Trouble: Rob & Sabrina: Boxed Set

by Selena Kitt

  “Make it count.” Tyler clapped him on the shoulder before he disappeared with Rob’s backpack around the back of the bus again.

  “I intend to.” Rob turned to me once his friend and band mate was gone, and I felt a slow sinking, like an anchor settling in the roiling bottom of my belly. This wasn’t happening. I was dreaming still. I would wake up in my bed, groggy from sleeping in far later than I was used to, trying to hold on to the edge of a dream so amazing it couldn’t possibly be real.

  “Bree!” Katie squealed, coming around the corner and at me full-tilt. Rob didn’t have time to even put his arms around me properly before she bowled into me like Tigger on Pooh. I laughed, hugging her as she squealed again and started whispering in my ear, so Rob couldn’t hear, all the things she and Tyler had done over the past few days. They’d had an exciting weekend too, although their list of events included things and events I never could have guessed, including Greek Town casinos, something about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a Wal-Mart greeter named Gerald.

  “Slow down!” I insisted, grabbing her arms and pushing her away so I could see her face. She was flushed and bright-eyed, her blonde hair pulled back into a fast ponytail. “Let’s talk after they leave, okay? Then you can tell me everything.”

  “I’ll have to tell you on the phone.” Katie’s eyes lit up from the inside and she bounced around like a three-year-old who had to pee and couldn’t hold it one more minute. “Because I’m going on tour with Trouble!”

  “You’re—” I couldn’t finish the sentence. I blinked at her, unbelieving. “Are you insane?”

  “Maybe.” She grinned. “But Tyler said I could. How could I say no?”

  I glanced at Rob, leaning with one shoulder against the side of the bus, arms crossed over his chest, feet crossed at the ankles, just watching us. How indeed?

  “But what about…” I was going to say her job, her family, but Katie was currently unemployed—she’d lost her job as a dental assistant just last month, when the practice closed and her ex-boyfriend, the dentist, moved to Texas. And while her mother still lived in Michigan, somewhere up north, her father had lived out in California since her parents’ divorce when we were in junior high, and her brother worked in advertising somewhere on the east coast.

  “I know!” She laughed, hugging me again. “I don’t have anything to stay for—except you. And I thought… maybe…”

  Katie looked between me and Rob, not finishing her thought.

  “I’ll miss you.” I put my arms around her, squeezing hard, getting that strange dream-like feeling again. This couldn’t be real. My best friend was going on tour with Trouble? “Call me. A lot. Email. Text me. Oh my God, Katie…”

  “I know, I know!” She kissed me on the cheek. “The tour’s over in April. After that…”

  “You’ll invite me to the wedding?” I laughed.

  “After that, I don’t know.” She shrugged one shoulder, still grinning. “But I can’t not go. Come on, Bree—on tour with Trouble? It’s a story I’ll tell my grandkids some day!”

  “Not sure that’s a story that you should tell your grandkids.”

  “I’ll tell them the PG-13 version.”

  Katie’s voice lowered to a real whisper. “Tyler said Rob was going to ask you to come along.”

  I nodded then shrugged.

  “Are you kidding me?” Her eyes widened. “Bree! Come on!”

  “It’s complicated.” I tried to express just how complicated with my eyes because I felt Rob watching us and didn’t want to go into it. Not then, right there, in front of him.

  Tyler was single—had never been married, in fact. And I didn’t say anything to Katie, but I wondered how often he invited a girl along on the road. And I wondered how long that might last, after two, three, four, half a dozen shows. How long before he got bored and started looking for another girl to invite along instead?

  I didn’t want to believe it, but Practical Sabrina knew too much about the way the real world worked for her own good.

  “I’m happy for you, Katie.” I put my arms around her one more time, giving her a long, hard hug. “Be good. Tell Tyler I said goodbye.”

  Goodbye. That was a word I didn’t want to say again.

  Katie went, leaving me alone with Rob. She waved one last time before going around to the front of the bus. I looked up at the tinted windows, wondering if they were watching us. Tyler, now Katie, and the rest of the band. Who else was on the bus? Did all the band members invite a girl along to keep them company?

