Songbird: Music & Lyrics Book 2

by Emma Lea

  Nate sat stunned for a few moments while he took it all in. Tom hadn’t pulled his punches and the words had hurt but only reinforced his decision.

  “I know,” he finally said. “I know and that’s why I’m taking my time. I need to prove myself - to her and to everyone else. I need to show Stevie that I can be the man that she needs and I know I’m not there yet.”

  Tom slapped him on the back. “Good man,” he said.

  “So are you and Nate on again or off again?”

  Stevie pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath before answering. “I don’t know.”

  “So did he explain what happened? Why he didn’t show up at the gig?”

  “Yeah, he did, but not until this afternoon.”

  “I know about the whole contract thing,” she said and Stevie stared at her. “What? Tom’s my husband, of course he told me.”

  “And you didn’t think it was something that you could tell me?”

  “Client-Lawyer confidentiality.”

  “But you’re not Nate’s lawyer.”

  “Yeah but I’m the wife of his lawyer so it still applies.”

  “What about being my friend? Doesn’t that trump your quasi-confidentiality?”

  “Not in this case, no. So moving on. What else did he tell you? Because I am damn sure there was more to his doing the runner than just his contract negotiations.”

  Stevie sighed and shook her head. Darla wouldn’t quit until she knew the whole story. Stevie pitied Tom having to try and keep any secrets from her, even if he was contractually obligated to.

  “He saw Carson and me together at lunch and thought I’d gone back to him.”

  Darla’s eyes grew wide. “Are you serious?”

  “As a heart attack,” she replied.

  “So, instead of going to you and trying to win you back he just…what? Gave up?”

  “No,” Stevie said, sipping her drink. “No. He just… well, he thought he had to prove something to me. He thought it would be better for my career if he kept his distance until he—”

  “Regained his honor and self-respect,” Darla finished for her. “That’s kind of…”

  “Chicken shit,” Stevie said.

  “No, I was going to say romantic. It’s like a grand gesture or something. He wanted you to have the success he denied you and he didn’t want it to seem like he was riding on your coattails. I get it and I think it’s admirable.”

  “Since when are you on Team Nate? I thought you’d be Team Carson all the way.”

  They both looked over to where Carson was standing and holding court with a bunch of suited men who looked at him like he was the second coming of Christ.

  “I like Carson,” Darla said slowly, “but I can’t see you as a senator’s wife.”

  “But you can see me as a rock star’s wife?” Stevie said incredulously.

  “Come on, Nate’s not really a rock star, not anymore at least. He’s gone back to his roots. He’s a country boy now and we all like our country boys.”

  “Nate is the farthest thing from a boy,” she mumbled.

  Darla choked out a laugh. “Too much information!”

  Stevie laughed. “Bullshit. You’re all about the details.”

  “Well, yeah,” she said with an unabashed smirk. “I always knew Nate would be packing. I mean, the girls couldn’t get enough of him in school so he had to have some decent equipment and known how to use it.”

  “Oh God,” Stevie said, covering her face and her blush. “We are not going to have this conversation here, not with his mother less than five feet away.”

  “You don’t think Mayor Nash knows what her son has in his pants?”

  “No, I don’t think she really knows very much about her son at all,” Stevie replied turning serious.

  “Well not her youngest son,” Darla agreed, “but I bet she knows all the stats about her other sons.”

  “Yeah, well, she’s never been one to hide her affections…or lack thereof as the case may be.”

  Darla shook her head. “If I ever do that to my kids slap me upside the head, okay? I can’t imagine loving one more than the other.”

  “Even if they decide to go against what you have planned for their lives?”

  “Even then,” Darla said with conviction.

  “She tried to set me up with Carson,’ Stevie said.

  “Who? Mayor Joanna?”

  Stevie nodded. “Just before, when we were talking. Just before Nate came in.”

  “You think he overheard?”

  “I know he did.”

  “Do you think it will make him run away or fight harder for you?”

  Stevie looked over to where Nate was talking to Tom. “I don’t know,” she said and bit her lip.

  “Is there something going on between you and Carson that I don’t know about?”

  “What?” she swung back to look at Darla. “No, of course not.”

  “He is a good-looking guy and he’s rich and he’s a senator. He’s got a lot going for him.”

  “And I love him,” Stevie said, “but I’m not in love with him.”

  “But it could maybe turn into Love with a capital L if you let it. There was always the idea of Nate between the two of you. If Nate is off the table, do you think there could be something more between you and Carson?”

  Stevie looked at Darla and didn’t know how to answer. Things with Carson were easy and uncomplicated. They fit together without too much friction and although her managing a career while being a senator’s wife might get complicated, she knew that Carson would make it easy. But was that what she wanted? Something easy and comfortable? It sounded nice on the outside, but would it get boring after a while. Sure the sex was good, but with Nate there was an explosive passion that had never been there between her and Carson. Would easy and comfortable be enough?

  “I don’t know…maybe?”

