Page 38 of Too Little Too Soon
When they reached the hotel, Ava received another text. She showed him the screen; Maria said everyone had vacated the bus, there was no one else around, and they were clear to go inside.
As soon as they reached the floor where the band was staying, Ava started to pull away, probably to head to her own room.
Travis twined their fingers and gave her hand a squeeze. “Is it too much to ask you to stay with me for a little while longer? I swear, I’m really not a wimp. I’m just—”
“I don’t think you’re a wimp. I think you suffered a traumatic experience that you thought was over and done, and the fact that it is not is really messing with your head.”
“Wow.” He cupped the back of his neck. “You pretty much nailed it.”
She smiled. “And yes, I’m happy to stay with you for a little while longer.”
He didn’t release her hand as he led her into his hotel room. After he flipped the security lock, she said, “Not what I expected.”
He hadn’t turned on the light, but the curtain over the window was partially open, letting in enough ambient light from the parking lot for him to see his bag resting on the luggage rack, the bed that was made even though there had not been maid service today. The bathroom counter that was free of clutter.
“Guys can’t be neat freaks?” he teased.
She laughed. He liked the sound of her laugh.
Finally releasing her hand, he took the two steps to his suitcase. “I’m going to change into sweats. Do you want to borrow a pair?” Her room was probably less than fifty feet away, yet he didn’t suggest she pop down there to change.
It wasn’t even that he wasn’t ready to be alone—okay, that was part of it—but mostly, he wasn’t ready to be away from her. She centered him, calmed him, reassured him. If he thought too hard about it, he had a feeling he’d come to the conclusion that he’d never had someone in his life who he felt was in his corner, no matter what.
But he wouldn’t think too hard on the subject. Now wasn’t the time.
“If you think you have something that will fit me, yes, I’d love to get more comfortable if you’re planning on me staying here and binging bad television or something.”
He chuckled and pulled out a pair of drawstring sweats that were cinched around the ankles. “Here.”
She disappeared into the bathroom, and he quickly traded his ripped jeans for warm-up pants. She stepped back into the room, and he bit the inside of his cheek. The shirt she’d worn to the concert was a cream-colored, fitted, button-down with three-quarter sleeves. Paired with his overlarge sweatpants, she was…adorable.
“Don’t even say it,” she warned, giving him a mock stern look.
He let loose the grin. God, it felt good. “It is kind of sexy,” he teased. “Although I admit, I like your normal look.”
“My normal look?” She arched a single, perfectly sculpted brow.
On the outside, she was exactly the sort of woman his family would have rubbed elbows with in Dallas high society. She was elegant yet understated, clearly highbred. On the inside, he couldn’t imagine her having anything at all to do with his family. She’d probably find them repulsive.
Which they were.
“Sure. Elegant. Sophisticated.” He snapped his fingers. “Polished.”
She rolled her eyes and sat on the edge of the bed. “What if I told you it was all an act?”
He sat next to her. “I wouldn’t believe you.”
“Wow. Not pulling any punches, are you?”
Cash was the only person associated with the band who knew anything at all about Travis’s background. He’d been hiding for so long, sometimes he’d go weeks without thinking about his past, where he came from. It hadn’t been hard for him to walk away, but he knew he was an anomaly. Most people couldn’t disown their parents and their only sibling, no matter how cruel or terrible they were.
Look at Holly and Maria. Holly had left home at eighteen and had only gone back a handful of times since, yet, according to her, she still found herself kowtowing to her controlling mother. Maria had spent her entire life, until only eight months ago, trying to emulate her mother.
What about Ava? She’d moved across the country, established a life for herself, but had she really escaped? Did she even believe there was something to escape from?
“I suspect we come from similar backgrounds,” he said, watching her steadily.
Both brows winged up her forehead. “You came from small-town high society too?” She deliberately swept her gaze over his person, and he knew she was taking note of the shaggy hair, the piercings, the tattoos.