  That last question escaped my lips before I could even think.

  “Sometimes.” Rob put his arms around my waist, pressing me against the side of the bus, and I realized, like this, we were out of the view of prying eyes looking out the darkened windows above. “Some of us more than others.”

  “Tyler?” I raised my eyebrows.

  He shrugged. “He’s a repeat offender.”

  “You?” I didn’t even want to ask, but there it was.

  “No, Sabrina.” He shook his head, giving me a wry, sad smile. “I’m married, remember?”

  How could I forget?

  But I had, for a few days. I’d forgotten he was a rock star—well, mostly. I’d forgotten he was married. I’d forgotten he was leaving. I’d forgotten myself, my life. I’d forgotten everything. He made me want to forget everything but him, wanting him, having him.

  “Who was the last girl who went on tour with you?” I asked.

  “You really want to know?” He lowered his forehead to mine, closing his eyes.

  “Yes.”

  “My wife.” He shook his head but didn’t open his eyes.

  “She hated it?” I guessed.

  “No. She loved it.” Rob gave a little laugh, opening his eyes. “She had a grand old time on the road. While I was on stage, she was fucking roadies left and right. Had to fire half the damned crew.”

  “Oh.” I put my head on his chest. “I’m so sorry.”

  I felt his hand in my hair and closed my eyes, wishing we were alone, anywhere but here, suspended in time forever, just like this.

  “Sabrina…” He whispered my name close to my ear. “Oh God, I can’t do this…”

  I lifted my face to his, feeling tears stinging my eyes, closing my throat. Letting this man walk out of my life was going to be the hardest thing I’d ever done. So why was I resisting? Katie was on the tour bus, heading on an adventure with Tyler and the rest of Trouble. What was my problem?

  “We did it,” I whispered, touching his cheek. He hadn’t shaved, and his stubble was growing out. “One perfect day.”

  “Let’s do it again right now.” He smiled, hands pressing into the small of my back. “One perfect moment…”

  His lips were so close I felt the brush of them against mine as he spoke.

  “One perfect kiss,” I whispered, leaning in to him, our mouths connecting, slowly opening.

  Instead of thinking about how much I was going to miss this or the fact that this might well be our last kiss, I simply fell into it. It was, like he’d said, the perfect moment, and as I’d said, the perfect kiss. The rest of the world disappeared, simply faded away. We clung to each other, desperately trying to meld our bodies together, to finally become one and end this craziness once and for all.

  We’d kissed so much over the last three days, my lips felt chapped and bruised, but that didn’t stop me. I still wanted more. Even if it hurt, I wanted more. I slid a hand behind his neck, under that gloriously messy mop of hair and slanted my head, giving him better access, his tongue playing with mine.

  “Okay, you win.” Rob gasped as he broke the kiss. “I’ll stay. To hell with the tour. I’ll tell them I got Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or something.”

  “You can’t do that. They’re all counting on you.”

  “I can’t leave you.”

  “You can’t stay.”

  “Then come with me.”

  “Oh God, Rob, we’ve been over this…” I cr
ied. “I have my job, my house, a life here. I’m not Katie. I can’t just pick up and go.”

  “Then tell me you’ll wait for me. That’s all I need.”

  “I…”

  “Rob? Rob Burns?”

  “Yes.” He sighed, turning toward the blonde in the sunglasses coming around the back of the tour bus, holding up some paper. Another fan looking for an autograph.

  Rob turned toward her, and I slipped away, taking a step in the other direction, not wanting to be a distraction. He was good at handling fans and it was best to leave him to it.

  “They told me I could find you here.” The woman was older, I noticed, as she got up close. She wore a grey skirt and matching boots, a long Ralph Lauren wool coat over that. “Here you go.”

  “Who am I signing it to?” He took the paper she gave him, holding his hand out for a pen.

  “Oh, I don’t want your autograph.” The woman laughed, taking off her sunglasses, and I saw she was older, maybe mid-forties. “I’ve been trying to chase you down for a week. I’ve driven through three states!”

  Rob looked at the paper in his hand, frowning, and I saw something change in his expression as he did.

