Riff threw his arm around my neck as I walked off stage. “What’s up, buddy? Want to talk about it?”

Sometimes I hated how he knew when shit was on my mind. Riff had always been the guy in the band I went to when things were on my mind, and I could tell him anything. But it was hard to admit hard to admit to him that I was still having woman problems. I was sure he was sick of hearing this from me by now.

Finally I shook my head. “Nah, man it’s cool. Just a little off tonight, you know.”

He dropped his arm from around my shoulders. “Okay, but if you need to talk, you know where to find me.”

“Thanks, but really, I’m cool.” There was no need to drag him into this mess.

Once he was convinced I was good, he took off. Normally I would’ve said he was off to find his random groupie for the night, but from what I’d heard, Riff seemed to be really into Aubrey and I wondered if he would find a girl for the night. I guess we’d see just how serious he was about Lane’s friend.

After I fought my way through the fans, I advised Kyle to take a break for the rest of the evening. I needed to talk things over with Lane, preferably alone.

The bus was quiet. The rest of the guys were still out living down the high of being on stage. Sometimes it was tough to work off all of that adrenaline without blowing off a little steam. My go-to relief used to be the arms of random women. But those days were nothing but a distant memory, ones I would love to forget.

“Lane?” I called down the hall. “Are you in here?”

When she didn’t answer, I panicked. Where could she be? Even though I hated myself for thinking it, the first place or person she might’ve been with was Striker. She just yelled at me for not trusting her, and here I was letting crazy images of my worst fear cloud my better judgment.

The foxholes were empty. So far, I didn’t see another soul on this bus.

The bedroom door was partially closed. With a slightly shaky hand, I pushed it open. There was no sign of her. The bed was still perfectly made, and our luggage was still zipped up tight.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. When was I ever going to stop fucking up with this girl?

Behind me, the bus door closed with a thud. I whirled around, and my gaze landed on Lane. Her green eyes were puffy, like she’d been crying since the last moment I had seen her. Without thinking about it, I made a beeline for her. I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist and buried my face in her dark curls. She sobbed as she threw her arms around my neck and held onto me just as hard as I held on to her.

“I’m so sorry, Lane. I trust you—I do—but Striker just gets under my skin. The things he was insinuating about you…It’s him I don’t trust, but I need to learn to trust that you’d knee him square in the balls if he tried shit with you.”

She laughed at my lame attempt to be funny while I apologized. “I’m sorry too. I should always have your side, and I’m sorry I didn’t give you a chance to explain yourself. I won’t take the job if bothers you that much.”

I pulled back and cupped her face. “No. Take the job. I’ll try harder to be understanding and trust your judgment.”

“Thank you,” she whispered before I kissed her lips and proceeded to finish making it up to her.

Chapter 9

After Lane had gone to bed, I had spent the better part of the night searching engagement rings. There were tons of really fancy rings, but for some reason, the simplistic styles spoke to me the most. They were the ones that practically screamed Lane at me. I wanted a very classic two-carat diamond ring set in white gold

First thing in the morning, I called the local jeweler and told him exactly what I wanted, and they assured me they could hook me up. After that, I texted Kyle and told him I would need his help distracting Lane. When he asked why, I answered with the truth. If anyone would understand what it was like to really be in love with someone, it was Kyle.

After he agreed, Lane and I headed out with him for a little shopping. She wanted a new pair of sandals, and I had my mission to somehow covertly buy the ring. Sales people were always eager to please.

“It’s nice to feel normal for a change,” Lane said while she sat next to me in the back of the Escalade.

Kyle laughed from the front. “You mean getting chased by hoards of screaming women isn’t normal? After only being here a few weeks, I was starting to believe that was the norm.”

“Hang around Black Falcon long enough, and it definitely does become an everyday occurrence,” she teased.

I rolled my eyes. As much as I didn’t like it, there was truth in their words. It was very difficult to feel normal and not allow the day in and day out fame to rush to my head. When the band took off, I almost felt invincible, like no one could touch me or hurt me. I was on top of the world, and everybody wanted me.

Well, not the people I really wanted to want me like Lane and my own father.

My head slunk against the seat. Every time my thoughts focused on my father my spirits always came down. Why didn’t he love me? Was having a dream so wrong that you wished your only son had never been born?

Well according to my asshole father, the answer was yes.

The night Lane dumped my ass out on the dock, I was a wreck. I destroyed my room and smashed my guitar. All of it meant nothing without her. She was my world, even back then, and without her, it was a very dark place. Dad had no sympathy for me. In fact, he even voiced how smart Lane had been to get rid of a loser like me before I ruined her life.