Chapter 7

It took a lot to impress someone as cynical as Dylan, and yet in the past week, the Walters family managed to do that.

The Tuesday after Paige had shown up at his hotel room found him looking at an article online that effectively proved Morgan Lewis had lied. The media was now attacking her for lying about Dylan while he was trying to get his life back on track, and he felt only a minimal amount of pity for her.

Suddenly he was trending on social media, with people cheering him on and talking about how sorry they were that people were trolling him and trying to defame him. He was getting calls from outlets looking to interview him and get his spin on the whole thing. Both Robert Walters and Mick advised him not to respond, to let the professionals handle it.

So yeah, he was impressed with the way PRW had handled this whole situation.

Then there was Paige. That same day, he had been sitting next to her at a conference room table listening to… He had no idea. He was too distracted by the woman sitting beside him. She was dressed as she usually was, except now he knew what she had on underneath. And when she crossed her legs, he saw the top of the thigh-high tights she was wearing and caught a glimpse of that soft skin he loved to touch.

Knowing how Paige was a stickler about business, he had debated about whether to test the waters with her in this particular area.

Boy was he glad he had!

At the first touch of his finger on her knee, she had uncrossed her legs—slowly and in a way that no one would have noticed. When his hand traveled higher and inched under her skirt, she’d spread her legs a bit to give him more to explore.

He still had no idea how she’d kept from letting everyone in the room know what he was doing to her because he was ready to start panting from the images in his mind. She was sexy and intriguing, and she managed to surprise him more and more every day.

They worked together, they went out in public together, had been photographed doing all those things, and it didn’t seem to faze her in any way, shape, or form. She smiled when she was supposed to and posed when they needed to and then went on with whatever it was they had been doing without complaint.

It was…weird. In the past, women he dated tended to either love or hate the camera. Okay, most of them loved it and would become blatantly pissed off if they felt they weren’t getting enough attention from the paparazzi. But not Paige. It was such a nonissue with her that it almost made him want to make an issue of it to find out how she really felt.

Now that was weird, right?

Either way, he was impressed with her because she fit seamlessly into his crazy world, and got him out and enjoying life again. It was amazing how one carefully placed comment to the press could change everything! He no longer felt he had to hide out in his hotel room or punish himself by living in solitary confinement. He was playing music every day and starting to write some new stuff that he couldn’t wait to share with the band when they got together to jam next week.

After talking with both Matt and Riley, they decided on a weekend sort of thing in North Carolina, at Matt’s new place. He and Vivienne had moved into a house they had renovated to fit both of their needs and, according to Matt, it included a state-of-the-art studio. It meant being out of town, but after checking his schedule, he saw there wasn’t anything planned for him with the campaign, and he was free of any commitments.

Convincing Paige to let go of some of hers, however, required some convincing.

Why it was so important to him for her to come away with him for the weekend he couldn’t say. Obviously, Vivienne was going to be there and Riley mentioned Savannah was going with him as well. Julian and Dena were once again on the outs, so he was going to be flying solo for the weekend but didn’t seem bothered by the fact that the girls were going to be with them.

Plus, Dylan wanted to see how Paige interacted with the band—with his life.

Right now, things were kind of safe. He was in a good place in the public eye, and he didn’t have anything going on other than the work with Literacy Now. What he wanted to know was how she would see him when he was working apart from her and if she clicked with the guys and their wives.

“I don’t understand,” she had said when he first brought up the trip. “You want me to go with you to…hang out with Matt’s and Riley’s wives? Why?”

He shrugged. “For starters, I thought it would be nice to get away for the weekend. I know it’s not anything glamorous but…”

“You know I don’t care about that stuff, right?” she quickly interrupted. “You know I’m not spending time with you so you can spend money on me and show off, right?”

Clearly, he’d struck a nerve, but he put it aside. Taking her hand in his, he caressed her wrist. “Paige, I know you’re not like that and I didn’t mean to imply you were. This is important to me. I’ve missed seeing them and they’re all in good places in their lives right now, happy, and…I am too. And I have you to thank for that. So I had hoped you’d want to go with me and see how I am with the guys.”

She smiled slowly and sweetly, and even blushed. “I don’t want to distract you while you’re there. You only have a weekend, and it’s been so long since you’ve been together. I don’t want to be in the way and…” She paused. “You know what? Never mind.”

“No, no, no. Come on. Finish what you were going to say,” he urged.

Looking up with him behind those big glasses, he could see her insecurity. A heavy sigh preceded her words. “I don’t want to be there and then not see you the entire time because you’re playing with the band. Savannah and Vivienne know each other. I’m sure they’ve become friends, and I’m not…I’m not comfortable being dropped in a group of strangers. Especially not for an entire weekend. I’m sorry.”

That night, he’d let it go. He didn’t comment on what she’d shared, but he also knew he’d bring it back up and turn her to his way of thinking.

Which he was starting right now.

The knock on his door told him she was here. No matter how many times he tried to give her the room key, she declined. Part of him respected that, but it really ticked off another side of him. He let her in and greeted her with a kiss that was borderline erotic, and when he felt her melt against him, he knew their night was off to a great start.

“Wow,” she sighed when he lifted his head. “I really like when you do that.”

He couldn’t help but smile as he stroked her cheek. “That’s good because I really like doing it.”

He let her go and led her into the living room. He’d ordered room service, and all her favorite snacks were laid out on the coffee table. He watched as her eyes went wide when she spotted them.