  “You’ve been served. Have a nice day!” The blonde turned then and left, the heels of her boots clicking on the pavement.

  “Are you being sued?” I gasped.

  “Something like that.” He looked up at me, bemused.

  “Don’t look at me!” I put my hands up in surrender. “I told you I wouldn’t sue you.”

  “It’s divorce papers, Sabrina.” He shook them at me, a huge smile spreading over his face. “She’s divorcing me.”

  I had to see for myself and he showed me. Divorce papers. His wife didn’t want to be his wife anymore. It was all there in black and white. It was officially over between them.

  “She probably wants everything but the kitchen sink,” I murmured, flipping through, trying to read around the legal jargon.

  “I don’t care.” Rob grabbed me, drawing me into his arms. “She can have it all. There’s only one thing I want now.”

  “What’s that?” I murmured, still trying to decipher the divorce paper code.

  “You!” He twirled me around and I barely kept hold of the divorce papers. “I know you can’t come with me, and I know I can’t stay… but just say you’ll wait for me. That’s all I ask.”

  “Until the tour’s over?”

  He nodded. “Then we can be together.”

  “Where? Here or there? Rob, it’s—”

  “I don’t care.” He kissed me quiet. “We’ll work it out somehow. Just say you’ll wait.”

  What else could I say?

  “Yes, I’ll wait.” I put my arms around his neck, divorce papers still in my hands. “But I need to tell you something.”

  “Uh-oh.” His eyebrows rose as I gestured for him to bend close, closer, so my mouth was pressed against his ear.

  “Three little words,” I whispered. I could have sworn he was trembling. “I—”

  “That’s all I need to hear.” He kissed me again and like Sleeping Beauty waking from her dream, I opened my eyes and he was there. Still there.

  And he was mine.

  Asking for Trouble: BOOK DESCRIPTION

  Sabrina’s one amazing, perfect day with lead singer Rob Burns from her favorite band, Trouble, has turned into a blossoming long-distance romance as the band finishes the U.S. leg of their tour and Sabrina finishes out the school year teaching her second-grade class.

  Rob and Sabrina have fallen hard, and time and distance only seem to have made their bond stronger, but Rob’s messy divorce and Sabrina’s best friend, Katie’s, devastating experience on the road with the band aren’t the only threats to their growing love affair.

  Normally practical Sabrina finds herself following both Rob and “Trouble” down a rock n roll road promising both high risk and immeasurable reward.

  But will Rob and Sabrina’s love survive the rock and roll fantasy?

  ASKING FOR TROUBLE

  Chapter One

  I was in trouble.

  It was my own fault for falling for someone so unattainable. What in the hell had I been thinking, telling super-rock-star Rob Burns that yes, I had fallen madly in love with him in the space of a few days, that yes, I would wait for him until the tour was over? Yes, of course this could work, I insisted, this thing between us. It was bigger than both of us, out of my control, out of his.

  That’s what I told myself whenever he called or Skyped or sent me flowers or sent me books for my Kindle. I told myself this fantasy was going to be reality, someday, that Rob Burns—Rob freaking Burns—was in love with me, and I was in love with him, and this thing was going to work.

  The truth was, I didn’t even know what “this thing” we had really was.

  Trouble. That’s what it is.

  I had wondered on more than one occasion over the past few months if I was insane. Truly unbalanced. Maybe I really needed some help or something. Because this wasn’t me. This was… crazy.

  Although, I consoled myself as I watched the night lights of L.A. flash by through the limo’s tinted windows, I was less crazy than Katie. I mean, getting on a tour bus with a rock star to travel across country with the band—that was really crazy. Me, I was the practical one. I’d spent one perfect day with the rock star of my dreams and when he’d invited me on tour with him, I had decided to stay in my little house in the suburbs of Detroit, so I could finish out the school year teaching elementary school kids how to play the recorder.

  My parents would be so proud. If they ever knew I’d made that decision. Which, of course, they wouldn’t. They had no idea I’d spent the night with Rob Burns and likely never would. Nor would they be able to express their disapproval over their daughter’s decision to visit the rock star at his multi-million-dollar home in the Hollywood hills at the completion of the U.S. leg of Trouble’s tour.

