Taylor’s Legendary Heart: Sweethearts of Country Music, Book 2

by Pinder, Victoria

  Kiss me quick before I wake up

  things like this don’t happen to a girl like me

  so I’m gonna hold tight to all of this I’m gonna hold your hand until I wake up from this dream

  ”This is pretty good,” Rissa said while Taylor closed her notebook. The song wasn’t ready. Rissa elbowed her. “You are so falling for Eddie.”

  No. No. No. She shook her head and said, “He’ll be gone soon. I know he’s not going to stick around for me, and I won’t abandon y’all.”

  “Good to hear.” Rissa picked up her guitar.

  Eddie’s stage had a beautiful grand piano for his ballads in the background, but for the Lipstick Outlaws, she now owned a nice black Bechstein Upright Concert 8 piano the label sent for her on this tour a month ago. No more borrowed, out-of-tune, bar pianos for her or the band once their album went number one.

  Rissa led them in silent prayer. Katie Lyn then said, “Lipstick…”

  “Outlaws,” Taylor and the rest of them finished with a fist pump.

  Then they took the stage.

  Granted, the fans were all waiting for Eddie and those green eyes of his that melted a girl’s insides, but they were there to warm everyone up. Taylor plucked her keys and sang softly behind Katie Lyn as she belted out their number one, chart-busting hit, “Been stressing in the wrong city…Never find myself in this crowd…The words have already been written…But that's what I'm talking about...”

  Soon Taylor lost her soul in the music, giving everything to the piano and the melody in her heart as she bounced off of her bench when there was no piano, to point and dance.

  The cheers of the crowd only fueled her fingers and peppy cheerleader moves on stage—the set ended too fast as they played five songs from their album.

  The lights went down and the crowd still cheered “Lipstick Outlaws” like they were headlining.

  Yeah!

  Cinnamon said as they exited the stage, “This was great!”

  Melanie handed Rissa a cell phone. “It’s Val.”

  Rissa nodded and held up one finger as she said, “Give me one second, girls.”

  Waffles and laughter were next.

  This was how her life was now.

  Without men.

  Like he'd been summoned by her thoughts, Eddie gently traced her shoulder and she stared into his gorgeous green eyes. “Eddie, good luck out there.”

  “Come.” He took her hand in his. “All of you.”

  Katie Lyn said, “Rissa, put the phone down.”

  But Eddie didn’t wait. He held her hand and directed the Lipstick Outlaws back on stage.

  He escorted her to her keyboard and said to the crowd, “I just wanted to make sure everyone here had met the Lipstick Outlaws.”

  Taylor’s heart began to pound in her chest that Eddie was telling the world about them, but then Eddie walked with Katie Lyn to the center stage. “I’m hoping they’ll jam with me without practicing on my song, "I’ll Be Next"… if you girls know pop?"

  Katie Lyn laughed and joked with the crowd, “We know your first song Eddie. Everyone does.”

  Right. Taylor began to stroke the keys to Eddie’s fast-beat pop song she used to bounce around her house to.

  He and Katie Lyn sang his song like it was a duet.

  But Eddie’s green eyes held her gaze.

  He was the most talented man she’d ever met.

  That she’d ever meet in the future.

  Eddie performed like he was every woman’s fantasy in the crowd as he sang about being in love.

  The song ended and Eddie said to the audience, “These women have made me country fans, and are my dates to the country music awards.”

  The fans shouted in excitement as they took a second bow. Being on stage was over. Taylor stood from her piano for the second time, but then Eddie held her waist from behind as he said, “Taylor here has always been… "The One" for me.”

  Her cells all bloomed as the crowd roared, “YEAAHHH.”

  The rest of the band left the stage and he sang his newest song while he sat on a stool and held her hand.

  For this moment her mind lost track of everyone else. It was just Eddie and her and he sang like he meant every word.

  Was it possible? She shouldn’t believe so but in his gaze she was lost. As the song ended, Taylor said, “Eddie, we’ll… I’ll see you off stage… soon.”

