Blake strode beside Mason to the elevator and waited for the lead singer of Reckless Beat to hit the button.

“So… Is there a reason why you woke me in the middle of the night?” Blake yawned and blinked his eyes until they stayed open on their own.

Mason jabbed him lightly in the ribs with his fists. “I missed ya, bro.”

“Don’t give me that shit. It’s only been a couple days.”

The doors to the elevator opened and Mason stepped in, holding his hotel card to the security panel before pressing the number to the floor above. “Yeah, I never was a good liar.”

Blake followed him in for the short ride up to the next floor. “So, what then?”

Mason waggled his brows. “We’ve got plans to make.”

He followed Mason into the hall. “What plans?”

“I’ll let Mr. Smitten fill you in.”

Mr. Smitten? Mitch, Obviously. Unless someone else had fallen head over dick in the last few days.

Mason opened the door to the only suite on their side of the hallway and led him into a dimly lit dining room. Mitch sat on a coffee colored sofa, his head resting back, his eyes closed. Leah, their band manager, was on the far end reading a magazine.

“Blake.” Leah greeted him with a smile and threw the magazine onto the coffee table in front of her.

“At least one of us is getting some sleep,” Blake grumbled.

Mitch sat up straight and opened his eyes with a yawn. “Good to see you, too, ass-wipe.”

Mason dropped onto the opposite couch and crossed his legs.

“Where is everyone?” Blake strode around Mason and sat on the armrest.

“Sleepin’. Alana and I are downstairs on the same floor as you.” Mitch jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “And Sean and Ryan are back there, snorin’. How’s your woman?”

“Gabi’s fine. She’d be even better if I was sleeping beside her, so get on with it.”

Mitch smirked. “Consider it a returned favor. I won’t forget the day you dry humped Allie in her sleep.”

Blake’s lips curved. Although his playing days were over, the memory of that morning with Alana and Mitchell made his blood pump faster. “I can still taste her on my lips.”

Mitchell’s smirk changed to a glare and his hands clenched into the sofa cushions. “Payback, motherfucker. It’s coming.” Blake chuckled. Mitch was way too easy to rile. “Yuck it up. You’ll get what’s comin’ to ya. Someday soon, Gabi might wake up with me rubbing against her.”

Leah pivoted in her seat and pinned Mitch with her blue-green stare. “Don’t you think that’s a little inappropriate seeing as though you and Alana are getting engaged?”

Engaged?

Mitch crossed his arms over his chest and glowered. “You know what I mean, Leah. He’s gotta pay for being such a cocky prick. I’ll get Mason to do it if I have to.”

Engaged? A lot had changed in a little over forty-eight hours.

“Don’t worry. If she’s a hottie, I won’t need encouragement.” Mason grinned and they all turned to Blake waiting for him to bite. “So, is she a hottie?”

Blake frowned. He’d been away for two days and the whole dynamic changed. “When the hell did you get engaged?”

Mitch smiled and sat forward in his chair. “I’m proposing tomorrow.”

Blake ignored the tightening in his throat, not wanting to acknowledge that the sensation sprung from envy. It had nothing to do with Mitchell’s gorgeous girlfriend and everything to do with what Blake wished he could have with Gabi.

He wanted to be the one proposing. He wanted to be the one getting down on his knee and peering up into the beautiful face of the woman he loved. Except, he was stuck in the secret boyfriend zone, not even able to meet her parents.

Pasting on a smile, he stood and stepped to the side of the table, holding a hand out for Mitch to shake. “Holy shit, bro. That’s awesome.” It was awesome. Mitch had scored above his pay grade when it came to Alana. She was a special kind of woman. One you didn’t let go of, and they both belonged together.

They clasped hands over the corner of the coffee table and knocked each other’s shoulders in the only form of acceptable masculine affection.

“Thanks. That’s the reason you’re here.”

Blake stepped back and took his seat on the armrest.

“I need help planning it.” Mitch sighed. “I want to make it special for her.”

Blake nodded. “Well seeing as though your first attempt was done in a superhero costume with no thought or prior planning, I think you’re a step ahead.”

Mitch gave him the bird and mumbled, “It was a pirate costume, asshole, and you were the one who dared me to wear it.”

The shit talk continued for over an hour until none of them could keep their eyes open.

“I need to get some sleep, guys. Are you all right with the basic layout of the proposal tomorrow?” Leah stood and peered down at Mitch. She didn’t seem herself. Hadn’t since Blake first walked into the suite. Lines of concern wrinkled her forehead, and her normally constant smile was nowhere in sight.

“Yeah, I guess.” Mitch leaned forward and scrubbed his hands down his face. “I’ll still fuck it up somehow.”

Mason nodded. “True. Fortunately for you, it’s always the thought that counts.”

“Ha ha, pretty boy. At least from now on, I’ll always know the name of the woman I’m sleeping with.”

“Pfft.” Mason scoffed. “Names are overrated.”

“And so is common decency, apparently.” Leah turned and started walking to the door. “I’ll see you all later.”

“Wait up. I’ll go with you.” Blake stood and saluted the guys in farewell.

Mason leaned over the couch and cupped his mouth with one hand. “Careful, tiger. Leah’s been grumpy as hell since London. Make sure your balls are protected at all times.”

Blake stared at Leah’s retreating back while she continued slowly down the hall to the front door. “How come?”

Mason shrugged. “Methinks the red dragon might be paying her a visit.”

For Leah to be this distant, Blake knew it had to be more than female issues causing problems. “Right… Well, I’ll see you guys later. I’ve got a date with heaven.”

Mitch scoffed. “Make sure you lock the door. You never know who might end up spying on you from the closet.”

