My eyes fell to Eden and for a split second she tensed up but then put on a façade of comfort. She nodded in silent response after Josh loudly agreed. We all took off with the coffee house on the corner in our sights; Eden and I fell into silent step beside each other. One thing I had noticed was that the longer the night went on, the quieter she got and the more anxious she appeared.

“Are you okay?” I asked, dropping my voice so only she heard.

She eventually twisted her body toward me and nodded in silent response.

I felt myself tense. “Are you really okay? Don’t just say yes.”

“I’m just a little tired. It’s been a huge day.” She finally admitted.

“I can take you back to the hotel if you want. You don’t have to come.”

“I want cake,” she replied with a smile. “Although I’m not sure if it could live up to the cake you bought me for my birthday. That was the best cake I’ve ever eaten.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Aunt Carole next time I see her.” I chuckled lightly.

The warmth of the coffee house provided comfort as the four of us walked through the doors. I felt my body start to thaw after the assault of winter chill. Ashlyn grabbed Eden’s hand and took her to a vacant table while Josh and I were on coffee ordering duty.

The moment it was our turn to order, Josh stepped into male slut mode and started trying to get in the barista’s pants after he gave her our order. I shook my head at my brother's moves and turned back toward the main area of the coffee house and took a deep breath.

My nerves were shot; my emotions were all over the place, and I couldn’t decipher whether it was due to lack of sleep, stress at work, or the girl who was unraveling me at a ridiculously fast rate. I glanced toward the table where Ashlyn and Eden sat, and I instantly met Eden’s gaze. She didn’t hesitate this time. Her wide alert eyes met mine with such strong intensity that it was like she was reading me, deciphering every thought I was having. Fuck I really hoped she couldn’t read me too well. She didn’t need to know who I was. I didn’t think she could handle knowing me. She had caught me off guard; I wasn’t expecting her to be watching me so intently. I shifted and turned back toward the counter breaking the connection. Knowing I was under her gaze made my usual confident front crumble.

The sanctuary of my hotel room provided me with ultimate relief. The second I closed the door behind me, I burst into a flood of tears. Pretending that everything was fine all day and continuing my charade into the night left me both physically and emotionally exhausted and I knew that it was just a matter of time before I crumbled. And crumbling was something I didn’t want to do in front of Ky.

After sitting in the rustic coffee house that was swallowed by the intense scent of coffee beans for an hour and enjoying hot coffee and cake, Ky had offered to drive me back to the hotel. The trip was a quiet affair and my thoughts were filled with memories of the day. My hand still tingled at the sensation of his huge hand holding mine, and my heart ached at the simplicity and perfection of the day, but it was my mind that was a pit of confusion that I couldn’t sort through.  There was little to no fear, but I felt like I was pretending from the moment he picked me up till the moment he drove off. I didn’t know any other way to survive situations like that, and I had to make the decision whether pretending was what I wanted to do or whether it was time to try and find who Eden Rivers was and whether Ky Crawford was the right person to witness everything that I uncovered.

Tears rolled over my cheeks, and I felt my chest tighten under panic. I rubbed my open palm over my chest in desperation for relief.  I knew it was a huge mistake coming back here.

I pulled my phone from my bag and placed it on the bed as I fished through my suitcase to find a clean pair of sweats and hoodie. The thought of falling into bed and sleeping away my exhaustion was welcomed. My phone vibrated on the floral comforter with a new text. It was nearing one a.m. so immediately I thought it would be Tori.

It wasn’t.

Unknown: Still in town I see and still looking as beautiful as ever, shame about the company you’re keeping.

Who the hell was this? If I ignored it, it had to go away. Right? All day I didn’t feel an ounce of fear; when I held Ky’s hand, I felt nothing but exhilaration. All it took was a few words to cause my fear to roar to life. I needed to ignore this. No one knew I was here, no one knew why I was here. Another five weeks and then I was gone.

I just needed to get through the next five weeks and then I could go back to my life in San Francisco and forget it all.

Sunday came and went without any contact from Ky. Did I expect him to contact me? Yep. Was I a little disheartened when he didn’t? Confusingly yes. I spent the day lazing in bed, eating room service food, and scrolling eBay for things I didn’t need. I should have been prepping for the shoots I had booked and researching the bands, but all I wanted was laziness. I didn’t receive any further messages so I desperately crammed the memory of last night’s text into the pits of my brain. By the time I crawled into bed that night I had spent two hundred dollars on boots, ate way too much candy, and hadn’t stopped thinking about the guy with the honey-colored eyes.

••••

I had just finished pulling on my black boots and headed to the desk that sat by the window to grab my laptop bag and phone when there was a loud knock at the hotel door. It had just clicked over to midday and after a rough night of sleep and lazy morning I was getting ready to head to the diner to get some much needed work done. I hesitantly walked to the door and was thankful there was a peephole. My pulsing heart rate began to slow as I found Josh Crawford standing on the other side of the door, looking at his watch and dressed in a business suit.

“I am happy to hear you are using all the locks,” he announced after I unlocked the deadlock and chain and swung open the door to greet him.

My face must have been asking a thousand questions, because a deep chuckle left him before he spoke again. “I have been requested by a certain brother of mine to bring you into the office today.”

Shyness invaded me and I dropped my eyes to the ground and nodded. “Okay.”

I turned away and collected my laptop, purse, and phone and turned back to find Josh watching me closely. Where Ky had strong hazel eyes, Josh’s were a deep brown. I could definitely see what Tori had been attracted to. Geez, I could see what all girls would be attracted to. Josh held the door open for me and we left the hotel behind us and headed into the city, with our destination being Anderson Publications. For what, I had no clue.

The craziness of the office hit me the moment we stepped out of the elevator. Monday madness, as Josh called it, was in full swing. I pulled my bright pink laptop tote close to my body and weaved my way through the staff, sticking close to Josh, and headed toward a large boardroom in the far corner. I felt people’s eyes on me, and I swear I heard hushed voices asking who I was.

Once we walked into the boardroom, Josh said, “I’ll go and see if Ky is in his office so just take a seat here, and I’ll be back in a few.”

“Sure.”

Josh disappeared through the door and left me to my own devices. The room was huge with a large gleaming white meeting table taking up the space with at least twelve high back, expensive looking executive chairs surrounding it. Pictures of previous covers graced the walls and my eyes instantly began scanning them, taking in the colors, the layout, and the models and some of my favorite bands. I still couldn’t believe, not in my wildest dreams could I ever have imagined, that photos I would take would be gracing the cover of an international magazine.