  The audience snapped a million pictures. This was amazing. She swallowed and dashed behind the curtain.

  Adrenaline stilled raced through her as C.C. said, “Eddie Williams just put us as a possibility on the cover of Rolling Stone.”

  No. Taylor shook her head and said, “They don’t care…”

  Rissa showed her phone open to a news article from the Guardian, of her holding hands with Eddie on stage. “Taylor, you’re now the media’s newest ‘It girl.’”

  This wasn’t part of the plan. Her stomach knotted as she met Rissa’s gaze, “I don’t want to be an It.”

  Writing songs and being in the Lipstick Outlaws were enough.

  Rissa shrugged. “Don’t worry, Taylor. Mac checked our numbers on her phone, and she said our single sales just spiked again to star levels, and our royalties are through the roof. She’s talking to Val and Finn now about promoting our music internationally.”

  Taylor walked with them to change out of their stage clothes as she asked, “I thought country music was just American?”

  Rissa said, “Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ireland and India all have substantial audiences to promote our album.”

  Taylor quickly changed into her everyday white button-down that wasn’t fancy and her normal jeans with the heart belt buckle, and her black flats. C.C. asked, “Are we on for waffles or are you sticking around here, Taylor?”

  Taylor locked arms with her friend and bounced beside her as she said, “I told Eddie I’d see him tomorrow, as we have our traditions.”

  “Then let’s go.” Rissa directed them toward the Lipstick-mobile which was actually the rental car but named after their old clunker in Nashville that they kept parked at the concert venues for their quick waffle getaway.

  Katie Lyn shouted as they opened the back door where crowds of women were waiting for a peek at Eddie and called out, “Lipstick.”

  “Outlaws,” the rest of them cheered and headed toward the rented black SUV.

  Rissa, ever the leader, took the wheel and Taylor hopped in the middle back seat.

  Tomorrow she’d see Eddie again, but for now it was time to celebrate with her friends.

  If every day was like today, life would be great, though she remembered when even this had been all just a dream.

  6

  Eddie paced his hotel room, already showered after his early gym workout so he didn’t smell like sweat. Tam, his assistant, went over his schedule.

  His jeans were unusually pressed, and his black t-shirt was too. Not that Taylor would notice.

  He'd ironed them himself in the room.

  In a normal world he wouldn't expect Taylor to come to him for their breakfast date, but his life hadn’t been normal since they'd graduated Julliard and his career bloomed.

  Security couldn’t shut down the breakfast restaurant he'd chosen, and after last night's concert, they'd be mobbed. His team had sent Taylor a message.

  In some ways sending security with a last-minute message seemed high school… but this way was safer.

  Tam yammered on about the tour and how he was playing Vegas for the next three nights before the CMAs.

  Life as a star was hotel after hotel, and he’d love nothing more than to hide away on his estate in England with Taylor at his side.

  A knock at the door--finally--and he nodded for security to let Taylor in.

  Her blue cotton pants and white shirt with flowers on the shoulders was unique… just like she was. He walked away from Tam and took Taylor's hands. “Taylor, you came.”

  Tam showed herself out and Taylor let his hands go
as her face flushed red. “I don’t ordinarily go to men’s hotel rooms.”

  He tucked his hands in his pockets. “I can’t eat out in public without my production team and security booking the entire venue. It gets complicated last-minute.”

  “I understand.” She smiled and walked through his suite toward the balcony where the table was set, and breakfast options arrayed on a side table. “Honestly I’m experiencing some strange men at concerts who try to talk to us. Luckily Dan, the driver, takes care of us.”

  He straightened his spine. He’d have a team ready by this afternoon for her and her band. “You should have more security.”

  She turned away from the breakfast and her blonde hair floated in the wind behind her. “We’re fine. We don’t do anything stupid, and really the band is like family… speaking of, who was that leaving your room?”

  Right. He picked up his phone and called his assistant as he said, “Tam… hold on, Tami, can you come back?”

