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Chapter Forty-One
Sydney
Sweat makes my shirt stick to my back as we take a quick break from our soundcheck. Nerves mixed with excitement about tonight has my body heat at an insane level. Also, the insane summer humidity I’m not used to anymore doesn’t help. Max is sitting on a speaker, watching everyone. He’s more relaxed now that I’m not in danger.
Or maybe because I’m about to be his wife.
My teeth tug on my lip, the thought sending butterflies to my belly. Max Shaw’s wife. The whirlwind of the past few weeks, the island, the proposal, the time we spent together, seems like a dream. Max asked me once we got back if I regretted saying yes now that I've had time to think and I'm back in reality. Definitely not. And now, all our friends are on their way here for a surprise wedding. To top it off, Max’s mom does love me. The couple days we’ve spent together have been wonderful. I can’t help the flutter in my belly watching Max with his mom. It’s a sexy attribute to see him cherish his mom.
Staring at the empty stadium in my hometown, I wonder how many people coming tonight know the real me. Memories of sitting out in the lawn seats watching my favorite band pop in my head. It’s surreal to think about. There’s one person who won’t be here, though. Mommy dearest. That woman would never admit that her daughter, the one she never wanted, was successful. She probably tells people that I lip sync.
“You all right,” Max says, coming up behind me. I shake her out of my head. I was never good enough for her, and it wasn’t without trying.
I sigh and spin in place, looking up. “Yeah. Just being here, takes me back.”
“Do you want to see her?”
I shake my head, biting my inner cheek, not surprised he can read me. “She’s not worth my time. She’s had twenty-six years to make time for me, that road is a dead end.”
He nods, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Damn, it’s hard not to pull you into my arms right now.” I scan the surrounding area, light technicians and stage prop guys are busy doing their job. Two guys from the band are fine tuning their instruments on stage.
I wrinkle my nose and step into Max’s space, lifting on my toes. I place a quick kiss on his lips, tugging on his bottom lip as I pull back. “That’ll have to due until later.”
He narrows his eyes with a wicked grin on his lips. “I don’t think that’ll last until later.” As he takes a step forward, I take a step back.
“Max,” I warn. “There are reporters everywhere. One kiss is easy to hide.” I seem to have awoken the beast. When he takes another step forward, my eyes flicker around, looking for something to distract him. Tug chuckles to the side of us, watching everything.
“I thought you were keeping it on the down-low until tomorrow.”
“We are,” I clip, not taking my eyes off Max, afraid he’s about to lunge. From the corner of my eyes, I see Tug get up from his drum set and an idea pops into my head. “Hey Tug, Max used to play drums.”
“Sick. You wanna heat her up?”
Max pops a brow up, slowly nodding his head while his eyes rake over my entire body. I clear my throat, shifting my body from foot to foot as his devilish expression does exactly what Tug suggests. Except he’s not supposed to heat me up. “The drums, Max.” I point to the sticks Tug’s holding out.
“This is fun watching you squirm,” Tug jokes. Max jerks his head to Tug, his expression hardens and I still. What the hell? Tug's smile drops, his eyes widen. “No, bro… not like that… I mean… not sexual at all,” he stutters, trying to find his voice. “I mean, Sky’s like a big sister to me.” Max gets a hold of his feelings and his shoulders relax. “Here, have fun.” Tug jerks out his sticks again, passing them to Max before striding off stage.
I pinch my lips together and wait for Max to say something. Rather than addressing what just happened, he stalks around the drum set and sits, twiddling the sticks in his hands.
“So…” I drawl, not giving him a chance to redirect. He stares at me and I blow out a breath. “I think you just scared the piss out of Tug.”
“Good.”
I sigh, looking up to the rafters. Max rarely lets his emotions get the best of him. “Tug is a good guy. He didn’t mean anything by it.”
Max beats a stick against a drum and I jump in surprise. Why is he being an ass right now? I cross my arms and glare at him.
“I’m sorry,” he finally says. “It’s because we’re engaged and no one knows that has me on edge.”
“Do you want me to put my ring on? I will. The only reason I’m not wearing it is because we both agreed we wanted our friends to hear it from us before they heard it through a media outlet. But you’re not my dirty little secret, Max. I love you and I want to tell the world I’m yours.”
His head drops and he shakes it. Lifting up, regret is written all over his face. “No. Let’s keep to the plan. I just hate not being able to touch you.”
“Tonight, you can make up for it and touch me however you want,” I tease, helping lighten the mood.
His lips lift to a smile as he beats on the drum, his eyes never leaving mine. When I recognize the song he’s playing, I throw my head back, laughing. Jay strings his guitar, joining in. Not wanting to miss out playing with Max, I grab my mic and turn it on. My foot beats to the music and I jump in singing I Can’t Get No Satisfaction from the Rolling Stones.
Claps surround us when we finish. I stare at Max, his shirt soaked, sticking to his six-pack and there’s nothing I’d rather do than straddle him and let him play me right now. He looks wickedly hot.