  The dinner dragged, or maybe it was just that Nate felt the weight of expectation on him. Everywhere he looked, people were watching him. He didn't know what they were expecting him to do so he just tried to act normal but that somehow felt like he was disappointing his audience. What he wanted to do was leave. He hadn't wanted to come and nothing had happened to change his mind on that front. If anything, he felt more uncomfortable as the night wore on.

  The dinner was a sit down affair with a choice of fish or chicken. His mother, or rather a lackey that worked for his mother, had sat him at a table with Stevie’s band, but he wasn't lucky enough to sit near Stevie. She was placed next to Carson, which he knew was no accident. He'd heard his mother’s not so subtle attempt at match-making and although he didn't have any right to feel jealous, he did. He wanted Stevie for himself, but he also wanted to be a better man for her. He just needed her to wait for him, which was completely irrational and unfair.

  Jace was seated next to him and talked about the music video and the gig. He was thankful for the distraction. Stevie sat across from him and he could see Carson attempting to charm her. It took a lot of effort on his part to keep his fists under the table. Nate’s jaw ached from clenching his teeth and he wished that he could dull the emotions he felt with a big glass of twelve year old scotch. He didn't give in to the temptation though. He needed his wits about him so that he didn't do anything stupid.

  Nate knew his father and brothers were there but none of them had approached him before the dinner and he hadn't gone out of his way to look for them either. He could see them now though, seated at his mother’s table. He could feel the eyes of his eldest brother on him but Nate refused to make eye contact. He didn't need to see the disappointment in them. He didn't need to see it to know it would be there. Toby had looked at him like that since he dropped out of football and picked up a guitar. His father and other brother, Daniel, were just as disappointed in him. He was the family screw-up and no one let him forget it. Maybe he needed that drink after all.

  Nate lifted his hand to a waiter and just before he could ord
er a drink - an alcoholic one this time - he heard his mother’s voice change.

  “This is a little presumptuous of me,” the mayor said, “and I didn't ask ahead of time, but I'm hoping that we can all encourage Stevie Jacks to come up here and sing for us.”

  As the crowd cheered encouragement, Nate shot a look at Stevie, who had suddenly paled. His mother did this all the time. If she had asked Stevie before, she would have said yes, but his mother liked to put people on the spot. It was a specialty of hers. Stevie cast nervous looks around the table at her band and then looked at Nate, a question in her eyes. What did she want him to do? He shrugged a shoulder and she nodded slowly. Carson leaned in to whisper something in her ear and Nate very nearly lost his shit, but held it together. The crowd got louder as they ‘encouraged’ Stevie to get up and sing. Finally she stood and made her way to the stage to the cheers of the crowd.

  “This is so unexpected,” she said when Mayor Joanna handed her the mic. “I don't have anything prepared—”

  One of Joanna’s aides brought a guitar on to the stage and handed it to her. Stevie looked pleadingly towards him or maybe it was Jace she was looking at. She shot a glance around the room and her eyes landed on the piano on the side of the stage. She smiled and Nate couldn't help but smile back. She had a plan to thwart Joanna and he could get behind a plan like that.

  “I don't think it's fair that I'm up here all by myself when my band is here. Why don't you guys come on up.”

  The Court siblings stood as one and joined Stevie on stage. Jace sat at the piano and Vanessa pulled a pair of drumsticks from her back pocket - she never went anywhere without them - and Nadine took up a position next to Stevie. After a whispered conversation between the four of them, Vanessa tapped out a rhythm on the top of the upright and they launched into one of their songs - unplugged style. Nadine sang harmony to Stevie’s melody, Jace played the keys and Vanessa used the piano as a drum. It sounded amazing and Nate sat back grinning. He knew his mother had wanted it to be just Stevie, but that wasn't Stevie’s style. Nate noticed Darla filming it on her phone and knew before the night was out that it would be on YouTube.

  They finished to raucous applause and Nate felt a deep satisfaction. He expected to feel jealous, after all Joanna was his mother, shouldn't she have asked him to perform? But it just wasn't there. He was proud of Stevie and the rest of the band. They sounded amazing and they showed this town what stars they were. He couldn't have asked for a better end to the night. He applauded enthusiastically with everyone else, even standing to his feet which got everyone else on their feet too. He saw Stevie blush and it did something to his insides, something warm and sweet and terrifying. He pushed the fear away. He knew what he was afraid of. He was afraid of losing her when he felt so much for her. But that wasn't fair to her. She deserved this and he wouldn't stand in her way, no matter how much it hurt him.

  Chapter Nine

  Nerves jumped in Stevie’s stomach as she stood in front of the camera. They hadn't done a music video before and she felt self-conscious and stupid trying to mime the words to the song and act the way the directed wanted. She was frustrated and annoyed and rehearsals had not gone well. The director decided to push ahead anyway in the hopes that she would settle once they were rolling. That hadn't turned out so well.

  Nate came up and stood behind her, snaking his arms around her waist like the choreographer had told him. They were supposed to sway and she was meant to lean her head back against his shoulder. It was meant to look romantic but she was stiff and jerky. As much as she tried to fulfill the brief, she just couldn't relax enough to make it work.

  “How’re you doing?” Nate whispered in her ear.