  Taylor never asked the right questions. For some reason she was shy and took things internally. In high school she’d cried for two days over a bad grade because she hadn’t stapled the melody in the order listed on the assignment sheet. He'd finally convinced her to see the teacher and offer to reorder her assignment to the required list.

  Security knocked and a second later the door opened. His assistant came back in and he said, “Tam, this is Taylor. Taylor, Tam.”

  The women shook hands and Tam, with her short-shaved hair and blue streak, laughed and said, “You’re the Taylor. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Taylor winced and shook her head. “I’m not the Taylor anything. I’m just Taylor Jones.”

  Tam put her phone in her back pocket which was rare as his assistant was usually holding the phone like it might save her life. “My husband loves your song "Came to Nashville" and it reminds me of my own life.”

  Eddie quickly covered for his reason for calling Tam back as Taylor would hate that he knew she’d wanted an introduction that she hadn't asked for. “Tam, did you get all the tickets set for the Country Music Awards in Vegas?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I’ve reserved your sixteen tickets. You’re in rows 8 and 9, section C.”

  Eddie asked, “C?”

  Tam took out her phone that buzzed as she said, “It’s the middle orchestra.”

  “Perfect,” he said, and Tam left to take care of whoever had called her.

  As the door closed Taylor asked, “So Tam is your assistant?”

  They headed back out to the balcony and breakfast. “She’s great. She’s talking to your team about who's going so the number is fluctuating.”

  He poured coffee for them and she still stood near the breakfast tray. “Now that we’re alone, I wanted to talk.”

  He opened the cloches beside her and frowned. “This is missing ice cream.”

  She laughed and picked out her own fruit and granola options. “That’s super fattening, Eddie.”

  He chuckled, recalling all the years that Taylor used to correct his diet. He held her chair for her and said, “I worked out for hours before breakfast.”

  She sat and placed her healthier choices in front of her while he took the seat beside her. “That explains those muscles you developed.”

  Heat rose in his chest which would look awful with his red hair. He met her gaze and said, “Many singers hit alcohol and drugs because of the schedule demands. I prefer keeping my head clean.”

  She raised one eyebrow and asked, “And the tattoos on your arm?”

  So, she'd noticed the bird that reminded him of her when he’d been touring Shanghai, and wished she’d been with him. “Expressions of my soul, and a reminder that pain and beauty often go together, in art and in life.”

  Her gaze held her laugh even if she didn’t make a sound. But then she took a breath and said, “Look Eddie, we’re all excited to go to the Country Music Awards and I’m personally grateful you’re going to be with me and my parents.”

  Their knees brushed under the table. “I’m looking forward to golfing with your father.”

  She glanced at him and her face was white. “What?”

  Unlike her other boyfriends, he’d known her parents and while he wasn’t curing cancer at the hospital, he could show them he’d make their daughter happy.

  Despite Taylor’s rebellion against her parents where she refused every offered dime, she loved them. He fixed his napkin and ate a few bites. “Your dad invited me to join him when we spoke this morning.”

  She nudged aside her coffee and pressed her hand to her heart. “You talked to my parents?”

  “I told you I would.” He ate a dry waffle. He stood and went inside to order ice cream from room service via the hotel phone.

  The rest of the waffles could wait.

  When he returned, Taylor had eaten some of her yogurt and granola parfait but stopped as he sat, to say, “He’s never once asked me or my sister to golf with him.”

  Her father was old-school, like from an earlier century, where he drank martinis when he came home from work and expected women to wear dresses in the kitchen. To Eddie, her father was like a movie character, who had to hate Taylor in jeans, singing country music. “It’s for men only, according to Thomas.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You even sounded like him just now.”

  Taylor shook her head, but he reached out and brushed his hand on the back of hers. “I always liked that you had parents who visited. Mine sent me to music school across the pond to get rid of me.”

  “My parents wish I was someone I’ll never be, which was why I insisted on music boarding school, to escape across the country.”

