by Lisa Suzanne
This time I spot a brunette who isn’t singing, and she looks bored as she focuses on something behind me. For a split second my mind wanders to what she’d be like in bed. Probably the same—no sounds out of her mouth, a bored look on her face.
Though the women in my bed rarely look bored, if you catch my drift.
When we get to the last song of our set, an upbeat one that usually gets the crowd on their feet and fists pumping in the air, I spot Kylie against the bar. Her brows are furrowed with conflict as she studies me, yet her gaze brings an unfamiliar feeling of comfort deep in my chest.
I know what she’s thinking.
She’s been badgering me all day with what she thinks is a great idea, but I think it’s stupid.
I just have to figure out how to tell her no, because when she looks at me with her big brown eyes, I’ll do pretty much whatever she asks.
* * *
“Holy fuck, that wasn’t even close,” Adam says, and we all laugh as we watch Rascal revisit those tequila shots over the bushes behind Emerson’s. I step away to carefully load my guitar into my classic white Camaro. My guitar and my car: the two loves of my life, the two things I depend on most in this world to take me away from the places where I don’t want to be.
I gaze longingly at my guitar. I wish I had more opportunities to play it, but Adam’s our lead guitarist and I’m just back-up so I can focus on vocals. It’s a fair trade, and I love singing, too, but guitar is my first love when it comes to music.
“Where’s everybody else?” I ask Rascal, who’s sitting on the curb looking ready for another round.
“Adam’s getting me water, Brody is looking for someone to take home tonight, and Kane left with Sierra.”
“Still think it was a good idea to challenge Brody to tequila shots?” I ask.
Rascal shrugs. “He’s still drunk and I’m ready to rally.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m heading home.”
The back door opens and a breathless Kylie rushes out. “Can I grab a ride with you?” she asks me. “I don’t want to walk and I left my car at your place.” She points toward the tall heels she’s wearing. I nod and motion her over to my car even though I know I’ll regret it because I know she’s going to get right back on my case with her new idea.
And she does the very second she slams the door shut—before I’ve even had a chance to put the car in reverse to head toward the house I share with the other guys in my band. “Have you given my proposal any more thought, Dax?”
“I don’t need to think about it,” I say. “It’s a no.”
“Why?” Kylie challenges, and I can’t help but think once again how hot she would be if she wasn’t so intimidating. I guess she sort of needs to a bitch not only to put up with my band and me, but also to get us ahead in the demanding business of music.
The five band members of MFB made a No Bang Oath before we offered her the position as manager. We knew we wanted to take our band from a local San Diego success story to something bigger.
But she has these legs that go on for miles, and when she’s wearing heels like the ones she’s wearing tonight, I owe it to myself to allow my eyes to take in the beauty.
She’s too good at what she does for us to put our professional relationship in jeopardy. She keeps us in line and so far has worked hard to provide us with opportunities that we otherwise would have missed. I force the thought of her legs from my mind.
“Because it’s stupid,” I say.
She folds her arms across her chest, but the insult bounces right off her armor. “It’s not stupid. Brody’s dad came to me with this idea.”
Brody’s dad is a bigwig Hollywood casting director, and I can’t help but think this is his way of trying to show support for his son’s band—something my own father would never show to me. “So it’s basically a dating reality show?” I ask on a resigned sigh.
Kylie lets out a little squeal that I’m actually asking a question about the show rather than shooting down her idea. “Yes. It’s a reality show on a major network, and it would be fantastic publicity for MFB. Maybe you’ll even meet a nice girl.”
“Nice girls don’t go on reality television shows,” I mutter. “I don’t want to meet a nice girl, anyway.” I finally put the car in reverse and flash her a wicked smile as I turn to check behind me.
“I’m not taking no for an answer, at least not until you sleep on it.” She narrows her brown eyes at me, and I pretend I don’t feel their penetration as I keep my gaze focused on the road.
Once she gets an idea in her head, there’s no stopping her, and I’m sure that’s true this time, too. “Why do I get the feeling that you already said yes on my behalf?” I ask.
She giggles. “Trust your intuition. I haven’t been working so hard with Brody’s dad to get you this opportunity for nothing.”
I heave out another sigh. I can’t help but think that this is a really stupid idea. People don’t find love on reality shows.
So why am I thinking about it as I lay in bed, trying to fall asleep after I had one or two…okay, five too many beers?
Why are all the opportunities a television show could give my band running through my mind after I forced myself to forget the idea the second Kylie left?
Why am I wondering whether Brody’s dad suggested this for us as a way to get the band some screen time?
What if I said yes? So I wouldn’t be doing it for the right reasons. I wouldn’t be doing it to fall in love. But Kylie might be right—this could be a huge opportunity for the band, and I can’t be the one to waste it.
I know none of the other guys in the band would do it. Brody and I have been best friends since middle school, and he wants to find love even less than I do. Adam and Kane both have girlfriends, and Rascal, or William Rascowicz as he’s known only to his mother, doesn’t have the right look—or personality—for a reality show.
So if we want to give the band the chance to be seen in front of the millions of people who comprise a viewing audience for a reality television show, I’m our only hope.
And that’s my last thought before I fall asleep. Or pass out. Same thing.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My first thanks as always goes to my husband for his love and support as I wrote this duet. Between being pregnant as I wrote and caring for a toddler, I was an emotional mess, and he was there every step of the way to help me see the things I couldn’t always see myself. I guess my eyes were closed and I missed it at times... ;) Thank you to Mason for continuing to nap for two hours a day so mommy can get work done, and thank you to Maci for waiting until I finished writing this duet before coming three weeks early!
A huge thank you to my content editor, Trenda London at It’s Your Story Content Editing. We wrestled with this duet more than we’ve ever had to wrestle before and it is an absolute pleasure to work with you and to figure out how to make these stories shine in ways I didn’t realize they could.
Thank you to my beta team: Diane, Stephanie, and Kelly. You give me the feedback I need, even when it’s hard, and I appreciate you all so much.
Thank you to Give Me Books for hosting the release events and to all the bloggers who signed up to read, review, and/or promote my books. Thank you to my ARC team and the ARC winners who take the time to read early copies and post reviews. You are essential to this process and I appreciate your time more than you know!
Thank you to Team LS and the Vail Tail Fangirls for all the love and support! I love you guys!
Thanks to my author friends for the sprints, to Kacey and Maria for always being a good sounding boards, and to the DND girls for the love!
And finally, thank you to YOU! If you’re reading this and you just finished this book, I hope you loved it and I appreciate you spending time with my words. I’d love if you left me a review on Amazon!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lisa Suzanne is a romance author who resides in Arizona with her husband and two kids. She’s a former high school English teacher and college composition instructor. When she's not chasing her toddler or cuddling her newborn, she can be found working on her latest book or watching reruns of Friends.
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BOOKS BY LISA SUZANNE
A LITTLE LIKE DESTINY SERIES
A LITTLE LIKE DESTINY (Book One)
ONLY EVER YOU (Book Two)
CLEAN BREAK (Book Three)
THE UNBREAKABLE THREAD DUET
THE POWER TO BREAK (Book One)
THE INVISIBLE THREAD (Book Two)
THE TRUTH AND LIES DUET
IT STARTED WITH A LIE (Book One)
IT ENDED WITH THE TRUTH (Book Two)
TAKE MY HEART
THE BENEFITS OF BAD DECISIONS
CLICK HERE FOR MORE