Jace, Vanessa and Nadine were waiting for her when she opened the door of the house they shared. She sent a text asking if they could meet, but now that they were sitting there waiting for her, she was having second thoughts. Would they be offended by the offer from Nate? Would they feel like she was selling them out? Their career as a band was only just starting to take off. The tour was going to be epic and probably thrust them into fame territory. Did they really need Nate Nash?

“Hey Stevie,” Jace said, looking up from the guitar he had on his lap that he was idling strumming.

Both girls turned to her, smiles on their faces. “Hey,” they said simultaneously.

Stevie flopped down on the only spare chair and took a breath. Nadine and Vanessa shared a look.

“Everything okay?” Vanessa asked.

The only way to say it was to just blurt it out.

“Derek has been asked by another artist if we will cut a song with him.”

Jace stopped strumming and raised his eyebrows, the two girls just looked at her with wide eyes.

“Someone famous?” Nadine asked.

“Infamous, more likely,” Stevie mumbled and then sighed. “Nate Nash.”

“What the fuck?” Jace said, sitting up straight and putting his guitar down. “Nate Nash wants to do a song with us?”

“With us or with you?” Vanessa asked.

“He’s writing a new album and the label has given him complete creative control. He wrote a song that he wants to sing with me, but he wants you guys as well.”

Silence greeted her statement and she looked at each of them, hoping to see something encouraging on their faces, desperate not to see betrayal.

“What did you say?” This was from Jace, his voice carefully controlled.

“I told Derek that I would speak with you guys first and that if we were going to do it than it would need to be a unanimous decision.”

The three siblings shared a glance before looking back at her.

“You would give up a chance to sing with Nate Nash if we said we didn’t want to do it?” Nadine asked.

“In a heartbeat,” she replied, “Look, I know what it’s like. Nate walked away from our band. He didn’t think of anyone but himself. He didn’t think about what was good for Jacks & Nash and he only thought about what was good for him. There is no way I’m going to pull the same stunt. I like Court’n Jacks, I fucking love what we’re doing and what we’re building, and I’m not prepared to sabotage that.”

“What does Derek think we should do?” Jace asked and she let out a breath of relief. They weren’t saying no. They weren’t kicking her out of the band.

“The song is freaking amazing,” she said, relaxing back in the chair. “Classic Nate Nash. He has even offered to give us the major billing on it if we want. Derek thinks it would be good for us. It’ll be good exposure, and we’ll be taking advantage of the buzz that will be created by the tour.”

“How do you feel about singing with him again?” Vanessa asked.

Stevie blew out a breath. “I haven’t seen the guy in five years. I’ve been so fucking angry at him that I’ve avoided any and all contact, but…”

“It’s time to let go?”

“Yeah,” she breathed. “It’s time to let go of the past and move on. I’m in a good place professionally and personally. I can walk into a room with him and see him as an equal.”

“Well, an equal with a platinum selling record and a Grammy nomination,” Nadine said with a giggle. “God, Nate Nash. Are we really gonna do this?”

“As much as I hate to admit it, I think it would be good for us,” Stevie said. “But I want to know what you guys think.”

“It’s not more of that fucking pop crap that was on his last album, is it?” Jace asked with a scowl.

Stevie shook her head. “I wouldn’t even consider it if it was.”

“I’m in,” Vanessa said.

“Me too,” Nadine said.

Stevie looked at Jace and watched a range of emotions play over his face.

“Look,” she said, “why don’t we meet with him, talk to him and listen to what he has. If you hate it, we can walk away.”

He nodded slowly. “Okay,” he said, drawing the word out. “We’ll meet with him, but not alone. I want Derek and Marci there.”

Marci was their manager and had done a bang up job with all the contractual agreements they’d had drawn up for the upcoming tour with Lily Ames.

“I agree,” Stevie said. “I’ll call Derek and set it up.”

She got up from the sofa and walked down the short hallway to the office. She turned to close the door and saw that Jace had followed her. She took a step into the office and he followed her, closing the door behind him.

“Are you really okay with this?” he asked. “With seeing him again, singing with him?”

She shook her head. “My first reaction was a flat out no. But the song…” she exhaled a loud breath. “Jace, the song is solid gold. I can’t get the damned thing out of my head and I already know how it will sound with the four of us backing him up. I know he’s done some shitty things, and I really don’t want to give him a leg up when his career is in free-fall, but I think this album has the chance to shoot him back to the top of the charts, with or without us. We may as well take of advantage of it if we can.”

He looked at her with a stern expression, his lips thin and his brow furrowed. He was a tall guy with a runner’s physique, long and lean. He studied her with his dark brown eyes, hands on hips and jean-clad legs spread. He was going to get a lot of female attention once they hit the tour and she hoped it wouldn’t change him.

