Page 59 of Back in Black

“Oh, right.” He scowled at Audrey, as if the slipup were her fault. “Sorry.” Then back to Brett, “But it is. Brilliant, I mean.”

Audrey could see Drew’s mind working, and it maddened her. Did Drew Blackeverstop maneuvering?

“Except,” Drew said, working through details aloud, “I want you in the SBC. I can crush the competition—not that there’s much there, you know. You’ll be way better off with us, trust me. But I like your approach. I can see it working.”

Relaxing a little, Brett draped an arm around Audrey’s shoulders.

Absorbing his touch, her eyes closed for only a moment. He was so warm, his arm heavy and solid. Being near him like this satisfied something deep inside her, something she didn’t know was hungry until she’d met Brett.

Being away from him recently had been awful. She hadn’t known him long, but she’d missed him as if he’d always been a necessary part of her life. Never before had that happened to her. Long ago, she’d dated, and she’d even had a few more serious relationships.

But she hadn’t felt like this, the way she felt only with Brett.

Relishing the familiarity, Audrey looped an arm around him, too, then slid her hand into his back jeans pocket and leaned into his side.

Brett went still in surprise. She felt his muscles clench, his arm tighten. Glancing down at her, he studied her and came to some decision.

“Is that it, Drew?” With sudden urgency, he tried to wrap up their discussion. “I need to get going.”

“What?” Drew focused on them again. “Yeah, as long as you’re not still pissed, we’re good. Let’s set something up. I’ll call you, okay?” And before Brett could specify terms, Drew added, “Private life is private, got it. I’ll do up a contract and get in touch.”

Brett considered it, but finally nodded. “All right.”

Pointing at him, Drew said, “This is the real thing, Brett. You need a manager, you know that, right? Talk to Havoc or Simon about it.”

“Already did.”

Drew grinned. “Great.” He looked over his shoulder at the gym, and impatience showed in his hurried speech. “Okay, then. Glad we could get that settled. You two take care, now.”

As he walked away, Brett shook his head. Turning to her, he smoothed a hand over her hair, wrapped her ponytail loosely around his hand. “You okay?”

He looked so intent and serious that Audrey wasn’t sure what he meant. He was the one who’d sustained bruises in practice, and who’d just been in a confrontation with Drew Black. “I’m fine. Why?”

He waggled her head a little. “You have a history with Drew. I wasn’t sure if seeing him would upset you.”

“Oh.” She scowled at Drew as he paused at the street, checked the traffic, and then jogged over to the gym. “I don’t think I’ll ever like him, but he doesn’t intimidate me, if that’s what you mean.”

His half smile made her heart flip. “Fearless, huh?”

She lifted her chin. “I would never back down from a bully.” Touching a scrape on his chin, she asked, “Brett, are you sure you want to fight for him?”

Dismissing her concerns, he said, “It’s not really for him. It’s for the SBC.” He caught her wrist and tugged her along to his truck. “And what he said is true. If I want to make this a career, and I do, then the SBC is the best way to go.”

Audrey bit her lip. “What he said about your past—”

“Forget it.” He stopped by the passenger’s door. “Did you drive here?”

Audrey had heard enough to know that Brett had not had an easy life. An alcoholic father and a mother who’d earned prison time . . . she couldn’t imagine. He was such a nice man, and so polite to women, that she had assumed he had great role models around to influence him.

Thinking of how his past still hurt him left her hurting, too. “I took a bus.”

“Car in the garage again?”

“No, but I was sort of hoping you wouldn’t be busy, and we could—”

Leaning down, Brett kissed her. Against her mouth, he murmured, “Yeah, we can.”

Oh, God, already her heart beat double time and her pulse fluttered. She fisted her hands in his shirt. “I missed you, Brett.”

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