Slumping against a pillar in the lobby, I glanced over the lyrics of the song I’d written for Lily. Since Christian had to be checked out by a doctor before the promoter would allow him to take the stage, he was already at the venue. Sean tagged along to make sure Lindsey didn’t rope him into any interviews. We’d agreed to a press conference after rehearsal. And that was it.

I looked up when Logan sauntered into the lobby with Greg on his heels. Schooling my features, I pushed off the pillar. Greg had his reasons for firing Lily, but it was still a dick move.

“Ready to roll?” I said to Logan as I turned for the door.

“Cameron, can I talk to you for a second?” Greg asked, falling into step behind me.

“Not a good time.”

Logan gave me a sidelong glance as we walked, a brow raised in question. But he didn’t say anything.

“It’s about Lily.”

Hearing her name on Greg’s lips, my anger bubbled up, and I spun around. “Think very carefully before you open your mouth,” I warned. “The life you save could be your own.”

Greg shifted his gaze to Logan, looming behind me with his arms folded over his chest. Logan didn’t know the details. Not yet. But he had my back. Always.

His focus back on me, Greg cleared his throat. “I just wanted to explain,” he began, his voice as thin as his smile. “We have rules here. And Lily broke them. She was a good employee, and I liked her. But—”

“Liked her?” I growled. “You were practically humping her leg in the lounge not five days ago. You wanted to take her to my show and who knows what else. How many rules did that break?” Greg’s righteous indignation melted before my eyes. “That’s what I thought.” Pointing a finger at him, I stopped just short of poking him in the chest. “Keep my girl’s name out of your mouth, and if you see her—walk away.”

Before he could offer up more bullshit excuses, I marched out the door. Ducking into the waiting limo, I sank onto the plush leather seat and let my head fall back.

Logan slid in across from me. “You want to tell me what that was about?”

Sighing, I dug my fingers into my eyes. “Lily got fired over those pictures in the paper.”

He laughed. “So? We’ve got contacts. Have Chase work his magic. Hook her up with something else.”

I tipped forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “I take it you didn’t read any of the articles that accompanied the photos.”

Shrugging, Logan gave me a bland stare. “Nope.”

“Lily’s father runs the Tennison Foundation. He is the Tennison Foundation. She’s—”

“Marcus Tennison’s daughter?” he interjected, and when I nodded grimly, he sat back and shook his head. “Shit, that dude is major. I’m glad I didn’t fuck his daughter.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. “It wasn’t like that,” I bit out.

“So… you didn’t fuck her?”

Logan knew everything about me. The good, the bad, and the very ugly. There was no use lying. “I didn’t just fuck her. I have feelings for her. I want to take her back to Austin. See where it goes.”

I waited for Logan to laugh. Or maybe try to talk me out of it. Instead, he grabbed two beers from the fridge. “Do you love her?”

I yanked the bottle from his hand with a snort. “I just met her.”

“That’s not what I asked.” He eyed me as he twisted off the cap on his beer. “It’s not the worst thing in the world, dude. All I’m saying is you better be sure before you drag her back to Austin and leave her sitting in an apartment while we go out and tear it up on the road. Unless she’s down for that. Having a steady piece when we’re not touring is cool, as long as she knows the score.”

It was like he’d shined a light on all my fears, the doubts I hadn’t voiced. But I had. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the song I’d written. “It’s more than that. I just don’t know if I can do it without fucking everything up.”

Logan arched a brow when I offered him the paper. “Those are just words,” he said. “Tell me how you feel.”

I shook my head, and I might’ve laughed. We didn’t discuss feelings. But when I opened my mouth to remind him of that, it all poured out. All the feelings I hadn’t admitted, not even to myself.

When I finished, Logan eased back, crossing his legs at the ankle. “You won’t fuck it up. Not if you meant even half of what you just said.”

“Do you think my old man meant it?”

