"How bad could she be? It"s not like the guys are going to put up with any bulls.h.i.t. I trust their judgment." But I knew Tucker had major reservations about hiring her. If things started off rocky, I was going to grit my teeth and deal with it because I had pushed him to do what was best for the band, regardless of her opinion about me being on tour with them.

"You"re probably right. What you and Tucker have doesn"t come around often."

"Everything okay with you and Derek?" Sarah was being unusually negative.

She stopped drawing and sniffled.

"What"s going on? You know you can talk to me." It felt good to be a friend to someone. Sarah had been a tremendous help as I adjusted to this new lifestyle.

"He"s been really distant, and I know our on againaoff again relationship has been h.e.l.l on the band. If I have to choose between him and our future, I feel like I have to follow my dreams."

"I"m so sorry, Sarah."

"We should get ready. I have to rehea.r.s.e soon."

I nodded, and we didn"t speak anymore about her relationship falling apart. I could tell there was more going on than what she was saying, but she wasn"t ready to share it, so I didn"t push. I knew how that felt.

I grabbed my new bag of makeup from under the bathroom sink, and we got to work on getting ourselves concert ready. I was warming up to doing all of the girly rituals that I had avoided for most of my life. It felt good to take care of myself, to try to look my best. Sarah painted herself in heavy black eyeliner and dark lipstick, while I made myself look natural and fresh faced. Our styles were polar opposites, but I couldn"t imagine finding a better friend or confidante in anyone else.

"You want to borrow one of my dresses?" she asked as she shook out her hair. I rolled my eyes and carefully applied clear lip gloss to my mouth.

"Tucker would have a fit. You remember the little black dress incident." I laughed.

"You looked hot, and from what I remember he couldn"t keep his hands off you." She c.o.c.ked an eyebrow at my reflection in the mirror of the tiny bathroom.

"Neither could that pervert at the after-party." I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling it over my shoulder as I inspected my face.

"So now you dress according to how some loser acts? Tucker is a great guy, but it isn"t his decision, and it"s not his job to protect you from the world. You"re a big girl. You can take care of yourself."

My memories flashed to Jax and my inability to stand up for myself with him. If it hadn"t been for Tucker, I probably wouldn"t have survived that last night with him. But that threat was long gone, and I couldn"t continue to live my life being worried about the rest of the world.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Really?" She practically squealed as she pulled me from the bathroom and we made our way to her bus to find something to wear. I loved dressing up more than I let on. It reminded me of the day Tucker took me to Scarlett"s and bought me that beautiful dress, our first unofficial date. It was the first time in a very long time that I had felt beautiful. I had closed myself off to people, but that night Tucker had convinced me to dance with him and I enjoyed myself more than I had in years.

After a half an hour of rummaging through her mountain of clothing, we decided on a sweet little flowy black skirt and matching black T-shirt that was skintight and revealed a tiny sliver of skin at the waist. Sarah changed into head-to-toe black as well, but she completed her look with ripped black fishnet stockings and army boots.

"What do you think?" she asked, spinning around.

"You look like a rock star."

"That was the goal." She laughed.

Sarah took off for practice, and I decided to take a walk and get to see some of North Carolina before we were off to another state. As much as we traveled, I rarely saw anything outside of the bus. The weather was perfect, not too hot or too cold. The area had a very small-town feel to it with rolling pastures, and it made me miss home for the first time since I had left to go on tour with Tucker.

I only made it a few blocks before the familiar sound of Tucker"s bike approached me from behind. He pulled off the side of the road and took off his helmet, running his hand through his messy hair.

"What brings you out here all by yourself?" he asked, and I turned to face him, shielding my eyes from the bright sun.

"Taking in the scenery."

He knocked down the kickstand with his boot and leaned his bike onto it, standing and stretching as his eyes scanned the fields.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not." I gave him a smile and held out my hand for him. He wrapped his fingers around mine, and we began to walk slowly through the gra.s.s. "You look amazing, by the way."