“Oh my goodness! What have you done?” she asked with awe.

“Well, I didn’t feel like going out tonight. I thought we might stay in, watch a movie and relax.”

The smile she rewarded him with told him he’d made the right decision. “That is perfect. I had the worst day and…let’s just say this is exactly what I needed.” Then she reached down and snagged a devil’s food cake pop.

And when she moaned, he wondered if he could possibly wait to take her to bed or if it would be okay to strip her and take her against the couch.

“I know that look,” she said with a laugh. “Don’t even think about interrupting snack time!”

“Who, me?” he asked innocently.

“Yes, you. If you’re going to put out cake pops and cookies and…” She gasped. “Nachos! You got nachos! You’ll have to wait your turn, buddy. The first orgasm tonight will be compliments of the queso.”

He couldn’t help it—he cracked up. He loved how this girl was not shy about her food and could put him in his place so perfectly. Hell, he’d gladly let the food serve as foreplay, because he knew when he did finally get her stripped down, it would be that much sweeter because of the anticipation.

She sat and Dylan walked over to the minibar and grabbed them each something to drink. He had water but he knew Paige preferred to have a cola with her nachos.

A man knew when to pay attention, and Dylan learned early on that food was to Paige what flowers were to some women. So he made notes of all her favorite combinations, and this was one of them.

He handed her the drink and sat beside her and helped himself to some of the nachos. “So why was your day so bad? What happened?”

“There’s a new client at PRW. He’s an artist looking for a firm to get him some exposure for his work. I don’t think he needs PR as much as he needs an agent, but my father is trying to think of how we can do both for him, and it was exhausting to listen to. For the first time in my history with the firm, I did not want to be assigned a project.”

“So how did you get out of it?”

Delicately, she licked some excess cheese from her lips and grinned at him. “I told him I was going to be traveling with you and didn’t have the time.”

Bingo! And just like that, he knew she was on board. There was no way she’d lie to her father about something like this, so Dylan was now freed up for the rest of the night. Seduction would be for seduction sake and no ulterior motives.

Then he felt guilty for having them in the first place.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “So you’ve reconsidered going with me?” Dylan needed her to be clear on this—that she was serious and not just using him for an excuse.

Paige nodded. “The more I thought about it the more I knew I’d regret not going with you. I’m excited about you getting to see your friends and playing and…I have to admit, the fangirl in me wants to meet them.”

He grinned. “I thought you said when we met that you weren’t really a fan?”

Her blush was instantaneous. “Well…once I started…you know…researching who you were, I started listening to the music and I got hooked.”

Sitting back a bit, Dylan stretched his arms along the back of the sofa as his chest puffed out with pride. “Damn right you got hooked. We’re awesome.”

She giggled and moved closer to him, so she could put her head on his shoulder. “Yes, you are. I was highly impressed.”

“Do you have a favorite song?”

“Oh, no you don’t. We are not going to spend the night with me praising your music and telling you how great you are. No way.”

“You may not realize it,” he said in a low, seductive voice as he cupped her cheek, “but you’re going to do that anyway—just not about my music.”

The gasp that escaped her lips was so soft and so quiet and yet so damn potent that he had to kiss her.

One of the things he was coming to learn about Paige was that she loved kissing. Like seriously loved it. No sooner had his lips touched hers than she was crawling into his lap—and that was completely fine with him. He loved having her there. It wasn’t the fast and frantic kiss like they’d shared when she first arrived, but it wasn’t any less erotic. Tongues dueling and all wet, hot need.

“Paige,” he said gruffly, kissing her throat, “if I promise to reheat the nachos, can we—”

“Yes!” she panted, rubbing up against him. “Oh God, yes.”

They sighed in unison when he reached under her skirt and found bare thighs and tiny panties.

This girl…

* * *

Flying first class was a treat.

Having a limo pick them up at the airport was wonderful.

Sitting at a table with four of the biggest rock stars in the world was enough to make her want to throw up.

How is this my life? she wondered, and not for the first time. How did this become my reality?

Paige grew up in a wealthy and privileged home, but not where she was rubbing elbows with celebrities like this. There had been events PRW had worked on where there was a celebrity clientele, but she never interacted with them socially. And now, as she sat for dinner at Matty Reed’s house, it all hit her and was making her feel…well…sick.

“Breathe,” Dylan whispered in her ear.

“What?”

He chuckled, low and deep and sexy in her ear. “I can tell you’re tense and starting to freak out, but you need to breathe.”

Doing as she was told, Paige took several deep, cleansing breaths and tried to relax.

“Good girl.”

There was talking going on all around them, and she turned to Dylan and gave him a weak smile. “I’m so nervous.”

“Don’t be. Everyone here is a friend. Remember that. You don’t have to think of something witty to say to impress them. Just be yourself, okay?”

She nodded but didn’t feel any better than she had a minute ago.

“You’re not breathing again,” he said softly.

“I’ve heard a lot of great things about PRW, Paige,” Riley said, and all other conversation stopped while everyone looked at her. Her stomach churned and she was thankful for Dylan’s hand on her knee. The gentle squeeze reminded her to breathe. “How long have you been with them?”

Paige gave the basic history of the company her father started and how she’d been working in various positions there since she was a child. “I’m finally on the executive floor,” she added with a smile.

