Autumn Nights

by Elle Viviani

“I’m fine.”

  “That little line between your eyebrows says differently.”

  Of course he’d notice that. He notices everything.

  I snag a passing champagne flute off of a passing tray and raise it to my lips. “I’m exhausted. I’m beginning to think coming here tonight was the worst mistake I’ve made since giving Dolly McDonald’s French fries.”

  “Then why did you do it?”

  “Because she was giving me the Basset hound eyes.”

  “No…” A smile tugs at his lips. “I meant, come here tonight.”

  “Oh! Right. I thought there would be fans here, though as you can see—” I wave my hand around the packed VIP lounge “—nada. But Cody said they’ll be here.”

  My skeptical gaze falls on my boyfriend. When I turn back to Bryce, I realize the look didn’t unnoticed.

  “So they will,” I add with a bit of forced gusto.

  There’s no trace of that smile as he studies me. “I’m worried about you, Autumn.”

  I frown. “Why?”

  “About how people close to you are—”

  “What?” I ask when he stops. I rest a hand on my hip and tilt my head. “Tell me.”

  His answer comes a few seconds later. “Are taking advantage of you. I want to help. All I’m asking is that you let me.”

  A lump lodges itself in my throat. Doesn’t he know I can hardly put together a coherent thought when he’s looking at me like that?

  “I th-think I’ll go dance. Zoe’s probably waiting for me.” I brush by Bryce on my way onstage, and he follows a second later, like my shadow. My silent, annoying shadow that I could do without right about now. I grind to a stop. “What are you doing?”

  “Following you.”

  “Thanks, captain obvious. But why?”

  Instead of answering, he thumbs away a lock of hair as it falls onto my cheek. It’s a simple gesture that shouldn’t send my pulse into overdrive.

  “Because I don’t trust the men out on that dance floor,” he says with a hardness that always make my heart beat faster. He takes a step toward me, entering my space and overwhelming my senses. Broad shoulders, the heady scent of cedar and pine, a lock of tousled hair falling over his eyes, the rough grit of his five o’clock shadow…

  It’s all I can do to keep standing as he looms over me.

  “I don’t need you to protect me,” I say with more confidence than I feel. Bryce had made it his job to keep guys away from me in high school, like some overly protective older brother I never had (or wanted).

  His lips draw back in that sexy half-smile that I’m beginning to hate. “I always have.”

  I turn tail and run. Multiple pairs of eyes are on me as I stumble over to the velvet ropes marking off the VIP area and pull Zoe off of Mr. Italian Suit. One pair of eyes belongs to my boyfriend, one pair belongs to Bryce, and a hundred pairs belong to the people who are here to pick apart my every move, no doubt wondering how long I’ll survive as pop’s next princess.

  I grab Zoe’s hand and give myself a little twirl, putting some of these new dance moves to use. Especially the one that makes my ass wiggle like a Kardashian sister. Then I throw my head back, close my eyes, and let the deep beat of Ariana Grande wash away the crazy thoughts swirling around in my head.

  Let them all watch.

  And they do—especially a pair of piercing brown eyes that make my blood pound and heart race in an oh-so-sexy way. A way that I’m finding harder and harder to ignore with each and every damn day.

  Chapter 9

  Autumn

  “I think my legs are going to fall off,” I say with an accompanying whimper. Last night's show, then afterparty, really did a number on my thighs. And calves and feet and entire body.

  Zoe rolls her eyes and shoves me off the bed. I don’t even stop her. I just land on the floor of my hotel room suite and let out a monumental groan.

  “Stop being dramatic,” Zoe says, stealing my warm spot on the bed.

  “I am not.” I struggle up onto my elbows and throw her an evil look. “And that’s my thousand thread count comforter that you’re wrapping yourself in.”

  With a sigh that makes me green with envy, Zoe nuzzles even deeper into the white blanket. “But who booked the hotel room with the thousand thread count sheets?”

