by Mari Carr
She scooted over to make room for him in the bed, reaching behind her when his phone poked her in the back. She handed it back to him with a sheepish grin.
Fergus lay down next to her, turning it on and opening his photos. “No nude pics,” he said, offering her the proof. She laughed—before her eyes landed on the last one he’d taken.
She took the phone away from him, studying the shot of her dancing with Miguel and Finn. Her head was thrown back as she laughed, both men grinning widely.
Fergus chuckled at the picture. “Those guys are too much.”
There was no jealousy in his voice, nothing but genuine affection. “You’re lucky,” she said. “You have an incredible family.”
Fergus nodded. “I do. When we get to Baltimore, I’ll introduce you to the rest of them. My mom will love you.”
She smiled. “Might be nice to have a mom love me for once.” The words came out flippant, and she’d meant them as a joke. One that fell short. She regretted saying them when Fergus’s brows furrowed.
“You don’t talk about your mom much. I know she’s a despicable person, but there’s a part of me that hopes she was kind to you at some point.”
She shook her head. “Sorry. No luck there. Mom was fifteen when she got pregnant. Her parents kicked her out of the house, so she dropped out of school, moved in briefly with the sperm donor—some twenty-five-year-old truck driver she’d hooked up with at some random party one night after she’d snuck out. I get the impression that while she was pretty smart, my mom was also a party girl, drinking, doing drugs, sleeping around with older guys.”
“You never considered looking for your dad?”
Aubrey shook her head. “No. He kicked my mom out before I was even born. She dragged me around from one friend’s house to the next, imposing on each of them as long as she could before they kicked her out too. When I was three, she sent my picture in to some beautiful baby contest. The prize was an all-expense-paid trip to L.A. so I could star in some stupid commercial. Mom hooked up with the sleazy guy producing the commercial, deciding I was destined for fame. We never went back home. We stayed in L.A.”
“Did you like acting?”
Aubrey shrugged. “It was okay. I was three when I started. It’s not like I ever had a chance to think about it or choose it. It was just the way things always were. My mom landed most of my commercial deals on her back or her knees. Something she brought up countless times in the past few years. Apparently, I’m supposed to be grateful for her efforts on my behalf, not suing her for stealing every dime I ever made. She’s a master manipulator and user.”
“How the hell did she end up with Doug?”
Aubrey had never talked to anyone about finding her mom with Doug. It had actually been her mom who’d leaked that story, selling it to the tabloids to make a few bucks on her daughter’s humiliation. It was something her mom fed on, though Aubrey couldn’t understand why.
“It’s sort of a game she plays.” Even as she said it, Aubrey’s stomach clenched. Was she really going to tell Fergus the secret she’d never shared? What would he say? Would he look at her differently?
“Game?”
She shrugged, hoping he’d let the conversation end here. Fergus reached for her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, tugging her closer, until her head rested on his chest.
“What game?” he asked again.
“I haven’t had a lot of boyfriends.”
“You told me that.”
“My mom’s slept with all of them.”
Fergus pulled away, lifting her face to his, his hand on her chin. “What?”
“I lost my virginity to the actor who played Prince Alexander. I was eighteen, Brett was twenty. I was head over heels in first love and certain we were going to have the fairy-tale Hollywood romance. My mom was thirty-three and, much as it pains me to say it, gorgeous. She’d been putting my money to good use, with a nose job, boob job, tanning, blonde highlights, sexy clothes, you name it. Whenever she walked into a room, she had this commanding presence that caught everyone’s attention. And I knew Brett looked at her whenever she walked by. Why not? She was beautiful, rich, and had a reputation as a wild lover.”
“You caught them together?”
Aubrey shook her head. “No. He confessed to the affair.”
“So this guy took your virginity, then slept with your mom?”
“Not immediately, but yeah, eventually. I’ve always sort of thought of my mother as the evil stepmom in Snow White. She’s vain, the type who has to be the center of attention. Anytime the spotlight stayed on me too long, she found a way to punish me for it.”
“Jesus. What a fucking bitch. Candace Summers better steer clear of me.”
Aubrey smiled at his muttered curse. It actually made her feel better. “I hooked up with one of the writers on the show about a year after breaking up with Brett, then I caught him with my mom in my dressing room. She was bent over my makeup table, and he was taking her from behind. The asshole said she was blackmailing him, telling him she’d have him fired if he didn’t fuck her. I have no idea if that was true or not, but I left the show after that, determined to break all ties with my mom. That’s when I discovered I was nearly broke. I met Doug a couple years after…and foolishly thought everything would be different. It wasn’t.”
“I don’t know what to say,” he said after a few quiet moments. “I spent enough time in the military to know there’s true evil in the world. I hate that you were subjected to it from the one person who should have loved you more than all others.” He kissed her gently. “I wish I could take away every bad thing she ever did to you.”
Aubrey wasn’t sure how, but with those few words, it felt as if that was something he could actually do. After just talking to him, all those memories that had caused her immeasurable pain seemed to hurt a little less now.
Fergus wrapped his arm around her tighter, tugging her even closer. His hugs were warm, soft, safe.
