Page 12 of Hero on the Road
No thank you.
The moment I stopped staring at him, I started listening to what he was playing and realized that I hadn’t heard this one before. We were supposed to be working on two songs today... and this wasn’t one of them. This was slower than anything we’d written together. Angstier. It was the sort of song written in chords that grabbed your heart and twisted at it, making you feel like you were going to start crying.
It was gorgeous. And it was pure Connor.
When he started singing, chills rushed across my skin.
Because the song wasn’t just pure Connor. It was about a girl who was always untouchable, even when she lived right down the street. A girl who came and went like a ghost, who the singer could never get a handle on. A girl who appeared out of nowhere after years and slipped under the singer’s skin as if she’d always belonged there.
“She finds her way into your heart and makes a home,” he crooned, rocking to the melody. “She feels what you feel. You’re no longer alone.”
I almost broke my silence with a sob.
God, it was beautiful. Girls would go insane for it, especially if he sang it the way he was singing it right now, with his voice breaking and his heart coming through in the words.
And I didn’t have to ask to know that the song was about me.
Something inside me shivered and grew at the thought. At some point, he’d sat down and written a song about me, and it had come out sounding like he was laying his heart on the ground and inviting everyone to look inside and see what had happened to him.
It was the kind of song that would make his career.
And I was betting he’d never, ever intended for me to hear it.
I felt behind me for the doorknob, turned it quietly, and backed out of the room before he could see me, closing the door quietly as soon as I was out of the studio. Then I turned and walked quickly down the hall and toward the front door of the building.
I didn’t want to have heard that song. I was positive he wouldn’t want me hearing it. I was going to go get coffee—maybe bring him some—and say I was sorry for being late but I needed some caffeine. Anything to pretend I hadn’t heard what I’d just heard. Anything to make myself forget how my heart had reacted to it.
I’d already known that this tour was a bad idea, but if he felt that way about me—and I reacted the way I just had—we were in more trouble than I’d realized.
This tour was more than just awkward. It was going to expose us both.
CHAPTER8
Olivia
“You’re kidding.”
I didn’t say anything more than that. Because I was sure that Taylor had to be kidding. This couldn’t be real. Atomic wanted a successful tour, surely. Which meant there was no way she was telling me the truth. And as soon as she admitted that, I was going to flat out kill her. Because this joke wasn’t even a little bit funny.
“Great Falls first,” Taylor repeated. “It’s not a big city but it does at least have an airport. Which means you won’t be stuck on a train trying to get there.”
“Yeah, I got that part,” I told her sharply. “Skip to what you said at the end.”
There was a pause as she considered her words—not that she could change them at this point—and then she decided to start with the better news. “I’ve got the list of cities where you’ll be appearing, finally. And there are some really good venues here. Smaller places. Places where you’ll be able to get face-to-face with your fans. You’re going to be getting a lot of really good face time in.”
“Taylor.”
“Right, yeah. So the tricky part. They’re sending you on your own. I can’t go with you and Parker’s out. She doesn’t work for Atomic so I don’t think they’d have sent her in the first place. Danny’s also out. You guys are going to be by yourselves.”
I closed my eyes, hating that that part was official. I’d already known it, but I’d been hoping Atomic would change their minds and send at least one of the managers along with us. Instead...
“And roadies?” I whispered.
“None,” Taylor replied, her voice expressionless. “They’re not giving you roadies or a manager. They’re not even giving you a band. It’ll be you and Connor on the road together. Playing acoustic.”
I thought that was what I’d heard.
It wasn’t any better the second time around.
