Page 39 of The Bachelor

He realized everyone was staring expectantly at him.

He coughed a little bit. “Avery, this is my sister, Jolene Hart and her amazing partner, Chance Rivers.” He gestured to them and attempted to bring Avery forward for handshaking, but Avery was rooted to the floor like an old-growth oak.

“Wait, Chance is amazing and I’m just your sister and that’s it?” Jolene joked. “That isn’t saying much.”

“Hush,” he told her. “You have an ego as big as your hair, you don’t need me stroking it.”

Jolene grinned.

Avery finally spoke. Her voice squeaked. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’m so honored.” She rubbed the palms of her hands on her skirt then reached out to take Jolene’s hand. “I’m sorry. I’m new in town and I’m country still. I get star struck.”

“You were me six years ago. I know the feeling well. Remember, if you’re ever too nervous to speak just smile and nod. Smile and nod got me through my first dozen events and cocktail parties.”

Avery smiled and nodded.

Jolene laughed. “Perfect. This is my partner, Chance.”

“Hi,” Avery said, nodding to Chance before ducking her eyes down. A red stain spread across her cheeks.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Chance said.

Shane felt like Avery was his show-and-tell. It wasn’t often he got excited about new talent, but this was one of those moments. And it had nothing to do with the fact that they’d slept together. In truth, he’d had sex with more than one aspiring musician, and none of them had intrigued him professionally.

The thought was both frustrating and amusing. Avery really was the whole package. He should be more worried about mixing business with pleasure, but he wasn’t, even if this was a delicate dance.

Pat ushered them into a large boardroom that had a casual sofa and some rolling chairs. There was a sideboard with a full breakfast spread and flutes with orange juice, presumably for after the presentation. Avery’s guitar was waiting next to one of the chairs and she sat down, crossing her legs.

“I didn’t know,” she said, “that I would be performing for y’all. I don’t have the best voice, so forgive me for that, and look past it.” She strummed her guitar, humming a little, finding herself.

She was incredibly nervous, he could tell that. He gave her a smile. “I’ve already heard you sing, it’s fine. Just do your thing.”

The first time she’d sung the song, he had been in the hallway. Then she had fiddled around with it when he had asked to hear it again, but hadn’t dug in and sung with confidence.

She started out slowly, but once she found her rhythm, her fingers coaxing her guitar, Shane relaxed back and just watched her. He studied the way her mouth moved, the tilt of her head, the way her eyes sometimes drifted half-closed.

Holy hell, she was so gorgeous.

And he was a guy who had found that woman. That one woman who would make your whole world just stand still for a minute and all you could see or think about was her.

It never occurred to him to look at his sister or Chance to see what they thought. He was wholly focused on Avery. He wanted to devour her, inch by inch. He wanted to pick through her brain, read all her thoughts. He wanted to make her laugh.

When the last note faded, Jolene clapped, jerking Shane out of his reverie. “Girl, that was mighty pretty.”

Avery smiled. “Thank you, Ms. Hart.”

Jolene looked over at him. “Hey, y’all give me a minute alone with Avery.”

Shane frowned at his sister. “Why?”

“None of your damn business.” She rolled her eyes. “I just want to talk to her, get to know her. Go find something to do for three minutes.”

He didn’t like that, but he didn’t have much choice. Pat left and he and Chance followed. It was tempting to linger in the hallway, but Chance shook his head.

“Dude, I wouldn’t do that. Let’s go grab some coffee in the waiting room.”

Shane tried to catch Avery’s eye, give her a smile or a wink or share a moment of intimate reassurance with her, but she never even glanced his way.

Frustrated, he went to the waiting room.

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