“My sister is doing PR work,” Riley went on. “She lives up in Washington State, with her husband. He’s an artist. She runs a gallery in Seattle but does work with several other artists and sets up events and gallery showings for them. She’s solo for now, but I know she’d love to branch out a bit.”

“What type of art does her husband do?” Paige asked.

“He’s a wood sculptor, and brilliant with it, actually,” Riley went on.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Savannah added. “I’m telling you, I first met Ben about five years ago—I interviewed him for a magazine. He was a young punk, but the things he could do with a slab of wood were amazing.”

“So you introduced them?” Paige asked.

“Indirectly,” Savannah said with a grin. “He needed help on a project, a coffee table book he was doing, and we sent Darcy to help him. Then they got snowed in together and…the rest is history.”

“That’s so romantic,” Paige said and hated the girly sigh that came out before she could stop it.

“Darcy’s helping me get my photos into galleries,” Vivienne chimed in with a proud smile. Paige was in awe of her beauty and grace and to hear she was an artist too was just… Wow!

“I didn’t know you were looking to do that,” Dylan commented. “Good for you!”

Vivienne thanked him. “Matt inspired me to do it. To me, it was a hobby, but he kept telling me my pictures were good enough to sell. So when we got together with Riley and Savannah about six months ago, when his whole family was celebrating—which baby was it?” she asked Savannah.

“That was Aidan and Zoe’s baby,” Savannah replied. “The first junior in the bunch!”

“That’s right,” Vivienne said. “And so sweet!”

“Aren’t all babies sweet?” Matt asked with a grin.

“Trust me,” Riley said, “not all the time!”

“Speaking from experience?” Dylan asked as he picked up his glass of water with a grin.

“I love my baby girl more than I ever thought possible, but there were times when she was an infant that I swore she was possessed or something. She would scream and cry and…” He shuddered, and Savannah swatted at him playfully.

“Stop! She was a wonderful baby!”

Riley smiled sweetly at his wife but gave all of them a look that said he was the one in the right in that discussion.

“Anyway,” Vivienne said, “we went to the baby’s christening and I met Darcy. We got to talking and she said she’d love to help me. Her sister-in-law Brooke paints, and Darcy has helped her get her paintings into galleries and boutiques up and down the southern part of the East Coast.” She shrugged and picked up her glass of wine. “She’s doing the same for me.”

“Plus,” Matt interjected, “because a lot of Vivienne’s photos are of food from her blog and magazine, Darcy managed to get some of her pictures into a couple of restaurants too.”

Everyone extended their congratulations, and conversations started up on various topics, and Paige finally felt herself relax. She watched Riley and Savannah and then looked over at Matt and Vivienne and was a bit envious of the two couples. It was obvious how in love they were, how happy, and Paige had to wonder if she would ever have that for herself. Probably not with Dylan, but…

“You okay?” he asked, leaning in close again.

“I am. Why?”

“You sighed, and it sounded like a sad one. So I wanted to make sure you were all right.”

Nodding, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m fine. Just observing the dynamics here at the table, and I always get a little…”

Dare she admit this to Dylan?

“A little what?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know…a little envious. Some people make it look so easy to be with someone, to be in love and just…click. Does that make sense?”

For a minute, all he did was stare at her, and she mentally kicked herself for bringing the subject up when they weren’t alone.

He nodded and looked about ready to speak when—

“So am I the only one here who is freaking psyched beyond belief that we’re going to jam?” Riley asked the group, and everyone laughed, including Dylan.

The moment was lost and she could only hope when they were alone later, they’d both forget she’d even brought it up.

* * *

It was two in the morning when she felt the bed shift and dip as Dylan slid under the sheets beside her. They were staying in the guesthouse on Matt and Vivienne’s property, and it was lovely and private and, thankfully, only a short walk from the main house. Very convenient after she seemed to eat her weight in cakes and dessert while sitting and talking with the girls when the boys went to jam.

It didn’t seem possible that you couldn’t hear the music but…that was exactly the case. Vivienne had explained how important it was for the space to be soundproofed because she worked from home, and Matt and gone to extremes to make that happen for her.

For all Paige’s worries about being forced to hang out for hours on end with people she didn’t know and how it made her uncomfortable, it was all for nothing. Both Savannah and Vivienne were incredibly nice, and she couldn’t remember the last time she had hung out and laughed with friends like this.

Friends.

It had been a great night.

Now, as Dylan moved in close and wrapped his arms around her, she felt completely at peace. She had slept—not well, but she had slept—but she had also kept watching the clock and wondering when he was going to join her.

“Did you have fun?” she asked softly.

Kissing her temple, he replied, “I did. It was amazing. It’s like I’d been playing in a fog for so long and this? This was like the thrill I used to get when I was a teenager playing with whoever I could find to jam with.” He hugged her close. “Thank you for coming here with me.”

She looked over her shoulder at him. “You’re welcome, but…I had nothing to do with how tonight went. You went and played music with people you know and love and are comfortable with. It must have been like coming home.”

“It was. It really was,” he said. “But…having you here makes it even better. And I don’t just mean here in the bed, although that is spectacular,” he added as he kissed and nipped at her bare shoulder.

Sighing, she rubbed her bare bottom against him. “Oh, stop. If I weren’t here, you’d probably be having a lot more fun.”

He did some rubbing of his own and then let his hands join in, cupping her breasts. “More fun than this? I don’t think that’s even possible.”