The thought slid out with ease, like it was there all along. Waiting to break free. Tyler Noble was a terrible father, and an even worse husband. But my mother had loved him. Hell, she loved him still. And at some point, the feeling was mutual. But that didn’t stop him from doing all the terrible things he did.

Logan’s gaze shifted to the window. “We don’t all turn out like our daddies.”

I nodded, more for his benefit than mine. As bad as Tyler was, Logan’s father was worse. “I guess you’re right.”

The heavy mood lifted, and Logan smiled. “‘Course I’m right. I’m always right.” Leaning forward, he clinked his bottle against mine. “A toast to your balls. May they have a long and peaceful life. In Lily’s purse or wherever the hell she’s keeping them.”

I grinned. “If you knew what that girl did to my balls, you wouldn’t be laughing. You’d surrender yours in a heartbeat. It’s that fucking sweet.”

Logan lifted a brow, intrigued. “Do tell. Sharing is caring, ya know.”

Shaking my head, I polished off the rest of my beer. “Not this time, bro.”

After rehearsal, the band filed into one of the luxury suites at the stadium to face the reporters Lindsey had assembled for our press conference. I let my mind wander while Christian regaled everyone with tales of his adventures at the hospital.

“My question is for Cameron.”

Snapping my attention to the woman in the front row with her hand up, I swallowed hard when I noticed the name on her press pass. Sandy Gruber. The same name on the byline in yesterday’s story.

I jerked a nod, and she stood up.

“Would you care to give us a statement about the nature of your relationship with Lillian Tennison?”

I flicked my gaze to Lindsey, hoping she’d head this off at the pass. But she seemed as interested in my answer as everyone else.

“No comment.”

Moving on, I pointed to a reporter in the second row. But before he could get his question out, Sadie blurted, “Is there any truth to the reports that Miss Tennison is now with Chad Dyer from Crimson Five? Our source confirmed she’s staying with him at the Omni Hotel.”

I opened my mouth to spit out a denial, but at the last second, the truth coiled around my tongue. “You need to check your sources. Because Lily’s with me.”

Sadie inclined her head, surprise painting her features. And I was surprised myself. “So I can confirm that you’re involved with Lillian Tennison?”

Snatching my sunglasses from the table, I pushed out of my chair. “You can confirm anything you want. But I don’t have any further comments about my girlfriend.”

A flurry of follow up questions rang out as the guys followed me to the adjacent dressing room. Once the door was closed, Logan fell into a chair and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Rookie mistake, Cam.”

I shot him a scolding glare. “No shit.”

This was Media 101. Kindergarten stuff. The reporter wrote a society column, for fuck’s sake. It wasn’t even a hardball question. Clearly, I wanted to say it. To declare it. I wanted Abigail Tennison to choke on her tea when she read it.

Lindsey teetered in on her usual heels, a broad smile plastered on her face. “Simply wonderful,” she said, her voice rising to a cackle. “Normally, I would take your head off for the lack of self-control, Cameron. But Lily Tennison? Your fling is going to make the papers from here to Houston.”

“How did a society columnist get access to this press conference?” I asked.

Lindsey’s eyes widened to saucers, her usual unflappable demeanor crumbling. “She called and requested an interview. I didn’t see the harm in extending the invitation.”

“How did she know about Chad?”

She bit her bottom lip and I knew—she leaked it. Still, I waited for the confirmation, glaring daggers in her skull.

She lifted her chin. “I might have mentioned it.”

Logan jumped to his feet so fast he knocked the chair back two feet. “Get out! You’re fucking fired!

Lindsey’s mouth dropped open, and her gaze darted to Christian and Sean. Finding no comfort there, she shifted her attention back to Logan. “You don’t have to tell me twice,” she sputtered. “If I have to spend another day in this godforsaken state, I’ll tear my hair out. Good riddance.”

Storming out of the room like she was the aggrieved party, she slammed the door behind her. Sean was the first to laugh, and after a beat we all joined in.

Logan threw his arm around my neck. “Like your mama always said, Cam, you can’t trust a chick that ain’t from Texas.”