. He reached out and took Jenn’s hand, tugged her up against him, and kissed her. The stage lights beat down on them, as hot and bright as the lust searing through his veins. She tensed for a moment in surprise, and then she kissed him back as the crowd behind them screamed with delight.
He was kissing Jenn onstage in front of a live crowd, and it might have been the hottest moment in his life. After a minute, he forced himself to lift his head before they got carried away. He grinned down at her, totally punch-drunk with lust and adrenaline. He lifted their hands into the air, turning them to face the crowd. “Jennifer Nix, ladies and gentlemen.”
Jennifer Nix.
Of course he would introduce her that way in front of the crowd. It was just that Jenn had never used her married name or even thought about it really. With their preplanned divorce, she’d never given any thought to taking his name. Hearing it on his lips, though, she liked it.
Jennifer Nix.
She glanced out at the sea of faces, and her head swam. Those newly familiar feelings of fear and anxiety swam in her stomach, rising like a tidal wave toward her throat, and oh my God, she was going to lose it in front of all these people. Her eyes tracked toward the exit as her chest seemed to collapse in on itself. Remembering the only way she’d been able to calm herself in the past, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Cole’s. Closing her eyes, she let the warmth of his kiss settle her.
He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “You’re going to be amazing. Just focus on the keys and pretend we’re back in the studio.”
She nodded as tears blurred her vision, because he’d realized exactly what she was doing when she kissed him. She glanced out at the crowd and forced a smile, then walked to the keyboard. It was positioned behind Cole and to his right, near Tom, the bassist, who gave her a warm smile of encouragement.
And then—because her solo bar on the keyboard opened the song—she sucked in a deep breath and began to play. As Cole had instructed, she kept her eyes on the keys, her focus on the music. As she reached the end of the bar, Cole joined her on his guitar, and then the rest of the band joined in as he began to sing.
She glanced up, saw him dancing around behind the mic stand as he sang, saw the crowd swaying and smiling, soaking it up, and for a moment, she completely lost her place in the music. Her hands stilled on the keys, but the rest of the band kept playing. She sucked in a breath to center herself and rejoined them.
The music seemed to swell around her until her whole body pulsed with it. She closed her eyes, feeling its rhythm in her soul as her fingers danced over the keys. The crowd had picked up the chorus of “Right Away,” and she heard their voices singing along with Cole’s throaty baritone.
Wow.
Something came over her, a feeling so powerful, it seemed to inflate inside her, filling her with light and warmth until her heart almost ached with it. She’d never imagined being here onstage, not with Cole or anyone else. It had never been a part of her dream. But right here, right now, as Cole sang the lyrics they’d written and the crowd repeated them back to him, she wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world.
It was one of those moments she knew she’d cherish for the rest of her life.
All too soon, the song drew to a close. The crowd roared with applause. She stood and walked to the front of the stage as Cole waved and said good night. It was somewhat of an unorthodox song to end on—being a slower number and unknown too—but this was how they’d planned it, and she was glad now because she couldn’t wait to get backstage with Cole.
The rest of the band joined them, waving and bowing as the crowd went nuts. The guys slapped hands in the audience while she hung back, just watching and smiling. She still had that strangely inflated feeling, like she was so full of joy, she might burst. Then Cole grabbed her hand, and they walked offstage.
Jorja was there, and she hurried forward to talk to Cole. Jenn felt a sudden rush of something foreign and possessive that almost made her yank him away from his assistant so that she could have him all to herself. What the hell? Annoyed, she pasted on a smile and listened as Jorja ran through the postshow rundown as Jenn had done for Kate a million times. All the while, Cole’s hand gripped hers, warm and strong—a promise of things to come. A slow burn ignited in her belly at the thought.
Finally, Jorja walked off to oversee the breakdown of the stage gear. The band crowded in around them, talking and laughing with fist bumps and backslaps. Everyone was rowdy with postshow adrenaline. Everyone except Cole, who’d gone strangely quiet, although his eyes gleamed with the same urgency she felt building inside her.
At the first opportunity, he broke away from the group, leading her down the hall to his dressing room. As soon as he’d shut the door behind them, he pressed her against the wall, but instead of jumping her bones as she’d expected, he cupped her face in his hands, his expression almost reverent.
“You took my fucking breath away tonight,” he murmured.
And now he’d taken hers. This man. This night. This moment. It was all so much more than she’d ever imagined, and now she wondered how she’d ever gotten through so much of her life without him.
“I’m so proud of you,” he said, his thumb stroking her cheek. “Not only did you get up there and sound absolutely fucking spectacular, but you overcame some pretty enormous things just walking out on that stage. You inspire me so much, every damn day.”
“Cole—” She could hardly speak past the lump in her throat. His face swam in her vision as tears filled her eyes.
“My only regret about tonight is that we put your keyboard behind me because I couldn’t just stare at you for the whole damn song without turning my back on the audience, and believe me, I considered it.”
“That would have been silly,” she whispered, wiping away the tear that had splashed down her cheek.
“Not to me,” he said, his voice all low and gruff and possessive. He held her so close that she could feel his iron shaft pressing into her belly, and yet he made no move to undress her. He just kept looking at her like she hung the moon or something, and it was seriously messing with her heart. It beat erratically, bumping into her ribs and making her head swim. “But the next best thing was watching the crowd watch you. That was pretty damn amazing too.”
“I don’t think they were watching me.”
“They were, baby,” he murmured, dipping his head to bring his lips to hers. “They were.”
They kissed, hot and greedy and desperate, hands groping, tongues delving as all the air between them evaporated. There was no more talking then, just a frantic scramble to rid themselves of clothes, and then Cole was pushing inside her. They both moaned, the sound combining to resonate in her chest as he filled her.
She thrust her hips against him as need curled inside her, impossibly strong. Memories of the night flitted through her as they moved together, the way Cole had looked up there behind the microphone, stealing looks at her as often as he could, the way it had felt to be out onstage, a part of the music for the first time. The crowd, singing her lyrics. And Cole. Cole looking at her like she was the center of his universe…just as Kate had said.
Boom. The orgasm exploded inside her, so powerful her whole brain seemed to detonate along with it. Cole groaned as he found his own release. Her mind went blissfully blank for several long beats of pleasure. As she came back to herself, she realized something else.
She had fallen hopelessly, endlessly, in love with Colton Nix.