I couldn"t help but grin at his compliment.

"I was worried you wouldn"t like it."

"How could I not like it?" He b.u.mped me with his shoulder playfully.

"After the pervert at the after-party . . ." I let my voice trail off as Tucker stopped walking and turned to face me.

"I was upset. No one likes to have some a.s.shole putting his hands all over his girlfriend, but I overreacted about the dress. It wasn"t your fault, and if I made you feel like that was somehow your fault . . . well, I"m sorry."

I leaned in, placing a soft kiss on his lips, my eyes falling closed. His hand pushed against the small of my back, pulling my body closer to his.

"I"ve been stressing a lot lately with the tour and new manager, and it isn"t fair to take that s.h.i.t out on you."

"I think we could both use a little break from all of this craziness," I said as I took a step back from his arms. His eyebrows pulled together in worry as he tried to figure out where I was going with this.

I fumbled with the hem of my shirt before I took in a quick, deep breath and tugged it over my head and let it fall to the ground beside me. Tucker stepped forward, his fingers tangling in my hair as he pressed his mouth against mine hard. I let my lips part as I slipped my fingers under the edge of his shirt, running them over the ridges of his stomach. He groaned and released my hair, yanking his shirt over his head before his body was back against mine like a magnet.

"You sure about this?" he mumbled against my lips. I grabbed the b.u.t.ton of his jeans, letting him know I wasn"t going to change my mind. His hand slid up my side, and his fingers traced the delicate fabric of my bra.

I was tired of worrying, and I needed to get lost in the moment, needed to forget our past. Tucker slowly lowered me to the gra.s.s, his fingers brushing the hair from my forehead as he stared into my eyes.

"I love you, Ca.s.s. I know things have been difficult with all that is going on, but I don"t want you to do something you aren"t ready for. We have forever, sweetheart. I promise."

"I love you, Tucker." I closed my eyes, smiling like a fool as the sunshine warmed my face. He rolled beside me, taking my hand in his.

"When all this is over, I want a big yard like this. No people for miles. Just us," he said.

"I never want to leave this place," I whispered. His fingers squeezed mine and my heart sank. "We should make the time worthwhile." I grinned as I raised up on my elbow beside him. I leaned over and gave him a kiss, coaxing his lips open with my tongue. He groaned again, his arms circling my waist and pulling me down on him. I straddled his body as one of his hands slid up my side and tangled in my hair. The other gripped onto my b.u.t.t and held me tight against his body. I slowly rocked my hips against his, and he let out a small moan in the back of his throat as he deepened our kiss. I missed having time alone with Tucker. We needed more of it to grow as a couple, but I was willing to take any opportunity I could get. My hands slid over his toned chest. I could feel his heartbeat pounding back against my fingertips. I loved that even with thousands of girls screaming his name at his concerts, I was still able to make him feel excited. It was empowering. His hips began to move with mine, his jeans rubbing hard against me. I panted into his mouth, getting lost in how amazing his touch felt. His lips left mine as he kissed a trail over my jaw to my throat. His fingers slid over my shoulder. He pushed the cup of my bra below my breast as his thumb, calloused from playing his guitar, ran over my nipple, causing it to pebble under his touch.

"If we don"t stop now, I won"t be able to." His words sent a burst of heat radiating through my core. I didn"t want him to stop, but I didn"t want our first time of making love since we got back together to be in a field. I reluctantly sat up, struggling to catch my breath as I pulled my bra back into place.

"We should go." I slid off Tucker and grabbed my shirt, pulling it down over my head. Tucker sat beside me, reaching over and pulling a piece of gra.s.s from my hair and tossing it aside.

The ride back was short, but I forgot how much I loved being on the back of Tucker"s bike. It felt good to hang on to him and just escape. I wished we had more moments like this.