She tried to push that last thought away. There were only two weeks left on this tour, and she’d learned a long time ago that nothing lasted forever.
Aubrey needed to remember that, to hold on to it.
This time was amazing, wonderful.
Fleeting.
Chapter Ten
Fergus glanced at his phone screen and smiled. He’d texted his mother several times over the past month, but he hadn’t had a chance to speak to her because their grueling tour schedule kept him hopping.
He and Aubrey had slept until nearly three in the afternoon, something he probably hadn’t done since he was a teenager. Of course, considering they’d been up until sunrise, talking and kissing, it was hardly surprising.
If he’d had his way, they’d still be in that bed and he would be buried deep inside her. Sex with Aubrey had been better than every fantasy he’d conjured over the last few weeks.
She was vulnerable in a way that made him want to care for her, feisty in a way that made him want to punish her, and there was no denying her sexual appetites ran parallel to his.
She was made for him.
Now he just had to find a way to convince her of that, as well as earn her trust—and catch a crazy stalker.
Piece of cake, he thought sarcastically, snickering to himself.
He was at his usual post outside her bus as Aubrey sat inside, doing an interview for an entertainment magazine.
He answered the phone. “Hi, Mom.”
“Fergus,” she said. “It’s good to hear your voice. I’ve gotten spoiled ever since you left the Army, talking to you every few days. A month is too long.”
“I should have called before now,” he said, grinning at her motherly nag. He recalled Aubrey’s comments about her mother, which made him aware he didn’t appreciate his loving mom nearly enough.
“Finn keeps us up to date. I thought I’d check to make sure everyone was alive after the bachelor party last night.”
Fergus laughed. “We survived, though I suspec
t there are more than a few Collins men sleeping off some headaches this afternoon.”
“I would expect nothing less of you idiots,” she joked. “Your dads were sorry they couldn’t get away from work to join the fun, but they’ve got a huge project to complete and the weather hasn’t been cooperating. I swear it’s rained every single day since you left.”
“Then I’m glad I’m not there. I hate the rain. Nothing but bright sunshine here in Houston.”
“Nice of you to rub it in. And how is your pretty rock star?”
“She’s fine,” he said, aware that was a very boring answer to describe Aubrey.
“Mmm-hmmm,” his mother hummed, clueing him in to the fact that she’d called for a reason. There was no way any of his cousins would have called his mom to tell her about him and Aubrey. They respected his privacy, and would also understand his desire to tell his parents about Aubrey when he was ready. Plus, they’d all been hungover as hell, and he doubted any of them were alert enough to call home for any reason.
As he and Aubrey had been leaving the hotel this morning, they’d run into Ailis, who’d reported that while the whole gang had gotten up and consumed a huge brunch, they’d gone straight back to bed after, resting up for tonight.
Aubrey and Hunter were performing two sold-out shows in Houston. Ailis had gotten the guys tickets for both nights, but while his cousins would all return to the hotel afterwards—probably for part two of the bachelor party—he, Aubrey, Ailis and Hunter would climb back on the buses to head to the next city.
Fergus figured Mom would get to the point eventually, so he said, “She’s on the bus doing an interview right now.”
“Oh. So, am I to understand that you’re going to let me find out about the two of you through the tabloids?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Riley tagged me on a picture she saw on Instagram this morning. Apparently, it’s making the rounds on social media.”
Fergus frowned. “What picture?”
“It’s of you and Aubrey kissing in the hotel bar last night.”
Fergus wasn’t completely surprised to discover that someone had snapped a picture of that. There had been a slew of fans around. However, he hadn’t expected it to make that much of a splash so quickly.
“There’s a caption on it.”
“Oh?” Fergus wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it said.
“Yep. It says ‘Aubrey Summers, recently jilted by her fiancé, has found a new sweet flame, her current hunky bodyguard.’”
“No name?”
“Not yet.”
Fergus sighed. “Mom, listen, I understand how this looks. It’s unprofessional, and I suspect this will be a smear on the company’s reputation—”
“Do you care for her?”
Of course his mother didn’t give a damn about the implications for his business. Instead, she was concerned about his heart.
“I do.” He was struggling to believe how fast and far he’d fallen. Their time together had been short, but the truth remained…he cared for her deeply.
“I’m glad to hear that. What happens when the tour is over?”
Leave it to Mom to ask the hard questions, the ones he couldn’t find the answers to himself. “I don’t know. This is all pretty new.”
“I see. Well, at the risk of sounding like Pop, if it’s meant to be, it will be.”
Fergus chuckled. “Well done, Mom. You nailed a classic Pop Pop-ism.”
“I suspect he’ll probably call you up at some point to offer his own take on the news. No doubt Riley’s shown everyone at the pub that picture. Apparently, she’s a pretty big Aubrey Summers fan.”
“She probably couldn’t escape that fate. According to Finn, he, Darcy, and Sunnie watched Sweet Flames pretty much nonstop when they were younger.”
“You still have a couple of weeks to see where things go. And then you’ll be back in Baltimore—hopefully to stay this time.”
“Baltimore is home, Mom. That’ll never change.”
“By the way, your tux for the wedding is here and ready to go.”
