Page 28 of The Bachelor

Because that was professional.

He did stand up though. “Here, I was going to give you my card so you can reach me if you need to.” He pressed a business card into her sweaty palm and added, “You should go home early. Lie down. I’m sure Pat would let you.”

“Will do,” she said, just to get rid of him.

“Bye.” He gave them both a wave, and rolled on out, like all of this was totally normal. Not a care in the world.

“What the what?” Lauren asked, pressing her hand to her stomach. “I swear that man winked and I dropped an egg. I feel like reproducing just looking at him.”

“I don’t,” she said, a little too vehemently. “Where is my water? God, I feel clammy and dehydrated. I can’t believe this is happening.”

“It is pretty damn crazy. But it’s awesome. And let’s back up just a hot little minute.” Lauren flopped into her chair, spinning it around and around, her legs spread wide despite the fact that she was wearing a skirt. “How in the hell do you know Shane Hart and why did you keep that juicy bit of gossip from me? I tell you everything.”

There was really no getting out of this. “I didn’t know he was Shane Hart when I met him. Then I was too embarrassed to say anything to anybody.” Avery lifted her guitar back into her lap, needing the soothing distraction of the notes. She’d had this particular guitar since her eighteenth birthday, a special gift from her mama. It had been restrung twice and it wasn’t worth a whole lot, but it gave her comfort. It reminded her of her mother, who she hadn’t told about Shane either. She hadn’t told anyone, not even her best friend back home. When she had told Kayla she slept with a stranger, she hadn’t given her the details about his identity, just how they had met. She wasn’t sure she wanted to share it with Lauren now either, but Shane wasn’t exactly being discreet. It was obvious they knew each other as more than casual acquaintances.

“I told you about Ben, my ex-boyfriend, cheating on me,” she began. Lauren nodded. “Well, the night I found out, I basically jumped out of his truck in the middle of the street, but forgot my purse and long story short, Shane let me borrow his phone and he sat with me in the coffee shop until Ben showed up with my purse.”

“Shane Good Samaritan Hart? Interesting.” Lauren eyed her. “But that’s not the full story, is it? Because sometimes I hear shit, but I know I didn’t imagine that he asked you if you are pregnant, and I can’t think of any reason a man would ask that unless he’s been poking your fire.”

Damn. Avery hit a bad chord. So there was no getting out of it. “Okay, I had sex with him, but I swear, Lauren, if you tell anyone, I will tell everyone that you peed yourself when you met Keith Urban.” It was fighting dirty, but she wasn’t playing around. No one could know.

Instead of getting angry, Lauren burst out laughing. “Hell, you didn’t even try to negotiate. You went straight for the blackmail. I applaud you for that. And it was just a little squirt. I was excited, I couldn’t help it. Don’t make me sorry I told you.”

That made her feel bad. “I’m sorry. That was harsh. But I will seriously die if anyone finds out I did it with Shane Hart. I will stab myself in the heart with a rusty blade and perish.”

“Geez, since when are you such a drama queen?” Lauren looked at her curiously. “Why the big state secret? I’d be shouting that shit from a megaphone to anyone who would listen.”

“Because if people find out, nothing I do from here on out will be taken seriously. No one will take me seriously. They’ll assume I slept my way into the business.” Just the very thought made her sick. She hadn’t been raised with much, but she did have her integrity as a songwriter. If one night of throwing caution to the wind destroyed that, she’d never forgive herself.

“That’s a valid point. I see where you’re coming from. But for the record, he looks at you like he wants to whisk you away to his house and fuck you for days.”

Avery couldn’t even think about it or she might spontaneously combust. “He probably looks at a whole bunch of women like that. Isn’t he kind of a ladies’ man?” It was one of the few things she had learned from her initial online stalking. He never got into trouble, but he definitely had a steady stream of women strolling through his life.

“He does like the ladies, but you have him liking you for a minute or two. Why not take advantage?” Lauren studied her. “But maybe it wouldn’t be worth it. Does he suck in bed or something? I swear I won’t tell anyone.”

She was already shaking her no. “No. He does not suck. He was very, um, generous.” That was the best way to describe it.

Lauren’s eyes went wide. “Whoa. Okay, then. Lordy, girl, you’re caught between a cock and a hard place.”

Avery sighed. “Lauren, that’s about the truest statement I’ve ever heard in my life.”

FOURTEEN

Shane waited until his sister went back into the kitchen to grab more guacamole before turning to Chance.

They were outside on the back patio at Jolene and Chance’s new house, a fire going in the stone fireplace they’d had built at the end of the summer. It allowed them to be outside comfortably even though it was October. Chance took a sip from his thermos. Jolene had made them all coffee. Shane had desperately wanted to spike his, but there was no booze in their house.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” he asked Chance.

Chance said, “If you’re going to ask me if the guacamole is really from the store even though JoJo says it’s homemade, I have to stick to what my wife says.”

That made him laugh. “Why would she even bother lying to me about that? As if I don’t know the only thing she ever makes is cheesy grits.”

“Not anymore. She has us on some diet and it’s basically tuna fish and grapefruit all the time, though fortunately not at the same time. She’s worried about gaining weight now that we’re off tour.”

“That sucks. I hate tuna fish. And dieting.” It had always bothered him that the media even commented on his sister’s weight.

“Me too. Which is why I’ll eat any guacamole I can get my hands on, homemade or not. Anyway, sorry, what did you want to ask me?” Chance clapped him on the back. “I’m glad you stopped by. We don’t get to see your face often enough around here.”

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