Page 15 of Too Little Too Soon
They were unstoppable at the moment.
The pressure would be on in the fall, when they headed back to the recording studio. They’d need to create a stellar follow-up album if they wanted to keep climbing.
And of course they did. Who wouldn’t?
They were about to walk onto the stage. This was it.
He’d be able to spot Ava the minute he stepped out from behind the curtain. It would probably take her a few seconds for realization to dawn, since she wasn’t expecting to see him up here. Would he be able to tell how she felt before he jumped behind the drums, or would he have to wait until after the show?
As expected, the crowd went nuts when Lacey and Parker made their appearance. Fans screamed their names; Travis even heard a few “congratulations” shouts, which made him chuckle. Lacey and Parker had unexpectedly gotten married back in May, when the band had gone to the Ozarks with the intent to attend Holly and Sam Stokes’s wedding and then play at their reception.
Everybody else was on stage now. It was Travis’s turn. He did a little jog in place, rotated his neck to make sure his muscles were loose, and then he burst through the curtain with his fists in the air.
He zoned in on the crowd, specifically right in front of the stage, where mostly scantily clad young women were hanging over the temporary barriers set up to keep fans from rushing the stage.
He searched for a certain dark-haired woman who loved to have her earlobe nibbled, who had responded so wantonly to his touch that he was getting hard on stage just thinking about it.
She wasn’t there. Why wasn’t she there? Where the hell was she?
He was not as cool about this as he’d convinced himself he would be.
Someone screamed his name. His gaze automatically zipped toward the sound.
And he found himself staring at his fucking stalker, standing in the front row, claiming one of the seats he’d left for Ava and her sister.
* * *
“That was so much fun,”Ava gushed from stage left, waiting for the band to enter from the other side. Maria said she normally hung out backstage with them until they started their shows, but she thought Ava would appreciate the experience from here, where they had a bird’s eye view of their entrances.
“Those two girls were beyond excited to receive those front row tickets,” she added.
Maria laughed. “Hands down, more over the top than anyone I’ve ever given tickets to. I thought the one was going to pass out for a minute there. Oh, hey, surprise!” She spread her arms and Ava watched a woman walk right into her embrace.
It took probably far too long to realize who the woman was. Which was all on Ava, and something she had already vowed to change.
“Holly?”
“Oh my God, Ava!” their youngest sister shrieked and dove at Ava like they hugged all the time. Guess both of her sisters were closet huggers.
Ava clung to her, holding on like Holly was a raft that might float away. When they finally stepped apart, Holly swiped under her eyes.
“Damn it, now I’m going to have to redo my makeup before I go onstage.”
“I’m sorry,” Ava said automatically.
“Pfft. Totally worth it to see you here. I can’t believe you really are here, in the flesh. You do know we don’t play country, right?”
Ava laughed. She had no idea what songs they did play, but she knew it wasn’t country. “Fully aware. I’m here to see you. And Maria.”
Holly flapped her hands. “I’m going to need another hug.”
Laughing again, Ava grabbed her and pulled her into an embrace. Maria joined them and the three sisters danced around side stage like they hadn’t seen one another in years.
The last time they’d spent any time together was at Grandmother’s funeral; the three of them had gathered for their own private goodbye.
“Okay, we need to make a pact, right now,” Ava said. “We will never again go more than a year without seeing each other. Preferably a lot less than that.”
“Deal,” Holly and Maria said at the same time.