  “Not good,” she whispered back.

  He pulled her tighter against him and the pressure of his chest against her back released some of her tension. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. He swayed her gently and she let him, letting her muscles go to jelly as he lightly nibbled on her neck. He spun her around so she faced him and he pulled her close, his hand burrowing in her hair and pressing her head against his chest. She breathed in his familiar scent and let him guide her. Their song played in the background but she wasn't paying attention. She was too caught up in the man that she wanted desperately but couldn't have. The worst part was that she didn't really understand why she couldn't have him. Couldn't he feel the chemistry between them? Couldn't he feel how perfectly she fit into his arms?

  Nate tilted her chin up so that he could look into his eyes. Stevie loved the color of his eyes, they were so blue, like the color of a summer sky. She could get lost in them.

  He dipped his head and brushed his lips lightly across hers. She sighed and melted into him, her lips parting slightly as her eyes fluttered shut. He kissed her again, firmer this time but not rushed. He sipped from her lips, caressed them, nibbled at them. Then his tongue swept across her lower lip and she gasped. He took advantage of her open mouth to deepen the kiss. Drawing her in with his slow seduction.

  Stevie’s hands seemed to move of their own volition, sliding up over his chest. The muscles beneath his worn t-shirt were firm and warm, their heat reaching her through the fabric of his shirt. Her hands slowly rose over the rounded flesh of his shoulders and then the corded muscles of his neck until they buried themselves in his hair at his collar. His tongue slipped into her mouth and she mewled softly. He swallowed her whimper as his hands tightened around her, pressing her up against the full length of him. She felt the hard rod of his cock in his jeans and couldn't help pushing the v of her thighs against it.

  There were too many clothes between them. She needed to feel his skin on hers. She let her hand drift down his arms until she reached his waist and the hem of his shirt. Her fingers gripped the edge and jerked it up so she could feel the skin beneath.

  “And cut!”

  Nate broke the kiss and Stevie looked up at him, confused.

  “That was perfect. Excellent work. We need more scenes like that.”

  Stevie blinked, slowly coming back to reality. Her cheeks flushed furiously with the realization of what she had nearly done in front of a camera and crew.

  “Oh God,” she whispered as she dropped her head and rested her forehead on Nate’s chest. He hadn't let her go and she was happy to stay where she was until she had gotten her dignity back.

  Nate pinched her chin between his fingers and tilted her head up.

  “You okay now?” he asked, a cheeky grin playing around his lips.

  She slapped his chest with a hand and tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let her.

  “You can't go yet,” he whispered in her ear and then purposely looked down to where they were joined at the hip.

  “Oh,” she breathed and then canted her hips into him with her own mischievous grin.

  He groaned and closed his eyes. “Vixen,” he muttered.

  He hadn't been wholly unaffected by their kiss and it made her feel better. Nate had done these videos before, she'd seen the results on CMT. He often had a woman or two plastered up against him or half naked in his bed. Did he get a hard-on with all those women too, or was it just her?

  “What are you thinking?”

  She shrugged and put some breathing space between them but kept him covered from prying eyes.

  “Does this always happen?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

  His cheeks pinked and she had to hold back the giggle that threatened to bubble out of her throat. Nate was embarrassed.

  “Ah, no,” he said with a wry grin. “This is a first for me.”

  Was it wrong for her to feel happy about that? She liked that he hadn't gotten carried away with the other women that he had made music videos with.

  “Okay, let's jump to the next scene,” the director called. “Stevie and Nate, take a seat and we’ll get Jace and Hillary up.”

  The other members of the band had been paired with extras and they didn't seem to be having anywhere near the problems that Stevie was
.

  Nate took her hand and pulled her over to the row of chairs that had been set up under a marquee for them. Someone handed them both a bottle of cold water and then a couple of makeup artists and hairdressers approached to touch them up.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “For what?”

  “For helping me then. I know I'm not very good at all this.”

  He smiled gently at her. “It's your first time, of course it is going to feel weird. You just need to pretend that the crew isn't there and that the camera isn't rolling.”

  “Is that why you kissed me? To make me forget?”

  Nate didn’t answer, just sipped the water from his bottle and she had a sinking feeling in her stomach.

  Nate walked away from the video shoot frustrated and with a serious fucking hard-on that could pound nails. He knew he was sending Stevie mixed messages, but he couldn’t help himself when he was around her. Some switch in his brain had been flipped and now when he saw her all he could think of was getting her naked and burying himself inside her. Having to get close to her during the video made his lizard brain take over. Coupled with her nervousness and the need to distract her, he’d taken liberties. He shouldn’t have, he knew that, but he couldn’t help it.

  Now his dick was going to have a permanent impression of his zipper. He needed to get away from her and give himself some space so that he could play tonight. Singing with her was a whole other deal and with the adrenalin spike that always came from performing if he didn’t get his raging libido under control he was going to turn into a caveman. It wouldn’t take much provocation to drag her by the hair back to his trailer in order to satisfy his base urges but that was wrong. As much as it would feel good, he couldn’t go there, not now. Not yet.