Page 19 of Fractured Kiss

She squared her shoulders, slung her bag over her shoulder and stepped out of the sleeping area. Will, bless him, stood before Stella and Bryan, blocking their view of her. It gave her a few seconds to compose herself before she walked out from behind him. She looked up at Will, doing her best to ignore them.

“Thanks. I’m done.”

His eyes swept over her face, obviously reading the tension there. He slid her bag off her shoulder, slung it over his, then put his hand on her back and guided her toward the front of the bus.

Stella snorted. “Oh my god. Dramatic much?”

Biting her lip to hold back the scathing words that wanted to erupt, Cassie looked straight ahead. Unfortunately, that meant she was staring directly at Bryan’s chest as he blocked the doorway.

“Cassie, c’mon. You don’t need to do this. We can talk about it. We can figure it out,” he said.

The pressure of Will’s hand on her back kept her moving forward. “There’s really nothing to talk about, Bryan. You two can have at it.”

Sudden tension radiated from Will as he understood the situation. His big body swelled up even larger. Bryan took his life in his hands by not moving out of their way, forcing Cassie and Will to slow down.

Cassie made herself look at him. At the face she’d traced loving fingers over a thousand times. The hurt there sent pain stabbing through her and her steps faltered. But Will’s didn’t. All he did was say mildly, “I suggest you move. And if you fancy taking a swing, just know that I’ll have to defend myself. And I wouldn’t want your band to have to find a new guitarist on such short notice.”

Cassie was surprised to find her lips twitching as Bryan scowled but sensibly moved aside.

Will got her going again, and she looked up at him. Her mouth curled into an actual smile when he winked at her.

“Come on, babe,” Stella said. “Let her go. You’re better off without her.”

Cassie almost stumbled hearing her call Bryan babe, but once again, Will’s steadying hand kept her moving.

“At least tell me where you’re going,” Bryan demanded, irritation and frustration making his voice rough.

She wanted so badly to say something cutting, but she held her tongue. She needed to be the bigger person. Apparently, Will didn’t have the same concern. “She’s been upgraded,” he said, without turning around.

Cassie was grinning as she stepped off the bus.

ChapterEleven

Zac extricated himself from the clutches of an overenthusiastic fan whose hands had wandered south far too often for his liking. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to it after so long in the business. Or that he didn’t sometimes welcome fans and groupies making advances. But he wasn’t in the mood. Tonight, he was impatient to get back to the bus for another songwriting session with Beau, Devon, and Caleb.

A vision of midnight hair and sapphire eyes whispered through Zac’s head, and he drained the rest of his beer. It was Cassie’s first night officially staying with them. Hopefully, she’d settled in okay.

Security was finally ushering all the fans and VIPs out. Zac caught Connor’s gaze from across the room and jerked his chin at the door that would take them out the back. Connor nodded and said something to the others. Tex downed the last of his drink, and by the time Zac was heading out, the other men and Lexie were behind him.

Noah caught up to him as they made their way out into the cool night air. “You okay with Cassie staying with us?”

Zac gave him a look. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because Cassie is very pretty and newly single. And you’re the only one of us without a woman warming your bed or waiting for you at home.”

“And you think having access to a pretty, single woman is all it takes for me to lose control of myself?”

Noah snorted. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you lose control.”

“So why are you asking, then?”

Noah barked out a laugh. “I’m not going to get a straight answer out of you, am I?”

“I don’t have any issue with Cassie staying with us. Happy?”

Noah smirked at him, and Zac shook his head, a smile twitching his lips. “Don’t get your matchmaking panties in a twist. Just because the three of you are all coupled up doesn’t mean I want to be. I’m happy we can help Cassie out, but that’s all this is.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing, man. Being coupled up is amazing.”

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