  Now she was on tour as an opening act to a major singer and her star was about to rise, yet she still cared about what her family thought. Sparks raced through him as he said, “At least they have normal expectations, like get married, have children… it’s grounding.”

  Her face went red. “Your parents…”

  But her voice trailed off. His mother is a painter and his father is a digital artist long before everyone had smart phones. He sat back and finished her sentence, “are successful and talented and busy.”

  They each ate some more, and room service delivered the ice cream. Perfect timing.

  Once they left, Taylor put her fork down. “Speaking of busy, I have something to say.”

  He stilled and ignored how his heart raced when he said, “I hope this isn’t about being only friends again.”

  She let out a sigh. “Look, I don’t think we should kiss again.”

  Absolutely not. Well, he’d not force her, but she wanted him too--he could tell by the way she kept glancing at him. The rapid beating of the pulse at her temple was also a clue.

  Her kiss yesterday had fueled his dreams and must have hit her hard enough to make her want to retreat. “Why?”

  She swallowed like her words burned her throat before she said them and finally managed, “Because you’re off on your world tour.”

  True. His life wasn’t designed like the world her father had created, with marriage and children being personal goals. But with Taylor he imagined coming home and having… stability and a life. She made him dream of something real. He kept his hands on the table. “Life as a musician is hard. We’ve known that since being teenagers.”

  She cupped his hand. “Eddie…”

  Again, her voice trailed off. He scooted closer and tremors went down his spine from her simple touch. “Taylor, let’s not pretend you don’t want to kiss me.”

  Her lips opened and she stared at his.

  She wanted another kiss, right now.

  But just as he was about to prove himself, his phone interrupted. Taylor sat back and pointed to it as she said, “I… your phone is ringing.”

  He grabbed it, half wanting to toss it off the balcony but then he realized who it was. “It’s your mother.”

  “My mother?” she asked, and he pressed the speaker button.

  He winked at
her and said, “Tanya, how are you?”

  Taylor piped in, “Mom? Hi.”

  Her mother, who’d always worn a knee-length skirt when he’d met her, said, “Oh Taylor, I left you a message a few minutes ago.”

  Taylor squeezed his hand like she needed him and asked, “What’s going on?”

  Tanya said, “Eddie offered to get wine and I decided I wanted the Accendo Cellars, Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, from 2015. I was calling to tell him my choice.”

  Probably expensive and hard to find because her parents never asked for the cheap stuff. Taylor’s face turned bright red as she asked, “Are you joking, Mom?”

  Her mother sounded just like the woman he’d met years ago when she said, “I wanted to try it.”

  Taylor covered a frustrated scream with her palm. “Okay, well Eddie and I are having breakfast and then we have to get back to work.”

  Eddie grinned at Taylor. “Talk to you soon, Tanya.” He hung up and put his phone down.

  She shook her head and closed her eyes as she asked, “You're getting my mom’s crazy wine request?”

  Technically he’d put Tam on ordering the wine and she’d ensure it was delivered. But he just shrugged and said, “Of course. I’ll do anything to impress you.”

  She sucked in her bottom lip and he watched her every move. His skin buzzed when he was around her. “Eddie, you don’t have to pander to them.”

  His heart thundered. He picked up her hands and held them to his chest like she might see his soul in his eyes when he said, “I need you to realize I love you and only you.”

  Tears moistened her eyes. “Don’t do this, Eddie.”

  If she told him no, he’d do his best to accept it, but he didn't understand why she wouldn't give him a chance. “It will work if you let it.”

  She pulled her hands free but stayed in her chair. “Okay, let’s get the ice cream for the waffles before it melts, and I’ll have a stack. I’ll hit the gym today before we get on stage with Miranda tonight.”

  He took the tray of waffles and the ice cream placing them in the center of the table between them. “Do you want to fly to the CMAs with me?”

  She shook her head and scooped ice cream for both of them. “No, I’ll stick to the tour bus, as we have some stops opening for Miranda, and meet you there. She’s going too.”