  I collapse back onto the rug in defeat. Zoe planned all my travel for this tour with the road manager, snagging us hotel rooms when we were playing a few shows in the same city. I love my tour bus but the small, twin-size bed feels like a jail cell after a week. Especially when your boyfriend wants to share some nights, and an elephant-sized dog wants to share every night.

  “You did," I grumble, "and I’m not above admitting that I'd be lost without you, Ms. Gomez."

  “That’s right!” Zoe grabs her notebook from the bag at the foot of my bed and starts flipping through the pages. “Okay, missy, we have a packed day today.”

  My groan shakes the furniture. “I wasn’t kidding when I said my legs are killing me. One day of dancing has done me in.”

  “Well, we can’t leave New Orleans hanging. You have a show tonight, and then one in Tallahassee tomorrow.”

  “Don’t remind me,” I grumble, getting to my knees. I’ll just go slowly, that’s all. One foot at a ti—

  Nope.

  I collapse back down on the plushy rug and accept it as my new home. The measured tones of my assistant’s voice float down to me. “…have that interview with CMT at ten, then another interview at noon with a local radio station. A perfume ad at one thirty, so we’ll have to grab lunch on the road.”

  “Hold on there.” I grab the side of the bed and pull myself up. “A perfume ad? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Okay… You stand with a bottle of pretty-smelling water and someone takes photos.”

  I roll my eyes and grab another fistful of sheets. “I know what a photo shoot is, Zoe. It’s the fact that it’s on my calendar. This is the first I’m hearing about it.”

  “Cody told me you two talked about it.”

  I cock an eyebrow. “Did he, now?”

  “Yeah.” She waves her notebook in the air. “He had a bunch of last minute scheduling changes that I took down yesterday.”

  I go cold. “Like what?”

  She shrugs and starts flipping through the pages. “Public appearances at high-end bars, more photo shoots with a slew of designers—”

  “Like who?”

  Zoe glances up. “Sorry?”

  With a grunt that sounds more like it came from a walrus than a human, I heave myself on top of the bed. “The designers—who am I meeting with and why?”

  “Mostly modeling, I think.” Zoe’s brow furrows as she searches through the packed pages. “Yup. First there’s Iridium in Atlanta. They’re super edgy. Lots of leather and black. You’ll love ’em. And then Burberry when we’re in New York…”

  I shrug. “Cool.”

  “Blue Mercury as a spokeswoman…”

  “Awesome, I actually use them.”

  “…and then the perfume ad today is with—” Zoe stops and snaps her book shut. “No one.”

  I stare at her. “The perfume ad today is with ‘no one’?”

  My assistant laughs. “I know! The names they think up these days.”

  “Zoe.”

  Her forced laugh cuts off. “What?”

  I tilt my head to the side and wait. A second later, she throws up her hands in defeat.

  “Fine! It’s with Victoria’s Secret!”

  “Oh.” I give her a weird look. “That’s not a—OH MY GOD.”

  Zoe nods sadly. “Yup.”

  Leg pain forgotten, I scramble up from the bed and head for the bathroom. “Zoe? Cody went to the hotel gym this morning. Grab him. Now.” I snatch my toothbrush off of the porcelain sink and run it under cold water.

  Zoe clears her throat. “You want me to ‘grab’ your boyfriend?”

  “Please,” I half-yell as I squirt more than enough toothpas
te onto the white bristles.

  “You got it!”

  I hear her scramble off my bed, then a set of muffled footsteps, and finally the click of the lock falling into place. Silence.

  “You…have got…to be…kidding me,” I say between brush strokes. I start going through everything I’m going to say to my manager as I clean my face, brush my hair, and basically try to look like I haven’t just crawled out of bed. Literally.

  I’m swapping my silk nightie for a cotton t-shirt when Cody strolls through the door. His lips break out into a wide smile as he spots me by the closet. “There’s our rising pop star!”

  I don’t return the kiss he places on my lips.

  His smile slips a little as he pulls back. “Everything okay? Zoe said you needed me.”

  “Yeah, I do.” I tug the shirt down over my chest and plant my hands on my hips. “Imagine my surprise when a bunch of new events popped up on my calendar this morning.”

