“Why don’t you?” Nikki asked, her head cocked to one side as she studied him closely. “They’re great pants to get into.”

Ask anyone, he added silently.

“Because,” he said, “I have a thing for your smart, charming, and beautiful friend. The one who isn’t attracted to Shade Silverton.”

“I’d say it’s because she has bad taste,” Nikki said, her gaze skimming over his body with obvious interest, “but she likes you, so she must not be totally lacking in that department.”

“Thanks,” Gabe said, rubbing Melanie’s smooth back, which was still jerking intermittently with her giggles. “I think.”

Melanie finally quieted and wrapped her arms around his waist to relax against him. Nikki’s presence seemed to take a lot out of her, and he completely understood why. The woman seemed to draw drama the way stink draws flies. Gabe shifted Melanie closer to the wall so that they were out of the flow of intermittent traffic using the hallway to prepare for the concert. She felt perfect tucked against him. He rested his cheek on her soft hair and closed his eyes, giving himself a moment to experience the feel of her in his arms. This is how he’d prefer to spend their time together. Just like this. Close. Not dealing with other people’s problems and insecurities. He was sure if Nikki hadn’t tagged along, they’d be spending the entire evening just like this. Except maybe they’d be a little more naked. Thinking of Melanie naked had his hands roaming her back, slipping under the hem of her blouse to seek bare flesh. How was he going to make it another several hours without feeling the press of her warm skin against his? Maybe he should call in sick. Would anyone notice if the drummer didn’t show up for the concert?

“I’m sorry I got jealous,” Melanie said. She drew away and stood on tiptoe to kiss his jaw. She held his gaze, so he knew she was sincere. “But I’m not sorry I want to kick Shade in the balls.”

Gabe chuckled. He had a million things to say about why Jacob had acted that way toward Nikki, but because the woman in question was standing right there examining her fingernails with obvious boredom, he decided to keep those thoughts to himself until he and Melanie were alone. And even then he’d have to guard what he said about women with pussies more hot and ready than a Little Caesars’ pizza. He didn’t want Melanie to get mad at him for inadvertently insulting her friend, so he’d watch what he said about her. He only hoped Melanie could get comfortable after they ditched Nikki. He’d just have to suck it up until then.

When the three of them entered the band’s dressing room, Gabe noticed Jacob talking to their tour manager, Sally. Sally was a black-haired bombshell with big breasts that she liked to show off in skintight, low-cut shirts. Talking to her was distracting—you just had to gawk at her boobs. It couldn’t be helped. Man, woman, child, or monk, you had to stare at them, wondering if they were real and if your hand was big enough to hold one properly. Jacob was no exception. It didn’t matter that he was happily involved with Amanda or that Sally was happily married to one of their road crew—Kris, a giant, weathered biker with a huge heart—it was impossible not to stare at Sally’s endowments. Gabe had fallen into the same trap many times himself. So when Nikki saw Jacob paying undo attention to another woman’s chest and bristled, Gabe didn’t see any reason to correct her false assumption that Shade was not interested in her tonight because he was already hooking up with Sally. Nikki would probably understand that arrangement. It might even cause her to keep her distance.

Or it might make her storm across the room, shove Sally in the shoulder, and jerk on Jacob’s arm. Seriously?

Fuck.

“Control your friend, Mel,” Gabe said exasperatedly.

Melanie rubbed the center of her forehead with two fingers. “I think we’re going to have to go to the hotel after all,” she said. “This isn’t a good environment for Nikki in her present state of mind.”

Nikki had varying states of mind? Since when?

Gabe watched Melanie cross the room to interfere with the three-person shoving match going on in the corner. He wondered why watching her walk away had his heart panging unpleasantly in his chest. It was obvious who was more important to Melanie. He knew that she had known Nikki for a lot longer than she’d known him, but that didn’t make the realization that Nikki was her top priority any easier to take.

Realizing he wanted to be Melanie’s top priority wasn’t easy to take either. He wanted to be the only thing on her mind tonight. The entire weekend. As long as she’d have him. Seriously?

“Fuck,” he said.

Melanie was done. Done running interference. Done preventing catastrophe. Done picking up the pieces. Done.

She grabbed Nikki by the arm and without a word dragged her toward the exit. They were out of the dressing room and halfway down the hall before she stopped and turned to confront her friend. Friend? More like soul-sucking leech.

“You are going to the hotel right now,” Melanie said, providing no opportunity for argument. “I am going to the concert by myself and I am going to Gabe’s house in Austin tonight without you. Do you understand? You are not going to weasel your way into accompanying us.”

Nikki opened her mouth to protest, and Melanie lifted a finger of warning at her.

“I’m sorry it has to be this way,” she said, “but sometimes I have to think about myself. There is no reason for you to be here. You saw Shade. He doesn’t want to see you. You knew he wouldn’t, but you came anyway. And right now, I don’t want to see you either.”

Nikki released a pained gasp and Melanie had to force herself not to look away. She didn’t like to hurt people and she’d just shredded Nikki’s heart. Melanie could see the devastation in every tense line of Nikki’s face.

“If you’d rather go straight home, you do that. Figure out how to solve this problem you created, Nikki. I’m not giving up my shot at happiness because you need someone to take care of you. You need to take care of you. Got it?”

Nikki’s eyes pooled with tears and Melanie softened her tone—partly because she couldn’t stand the look of anguish on Nikki’s face and partially because her throat had tightened with emotion to the point of strangulation.

“I can be your friend,” Melanie said. “I want to be your friend. But I can’t be your knight in shining armor. I have my own ass to rescue.”

Tears began to flow freely down Nikki’s cheeks and yeah, Melanie’s vision blurred as her own tears threatened to overflow. She wasn’t good at doling out tough love. It wasn’t her thing. Tough love was so much harder than enabling, but she had to do this for Nikki’s good as well as for her own sanity. Nikki wouldn’t see it as beneficial. She’d see it as Melanie being mean to her. And yelling at Nikki made Melanie feel mean. She felt like a horrible person for hurting someone who had been hurt so many times already—broken, used, and abused by those she should have been able to trust—but Melanie couldn’t back down on this. Not even if it elevated her to megabitch status.

Heart thudding and eyes stinging with the threat of tears, Melanie pivoted and started back toward the dressing room. Don’t look back. Don’t let her see you’re about to crumble. Melanie hadn’t taken three steps when a body careened into her and a pair of arms tightened around her waist.

“You can’t leave me, Mel,” Nikki sobbed against the back of Melanie’s shoulder. “You just can’t. I have no one in this world but you. I have no one. No one.”

This was not another case of Nikki’s fabricated drama. Nikki actually believed it, because it happened to be true. Melanie closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling, but a fat droplet crept out from beneath each eyelid and streaked down her face.