“You’d probably still be jamming instead of feeling like you had to come over here with me.” God, could she sound any more pathetic? Why did she have to—

Dylan rolled her onto her back and beneath him in the blink of an eye. “First of all, I’m here in this bed right now because I want to be, not because I feel like I have to be. Second, we jammed for four hours. I’m exhausted. My arms were killing me and I could barely keep my eyes open. We all left the studio like the walking dead. I was thankful all I had to do was cross the yard. Riley still had to drive home.”

“I hope he’s okay.”

“He’s fine. He’s only ten minutes away and he texted all of us when he got there.”

And then something hit her and she started to laugh. Only a giggle at first, but then a full-blown laugh. Dylan leaned over and looked at her like she was crazy.

“Um…what’s so funny?”

“It’s just…” Another round of laughter came out before she could contain it. “It’s a little funny because from the fan perspective, we look at rock stars as guys who would play 24/7 if they had the chance. They’re alpha men who go about their business in the most masculine way possible.” She shifted beneath him a little. “It struck me as funny how you guys were tired and dragging and then texting one another that you got home safely. It all seems very…normal. Not at all fitting with the rock-star image I had, that’s for sure.”

Then she started to laugh again and Dylan joined her. After a few minutes, he rested his forehead against hers. “We can’t be in rock-star mode all the time. And even alpha men have to be safe and get their rest.”

“Mmm…I guess you’re right.”

He placed a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose. “I should totally get some rest.”

Disappointment hit her, but she knew he was right. They’d been up since before dawn to catch their flight, and with the time difference and all the traveling and then all the jamming, she knew he had to be exhausted. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she pulled him in for a hug, loving how hard and warm and wonderful his body felt on top of hers. She loved the weight of him, the muscles and the—

“But first, I’m going to do what I’ve been dreaming of all day,” he said, interrupting her musings.

Anticipation immediately replaced the disappointment. Wrapping her legs around him slowly, she locked her ankles at his lower back. “And what’s that?” she asked breathlessly.

“I’m going to touch every inch of you and taste every inch of you and then exhaust every inch of you,” he said, and Paige could only moan and press up against him in invitation. “Does that sound all right with you?”

Her only answer was to pull his head to hers and kiss him.

* * *

Life got busier as soon as they touched down in LA.

Ariel’s pregnancy and morning sickness meant she was out of the office more than she was in. Robert had asked Paige to step back in on the Literacy Now campaign as the head, and as such, she found there were many ways her sister had dropped the ball.

Typical.

Lucky for her, she and Daisy were used to this sort of thing and knew how to handle a crisis without freaking out too much. Paige knew she was extremely fortunate to have such a helpful assistant and was relieved she could hand off so many of the smaller tasks to her without worrying about them getting done.

In what seemed like a stroke of luck, Dylan was finally feeling comfortable going out and doing things on his own as well—not only on the work for the campaign, but also looking at other ventures in the music industry. While the weekend with Shaughnessy had been great, none of them were ready to commit to going back into the studio just yet. Riley and Savannah were enjoying their time with their daughter and were expecting another; Matt and Vivienne had moved into their new home, and she was embarking on this new career path with her gallery showings. And Julian? Well, he had been a bit of a mystery to her the entire weekend. He was pleasant enough and cordial but very quiet.

He seemed sad to her. Like really, really sad. When he played—the guys had invited Paige and Savannah and Vivienne to listen to them jam for a couple of hours—he played with a focus she’d never seen before. It was like the drums were an extension of himself, and he took it all very seriously. According to Dylan, Julian was an extremely gifted songwriter and drummer and cowrote most of Shaughnessy’s music with Riley. On top of that, he had a near-genius IQ.

All of that added together still didn’t equal the sadness she saw in his eyes.

Another bit of information she’d gotten from the girls was his on-again, off-again relationship with his girlfriend, Dena. They were supposed to get married several times in the past five years but never made it down the aisle. When Paige mentioned it to Dylan, he’d rolled his eyes and told her how he and the guys wished Julian would kick Dena to the curb and be done with her. But they didn’t think it was ever going to happen.

It wasn’t something Paige could begin to understand, but it didn’t stop her heart from hurting for him.

So with a band project off the table for now, Dylan felt he needed to do something creative to keep this momentum going. He was working on music he would use for Shaughnessy at a later date, but he’d been meeting with Mick and some of the executives at their record label about doing some studio work with other groups. It wasn’t his favorite thing to do, but for right now, he was having fun with it.

And on top of all that, whenever they went out and got stopped by the paparazzi, it was in a positive way. It was crazy how all the negativity toward him just…stopped. It was as if that one incident with Morgan had brought to the spotlight how unfair people could be. She knew the tabloids were fickle, and it could all change at any time, but for now, she was thankful things were leveling out for him.

Their new schedules, however, meant they weren’t spending as much time together. Dylan was always asking her to come to the hotel and stay over, but some nights she wanted to go home and crash after a mentally exhausting day. And it wasn’t as if she was against having him spend the night at her place, but whenever he showed up there, he never actually did spend the night. She attributed it to the fact that she had to get up so early and he tended to sleep in. He mentioned how he wasn’t really a morning person and didn’t feel right staying in her house, her bed, after she left for work, so it was easier to just not spend the night. Now it felt like they were drifting apart.

To his credit, Dylan had stayed with her longer than he ever had with any other woman. She knew this because of all the information she’d found out about him when they first met. She hated how she had that kind of data on him, but while her heart was slowly breaking, she could at least cling to the fact that he cared about her enough to stick around for a little longer than was his usual.