  Cody’s eyebrows shoot up, then fall. “Ah.”

  “Yes, ah.”

  “I can see you’re mad, and I understand why. It’s because…” He purses his lips and stares into my face like some struggling fortune teller.

  “Because you didn’t tell me, again, after I explicitly told you I wanted to know about any additions to this tour!”

  “Calm down, babe,” Cody says in the most infuriating voice. “I didn’t tell you because it wasn’t a big deal.”

  “Burberry and Blue Mercury and a dozen fashion shoots aren't a big deal?”

  “Not when you think about the exposure it’ll get you. You like all of those anyway, so what’s the problem?”

  My eyes narrow. “What about Victoria’s Secret?”

  Cody’s face pales. “Oh. So you heard about that one.”

  “Was I not supposed to?”

  “No, no,” he says quickly. “I had just, uh, wanted to speak to you about that opportunity first.”

  I stalk over to the desk and grab the oversized coffee from Café Du Monde that Bryce snagged me this morning. I’d already inhaled the beignet he snuck past my trainer. “You’re in luck,” I say with a forced smile. “Now we don’t have to talk about it because it’s not happening.”

  “Don’t be like this.”

  “Like what? You’re the one who thought linking me with a company whose brand is PINK would be a smart idea.”

  “Oh come on, you can put on some pink for one little photo shoot.”

  I run a hand over my eyes. “What did you just ask me to do?”

  Cody strides over to the bathroom door and rips off his sweat-soaked shirt. The subtle glide of muscles under taut skin fails to thrill me like usual. “You’re being melodramatic. Put up with some poking and prodding for one day and get your face on a million billboards in a dozen countries.”

  I gulp down my coffee and pray the caffeine kicks in quick.

  “Anyway, they contacted us. Brands, people, venues that we used to dream of are all clamoring to get a piece of you before you make your big pop debut.” Cody points a finger at me. “We should be thanking Sunny Records for turning you pop.”

  I resist the urge to throw my empty coffee cup at my boyfriend’s beyond thick head. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that. What I’m more concerned about is where all this free time is coming from. I barely have time to sleep, so what did you cancel to fit in Victoria’s Secret?”

  Cody’s voice takes on a whiny innocence that makes me reconsider chucking my coffee cup at him. “I didn’t tell you? The meeting’s during your fan event.”

  A long silence ensues that ends with me turning around and snatching my running shoes out of the closet. Cody frowns as I grab my hotel key. “Where are you going?”

  “I need to clear my head and I promised Dolly some exercise.” I sound and feel like a robot.

  Cody looks around the empty hotel room. “I don’t see her.”

  “That’s because she’s with Bryce.”

  “Bryce?” The temperature in our room drops a few degrees.

  I pull a water bottle out of the minibar. “He came by to check on me this morning, and Dolly wouldn’t let him leave without her.”

  “Check on you? What’s wrong?”

  “I was hurting from all the dancing yesterday.”

  His frown deepens. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Like you’ve been telling me things?” I slip a room key under the strap of my sports bra and head for the door.

  Cody snorts. “So that’s how it is? One little fight and you’re running to Bryce?”

  I stop in the doorway and meet his indignant look. “If you think this is a ‘little fight,’ then you’re living on another planet. And I’m running with Bryce. Try to get your prepositions right next time, okay, babe?”

  I slam the door between us, trying not to feel guilty for walking out on him like that. But Cody made a promise and broke it—again. And I refuse to let him make me feel guilty about hanging out with a friend I’ve known since I was in diapers.

  The look on Bryce’s face as he spots me sends a thrill of nervousness from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Unfortunately for my traitorous hormones, Bryce is looking ridiculously good in his running gear. His cotton shirt is sleeveless with steep dip at the sides, affording me a rare glimpse of the tattoos curling around his ribcage.

  God, what I wouldn’t give to see his tattoos up close.

  Working to ignore the way my body is responding to one stupid look, I walk through the lobby door and step onto the sidewalk. “Morning.”

  “Morning back.”

  I glance at Dolly sitting pretty at his feet. Her tail’s going a mile a minute. “I’ve never seen her so happy to go running.”