“Okay,” he said with a resigned sigh. “Call Derek. We’ll talk to the great Nate Nash and see just how beneficial this arrangement is going to be.”

They met at Derek’s studio on Music Row. Stevie had been there so many times in the last four years that it had begun to feel like a second home. They arrived early and had a quick chat with Marci and Derek about what to expect from Nate. Stevie was nervous, her stomach full of butterflies, so she didn’t really participate much in the discussion. She was barely able to even follow it. And then the door opened.

Nate Nash. He looked good. Better than good. She had seen him on television and on the covers of magazines, but this was the first time they had been in the same room in five years. She’d hoped that those magazine covers had been airbrushed, that the fact that he looked better than he had five years ago was a trick of lighting or makeup or digital enhancement, but nope. He looked too damned good. He seemed to suck all the air out of the room or fill up all the available space or something. She felt cornered, to the point of claustrophobia and he hadn’t even stepped fully into the conference room yet. How the hell would she be able to sing with him?

He smiled, his eyes seeking her out and she felt it like a punch in the gut. You would think that with the anger and bitterness that she had carried around with her for the last eighteen hundred and twenty-eight days, she wouldn’t still feel that pull towards him that she had always felt whenever they were together. There was no reason for her to still be in love with him, but when his eyes met hers she got lost in their denim blue depths.

Before she knew what was happening she was across the room and in his arms and he was squeezing her tight. He still smelled the same, but his body was harder, his musculature more defined. She should be angry at him, she should be slapping his face, but the truth was that she had missed him. She’d missed her best friend.

“Stevie,” he whispered into her hair. “God, I’ve missed you.”

She pulled away from him and swiped the tears from under her lashes, coughing out a half laugh, half sob.

“I’ve missed you too,” she said, feeling seventeen again and remembering the first time she’d met him and how tongue-tied she’d been then.

Someone cleared their throat behind her and she turned to see the rest of her band waiting for an introduction. She took a deep breath and exhaled to calm herself before stepping away from Nate and turning to the others.

“Nate,” she said, “this is Jason Court, Vanessa Court and Nadine Court.”

He shook hands with them and they all murmured greetings. Nadine’s eyes were big and she didn’t seem to be able to look away from him. Stevie nudged her and she jolted, smiling shyly.

“And this is our manager, Marci. You already know Derek.” Nate nodded to Marci and shook Derek’s hand.

“Let’s sit,” Derek said.

Nate sat across from them and she traced the lines of his face with her eyes, cataloguing the small changes that had appeared over the time since she’d seen him last. His haircut was different, a touch shorter than he used to wear. His scruff looked to be carefully cultivated and there were fine lines around his eyes and mouth that deepened when he smiled. Subtle differences that only made him look better, and she could only hope that the same could be said for her.

They discussed Nate’s vision for the album. Jace talked tech, the girls asked questions about their roles, Marci talked logistics and Stevie sat there just taking it all in. Nate hadn’t brought any representation with him, but passed the details of his agent and lawyer over to Marci when she asked about them. He seemed calm, in control and even a little eager to work with them. She knew Jace was holding back, not wanting to like him, but Nate would win him over. Jace was all about the music and he could identify another musician in Nate. If things were different, Nate would slip right into their group without a blip. He fit with them, despite being an internationally recognized rock star.

“Shall we listen to the track?” Derek asked.

They all nodded in agreement and stood from the table. It was all very surreal and dreamlike for Stevie; she felt like she was underwater and all the sound was muted. Nate hung back to wait for her as they all filed out of the conference room and headed towards the control room.

“Hey,” he said, catching her hand as she passed him.

She stopped and turned to him. “Hey,” she said back to him.

“Do you think we could, I don’t know, talk? Just the two of us?”

She searched his eyes for a moment and then nodded. “After,” she said. “After this, we’ll go grab a coffee.”

He sent her a small, tremulous smile and she turned away and continued down the hall, joining the others in the studio.

She sat next to Vanessa, deliberately not wanting to have a spare spot beside her because she knew he would sit next to her and then she wouldn’t be able to concentrate. Derek hit play and Nate’s acoustic guitar filled the room. Stevie closed her eyes and just let herself feel the song. She let the melody flow over her as Nate’s rich voice tingled across her skin. She could almost hear Nadine’s violin weaving in and out of the guitar chords and she knew that Jace’s bass would fill out the sound and the beat of Vanessa’s kick drum and snare would tie it all together. It was perfect.

The song ended and she opened her eyes to find Nate watching her with a look of longing on his face that she couldn’t explain.

“Can we hear the rest of the tracks?” Jace asked and Nate nodded, his eyes not leaving hers.

Derek cued the next track and Stevie closed her eyes again, letting Nate’s music transport her to another time and place. It was good, really good. They all knew it.