Fergus smiled. While Finn was serving as Landon’s best man, he and Miguel were on tap as the groomsmen. “Looking forward to it. And glad to be out of town these next two weeks. I can only imagine how insane Sunnie is driving everyone.”
Mom laughed. “Well, she’s not Bridezilla, but like her mother, she has some fairly eccentric ideas for the ceremony and reception. It will certainly be a fun night.”
“I’m sure it will.”
“I’ll let you get back to work, Fergus. Your fathers send their love. You can probably expect texts from both of them later. I’ll warn you, Killian took one look at the picture and said, ‘That’s it. There’s our future daughter-in-law.’ I have no idea what he saw in the picture that Justin and I missed, but we’re both blaming it on his Collins genetics—the ingrained part that makes all of you hopeless romantics.”
“Not all of us. Colm still refers to falling in love and settling down as the Collins curse.”
“He’ll fall the hardest of all,” Mom joked.
“I’ll keep an eye out for the texts. It was good to talk to you, Mom.”
“Love you, beautiful boy.”
He smiled at her nickname for him. The fact that he was a grown man who eclipsed her by a good foot never changed the fact that, in her eyes, she would always see her beautiful boy.
“Love you too. See you in a couple weeks.”
They said their goodbyes just as the door to the bus opened and the reporter stepped off, giving him an overly interested look.
Aubrey stood behind the man, and he could see from her expression she was forcing a smile.
Fergus stepped onto the bus once the man was gone.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but—”
“There’s a picture of us kissing last night making its way around social media.”
She nodded, surprised. “You’re not upset?”
He shook his head. “I initiated that kiss, Aubrey. In public. In a bar where we were surrounded by your fans and the crew.”
It appeared that hadn’t occurred to her. “Why did you do that?”
Fergus paused, considering his answer. Aubrey still hadn’t seemed to figure out that he’d been trying to draw the stalker out, to put himself in the line of fire. But when it came down to it, that wasn’t the most important reason he’d had for kissing her. After everything they’d shared last night, there was one truth that mattered more. “Let’s just say my male ego overrode my common sense. I wanted every man in that bar to know you were mine.”
“Wow,” she said, laughing. “Caveman much?”
He pulled her into his arms, kissing her. “I am unapologetically caveman.”
“The reporter asked about the picture.”
“What did you say?”
She gave him a rueful grin. “I didn’t have a clue what to say. I told him the interview was supposed to focus on the tour, and I didn’t intend to discuss my personal life with him.”
Fergus could just imagine her whipping out that haughty diva voice she’d used on him when he’d first started as her bodyguard. “Good answer.”
She gave him an adorable wink. “This ain’t my first rodeo.”
He kissed her again, this one longer, deeper, his hands drifting from her waist to her breasts. He hadn’t spent enough time enjoying them last night. That was something he intended to make up for when he got her back in bed tonight.
Joel was in for a surprise when they hit the road again. The bus driver was losing his shotgun partner. For the rest of the tour, Fergus had every intention of sharing Aubrey’s bed, putting the remaining time to good use as he tried to win her trust…and her heart.
Hearing his dad’s comment about Aubrey had instantly sparked a desire in him he’d been suppressing. He wanted to continue seeing her after the tour was over, wanted to see if the two of them coul
d make something real, something lasting together.
There was a knock at the door. Aubrey broke the kiss with a regretful groan.
“Shit. That will be Blair. It’s time for the sound check.”
“Okay. Come on.”
They stepped off the bus to find Blair chatting with Finn, Miguel, and Landon.
“Hey, guys,” Aubrey said, offering all three men a friendly hug, laughing when Miguel held on extra-long.
“How are you feeling today?” Fergus asked them.
Finn shook his head. “Rough. After you two left, Miguel dragged out another bottle of tequila and the night took a bad turn.”
Fergus winced. “I’m sure it did.”
Miguel showed no signs of remorse. “Had to drown my sorrows in something. You got the girl and left me with your damn cousins and no strippers.”
“Ms. Summers,” Blair said. “I’m afraid they need you now.”
“Oh yeah. Sorry to run, guys, but I’m due onstage for a sound check. Want to come watch?”
All three men nodded so they headed toward the arena.
Marcus stopped them at the door. “Fergus. You got a minute? There’s an issue with the security detail that I’d like to discuss with you.”
Fergus frowned. “Aubrey needs to do her sound check.”
“We can keep an eye on her,” Landon offered, understanding Fergus’s reluctance to leave Aubrey unescorted.
“What could be safer than two cops?” Miguel added.
“And me,” Finn added.
“You’re the one we’re protecting her from,” Landon joked.
“I’ll be fine,” Aubrey said, linking her arms with Miguel and Finn. “Every woman backstage is going to be jealous when they see my hot entourage.”
Fergus nodded. “I’ll be right behind you.”
Marcus waited until they were out of earshot. “Thanks for hanging back, Fergus.”
“What’s the problem?”
“Couple of things. I didn’t want to alarm Aubrey, but a couple of the crew saw Doug leaving the arena a little while ago. They alerted the security guards, who tried to catch him, but I swear the guy is slipperier than an eel. There’s no way he’s getting backstage without help.”