“Seriously, man.” Mason sat up and stared at Mitch as Blake sniggered and started after Leah. “You can’t say that shit anymore. I’m the man whore of the group and even I know that’s wrong.”

Blake jogged the remaining steps to the front door that Leah held open.

“You know what I fucking mean!” Mitch’s yell echoed down the hall, cutting off at the close of the door.

Leah strode ahead and Blake had to lengthen his step to keep up. She didn’t do standoffish and unapproachable. Although she became stressed at times, she always had a smile ready and waiting.

“What’s going on, Lee-Lee?”

She glanced over her shoulder, piercing him with tired eyes. She wiped a length of blonde hair from her face and sighed. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve been grumpy tonight.”

He placed a hand around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. “Wanna talk about it?”

She shrugged and shook her head. “I can’t... I shouldn’t.”

“Surely, it can’t be that bad.”

Silence.

“Lee?” Her lack of response made him nervous. Their lifestyle didn’t usually have a grey scale. Things were either awesome or a living hell. There was no in between. And if their band manager was acting like this, things couldn’t be good.

“It’s one of the tabloids back home. They say they have an exclusive and want the other side of the story before it goes to print.” She heaved a sigh, her shoulders slumping under his arm. “If what they claim is true…” She shook her head. “No. It has to be bullshit.” She straightened and stepped into the elevator as soon as the doors opened. “I just don’t know how to approach it. Their claims are going to hurt one of you. Badly.”

Blake followed her, his shirt suddenly too tight around his throat. Had they found out about his past? Was that what all this was about? Was Leah trying to protect him?

“Is it me?” He tilted his head to move into her line of sight. “Is the story about me?”

She swallowed and the wrinkles around her eyes deepened. “I shouldn’t have said anything.” She gave the button to the floor below a whack. “I’ve become too attached to you guys. I can’t stand to see one of you hurt.”

His palms started to sweat. His sins had caught up to him, he knew it. Bile began to rise up his throat.

“It’s not you,” she whispered.

Oh, thank fuck. He breathed deep and let it out slowly, glad he no longer felt the urge to purge his dinner. The elevator doors opened and they stepped into the empty hall.

“Then who?” he asked as Leah began walking in the opposite direction to his suite.

She stopped and pivoted on her toes. Her lips curved in a sad smile. “Forget it for now.” She began to turn again.

“Like hell I can. These guys are the only family I have. I can’t forget it.”

Her shoulders fell and she stood still with her back to him.

He closed the distance between them in three strides. “Tell me.”

She sniffed and when she turned her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

“Oh, Lee.” He opened his arms and she fell into his chest, grasping him around the waist.

“Please ignore the breakdown. I’m exhausted and contrary to Mason’s way of thinking, it isn’t red dragon week.”

He laughed and held her close. There was a glimpse of the normal Leah. “You heard that?”

She scoffed into his shoulder. “That man deliberately says things loud enough for me to hear. He does it because he thinks I won’t pay him back. One day soon, I’ll prove him wrong.”

His chest rumbled with a half hearted laugh. So if she wasn’t worried about him or Mason, that left Sean, Ryan and Mitch. Fuck. Could it have something to do with Mitch and Alana? If it meant saving them from public humiliation, Blake would gladly throw himself in front of a tabloid grenade for the both of them. They didn’t deserve the backlash like he did. None of his band members did.

“Who is it, sweetheart?”

A half sob, half laugh echoed between them. “You don’t give up, do you?” She pulled away and his hands fell to his sides as she stepped back. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she made eye contact. “It’s Ryan. They claim to have photos of his wife with another man.”

Blake jerked back.

Ryan? He was the good guy, the loyal one who never spoke a negative word about his wife, Julie, even though she deserved it. And Blake had a lot less faith in Julie’s fidelity than Leah did. He could see her cheating on Ryan at any given opportunity.

“Have you seen the photos?”

Leah shook her head. “They want to speak to Ryan first.”

“That’s bullshit. If they had the proof they’d send it through.”

She nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping.”

“So what happens from here?”

She pressed her lips together and shrugged. “I let the New York office deal with it. They’re currently speaking with the tabloid. They just wanted me informed in case they contacted Ryan directly.”

Despair thrummed from her and it stemmed from more than mere exhaustion.

“You care about him.”

Her eyes widened. “Of course I do. I care about all of you.”

“Yeah, but you care more about him.”

She chuckled. “I care more about him in this regard because he doesn’t deserve it. If I received a phone call about a PR nightmare, I’d instinctively expect it to be about Mason because he’s an arrogant deviant, or Mitchell putting his foot in his mouth, or you and Sean being smart-asses. You guys create drama and thrive on it.” Her smile faded. “Ryan doesn’t.”

True. Well apart from Blake being a smart-ass. He preferred to think of it as quick-witted.

“Well, let me know if you need me for anything. If you want me to talk to him—”

“No! Please don’t. I want to keep it quiet in the hopes they’re fishing for inside info. I don’t want to hurt him unnecessarily. Being away from Julie is hard on him. They don’t need the added strain.”

Yeah. Ryan was having a hard enough time with celibacy as it was. Having groupies hound him to ditch a cheating wife would only test the poor guy further. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep my mouth shut. But if you need someone to talk to, you know I’m here.”

She smiled and this time it reached her gleaming blue-green eyes. “Thank you, Blake. That woman of yours is lucky to have you.”

He gave a derisive laugh. “I disagree. Gabi is definitely more than I deserve.” He turned on his heels and headed toward his suite. “Night, Leah.”

“Night, lurver boy,” she giggled. “Make sure you get some sleep, OK?”