“Paige?” Daisy called out as she stuck her head into the office. “Dylan’s here to see you. Can I send him in, or can I keep him out there and stare at him for a while?”

That made her laugh softly. Daisy never held anything back, and for the past couple of weeks, especially since the news broke of Paige and Dylan being involved, she had been asking all kinds of questions about him. Maybe Paige should make him wait to see what Daisy would do, but she missed him too.

And who knew how much longer she’d have him to herself?

With a chuckle, she shook her head. “You can send him in.”

“Well darn,” Daisy muttered with a small laugh of her own. “Fine.”

A minute later, Dylan walked into her office and quietly shut the door behind him. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey, you,” she said as she got up from her chair and walked around the desk toward him. It was crazy and maybe stupid, but she loved to kiss him and be kissed by him. Some days it was the equivalent of a cup of coffee.

Or a cake pop.

Up on her tiptoes she went, looping her arms around his shoulders as her lips met his. It was sweet and slow and so delicious that she couldn’t help but melt against him with a happy, little sigh. When she lifted her head a minute later, she was smiling.

“Other than giving me the strength to finish this day, what brings you here today?” she asked with a sassy grin. They hadn’t talked about him stopping by, and as far as she knew, he had plans to do some recordings today.

They both made their way to sit, and once she was seated, Dylan spoke. “I have a proposition for you.”

All kinds of dirty thoughts ran through her mind—the first being if she locked the office door, could they be quiet enough not to alert Daisy to what they were doing?

“A proposition?” she asked in a sultry voice.

For a minute, it looked like he blushed. “Baby, if I thought we could be quiet about it, I’d be propositioning you all over that desk.”

“But…”

“But I know how loud we can be,” he said with a wink. Slouching in a way that only Dylan could make sexy, he grinned at her. “Recordings got canceled for today, and I figured I’d take you to lunch.”

And that had her grinning like an idiot.

There were so many ways Dylan surprised her, but none more than when he did something spontaneous and sweet like this. Putting dirty-girl Paige aside for the moment, she straightened in her seat. “I would love that. Thank you for thinking of me.”

“I’m always thinking of you,” he said, his voice solemn and serious.

Standing, Paige grabbed her purse from her bottom drawer.

“How much time do you have? I was thinking of trying this new Italian place a buddy of mine invested in. It’s across town, so you know traffic will be a bitch, but if you’re not in a rush…”

“I’m not, believe me. I need to step away from the office for a little while. I’m beginning to think…”

The sound of the door opening stopped their conversation.

“Ariel,” Paige said with a forced smile. “I didn’t realize you were coming in today. How are you feeling?”

“Much better,” she said with her usual grace and charm. “My doctor gave me something to help with all this morning sickness and I’m starting to feel human again.”

“Oh. That’s great. So you don’t think you should be at home and resting? Maybe it’s work that’s not helping with the sickness.”

With a small shake of her head, Ariel turned to Dylan. “It’s good to see you,” she began. “And you were on my list of people to call today.”

Dylan looked at Paige and then to Ariel. “I was?”

She nodded. “I was wondering if you’d consider lending your…celebrity…to the cause.”

Dylan looked over at Paige again and then to Ariel.

“Ariel,” Paige said, “what are you talking about?”

“Well, I think we’re doing well with the PSAs and all, but I feel like we’re building up to this big event that’s not very big.”

“The fund-raiser is going to be big, Ariel,” Paige argued lightly. “We have five hundred people coming who are all big contributors to the arts. I know we’re going to—”

“Be bored,” Ariel finished for her. “We’re going to be bored. And what good is it to have a rock star on board if we’re not utilizing him to his fullest potential?”

A trickle of unease began to work its way down Paige’s spine. “Excuse me?” she asked through gritted teeth.

“You have him talking to people and groups and on camera for commercials and in print ads, but it’s not a very rock-star thing to do. Why isn’t he playing music? Why aren’t we letting him play music?” she asked with a little more emphasis.

“Ariel, maybe we can talk about this—”

“Gah, Paige! I’m telling you, this is an amazing opportunity! No one’s going to question why Dylan’s doing it since you’re ‘dating,’” she said using air quotes. “It would look weird if he didn’t play!”

“I don’t think it would look weird,” Paige murmured. “We’ve got a band booked. They do a wide range of music, so we can have dancing as well as soft music during dinner. I don’t think it’s necessary—”

“Well, I do, and I was talking to Dad earlier—”

“You’ve talked to Dad about this already?”

She nodded. “And we thought it might be fun and great publicity for Dylan and his band to perform at the fund-raiser.”

For a minute, Paige wasn’t sure what her reaction should be. Excitement? Sure. The thought of getting the kind of publicity from having the first live performance from Shaughnessy in years would be a huge boost to the campaign and the bottom line. Disappointed? A little. After all, it was yet another change to her original plans where this campaign was concerned.

“I came in here to get your opinion, but with Dylan here, it’s even better,” Ariel said. “If you have time, Dylan, I would love to sit and talk to you about it.”

Dylan looked uncertainly between Paige and Ariel. “Um…I was getting ready to take Paige to lunch.”

“This won’t take too long, I promise,” Ariel said with a big smile. She reached out and touched Dylan’s arm. “I already have things mapped out and would love your input on how to make it all happen.”

He looked at Paige, and she could see the indecision in his eyes. “Paige?”