When we got back to the bus, we didn"t have much time before the concert, and I was incredibly excited to hear my words being sung onstage to thousands of people. Tucker had been working on it for a few days and had yet to let me hear him sing it. I was nervous to hear my words coming from his mouth, in front of thousands of people, no less. I was practically bouncing off the walls. Backstage, Eric questioned whether I was on drugs. I laughed and told him that for the first time in a long time, I was just high on life.

"I feel like I am finally figuring out who I want to be," I said.

"I"m glad. I was worried how this whole tour thing would work out," Tucker said.

I wrapped my arms around Tucker"s waist and squeezed him.

"Nothing worthwhile is ever easy," I said.

"That"s good. You should put that in your next song." He smiled down at me. We stared at each other for a long moment before his smile faded and his body tensed under my arms.

"What is it?" I pulled back slightly to get a better look at his face.

"We"re gonna meet up with Donna after the show. She will be stopping by to check out the bus and get ready to move in."

"I don"t understand why she would want to live on a bus with a bunch of crazy rock stars."

"Hey . . . you live with a bunch of crazy rock stars."

"Yeah, but that is because I am in love with one of them. I bet she doesn"t last a week with you guys."

"It"s not the guys I"m worried about." He raised an eyebrow.

"I"m excited to have another girl around. It"s her that wishes otherwise."

"She will love you. How could she not? She just needs to get to know you."

"We"re on," Terry called from behind us, and I frowned, hating how little time I got to actually spend with my boyfriend even though we were living together.

"Good luck." I gave Tucker a kiss on the cheek, and he playfully patted my b.u.t.t before following after his other bandmates. I made my way over to the refreshment table and grabbed a soda, popping it open and taking a large gulp. My nerves were taking over, and suddenly I wanted to disappear. I was terrified that the crowd would hate my song, that it wouldn"t feel like a genuine Damaged song. I wanted to run back out to the bus and hide in our bunk.

"They"re starting." Sarah laughed, pointing back to the stage. She was covered in a thin layer of sweat and looked as if she was glowing.

"I"m heading out there, just taking a break."

"Are you scared?" She walked over to me and grabbed my drink, guzzling it down before tossing it in the trash a few feet away.

"I don"t know how you do it. You get up on a stage in front of thousands and just pour your heart out. What if they don"t like you?"

"f.u.c.k what they think. This is about doing what I love, following my dreams. If they like it, that"s just icing on the cake. If I lived my life worried about everyone else, I would go insane." She laughed, and I shook my head.

"You are wise beyond your years," I joked, and Sarah got a faraway look in her eyes.

"Let"s go watch your dreams come true." She grabbed my arm and pulled me to the stage.

The crowd was going wild for Tucker as usual. He began with an old favorite, "Loved." I hummed along and got lost in the lyrics as he smiled down at his adoring fans who reached out to him, even though they were nowhere near close enough to touch him. He was a s.e.xy rock G.o.d, and he was mine.

"What are you grinning about?" Sarah nudged me with her elbow as she laughed.

"I"m just . . . happy. It feels nice."

"I"m happy for you." She grinned. Tucker sat down on a stool in the center of the stage as the lights dimmed and a spotlight shined on him. He adjusted the mic and began to play the first few chords of "Empty Sheets," my song. I froze, my heart racing in my chest as the crowd fell silent and he began to sing. His eyes closed and I held my breath as he sang the first lyric. It was the most beautiful thing I"d ever heard, and my chest swelled with pride at the thought of us making such beautiful music together. My gaze fluttered over the crowd at the women who held their hands to their chests and swayed. Some openly cried as the emotions overtook them, others clung to their significant others in a tight embrace. It was surreal to see so many taking my words to heart, and as Tucker glanced in my direction, everyone else faded away.

The world was ours, and I looked up at the man I loved as he poured as much of his own heart into the song singing it as I had while writing it. I could feel him pouring his emotions into my words, and I was moved by the way he connected with them, with me.

"I love you," I mouthed, and his lips quirked up in a grin before singing the next line. Everything fell into place in that moment. The past, the struggles, the fears all evaporated, and I felt like I belonged, like I had a purpose.

