Complication (Rock Stars & Romance Book 6)

by A. K. Evans

  “Yes,” I rasped.

  The look in his eyes intensified just as his arm tightened around me. And at that moment, the song ended.

  Roscoe led me to the table where we were going to be eating dinner and sat down beside me. I thought I’d get a reprieve and some time to pull myself together, but the next thing I knew, I felt his hand on my thigh beneath the table.

  That was just the beginning of what he had in store for me.

  Three

  Sienna

  Roscoe was a man of his word.

  Though he hadn’t necessarily made me any promises, he had asked if he could show me a good time.

  He did not slack in the least when it came to following through on that either.

  Despite the fact that he was who he was and didn’t need to do anything to make my evening or my night special, he still did it. We danced, we laughed, we teased, and we genuinely had a great time celebrating with Addy and Tyler.

  I loved that, too.

  I loved that even though there was a clear understanding between us about what might be ahead for us later on that night, it didn’t stop Roscoe from diving in headfirst and being there to fully support and celebrate his sister’s marriage.

  Considering I’d started the day feeling nothing but dread, completely believing that I was going to have the worst time trying to avoid Roscoe as much as possible, it was safe to say I was pleasantly surprised with how things turned out.

  I’d been looking forward to Addy’s wedding for so many reasons. My best friend deserved all the happiness she was getting, and I wanted everything to be perfect for her. But I’d have been lying if I said that I wasn’t anxious about it in the weeks that led up to the big day.

  So, the way things had progressed from the church, to the pictures, and to the reception had exceeded all my expectations. I couldn’t have been more relieved at how well everything had gone.

  Instead of spending my night finding ways to avoid Roscoe or hide from him, I saw a side of him that I never expected I’d see. There was certainly the intense and determined man I’d seen when I walked down the aisle earlier in the day, but there was also this fun and flirty side to him. The man knew how to have a good time.

  Maybe that was a prerequisite for his job, or maybe I had been wrong.

  That was the only thing that had been bothering me as the night wore on. Had I unfairly judged Roscoe all those years ago? Had I unnecessarily avoided him for roughly fifteen years and missed out on knowing such a great guy?

  And for what?

  All because I was too wounded by a stupid incident that happened when I was a kid.

  Yes. A kid.

  As much as it had stung back in the day to hear him say what he did to me about me joining the rest of the kids, I had to be honest. It was stupid to feel that way. Why should he have seen me as anything other than just a kid? I had just turned fifteen, and he was twenty.

  Maybe now that I was thirty, our five-year age gap wasn’t such a big deal. But when I was fifteen and he was twenty… well, that was nothing but illegal and maybe a touch creepy.

  I tried not to let it bother me now, especially because I had had a phenomenal evening with him. But it was hard not to allow myself to think about all that I probably missed out on because I was holding onto something that I shouldn’t have been.

  Regardless of what Roscoe thought of me back then, it was very clear to me that he did not think there was a single thing about me now that was creepy.

  He’d spent most of the night holding me close, touching me, and dancing with me. It was wonderful for so many reasons. Not only did it open my eyes to the fact that I’d been missing out on knowing a great guy, but spending that time with him made handling the crowd so much easier for me.

  There was no shortage of guests at Addy’s wedding, and huge crowds had never been my thing. Roscoe putting in so much effort to be by my side and show me a good night somehow made everything and everyone else fade away.

  Maybe that was because I was caught up in so many thoughts of how unfairly I’d judged him over the years, or maybe it was more that it was simply Roscoe. He had taken my breath away from the moment I walked down the aisle, and as the night wore on, I found I was loving the way it felt to be that breathless.

  “Come on,” Roscoe said, taking me by the hand. “I want you to meet the rest of the band.”

  He was going to introduce me to the rest of the band?

  It was no secret that I’d had several occasions in which I could have been present to meet the members of My Violent Heart, the band Roscoe played the bass guitar for. Addy had been to quite a few shows over the years, but I always managed to find a way to avoid joining her. It kind of sucked, too, because I actually really enjoyed their music.

  Leading up to the wedding, I was obviously nervous about having to be in such close proximity to Roscoe, but at the same time, there was one thing I’d been excited about. The band had agreed to play a couple of songs for Addy and Tyler. They were in the middle of a tour and had come back to Steel Ridge, Pennsylvania—their hometown—for the wedding.

  Now, we were just minutes away from seeing them all play.

  Walker came to a stop at the front of the ballroom where all the equipment was set up and the band members were gathered with people that I knew were their significant others.

  “Hey, Roscoe,” Holland greeted him as we walked up. “Your family knows how to throw a party.”

  “It’s just a lot of people,” he returned. “My sister loves a big crowd, and you can’t have all these people without giving them good food, drinks, and entertainment.”

  “Well, we’re ready to go when you are to deliver on that last one,” Beck chimed in.

  “I’m ready, but I wanted to introduce you to Sienna,” Roscoe told the group.

  Something strange washed over most of their faces. I was immediately uncomfortable. Did they already not like me for some reason?

  Roscoe must not have noticed or simply didn’t care because he added, “She’s been Addy’s best friend since they were just kids.”

