Christ, he wanted things to go back to the way they’d been before he’d nearly killed himself. He wanted to get a drink with Nik and the rest of the guys, bitch about women and talk music. He wanted to be on tour, playing shows for thousands of fans and sucking up the adrenaline rush.

He wanted his fucking life to go back to normal.

Yeah, and what exactly was so normal about your life?

Nothing. Abso-fucking-lutely nothing. And that’s the way he’d liked it.

“Sebastian? Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

He turned to find Tru in the hall behind him, staring at him with worry in her eyes.

She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, which showed off the adorableness of her features. She wore a blue skirt that covered her thighs completely and most of her knees and a white top with a pale pink sweater over top.

She looked like the most normal girl in the world.

The most beautiful girl in his world. So damn pretty his heart began to pound and he had the almost undeniable urge to close the space between them and kiss her until she lost the stiffness in her body and the wary look in her eyes.

Damn it, he wanted her to look at him the way he felt about her. Like he wanted to devour her. Strip her naked and hold her body against his and kiss her until she melted against him.

He’d never felt this way about another girl. And he wasn’t sure he liked it. Especially when he couldn’t read her.

Groupies and fans were easy to read. He knew what they wanted. Sex. A good time. A party.

Tru confused the hell out of him. And made him want things he probably shouldn’t.

Because this wasn’t permanent. Nothing in his life right now was permanent. Maybe he needed to remember that.

“I’m fine. What’s up?”

Did he imagine a blush on her cheeks?

“Nothing. I just . . . didn’t know you were here.”

A few seconds of silence fell as they stared at each other and he remembered what Greg had said. She had a date tonight with another man.

And yeah, that pissed him off.

“So, what are you doing tomorrow night?”

He purposely didn’t ask if she had plans for tonight. He didn’t want to hear her say yes. Or lie.

She blinked a couple of times, like she hadn’t been expecting that from him. Good.

“Mm, I don’t really have any plans.”

“Come out with me. We’ll get some dinner and maybe catch some music. A couple guys I know are playing at the TLA on South Street. Not too far from your place. I think you’ll like them.”

She sucked her lower lip between her teeth and bit down. And his cock got hard.

Fuck.

He couldn’t ever remember being this anxious about a girl, because for so many years, he hadn’t had to wait for an answer. It’d always been an immediate yes. An enthusiastic yes.

Even Roxy— Hell, probably better not to think about her now. Or ever again.

Finally Tru nodded and Baz felt the weight lift off his chest. And when her lips lifted in a tentative smile, he knew pursuing Tru was going to be so much better than pursuing anyone he’d ever wanted before.

“Yes. I’d like that.”

“Great. I’ll drop by your place around seven. We’ll get something to eat and hit the show after.”

“Okay.” Her smile became a little more assured now. “I’ve got phone calls to make. I have to get back to my office.” She paused. “Are you recording anything today?”

“Maybe. I’ve got some stuff in my head I’m gonna play with a little.”

“Let me know if you do. I’d like to hear it.”

Now he couldn’t help his own smile. “Sure.”

After a quick nod, she walked toward him, heading for her office.

But she stopped when she got to him, leaving only centimeters between them.

“I love to watch you play.” She brushed her fingers against his, the barest hint of contact but, holy hell, it made him want to strip her down, hold her against a wall, and pound into her until neither of them could see straight.

Fuck, he didn’t care if Greg saw them. He’d be returning the favor from when he’d caught Greg and Sabrina fucking on the table in their suite.

He bent so he could speak into her ear. “And I love to play for you. And with you.”

She pulled away to look into his eyes and her smile turned downright sexy, holding a promise for what was to come.

“Have a good day, Mr. Valenti.”

When she walked away, he swore there was a little extra sway to her ass.

*   *   *

“I can’t believe I agreed to go out with him tonight. I should know better. Fridays always turn into a clusterfuck.”

Sabrina laughed, her amusement loud and clear through the phone line. “Well, you’re about an hour later than I thought you’d be. And I thought we already decided what you were going to wear?”

Tru stuck her tongue out at Sabrina, even though she knew the other woman couldn’t see it. “I’m not calling about what to wear, although I admit I’ll probably change my mind before I leave. I’m calling because I had to put out two fires this afternoon and now I’m running behind.”

“I assume you don’t mean literal fires.”

Tru sighed as she opened her closet door and rifled for the outfit she wanted for tonight. “Of course not. No, it’s those two new contracts Greg signed. We ran into a few snags. Now funding for one of them is going to be delayed and I’m going to need to do some maneuvering to get everything ready to go on time.”

“I have faith that you’ll be able to pull it all together. So what’s really bothering you?”

“Nothing. Everything. I just . . . Oh, it’s completely stupid. Forget I called.”

“I’m sure it’s not stupid. Just spit it out. What’s going on?”

“No, it’s really stupid of me to even be thinking about this. I mean, Sebastian and I had sex once. I’m going on a first date with Cory. I totally shouldn’t even be thinking about what’s going to happen five months down the line.”

Sabrina huffed. “But that’s who you are. And you know it. So what exactly are you thinking about?”

“That Sebastian’s going to leave. He’s going to get back together with his band and he’ll walk out the door and I’ll never see him again. So I should just break things off with him now.”

She’d had that realization sometime this afternoon while her brain had been working overtime on various other problems. And once it’d crossed her mind, it wouldn’t leave.

“Wait, explain that rationale to me again.” Sabrina sounded highly skeptical but Tru was convinced she was right.

“In the very near future, he’s not going to be holed up in the studio just down the hall. He’ll be out on tour and moving back to wherever it is he lives when he’s not on the road.” Then she had another thought. “Oh. hell, I don’t even know where he lives.”

“Tru—”

“No. Just . . . don’t. Okay?” She flopped onto the bed, half-dressed and not sure she wanted to continue. She wanted to put on her comfy sweats and curl up on her sofa and nurse her grumpy mood with ice cream and wine. “I lived in Hollywood long enough to know how this story is going to end. Even if you’re crazy in love with someone, it doesn’t survive the reality of spending two months on set with some hot babe who wants to give you head in your car on your way to dinner. Relationships take work. They take commitment. They take day-to-day contact and nourishment. And Sebastian isn’t a commitment kind of guy.”

Sabrina paused for several seconds. “Do you want him to be?”

Did she?

“I don’t . . . I mean, I don’t know what I want. But I do know there’s no reason for us to even start dating because it won’t amount to anything.”

“And how do you know that?”

Tru rolled her eyes as she forced herself to her feet and started pulling clothes out of the closet. “Oh, please. Sebastian’s not looking for long-term.”

“And you are?”

“I . . . Well, I mean . . . shouldn’t I be? Isn’t that why you date? To find a man you want to spend time with? Why should I get wrapped up in someone who isn’t going to be around for a while?”