As the song ended and Tucker strummed his guitar one last time, the crowd erupted into cheers. Happy tears spilled onto my cheek as I clapped along with them. Tucker stood, smiling as he leaned over the mic.

"I love you, too." He shot me a wink, and my heart melted. It didn"t matter that thousands of women thought he was professing his love to them; I knew he was speaking only to me.

It was surreal seeing something I had created with the painful memories of my past be turned into something beautiful, and having Tucker help me through it made it a bonding experience for us.

I SLEPT LIKE A rock the night after the show and was barely able to pull myself out of our cramped bunk by noon the next day. Keeping up with the schedule was torture on my body, and I was beginning to feel like an old lady.

I got myself ready for the day fairly quickly and sat around for the next hour trying to think up lyrics to a new song, but my mind was blank. The guys were off meeting with their new manager, and I didn"t expect them back anytime soon, so I decided to clean the bus. It only took me three hours to get it sparkling, and I had worked up a major appet.i.te. I decided I would whip up a nice dinner. I had bought a few boxes of stuffing mix and instant mashed potatoes. It was the closest you could get to a home-cooked meal when you had only a microwave at your disposal, and I wanted the new manager to feel welcome.

I heard Tucker"s bike approach, and I jumped up to look out the small window by the kitchen table. He was being followed by a large SUV. I smoothed my hair and bounded out of the bus to greet them.

"Ca.s.s, this is Donna, the new manager. Donna, this is my girlfriend, Ca.s.s." I looked over the woman in her pencil skirt and b.u.t.ton-down white-collared shirt.

"Nice to meet you." I gave her my biggest smile. She was incredibly attractive, standing about half a foot taller than I did with long, wavy, dark-brown hair that she kept pinned back on the sides. Her eyes were the brightest green I had ever seen-they had to be contacts.

"Likewise," she replied as her eyes danced over the bus.

"Come on in. I was just getting ready to make dinner." I smiled at Tucker, and he cleared his throat.

"Actually, were going out for dinner." He gave me an apologetic shrug.

"Oh." I smiled at how adorable he was when he didn"t want to disappoint me. "No problem. Let me grab my shoes and we can head out."

"This is a business meeting, dear," Donna cut in. I looked to Tucker, but he was staring at his feet, clearly trying to sidestep the awkwardness inherent in the situation at hand.

"That"s fine. I"ll just have dinner with Filth. Those boys have been looking a little skinny lately." I maintained my smile, struggling to keep from looking like my feelings were hurt. I knew things would change when Donna arrived, I just didn"t realize that it would happen so quickly. I hoped that things would smooth out quickly.

"I can bring you something back if you want?" Tucker"s hand grabbed my side as his thumb rubbed small circles over my hip.

"No, it"s fine. Don"t be silly. Have fun." I leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the lips, feeling awkward with this stranger watching us.

"I won"t be long. I promise." He shot me a wink. The rest of the band didn"t say a word, and I suddenly felt like an outsider in our odd little family.

I slinked back inside our bus feeling sorry for myself. Things were going to change, and I hoped it would be for the better. The band needed someone to look out for them and their best interest, and Donna promised to be the professional who could take them to the next level. Still, I had a terrible feeling in my gut that this would put a strain on my relationship with the guys . . . and with Tucker.

I grabbed my notebook and began to pour out my feelings, holding nothing back. There was a small knock on the bus door before it pulled open, and Sarah stepped inside. I glanced up at her and went back to my writing.

"I saw the guys leave with that evil-looking secretary," she said as she slid into the seat across from me.

"That"s the new manager, Donna." I sighed and began to doodle on the edge of the notebook paper. "They went out for dinner."

"Why didn"t you go along? Not feeling well?"

"I"m not a part of the band," I replied, and I felt like an idiot for even being upset. I wasn"t a member of the band, and I really had no business at the meeting.

"Come on. You write their songs, keep them fed, and stop Eric from having a meltdown every other day. I"d say you have a very important role in this band."