  There was that word again. Kids.

  “It’s cool to meet you. I’m Killian,” Killian said, stepping forward to extend his hand to mine. As I placed my hand in his, he reached his other arm out and wrapped it around the woman standing beside him. “And this is my girl, Magnolia.”

  I shook her hand next and said, “It’s so nice to meet you both.”

  Roscoe placed his hand at the small of my back, held his opposite hand out in front of him, and introduced the rest of the band and their significant others. “This is Cash and his fiancée, Demi. That’s Beck and his wife, Chasey. This is Walker and his wife, Sadie. And this is Holland. Her man, Raid, is walking off the stage now, coming in this direction.”

  Feeling a bit star struck, I waved my hand at all of them. “It’s great to meet you all. I’m a huge fan of the music.”

  “Have you ever been to one of their live shows?” Sadie asked.

  I shook my head. “Regrettably, no.”

  And that was the truth. I hated that I had multiple opportunities to see My Violent Heart play a live show and turned every single one of them down.

  “Well, you’re in for a real treat,” Chasey assured me, with her hand resting protectively on her protruding belly. There was no mistaking just how pregnant she was. “I don’t go out on tour with them since I’m at home with our daughter and expecting another little one just after the tour ends, but every time they’re playing at home, I go to see them. They never disappoint.”

  “That was really nice of you to say, sweetheart,” Beck remarked as he put his arms around her shoulders and curled her body slightly into his.

  “She isn’t wrong,” Demi chimed in. “Come on, Sienna. You can hang with us while the band goes up to play.”

  “Okay,” I replied.

  My eyes went to Roscoe just as his came to me. He gave me an approving nod before he followed behind the rest of the band.


  Barely a minute after he’d walked away, Demi, Chasey, Sadie, and Magnolia all dove in with questions.

  “So, exactly how long have you known Roscoe?” Sadie asked me.

  “Oh, um, I’ve known Addy since we were six years old, and Roscoe is five years older than us, so I guess he was eleven at the time,” I responded.

  She nodded her understanding as Demi pressed, “And have you two ever dated?”

  I shook my head. “No. No, we’ve always just been acquaintances.”

  “Hmm,” Demi replied.

  That was the oddest response, and certainly something I hadn’t expected. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with that, but it didn’t necessarily matter because Magnolia spoke up next.

  “Do you think it’s possible?” she asked.

  I was about to ask her what she meant, but when I brought my attention to her, I could see she wasn’t looking at the rest of the women around me.

  “It’s a definite possibility,” Chasey insisted.

  “I think so, too,” Magnolia confirmed.

  “Yeah, totally possible,” Demi piped up.

  Feeling utterly lost, I said, “I’m sorry. What is it you’re talking about? What’s a possibility?”

  Sadie stepped closer, reached for my hand, and explained, “Forgive us, Sienna. We’re being rude. It’s just that we’re a little shocked.”

  “Shocked?” I repeated.

  She nodded and added, “I’m guessing that if you’ve known Roscoe all these years, then you know that he’s… well, he likes to have his fun.”

  I nodded because even though I hadn’t personally interacted with him in years, a simple search online told me everything there was to know about him.

  “Right. So, we’re just wondering if maybe you’re different,” Sadie stated.

  “Different how?” I asked.

  “When Killian and I first got together, he told me that Roscoe was a man completely content to just enjoy the rock star lifestyle,” Magnolia began. “The man clearly enjoys his freedom.”

  I knew that was true. But I was still lost.

  “I don’t understand what this has to do with me,” I told them.

  “I’ve been around for a few years,” Demi began. “Sadie and Holland have been around this group even longer than that. And I’m telling you that in the time I’ve been around, Roscoe has never once introduced me to any female before you.”

  “And I’ll add that because Beck is my brother, I was around from the beginning before Roscoe was even in the band,” Sadie informed me. “Now, I might have been hiding my relationship with Walker for years, but he told me everything. Roscoe has never introduced a woman to the rest of the band before.”

  I swallowed hard. That seemed impossible. I mean, I knew Roscoe wasn’t exactly the type to stick around with one woman, but I couldn’t imagine how it was possible he hadn’t ever dated a woman for even a brief period.

  “Is that why you all got those strange looks on your faces when he said he wanted to introduce me to all of you?” I asked them.

  All four women nodded at me.

  “I think you might be somebody special to him,” Chasey announced.

  Shaking my head, I insisted, “I’m his sister’s best friend. That’s all.”

  “And yet he looked at you like he wanted to eat you when you walked down that aisle,” Demi noted.

  I bit my lip.

  I thought that maybe I’d been seeing things or feeling things when I entered the church earlier today because it had been so long since I last saw Roscoe. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. Other people saw it, too.

  “And he’s been captivated by you throughout the entire reception,” Magnolia added.

  “We were paired up together for the wedding,” I reasoned, hoping they’d buy the explanation. I didn’t know why I was trying so hard to deny something that they all saw and that I’d wanted at one point in my life.

  Oh, who was I kidding?

  If Roscoe was serious about me, I’d still want him now.

