Excerpt:
As if sensing she was being watched, she turned and their gazes collided
across the stage. Her smile faltered as the seconds ticked by. She remained
rooted to the spot, so he moved forward. One of them had to make the first
move; it looked like it would be him.
“Hey,” he said as he halted in front of her.
She thanked the roadie, who smiled and left them to attend to Tara and
Renee.
“Hello,” she replied, her tone formal and her eyes guarded. “Thank you
for agreeing to help us out.”
“You’re welcome.” He rested his arm along the top of his favorite
guitar, a Fender Strat that he’d bought when he was sixteen, after years of
saving his allowance and hoarding the money he’d earned doing odd jobs around
town.
Although his father had made good money and left them fairly well-off
after he died, his mom always believed that he should learn the value of money.
It was a lesson he’d learned well, and to this day, he hadn’t touched one
dollar of the money his father had left him. He wanted to make something of himself
on his own terms, not because he had connections or an inheritance.
“Wally gave me the set list yesterday. It looks like it’s pretty much
the same as before,” he said, after an uncomfortable silence.
“For the most part.” Jessie tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear.
“The only difference is, I’ve changed up the order so that some of my older
stuff is sprinkled throughout the set. Works better that way.”
He nodded. “So what the hell happened to Kenny? Wally said he broke his
arm?”
Jessie rolled her eyes. “The damn fool decided to take a swan dive off
the stage, and because he’d had a couple of fireballs before the show, he
miscalculated how close the audience was to the stage and fell smack dab onto
the concrete floor.”
Drew gasped, equally shocked and amused at the picture she’d painted.
“Jesus. Are you serious?”
Her lips curved upwards with a ghost of a smile. It was something, even
if it wasn’t the usual mega-watt smile she gave him when they used to hang out
together. “It’s true. I couldn’t make something like that up. Broke his arm in
two places.”
“Ouch.” He winced, thinking of the pain Kenny must have been in. “So
he’ll be laid up for a while?”
“Looks like it,” she said. Then, without warning, her tone turned frosty
again, and the laughter vanished from her eyes. “Well, we should get started.
Do you feel comfortable with all the songs?”
“Yeah. I could do them in my sleep,” he said, then frowned. “Did that
sound cocky?”
“No. Just confident.” Her unreadable eyes roamed over his face. “Wally
wants us to do a duet.”
“I know.”
He’d taken a look at the sheet music and recognized the song
immediately. Anybody who’d ever attended a wedding in the last twenty years
would probably be aware of the hit ballad that was popular in the early ‘80s.
It was a nice song, and one that would suit his and Jessie’s harmonies to a
tee.
“I’m not sold on the idea, but he seems to think it’ll be good for the
CMT taping.”
“Whatever you decide is fine with me.” He brushed his hair back from his
eyes and held her gaze. “I miss talking to you, Jessie,” he said, unable to
stop himself.
Her eyes flickered with some unknown emotion, which vanished as quickly
as it came.
“We should get to work. Time’s a wastin’.” And with that, she turned her
back on him, moved to the center mic near the front of the stage and never
looked back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Country music star Jessie Grant has it all. An amazing voice, a string
of multi-platinum albums, and a sold-out concert tour. But just before her
Hearts on Fire tour rolls into Las Vegas, her lead guitarist is badly injured
and is unable to play. Desperate to find a replacement before the night of a
televised live show, Jessie is forced to accept help from the last person on
earth she wants to see again.
Drew
Carmichael has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the best
up-and-coming musicians in Nashville, without cashing in on his renowned
father’s name. When Jessie’s manager calls and asks him to fill in for her
band’s injured guitar player, he agrees to help Jessie out even though she cut
him out of her life four months ago.
In Sin City, sparks fly between Jessie and
Drew, and it isn’t long before they give in to their mutual attraction. But
when the dark past Jessie has successfully hidden for ten years explodes in the
media, their tenuous bond is put to the test, and both Jessie and Drew must
learn to trust each other if they don’t want their newfound romantic
relationship to go up in flames
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Originally from the San Francisco
Bay Area, Alison now lives in Southern Nevada where she’s still getting used to
the blistering summers and the slot machines in every grocery store.
When not working at the day job
that pays the bills, keeps a roof over her head, and supports her book and
chocolate habits, Alison spends most of her free time writing. But when she
takes a break, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and spending time with her
family and friends.
Website: http://alisonpackard.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alleyfics
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Alison-Packard/e/B009JG39XQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_4?qid=1419875275&sr=8-4
Barnes and Noble Author Page: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/alison-packard
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