She let out a quiet sigh. “I’ve got a few things to finish up here, so why don’t you talk with Ariel, and when you’re done, we’ll go eat. Okay?” She forced a smile, and she had a feeling Dylan knew she was faking it.

“Um…sure. Okay,” he said and then turned to Ariel. “This won’t take long, right? Maybe thirty minutes?”

“Thirty minutes tops,” Ariel agreed and then led him from the office, chatting the entire time about her vision for the show.

When the door closed behind them, Paige did something she had never done before.

She picked up her coffee mug and threw it against the wall in frustration.

* * *

There was a war waging within him.

As Dylan made his way toward Paige’s office, he knew he’d screwed up.

But for a good reason.

Ariel and Robert Walters had offered him—and Shaughnessy—a chance to get some free publicity while contributing to a good cause. It was something that interested him greatly, and he knew if he pitched the idea to the guys, they’d be on board too. It should be a win-win.

Then he remembered the look on Paige’s face when he’d left her office.

The disappointment.

The sad acceptance.

And this time, her family wasn’t the only one to blame.

He had put that look there right along with Ariel.

He looked at his watch and cursed. Ninety minutes. He’d been gone for ninety minutes, and he could only hope she was still here and hadn’t gone off to lunch without him. Honestly, he had lost track of time once Robert had started his pitch for all the benefits of having Shaughnessy and a few other bands play a public concert to raise awareness for literacy. It wasn’t that it was such a new or different idea—actually it was pretty unoriginal—but at his current point in life, it was exactly what he wanted and needed.

Turning the corner to Paige’s office, he saw her door was slightly ajar. He knocked lightly and heard Daisy call him in. When he stepped inside, he looked around and didn’t see Paige but did spot her assistant picking something up off the floor.

“Need a hand?” he asked and immediately went over and crouched to help her. He picked up several small pieces of porcelain and looked at Daisy. “What broke?”

“A mug,” she said but didn’t look at him.

Dylan looked around and tried to figure out how a mug would get dropped and shatter this far from Paige’s desk. “Um…”

Beside him, Daisy finished picking up the scattered debris, stood, and tossed it in the trash can by Paige’s desk—all still without looking at him.

“Is Paige here?”

“No.”

He sighed and tossed the few miniscule pieces of shattered mug in the trash before raking a hand through his hair. “Do you know where she went?”

“Out.”

So he really had screwed up. “Look, I’m not sure what happened here but…”

Then she turned toward him, and Dylan had to admit, he took a step back because she looked fierce. “But what?” she snapped. “But you think it’s okay to hurt Paige’s feelings and then come waltzing back here and expect her to be waiting for you?”

“Daisy, I—”

“I have worked with Paige for a long time and believe me, she gets angry, but she’s always in control of it. It never gets the better of her. This was the first time she ever did anything even remotely…violent. And why? Because of you! You and Ariel!”

“I didn’t think it would be an issue,” he said defensively. “I thought it was all fine and good because it was for the campaign! I thought she was okay with it!”

Liar, liar, liar…

“Well, she wasn’t,” Daisy said with a small pout.

“Come on, Daisy. Where is she? I need to talk to her.”

She studied him for a moment. “I don’t think she wants to talk to you right now.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t, but I need to make this right with her.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“This whole thing that’s going on with you and Paige—it’s a way of keeping the bad press reports away, right?”

He let out an aggravated sigh. “That’s how it started but—”

“Do you care about her at all? Or is all this about you and your reputation?”

Damn. She may have seemed like a chattering airhead most of the time, but she certainly didn’t pull any punches when she needed to. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I care about Paige. A lot. That’s why I need to know where she is so I can talk to her.”

Ten minutes later, Dylan was in his car, speeding out of the parking garage. Once he’d gotten Paige’s whereabouts out of Daisy, the woman had continued to chatter at him about how he better make things right. He was trying to, dammit! Right now he wished he knew what to say and how to say it. He’d never had this kind of situation before, this kind of relationship, where he cared enough to want to make things right.

And now that he did, it had him feeling so sick and twisted up inside, he wasn’t sure he liked it.

He hadn’t wanted to talk to Ariel, if he was being honest with himself. He knew it was going to rub Paige the wrong way even if it was for the right reasons. He should have simply suggested they make an appointment to talk after his lunch with Paige.

Yeah, that thought hit him about thirty seconds after he’d walked out with Ariel. Unfortunately, the woman talked almost as much as Daisy did, and he couldn’t get a word in edgewise for far too long. Then her father had joined in. Dylan had to wonder how Paige managed to have conversations with either one of them because they never seemed to shut up!

There were plenty of things Dylan had learned to accept about himself over the course of his life. First, he was a screwup. Most of the time it was by his own choice. It had started as a way to get some attention from his parents and then it became a way to get attention period. He was a classic case of the child who lashed out for all the wrong reasons. His parents weren’t bad; they weren’t abusive; they just weren’t overly attentive. And to a guy who clearly enjoyed being in the spotlight, he took matters into his own hands to get them to see him.

But he was digressing.

Second, he was a bit self-absorbed. He was great at homing in on his own feelings, but he sucked at paying attention to the feelings of others. It was different with Paige. In any other circumstance, he would have known he’d handled things okay. This whole thing today had taken him by surprise.

