Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 68247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68247 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“Wasn’t me. Security obviously didn’t get the message,” Simon said, but Grey wasn’t buying it. Simon always had an agenda.
“Grey!” one of the woman shrieked, her high pitch nearly piercing his eardrums.
He glanced up just as one of the groupies he recognized threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her big fake tits pressed uncomfortably against his chest, and she raked her clawed nails through his scalp.
“Baby, you were so good! So hot onstage. I just knew you were singing directly to me.”
He choked over her sickly sweet scent. More because he’d been dumb enough to screw her once, years ago, after a concert and way too much to drink. She’d been trailing after him ever since. He attempted to detangle himself from her, but she wasn’t letting go. This was why it was time to call it quits.
“Marco!” Grey called out for the bodyguard who usually prevented him from being mauled, but the guy was nowhere to be found.
Beside him, Simon merely grinned, pleased with the fact that the band was liked, wanted, and making him money.
“Back off,” Grey said to the woman, pulling at her arms, but she had them locked tight around him.
“Baby, you don’t mean that.”
“Oh, I really fucking do.” He glanced over, hoping to catch Lola or Danny’s attention and get help when his gaze fell on the woman who had just entered the room.
She was so beautiful she took his breath away. Wholesome yet sexy, creamy skin, gorgeous, silky dark hair, and a nervous expression on her face as she looked around, her overall appearance in stark contrast to the harsher-looking groupies who followed the band.
And she hadn’t seen him yet.
Left with no choice, he was going to have to physically extricate himself from the clinging octopus of a woman. He grasped her around the waist, intending to push hard, just as Avery’s gaze landed on him, her eyes flickering from his to the woman he looked like he was holding in his arms.
A flash of emotion flickered across her expressive face. Everything from awareness and shock to disgust and hurt all showed on it before she swung around and headed for the door.
“Avery!” He called her name loudly enough to be heard across the room while shoving the groupie, sending her tripping backward.
She wailed and began crying, and her friends surrounded her, but Grey ignored her in favor of Avery. He reached the door just as Avery paused and turned to him.
“Avery.” His gaze met hers.
She blinked, a mix of pain and confusion in her unique lavender-colored eyes. “I shouldn’t have come.”
“Yes, you should have.” She was so close he could see the light sprinkling of freckles on the bridge of her nose, and his heart threatened to pound out of his chest. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
She tipped her head to one side. “But it is your life. The one you worked hard to achieve and . . . I’m happy for you.” But the words were at odds with the sad smile lifting her glossed lips. “It’s good to see you, Grey.” She raised a hand his way before she turned and walked out.
Shit. “Avery!” He stepped into the hall.
“Kingston!” Simon barked out. “I’ve got Rolling Stone on the phone, and they want an interview. I need an answer now.”
A glance back told Grey that Avery had gotten lost in the crowd held back by security. His head pounding, he walked back into the lounge, ignoring his manager.
“Was that her?” Lola came up beside him, her voice soothing in light of the chaos swirling around him.
“‘Was’ is the right word,” he muttered. “I can’t do this anymore, Lo.”
She laid her head on his shoulder in commiseration. “I hear you. It’s not good for us either. Rep doesn’t like the crap that comes with this lifestyle,” she said of her serious boyfriend, who was the Miami Thunder’s successful wide receiver. “I want to be around during his upcoming season, and he worries about me when we’re on the road and he can’t be there.” She let out a huge sigh. “We do have a tour to finish though.”
“We do,” he agreed. “But afterward? I’m coming home.” And he was going to get his girl.
Chapter One
Five Months Later
“And always remember to be your best self!” Avery waved at the computer screen and hit the stop button on the recording. Another video in the can, she thought wryly. She’d rewatch later and do her editing before putting this one in the queue with the others.
She taped ahead, and she felt good about the upcoming weeks’ worth of material. In between videos, she interspersed her blog with written stories and photos of clothing and makeup and the celebrities who wore them well. Those she also wrote ahead of time. And she had plenty of future ideas, she thought, glancing at the yet-to-be-organized piles of free product that had been sent to her for testing.