  Because I wasn’t going to tell them. I wasn’t going to tell anybody.

  “Sabrina Taylor?”

  I blinked under the light of a street lamp when the limo door opened. I’d been so lost in thought I hadn’t even realized we’d stopped. The driver who opened the door was a big, tall surfer-type with curly blonde hair tucked under his cap who’d told me his name was Jesse. He’d been the one who picked me up from the airport, insisting on carrying my luggage—just one small roll-on—and had showed me what all the buttons and knobs did in the back of the limo.

  I’d never met the woman standing next to the driver, but she was the tallest, thinnest, most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in real life. Her dark hair was pulled back, but loosely, each curl around her face meant to look casual but clearly, carefully orchestrated. Her lipstick and nails were red, as were her heels. Her skirt and blouse were black and white, respectively. But it was her teeth that shocked me. When she smiled, they were like bright, white little Chiclets tucked into her mouth, rows of perfection, even in the dimness.

  “Um, yes. I’m Sabrina,” I admitted, struggling to get out of the car. It was a stretch limo, made for a dozen people or more, and I was sticking to the seat despite the cool air circulating through the vents. I felt underdressed, even in my sundress and heels—an ensemble I had agonized over for hours back home—as I accepted the driver’s hand. He smiled as he helped me out, acting like he’d seen hundreds of awkward, ungraceful exits from his limo.

  “I’m Celeste.” The perfect-teeth woman smiled again. She smiled so much it made me think she was just showing off. “Rob is waiting for you.”

  Rob. Waiting for me.

  My knees went all wobbly and the surfer-driver put an arm around my waist.

  “Whoa there,” Jesse said, buoying me up. His smile was rather dazzling too. Did everyone in California have perfect teeth? “You okay?”

  No. I wasn’t okay at all. I was in trouble.

  But I smiled and hoped my teeth were passable as I murmured an apology.

  “Come with me
.” Celeste’s heels clicked on the driveway as she turned and started to walk toward the house. “Jesse, please bring the bags.”

  It was the first time I’d looked at the house since we arrived, and for a minute, my knees went wobbly again. This time Jesse was getting my bag and he wasn’t there to catch me, so I stopped at the light post—a tall, limestone column with a globe of light at the top—to catch my breath. Rob’s house wasn’t a house. I lived in a house—living room, bedroom, kitchen, one bathroom. This wasn’t a house. It wasn’t even a mansion or an estate. It was a freaking palace.

  “Are you coming?” Celeste was halfway down the cobblestone toward the front door. “He’s excited to see you.”

  Oh God. Excited to see me. Me?

  I reminded myself that I’d been invited here. That he’d been talking about seeing me again for two months, since that amazing day in February. This was the man who called me every night, without fail, before he went to sleep, no matter where he was in the country. The man who called my extension at work every morning to leave me a sweet message to get me through the day. The man who had sent me some sort of gift every week, from flowers to candy to jewelry, since the last time we’d been together. He’d been very generous, kind, loving and, as far as I knew, faithful, despite the long-distance nature of our relationship.

  Of course, he’d also been on the road with millions of screaming fans, most of them girls who threw their panties on stage and wanted to fuck him senseless.

  I don’t want them, Sabrina, I want you.

  That’s what he said whenever I mentioned the throngs of women who wanted him everywhere he went.

  I want you.

  Oh God, I wanted him too. I wanted him so much I could barely breathe, let alone walk up the wide, limestone steps to the French double doors, but I managed. It helped that Jesse had jogged up behind me with my carry-on and I was bookended by both the driver and Celeste as she punched in some code on a panel before we entered the foyer.

  I didn’t have much time to look around in wonder at the display of opulence because there, standing on the wide, curving, marble staircase, was my barefoot, blue-jeaned, shirtless Rob Burns. My first thought was, he cut his hair! I’d seen him just a few days ago, via Skype, shaggy and scruffy and sexy, but now his hair was short, his face clean-shaven. He looked like a whole new Rob and the sight of him filled me with longing.