Page 71 of Tortured Tones

“Have a good time.”

Oh...“Um...I’ll try.” I scanned Cole up and down. My eyebrow flicked skyward of its own accord. “Hanging out with drunk, arrogant rock stars and their fabulous partners might be awful.”

Wells laughed. “It will be better than mulling at home over Josh. If you need anything, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll see you on Thursday.”

“Okay. Bye.” I ended the call and stared at my cell phone. My hand shook and shuddered. Shit! I was going to a party with Cole. I hadn’t seen that coming. But it wasn’t a date. I didn’t need the lines to blur. “Guess I’m coming with you...on one more condition.”

“What’s that?”

“You rest on Wednesday.” I jabbed my finger against his chest. “You sleep. Stay at home. Do nothing until rehearsal on Thursday.”

He grabbed my hand, took a step toward me, pinning me to the spot with his gaze. “You gonna come over and make sure I do that?”

I yanked my hand free. Heat crept into my cheeks as I shook my head. “Careful, Cole Tanner. I might begin to think you like me.”

“You’re tolerable.”

“So are you.” Oh, boy. Am I in trouble? Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.

“At least I’m not an asshole anymore.” A lazy, cool smile slid across his lips. “Do you need a dress? Kinda know someone who can help out.” He jerked his head toward the boutique.

“No.” I tucked my cell phone away. “I have something.”

“Nah. Come on. My treat.”

“Cole. No.”

He grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the door. But it swung open, and the band and my team walked out.

Flint looked from Cole, to me, to Cole’s hand clasping mine. “What’s going on?”

“Um . . . Ava’s coming with us tomorrow night.”

My team’s eyes popped, and their mouths gaped.

‘What the fuck?’ Beckett mouthed silently.

Lewis slapped Slip in the arm. “You owe me a hundred bucks.”

“Fuck,” Slip grunted.

What was that about?

Flint chuckled and shook his head. “Cole, can I speak to you for a sec?” He waved Cole over toward his Ferrari. “What the hell is going on? Ava’s your bodyguard.”

“Av?” Beckett switched off his radio and edged in beside me. He caught my arm and drew me off in the opposite direction to Cole. Damn it. I couldn’t hear what Flint and Cole were saying any more. Humor and concern swam though Beckett’s eyes. “Can you please tell me what’s happening here?”

I pulled my arm free of his hold and straightened my jacket. “I had this fight with Luther over Josh. He’s taking him to New York. I was upset. Cole came out with coffee. As a don’t-sit-at-home-and-sulk gesture, he invited me to the launch party.”

“He asked you out?”

“It’s not a date.” Irritation swept through my voice. “It’s with the band and the girls. Wells approved it.”

“Do you have feelings for this guy? More than thinking he’s just nice to look at?”

I glanced at Cole talking to Flint, all calm and composed. I may have been like that on the outside too, but my insides were backflipping and somersaulting. I liked the guy, maybe a bit too much, but there was no way those feelings could ever evolve. I didn’t need another smooth-talking charmer to break my heart. “No. I don’t.” Liar.

“We’re onsite tomorrow night. If he puts a foot out of line, you give us the signal, and we’ll take the fucker down.”

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