  “But then you would have just done the bridal party dance together and that would have been it,” Sadie pointed out. “This isn’t that. Or, at least, this isn’t that for him.”

  Shaking my head, I insisted, “I think you’re looking too much into this.”

  “Well, you know him better than we do,” Chasey jumped in. “Maybe you’re right.”

  She offered me a sympathetic look, and I had a feeling she knew I was struggling with this. It wasn’t that I didn’t want it or hope that it was a possibility. It was just that I didn’t think it was good to get my hopes up for something that would probably never happen.

  I’d have a good time with him tonight, but I’d go into it knowing where I stood. Believing it was going to mean more to Roscoe than just a night of fun would be a foolproof way to crush my own heart.

  Before anyone else could say anything, Cash’s voice filled the ballroom. My eyes immediately went to the raised platform at the front of the room and found Roscoe. The band was all set up and ready to play, and I had to admit that I was excited for it.

  Many of the guests who had been sitting throughout the evening gathered around the makeshift stage just as the music started to fill the room. Only minutes into it, I realized that Chasey hadn’t been wrong. It was a real treat to see them play live, even if it was at a wedding reception and not a concert venue, and they didn’t disappoint.

  And while I did my best to watch the band as a whole, the truth was that I had a hard time keeping my eyes off Roscoe. I watched his hands move along the bass guitar, reminding myself of what it felt like to have whisper soft touches of his fingertips along my skin when we were getting pictures together or dancing with one another.

  Throughout the five songs the band played, I couldn’t stop the words Sadie, Demi, Chasey, and Magnolia had said to me from entering my mind. And when Roscoe made eye contact with me in several instances while he was playing, it was hard not to want to believe what the girls had said.

  Was there something more there for Roscoe? Had seeing me again after all these years changed something? Was I just familiar to him, or was it something else?

  By the time My Violent Heart had finished playing, I had no answers. But what I did have was a guy who walked down off that stage and right up to me when the deejay started playing music again.

  “What did you think?” he asked.

  “It was awesome,” I told him. “You guys are all amazing.”

  He smiled, pulled me close, and pressed a sweet kiss to my cheek. “I’m going to go grab a drink. You want to join me for a bit?”

  I thought for a moment. “Yeah,” I answered. “I’d love to.”

  So, that’s what we did. And after we’d had a drink, we went back out on the dance floor. The fun never stopped.

  In fact, I was having such a good time that when the wedding was winding down and Addy had indicated to me that she and Tyler were ready to commence their wedding night, the nerves were ratcheting up. Because just moments ago, after Addy had made her rounds to give thanks to those who were still going strong—the crowd had thinned substantially when compared to the start of the evening—Roscoe pulled me close and whispered in my ear, “I’ve got a suite for us tonight.”

  His hand was pressed to the middle of my back, and his thumb was stroking gently over the skin there. I found it difficult to stand still.

  When he pulled back to look at me, he asked, “Are you going to let me show you a good night tonight?”

  I don’t know where it came from, but I found the courage to tease him. “One might argue that you’ve already done that.”

  His eyes lit up with delight. “Baby girl, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

  It was dangerous territory that I was entering, and I didn’t care.

  “I—” I stopped to clear my throat. Clearly, Roscoe was having an even greater effect on me than I realized. “I need to make sure I check on Addy first. And I need to grab my bag out of the bri
dal suite.”

  Roscoe grinned at me and immediately insisted, “I can wait.”

  With a slight nod of my head, I rasped, “Where should I meet you?”

  “Outside the elevator on the third floor,” he answered. “I’ll make my rounds here quickly and head up in about ten minutes.”

  My tongue came out to moisten my lips. Roscoe’s eyes dropped to it and grew even more intense than they had been all day.

  “I’ll see you in ten minutes,” I promised.

  At that, I took off in search of Addy. But I didn’t do it without a growing sense of anticipation ahead of me.

  I was going to have sex with Roscoe. I could barely contain the excitement, the nerves, and the desire I felt.

  Finally locating my best friend, I asked, “Where are you sneaking off to?”

  Addy beamed at me. “This has been the best day of my life,” she started. “Tyler and I just want to make sure it’s also the best night of our lives, too.”

  I laughed with her and pulled her in for a hug. When I let her go, I said, “The whole day was spectacular. I’m so happy everything turned out perfectly for you.”

  Tipping her head to the side, she murmured, “This never would have been possible if it weren’t for everything you did to help me along the way. Thank you, Sienna, for being here for me through all the planning, even when there were long days and late nights.”

  “I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat,” I declared.

  Her eyes widened. “Let’s hope you never have to do it all over again for me,” she joked. “Unless, of course, it’s like some sort of vow renewal after Tyler and I have been married for like thirty years.”

  “I’m guessing if you make it to thirty years, you’ll be doing everything right,” I reasoned. “I’m all for the party, but I don’t think you’ll need to do the vow renewal to remind each other what you mean to one another. He adores you.”

  Her eyes slid to the side behind me as they filled with unshed tears. “Yeah, he does,” she rasped.

  I didn’t need to turn around to know that she was looking at her brand-new husband. She blinked back the tears, and a smile formed on her face.