  Bryce tosses back the rest of his Gatorade and flicks the bottle over his shoulder into the trash bin…seven feet behind him. “She’s happy to be outta that bus.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “Three.” Bryce thumbs his chin and looks away. “What’s this about you canceling your fan event for some photo shoot?”

  Dammit.

  I sigh. “It’s not what you think.”

  Disappointment tightens the corners of his mouth. “I thought you were better than that, Hartman.”

  His look blows the lid off my tightly packed frustration and anger. “I didn’t do it! Cody did, and for some reason, didn’t feel the need to tell me.”

  Bryce frowns. “I didn’t realize.”

  “No—assuming the worst is definitely the better choice.” I regret the words the second they leave my lips. “Ugh, sorry, you’re not the one I’m mad at. It’s just been a really sucky morning.”

  He shrugs and looks at his feet. “So what are you going to do about it?”

  “I don’t know,” I say wearily. “Right now, all I feel like doing is going on a run, even if my legs seize up on me.”

  Without another word, Bryce hands me Dolly’s leash. Our fingers graze each other as I take the looped handle, his skin rough and hard against mine. Butterflies take flight in my ribcage, churning the beignet in my overly caffeinated stomach.

  Why didn’t my trainer intercept that fried dough?

  Sometimes it’s torture being around Bryce. Even though we only ran into each other sporadically over the years, it never escaped my notice how well he’d filled out. When I’d asked him to be my security detail for this tour, I told myself it was because there was no one better. I wanted the best, and Bryce was the best. What I hadn’t counted on was how out of control he makes me feel.

  And I don’t feel that way about Cody. Not one bit.

  A terrible realization whips through me: maybe Cody and I were never meant to be together. Maybe we rushed into things when we blurred the line between work and romance. Or maybe we never should have crossed that line at all.

  I look up as Bryce reaches his arms over his head for a long stretch. “Ready for sprints?” he asks, eyeing the bags under my eyes.

  “Actually, can I take a
rain check?” I throw my slumped shoulders back. “I’ve got something to take care of.”

  Bryce gazes at me for a moment, evaluating. “Sure thing.”

  Five minutes later, I waltz into my hotel room with a mission and a stomach full of knots. Cody looks up from the other side of our bed, towel poised over his wet hair, jeans slung low on his narrow hips. “Autumn? You’re back early—”

  “You’re un-canceling my fan event. Immediately.”

  Cody gapes at me. “But Victoria’s Secret doesn’t reschedule.”

  “You should’ve thought of that before you went behind my back and scheduled it. I still can’t believe you did that and didn’t invite my fans to the afterparty last night. You lied to me.”

  “And I apologized,” he scrambles to say. “Don’t make a rash decision today because you’re still pissed off at me, babe.”

  Of all the ridiculous—

  “I am not acting rashly,” I say in a voice of pure calm. “And don’t call me babe because there is no ‘you and me’ anymore.”

  “Excuse me?”

  I take a deep breath and lay it all out there. “I’m done, with all of this, and I think it’s time we faced the music.”

  Cody’s face blanches.

  I motion between us. “This is over. I can’t stand how much we fight or how sad I am all the time. I mean, hell, aren’t you miserable, too?”

  He shakes his head savagely. “Don’t I have a say in this?”

  “Come on, Cody, we’re terrible together! We were better off when when we kept our relationship out of the bedroom.”

  I flinch as Cody slams his fist against the wall. “You’re fucking kidding me!” he shouts.

  My eyes narrow into slits. The old fire deep in my chest flickers once, twice, and then roars into flame. “You will never speak to me like that again, or you will not only be out of my bed, but out of work, too.”

  He staggers back. “Babe. I mean, Autumn—” He runs a shaky hand over his eyes. “I’m sorry. I just never expected this.”

  I try to get my heartbeat under control. His sudden display of violence shook me more than I’d like to admit. “I’ll speak to Zoe about moving my things into another room.”

  Cody shakes his head, keeping his gaze on the rug. “Don’t. I’ll go.”