She only shrugged. “I napped on the bus.” It didn’t take a genius to see she was lying and it pissed me off that she wasn’t being honest with me. “How was the trip in?”

I let her change the conversation, ignoring the nagging need to ask her what was wrong. “Fun.” I wasn’t sure which of us was more surprised by my answer. I cleared my throat. “It’s Molly. We always have fun together.”

The smile she gave me was genuine. “Good. She needs a little fun in her life.”

I snorted. “Yeah, ‘cause that’s exactly what our girl needs.”

Lee just rolled her eyes at me before turning and walking down the hall, raising one hand over her head in a silent salute.

“Night, Lee!” I waited until she stopped at the elevator before closing the door and carrying the bags in. I threw mine on the end of my bed, and crossed into Molly’s room. She was sprawled out across the queen mattress, snoring softly. Lifting her bag onto the chair in the corner, where she would definitely see it in the morning, I turned to go. But, instead of leaving, I stood there, watching her like a perv.

I’d never had to be solely responsible for a woman before. That’s the reason I told myself I suddenly felt so protective of her. It had nothing to do with how lost she’d looked when I walked onto the bus earlier. I was worried about that because I was a good friend, nothing more. No, these feelings, like the need to reach down and pull the covers over her, or drop a quick kiss on her forehead were there simply because it was my job to make sure she was safe.

Kelly had convinced me to come to work for him, to become a licensed bodyguard, but he hadn’t really needed more than an extra set of eyes, or fists when things got out of hand. I was there to protect him, yeah, but he was my best friend and could definitely handle his own, so it always felt like old times more than anything else. Well, except for the fact that we were legal now and women threw themselves at us wherever we went, and we were being paid to travel the world. Almost the same thing, though.

Lee had always needed me, and I would always have her back, but it had never been my job to take care of her. As teens, I’d helped Kelly watch out for her. Then she’d had a couple of boyfriends that claimed that job before she and Kelly got back together. When she joined the tour, I did what I could, but again, it wasn’t my job.

If you wanted to get technical, Julie became my responsibility the day we’d eloped. But I’d been gone more than I was home. It’s hard to protect your wife, and keep your family together, when you’re overseas. Hell, I’d just been a clueless kid, and now I know that you have to want something in order to get it. I blamed the dick for stealing my wife, but in reality, she’d never really been mine to begin with.

Molly coughed, startling me and forcing me into the present. Carefully I reached down, pulling her blanket up over her shoulders and tucking it in around her. Clicking the A/C fan down to low to make sure she didn’t get too cold, I crept out of her room as quietly as I could. I needed to get away from her before I crossed the line and did something I’d regret.

The sun streaming through my window woke me up a few hours later. I’d tossed and turned for a while before sleep finally claimed me, but I felt refreshed. Grabbing my phone, I cursed when I realized how late it was. I was out of bed seconds later, sliding into the pair of jeans from the night before and hurrying into the common area before Molly could get up.

“’Morning, buttercup!” she called around a mouthful of cereal. “I thought you were gonna sleep the day away.”

“You should have woken me.” I scratched a spot on my chest absentmindedly, stopping when I realized her eyes were following my hand. Staring at her, I willed her to look at me.

Seconds later, she glanced up, catching my eyes, and blushed. “I thought you needed your rest.”

I would have argued, but there was really no point. I’d had this fight with Lee many times, and I’d never won. Tomorrow, I would make sure the alarm was set. My stomach growled as she took another bite. “Whatchya eating?”

She pointed to a tray on the counter while she chewed. “I didn’t know how long you’d be in bed, so I didn’t order anything hot. But, there’s fruit and a few different types of cereal. Milk and juice is in the fridge.” She took another bite, crunching away.

I followed her lead and carried my bowl of Rice Krispies to the couch, sitting opposite her. “What’s on the agenda today?”

She shrugged. “I’d like to meet with Lia to figure out a schedule. I don’t know what Eli canceled, or even what he’d had scheduled to begin with. I have no idea if I have interviews, and if I do, when they are, or which cities have meet and greets. Plus, I need to ask her about a stylist, or go shopping at some point.” She smirked. “You know, just another lazy day in the glorious life of a country star.”

She hadn’t been kidding. It was non-stop after we finished breakfast and I was a little relieved when we walked into a room backstage at the venue three hours before the show. She had five or six interviews with local country stations, but we still didn’t have a definite count. Lee was concerned one might no-show after the recent headlines. They were all coming here, which meant Molly was staying put, in this room, for a few hours. I sank into a spare chair, exhausted from all the running around we’d done, thankful I didn’t have to get on stage.

I watched in absolute fucking awe as she transformed from my Molly, the girl who guzzled beer and snorted when she laughed, to a slightly less obnoxious version. Yet she did it in a way that didn’t hide who she was. At one point, she rolled back her sleeve and was comparing tattoos with one of the radio show hosts. Another, she laughed so hard she started to cry as she tried to tell a story about Noah.

Last year during interviews, she’d been cold, almost bitchy. I knew it was because she’d been nervous, but the media outlets claimed she was stuck up and acted like she was too good for them. Tonight, though, no one could say that.

Even the questions about Nate—and there were plenty of questions about him, even though we’d told them all that he was not a discussion point—were answered with sincerity. She didn’t seem upset, even when one woman challenged her answers, obviously not believing Molly.

“Truth is often stranger than fiction,” she answered and laughed as she waved her hand in front of her, dismissing the woman’s accusations. “It makes a much better story, and sells a lot more magazines for me to be sleeping with Nate. Or for me to be trying to sleep with him.” She shrugged, smiling. “It’s just not true. People can choose to believe it, or they can look at the facts and realize the entire thing was made up. Country fans are the greatest fans in the world; they can usually see through bullshit like this right away. I have no doubt they’ll realize that I love Nate and Red together just as much as they do.”

“She’s fucking brilliant,” Lee whispered to me. “If that doesn’t shut the majority of them down, I don’t know what will.”

“You didn’t tell her to say that?” I asked, my voice as low as hers.

She shook her head. “Nope. I told her to tell the truth, to say what felt natural.”

“And what would you have done if her truth was that she loved Nate and wanted him for herself.”

Lee didn’t even take time to let my words process. Instead, she backhanded me in my stomach, causing my breath to rush out in a loud huff. “You’re a wicked dick. You know that, right?”

I laughed, causing both Molly and the woman interviewing her to stop and turn toward me. I could only grin. I did know I was a dick; thank fucking Christ most women liked dick.

I snagged Molly from her last interview a few minutes early, practically dragging her to the room backstage where a small buffet had been set up. “I have to go to makeup and get changed!” she snapped at me as we hurried along. “You’re going to make me late.”