Mike rolled his eyes. “Do not move.” Looking over his shoulder, he spoke to her. “I’m not getting out of this bed until you leave.”

“Please. It isn’t like I haven’t seen it before.”

Mike’s head jerked back to me when my body stiffened as the shock of that statement rocked me to my core.

“No.” He shook his head, reading my thoughts. “No.” I felt the blood drain from my face as a million different thoughts flooded my mind. A giant palm cupped my cheek and he leaned in to kiss me, as if trying to force my panic away. His thumb slid over my cheek as he spoke, “Clarify that, Lee.”

She chuckled. “It was not intentional, believe me. He likes to walk around buck ass naked, and I walked in on him by accident. Nothing I want to repeat, I promise. But if his naked ass thinks I’m leaving the two of you alone when you have to be at the venue in a few hours, he’s delusional.”

“Fine,” Mike growled. Kissing my forehead, he sat up. “Turn around.”

The bed was cold as soon as he left. I sat up, keeping the blankets clutched to my chest, watching in fascination as he yanked his clothes on angrily and then glared at his best friend. “I’ll go see Nate. I’ll be back in ten to load the car.” The door slammed shut as he stomped off the porch.

“God, it’s annoying how cheerful he is in the morning.” With a beaming grin, Lia plopped onto the foot of the bed. “So…?”

I fought the smile, shrugging. “So?” I wasn’t sure what she was asking. If it had been anyone else, I’d be giving her a detailed play-by-play. I couldn’t do that with her now. Not when it was Mike who had been in my bed. Uncertainty tickled the back of my mind as I wondered if they’d ever crossed that line. I had to know. “You and Mike never…”

“God, no!” Lia interrupted, shaking her head, following my thoughts before I had to say it. She sobered suddenly. “But he is my best friend. I love him, Mols. Be gentle with him.”

“There is nothing about that man that likes gentle.”

Her nose wrinkled in disgust. “That’s so wrong.”

“It’s actually pretty fantastic,” I refuted teasingly.

She shook her head, smiling. “Forget I asked.” Looking around the room, she sighed and shifted into work mode. “They’re not going to ask you anything about last weekend, but you know as well as I do that Nate won’t be off limits.”

I nodded. We’d talked about it briefly yesterday. I was nervous enough about getting back out on stage and didn’t want to do an interview on top of it, but Lia insisted it was necessary and I trusted her instincts. Plus, I couldn’t hide forever. Sighing, I pushed out of bed, yanking the blanket with me, and headed to the shower.

*****

Saratoga, New York was beautiful, but I didn’t get to see it this trip.

After an ice-cold shower that definitely woke me up, I threw on a pair of jeans and rushed from the cabin. Mike had the car waiting in the drive with Lia riding shotgun. When I pulled open the back door, Nate offered me a lopsided grin.

“What are you doing here?” I climbed up next to him, confused.

“Not a chance in hell I’m letting you walk into the lion’s den alone.”

I glanced into the front and to the beautiful man who was now driving. “I wasn’t alone.”

Nate followed my eyes to the front before narrowing them at me, watching me closely. I squirmed under his scrutiny. I rarely kept anything from him, because we didn’t have the need for secrets. Plus, he could read me like no one else. He sighed, shaking his head. “You got into a brawl defending me, after I got into the same fight to defend you. All after rumors of our love child hit the magazines.” Leaning into the middle seat toward me, he stared into my eyes. “They wanna go after you, they’re gonna have to go through me to do it. It’s about time they realize that when they fuck with you, they fuck with me.”

“Oh, Jesus Christ!” I snapped back, rolling my eyes. “I don’t need your white horse bullshit, okay? I have them.” I pointed to the front of the car where it was eerily quiet.

“Yeah, you do. Red will spin whatever she can spin, and Mike will step in front of a bullet for you. But they’re not me.”

“Wow. Really?” He could not be serious.

He nodded. “Really. I’m Nate Kelly, Mols.”

“For fucks sake! You did not just ‘Nate Kelly’ me!”

“I did!” Nate snapped back, his voice full of pride like it was a good thing he was name dropping. “I think you need—”

“Okay!” Lia turned around, interrupting him before he could inform me what it was exactly that I needed. Sticking her head between the seats, she yelled, “Children, that’s enough.”

“I just—”

“No.” She shook her head at her husband, but a smile tugged at her lips. “We all know you love Molly, we know you’re worried.” Turning to me, she raised her eyebrows. “Nate’s coming, just in case they start asking questions that he should answer. It’ll be better this way.”

Like a petulant child, Nate smirked at me and turned to look out the window.

“I’d almost forgotten what it was like to travel with the two of them. Almost,” Mike told Lia just loud enough for us to hear.

“Don’t lie. You missed it.” Lia laughed back. “You’ll miss it when you leave.”

Mike glanced over his shoulder, meeting my eyes. “Oh, I’ll definitely miss parts of it.”

After nights like the one we shared last night, it was easy to forget that we were only temporary. Mike was here for the tour. Not for me. And he’d go home as soon as it was over. I leaned back, staring out the window until we pulled into the venue.

“Hey.” Nate nudged me as we walked down the hall toward the room where we were meeting with the media people. “I’m sorry, okay? I just hate what they’re saying about you.”

I stared up at my friend. “I know. Don’t worry about me, ok? Worry about what they’re saying about you and Lia.”

He snorted. “They love Red. And I don’t give two shits what they say about me.”

I put my hand on his arm, stopping him. “I care what they’re saying about you.”

He smiled down at me, giving me the signature grin that broke a thousand hearts. “See?” He pulled me into a tight hug. “We both have given them plenty of shit to say, we both know that it’s part of the job, but it fucking wrecks me when I see that shit about you. I love you and I want to protect you,” he muttered into my ear.

“I love you back, you big oaf. But you can’t protect me from everything.”

He glanced up, staring at something over my shoulder. “I know.” His tone turned icy. “But I’m sure as hell going to try.”

He dropped his arms and stepped back, holding out a hand instead. I took it, following him down the hall, glancing over my shoulder to see who was there. The hall was empty except for one person. Mike. Well, shit.

The interviews went better than expected. Probably because Nate was with me, and no one wanted to say something that would upset him. Fuck him and the fact that he was always right.

Lia rushed me into hair and makeup as soon as I was done. Usually, I did both myself, but being on tour with Nate, I got to be spoiled. His record company insisted on a makeup artist traveling with the tour after the majority of the band started sporting black eyes at every show a few years ago. Tonight, it was my turn to have bruises disappear, and the man did not disappoint.

Randy was a miracle worker, and I kind of loved him.

I never knew what he was going to do. I’d sit in his chair, he’d ask me what I was wearing, and then he’d work his magic, making me look like a million dollars. From this performance forward, though, Lia was picking out my clothes, so my entire look at each show would be a surprise to me.

It took Randy twice as long as it took me, but I looked twice as good. I’d told him once that if I ever made it big enough to have my own entourage, I was stealing him. He promised to come with me, as long as I could have him driven. The man hated to fly and wouldn’t drive himself. I’d hire him his own town car as long as he was there whenever I needed him.