Which brought him to the third thing about himself—he was not good at thinking on his feet. It didn’t seem to matter what the situation—if he had to make a snap decision, he always made the wrong one. The major difference with today’s encounter was that he’d hurt Paige’s feelings—not by missing lunch or not putting her first, but by not putting her before anything having to do with her family was a major misstep on his part.

It was funny, he mused, how family issues were the root of so many problems—it was something he and Paige shared. Not on the same level or for the same reason, but…

Only, it was the same level.

It was all about attention.

They both felt they didn’t get the attention from their families that they deserved. Dylan chose to be rebellious while Paige just…accepted it.

Dammit.

Why hadn’t he made that connection before? While he’d sympathized with her over the way her family treated her, he never truly related to it. Until now. Maybe that would work in his favor; maybe it wouldn’t. All he could do was hope she’d listen to him when he got to her.

Fortunately, the universe was on his side, because for the first time ever, he made it through the city without hitting one traffic light. He turned onto her block and was relieved to see her car in her driveway. Daisy said Paige was going home, but in the back of his mind, Dylan had begun to wonder if she had maybe decided to go somewhere else to blow off steam.

Like batting cages or a gun range.

The image of her doing either of those things put a smile on his face, and he had to force himself to push it aside until they were done talking.

At her door, he knocked.

No answer.

He rang the bell.

No answer.

After the third try, he turned to check the back when she opened the door.

Bathrobe on. Hair in a towel.

He hung his head and shook it. She’d been in the shower. Not ignoring him.

With a lopsided grin, he faced her. “Hey.”

Holding the towel to her head, she responded, “Hey.”

No makeup and in a robe that looked like it was two sizes too big for her and all he could think of was how beautiful she was. “Can I come in?”

Nodding, Paige stepped aside and motioned for him to come inside. Dylan walked straight to the living room and waited for her. She followed—eventually. It seemed to take her way longer than it should have. She didn’t come close to him. She didn’t kiss him hello, and dammit, that one hurt almost more than anything.

“I’m sorry,” he said and realized he sounded louder and more defensive than he should have. He took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m sorry,” he said, calmer this time.

With a shrug, Paige adjusted the towel on her head and then turned and walked into the kitchen. She got herself a bottle of water and came back.

Without one for him.

“We should have gone to lunch,” he said as he began to pace. “I never should have left with your sister to talk about anything. It was wrong and I’m sorry.”

“Okay,” she said with a shrug as she sat down on the sofa.

Stopping, he looked at her and knew it was anything but. This was her MO. This was how she handled things. For whatever reason, she felt she deserved this crappy treatment, and that wasn’t okay with him.

With a muttered curse, he walked over and crouched down in front of her, resting his hands on the sofa on either side of her. “No, it’s not okay,” he said, his voice a near growl. “I know you’re mad at me, Paige. I know I messed up. I also know you threw a mug across the room because you were mad. So don’t sit here and go meek on me. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

She didn’t have her glasses on and yet her eyes looked just as big. There was so much emotion in them, so much he knew she wanted to say—he needed her to let it out.

But she didn’t.

“Tell me I’m a jerk,” he prompted.

Nothing.

“Tell me I’m a selfish bastard.”

Nothing.

Then, he knew how to get her to speak up. Suppressing a grin, he said, “Tell me I’m a complete and total…ass.” Now he did grin. “I dare you.”

His gaze instantly went to her lips, which twitched ever so slightly. Then he looked up as she rolled her eyes.

Leaning in closer, he lowered his voice in a way he knew she loved. “Come on, Paige, say it.”

“You’re ridiculous,” she whispered, but she was starting to smile more.

Dylan shook his head. “Uh-uh…you know the rules. You have to say it.”

With one brow arched at him, she said, “Fine. You’re a complete and total…ass.”

“That’s my girl,” he said and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before he stood. Grabbing one of her hands, he pulled her to her feet. “Now go dry your hair so we can talk.”

“We can talk while my hair is wet—”

“No, we can’t,” he countered. “Because it’s distracting. I want to take the towel off your head and smell your shampoo and be a total perv with you. But that would not be appropriate right now.” He gave her a gentle push in the direction of her bedroom and then gave her a light smack on her ass.

Paige let out a little screech and looked at him over her shoulder. “Maybe I wouldn’t mind you being a total perv right now.”

It was tempting—to put off having an uncomfortable conversation in favor of having Paige naked in bed was beyond appealing. “Paige…”

She walked into her bedroom, which was right off the living room, and Dylan figured they were on the same page again.

Then the hair towel flew out the door.

Yeah, he was tempted to follow her and watch as she dried her hair.

Then her robe flew out the door and…well…he was only a man.

* * *

“This wasn’t why I came here.”

“I know. But I always wanted to test the makeup-sex theory.”

Dylan laughed. Seriously, this girl was beyond perfect. He rolled onto his side and admired her—in her totally naked glory. He caressed the soft skin of her arm. “I’m serious, Paige. I messed up and I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. The thought of playing again with the guys jumped to the forefront of everything, and…and it shouldn’t have.”

Turning her head, she looked at him. “Yes, it should.”

“Excuse me?” Clearly he hadn’t heard her correctly.

“Dylan, your music and the band are important to you. You’re finally at a point where you’re ready to take on that part of your life again. I get it. I’m not mad because you want to play.”

“O-kay…”

“I’m upset because you came to the office and surprised me, and then as soon as something else came along, you…forgot about me,” she said sadly, her voice so soft he almost didn’t hear her.

