CROW TOLD ME WHAT HAD happened on the drive back to the hotel. We were both sitting in the back of the van. I leaned on Crow, wanting to feel the strength of him. His solidness soothed me.

The two of them had found the jerk, but he’d tried to laugh everything off. He said I’d led him on, then got scared.

“I did nothing to lead him on,” I said.

“I know that,” he said. “The guy’s a dick.”

Then Crow had grabbed him. “I had him in a choke hold. I wanted to kill the bastard. But Elijah talked some sense into my head.”

I shuddered a little. Things could get out of control so easily in this life.

Crow took my hand in his, sensing my need for reassurance.

“Then what happened?” I asked.

“Are you sure you want to talk about this?” Crow asked. “It might be better to forget about it.”

“No. I’d rather know.”

“It all got sorted out. Elijah called out for one of the security guards to get the organizer.”

Where had that damn security been when I needed them? If you had security, surely they should keep people secure.

They’d explained the situation to the organizer while the jerk protested his innocence. He kept saying I’d led him on.

“Fay does not lead people on,” Lij had told him.

Good old Lij, but Crow said that Lij had gotten fired up after that, too. If the organizer hadn’t stepped in, the two of them would’ve beaten him into a pulp.

“What did the organizer do?” I asked.

“Kicked him off the site. Told him he’d never play one of their festivals again. He also asked if you wanted to press charges.”

I shook my head vigorously. Pressing charges would be awful. I was just glad to have gotten away from him.

“I’m happy to forget the whole thing happened.”

“Apparently, he was causing trouble before this. Just small things. Give some people a bit of fame, and it turns them into total assholes. He’s getting a reputation for being trouble, and the guy isn’t big enough to do that. Sad thing is, if he was a huge name, this would’ve probably been overlooked.”

Yep. I’d been lucky being on this tour. No matter how annoying the guys could be, they weren’t sleazes. They all kept their hands to themselves. And if anyone did act like that, Polly would cut them down to size.

My stomach lurched when I thought about it.

I’d bitched and moaned about Polly being so overprotective, but maybe that wasn’t always a bad thing. With guys like that in the world, you needed a bit of protection. I just thought she was wrong when it came to Crow. I wished she’d get to know him better. He’d never act like that. If anyone around here had been acting sleazy, it’d been me. What had I been thinking? If some dude let himself into my room and planted himself naked in my bed, I’d have a fit. I blushed thinking about it from that perspective.

“Does anyone know about this besides you and Lij?” I asked him.

“You don’t want Polly to know?”

“Of course not. She’d go nuts.”

“Well, I can’t speak for Elijah, but I won’t say anything.”

“Elijah had better keep his mouth shut. I’ll make sure of that.”

We arrived back at the hotel and went up to Crow’s room.

He lingered in the doorway. “Ah... I guess I should go to Damo’s room.” He glanced back down the hallway.

“Stay a little while, please. I don’t want to be alone, and it might be weird being in Damo’s room without him there. You know what he’s like. You might nudge something out of its perfectly aligned right angle.”

I didn’t want him to think this was a ploy to seduce him or anything. I really did want him to stay.

Crow chuckled, but he took a step farther into the room.

“Anyway,” I said. “I feel bad about kicking you out of your room like this. I’ve been a pain in the butt, haven’t I?”

“You’re barely,” he said with a big grin.

That grin disappeared almost as soon as it appeared on his face. He stepped closer to me and pulled the neck of my t-shirt aside.

“That bastard,” he said. “He really hurt you.”

The light traces of his fingers on my shoulder took away any pain I was feeling. I wanted him to keep that up, but then I noticed that black expression back on his face. I didn’t want him dwelling on this.

I adjusted my t-shirt back into place. “It’s fine. I bruise easily,” I said. “The bruises will fade. They look worse than they are.”

I sat down on the sofa, wanting to relax. My whole body slumped after all the tension. “We can watch a movie or something,” I said.

He nodded and sat down on the sofa beside me. Even though it was a three-seater, he sat right beside me so his leg brushed against mine.

I picked up the remote control and turned on the television. There was an old movie on. Some sappy romantic comedy.

“Are you okay with this?” I asked him.

Crow didn’t seem like a romantic comedy kind of guy. On the other hand, he didn’t seem like an explosions and car chases kind of guy, either. I had no idea what his taste in movies was. I still had so much to discover about him.

“Yep, anything you want to watch,” he said.

I shuffled a bit closer. Crow was so nice and warm, and the smell of him made me happy. I didn’t want to do anything weird like put my head into the crook of his neck and take a big whiff, but the thought did occur to me.

I curled my legs up on the sofa, leaning against Crow. I wondered if he’d put his arm around me, but I wasn’t sure if he would. Of course, I could ask him to, but I wanted him to do it out of his own choice. The gap between him putting his arm around me of his own free will and doing it because he felt sorry for me was a massive one.

When he moved, my heart sang. He put his arm over my shoulder, lightly, as though he was worried he’d hurt me. I rested my head on his chest. He had a nice chest for resting your head on. Those muscles were a lot more comfort than you’d think. He had nice arms too. Almost everything about Crow was nice.

“Do you want me to order something from room service?” he asked. “Since you missed out on your tacos.”

“Nope. I’m fine.”

If we ordered room service, we’d have to move, and I was perfectly happy snuggled up with him like this. I’d be happy if he wanted to kiss me too, but having the comfort of him was pretty damn good.

“I must stink,” he said. “I got all sweaty onstage.”

It was too late to worry about that now.

“A little bit, but it’s a comforting smell,” I told him. “It’s not gross.” I wasn’t lying, either. He didn’t smell sweaty, just manly. “It was a brilliant show tonight,” I said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Did it make you happy?” he asked.

“A little bit. And a little bit jealous. I wanted to be the one up there, with that crowd and that energy.”

He laughed, which made my head bounce a little on his chest. “You’ll do it.”

“I don’t have Damo’s talent.”

“Damo’s been doing this for years. You’ve been doing it, what, less than a month? Don’t rush yourself. You’re amazing. A natural.”

I liked that.

“I always wanted to be in a band. I used to stay with Polly every summer, and I’d practice and practice. I learned all their songs. Singing and bass. Of course I did, or I wouldn’t be playing with them now. Do you really think I’m good? Sometimes I wonder if I’m only here because I was the only option.”

That worry had lingered in the back of my mind since I’d joined the tour: that I was the booby prize. I didn’t feel like I’d earned my place.

“You don’t know Damo if you’re asking that,” he said. “He doesn’t praise much, but if you aren’t up to scratch, he’ll let you know. I’m pretty sure that Polly would in her own way, too. She cares about you a lot. You shouldn’t take that for granted.”

I swallowed. He was right, and I’d been a pain in the butt to her. Sometimes my impulses got the better of me, but she shouldn’t have to suffer for it. I’d really had some sense knocked into my pig head tonight.

“I’ll sort it out when I see her again,” I said. “I’ll have to go back to Brussels tomorrow and get it fixed up.”

He laughed. “Rather you than me.”

The movie finished, but we didn’t move. He still had his arm around me, and I still had my head on his chest. I could stay like this for a lot longer, but if I said anything, he might decide he had to go back to Damo’s room.

Instead of leaving, he pulled me closer to him, his lips brushing against my forehead so softly that I almost thought I imagined it.