He cupped her cheek. “Baby, I swear, I never forgot you. Ever. The whole time I was in there, I was wishing I were with you and cursing myself for not going to lunch. Then they both kept talking and talking and talking—”

“My dad was there too?”

“Um…”

She gave a delicate snort of disbelief. “It’s okay, Dylan. I figured they’d go at you together. It’s what they do. Like a little team.”

“For what it’s worth, Paige, the only draw is having an excuse to play with the guys. What your dad and Ariel pitched wasn’t creative or exciting or all that big.” He paused. “Look, in the last two months I’ve noticed a lot of things. I think your dad is brilliant in some areas…”

“I know.”

“But not all areas,” he finished. “I think what he did to get the press off my back was pure genius, but he didn’t do it alone. He had you and Mick to guide him. I think your sister is a good spokesperson for the firm but she has no friggin’ clue how to do anything on her own. She’s great with jumping in and taking credit, but beyond that, she’s useless.”

He breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t argue.

“I think you, Paige, are the driving force in that company and you scare them.”

“Me?”

He nodded. “Yeah, you. The entire time they pitched, it was obvious they were going to throw this at you to take over and make happen. Not because they think they’re better or because they’ve got other things to do, but because they have no idea how to make it work. Your dad’s getting older, Paige. If you ask me, he’d probably love to retire or at least cut back. He’s probably tired, and it’s hard to keep up with all the marketing trends—that’s a young man’s game. And your sister? She’s lazy.”

“That’s great and all, but it still leaves me doing all the work and not getting any of the recognition.”

“And you want that? The recognition?”

Paige was silent for a moment. “Everyone wants their hard work to be acknowledged, Dylan. I’m only human.”

“I get it. I do.” Here was his opening. “It hit me on the drive over here how alike we are.” Pausing, he waited for her to comment, but when she continued to look at him, he went on. “Everyone wants their parents’ approval. I know I did.”

“Dylan, I’ve read a ton of articles where your parents are quoted saying how proud they are of you.”

“They are and I know that. Now,” he added. “But when I was younger, they were very detached. I got whatever I wanted and they never said no to me. When I wanted to take guitar lessons, I did. When I wanted to join the soccer team, they bought me everything I needed. When I wanted to take karate, they signed me up. And they went to my games and to my recitals and all that, but they never said they were proud of me or even ‘good job.’ It was like they couldn’t speak the words out loud. To them, their presence relayed all those things and I was wrong to expect both—the words and their being there.”

“Well, that’s…odd,” she said carefully.

“I know. And so I started to lash out and started doing things to get a rise out of them. I pierced my ear when I was fifteen. Got my first tattoo at sixteen—illegally, by the way. I was drinking by that time too and was sneaking in and out at all hours of the night and the most they said was how I needed to be careful, so I wouldn’t hurt anyone. Not myself—anyone,” he added for emphasis.

He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. “I drank more, stayed out more, and yet every Sunday we went to church together, and every night we sat down to dinner together, and nobody talked about how I was getting more and more out of control.” This was all the stuff he came to realize while in rehab, but it felt good to share it with Paige. “I don’t blame them for how far gone I got—that’s all on me. But I do blame them for not caring enough to leave their comfort zones and confront me on my behavior. If they had even once told me I was a disappointment or how they were worried about me, I might have listened. I’ll never know for sure, but I’d like to think I would.”

Paige took one of his hands and brought it to her lips and kissed it. “Can I say something?”

“Anything.”

“Maybe it’s not the kids you should be talking to.”

He turned his head and looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, it might be beneficial to talk to parent groups about this sort of thing, teaching them how to speak to their kids and how to make a difference. Like you just said, you’ll never know exactly what would have made a difference, but I bet there are parents out there who’d find it helpful. You could potentially save someone’s life. Or even save an entire family.”

His throat felt tight, and he forced himself to look away. “Maybe. I guess it’s something to think about.”

“I’m glad you shared this with me, Dylan,” she said softly.

And then he did look at her again. “I wanted you to know that I get it. That I understand. You want that acknowledgment from your dad, from your parents, and they won’t do it. My path led to destruction in a very obvious and public way. You not dealing with this and accepting their treatment has you internalizing it all, and it’s slowly killing you, Paige. I see it in your eyes and on your face every time they do something like they did today. Like what I did today. You can’t let people get away with it.”

“I didn’t internalize it today. I threw that mug,” she said and gave him a sassy smile. “And I have to admit it felt really good.”

Rolling to his side, he gave her a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek. “That could get to be an expensive and messy form of therapy.” He stood and reached for his boxer briefs and slipped them on. He noticed the look of uncertainty on Paige’s face as he looked at her. “I know it’s not lunch but I really do want to take you out. How about an early dinner?”

“Italian? Because I’ve been craving some eggplant rollatini and spaghetti all afternoon,” she replied as she climbed off the bed.

Dylan watched as she walked, gloriously naked, out to the living room to retrieve her robe. When she came into the room and passed her mirror, she frowned.

“What? What’s the matter?”

Paige ran a hand over her hair. “This is never going to be right. I’m going to jump in and grab a quick shower to wet it and freshen up.”

With lightning speed, Dylan whipped his briefs off. “You’re probably exhausted and weak from missing lunch. I should join you and make sure you don’t faint in the shower.”

Her only response was to giggle and shake her head at him.

Following her into the bathroom, he watched as she started the water and felt like the luckiest man alive when she turned and held out her hand to him and pulled him under the steamy spray.