“No. It’s the right time. It’s something I’ve thought about doing since high school. Plus, that douchebag, Striker, keeps sniffing around her. What better way to show him she’s off the market?”

Riff took the box and opened it up and let out a low whistle. “Well, don’t rush in because you feel threatened by Striker. She loves you. Any idiot can see that.”

That was what I thought too, but apparently Striker was the only blind man around. “Like I said, it’s not just for his benefit. This is something I want. I want her to know I’m committed to her.”

He handed me back the box. “If you’re sure, then I’m happy for you. Now, get your ass up, and come help me whoop Trip’s ass. I’m not taking no for an answer. I need my wingman.”

I sat up and tucked the box back in my pocket, a little less heavy-hearted, and readied myself for some guy time.

An hour and a half into the game my cell rang. I checked the I.D. and felt a little silly for the sheer amount giddiness that rolled inside me from seeing Lane’s name. I hoped the guys didn’t notice. I’d never hear the end of it.

I pressed the phone to my ear after I rubbed my thumb over the green answer button. “Hey.”

“God, I miss you.” It was awesome to hear she was feeling the exact same way I did. “A week is so long.”

“Too long,” I agreed.

“Well, maybe I’ll actually get some work done this week without you here to distract me all the time.”

I laughed. “So glad you’re looking forward to being without me.”

“You know what I mean,” she chided. “It’ll be nice to have my proposal done for Striker this week.”

The name Striker coming from those beautiful lips was just plain wrong. “Let’s not talk about him.”

“Noel…” Her voice held a warning.

“I’m not jealous or anything. I just don’t like him.” Honesty was the best policy about my thoughts that revolved around him.

Normally I would never have believed Lane would’ve gone for a guy like that, but after that night in the bar, I knew different. It was hard to get the vision of how he touched her that night when they danced out of my head. I snapped when I saw he was about to kiss her, and she was going to let him. Things in me went crazy and I attacked him to keep that from happening.

Lane sighed into the phone. “Okay, no more talk about him.”

“Thank you.” I paused. “Have you made it to the hospital yet?”

“I just pulled in the parking lot and wanted to call you before I went inside to tell you that I love you and miss you already.”

The heart in my chest swelled. “I love you, too. Tell your mom I hope she gets back on her feet soon. I want to show her my mad pancake flipping skills.”

She laughed. “Will do.”

After the call ended, I felt better about missing her somehow. It gave me comfort to know I’d be with her soon and that I could call her anytime I wanted.

****

The next show was in Orlando, and it was an outdoors. Singing to a sold out crowd of over twenty thousand people always got me amped. It was still surreal at times that we had the amount of fans we did. And man, some of them were dedicated.

Backstage I watched as Embrace the Darkness ended their set. It was really starting to get under my skin that Striker and his band were getting a lot of notoriety.

He seemed to really enjoy hoarding on things that were mine—fans and Lane—things that meant the most to me.

Striker sauntered off the stage with that cocky grin he wore half the time I saw him. “Try not to chase the fans off, too,” he commented as he walked past me.

I narrowed my eyes. “What the fuck is that suppose to mean?”

He spun on his heel to face me. “It means you’re really good at driving things away. Careful, mate, or you’ll drive more than your fans straight to me.”

I closed the gap between us. “Try something with her, fucker. Give me one more reason to beat your ass.”

He laughed. “You don’t scare me, Falcon. I’m just waiting for you to fuck up before I make my move on Lane. She’s too good for you.”

Every muscle in my body shook and spots clouded my vision. On instinct, my fist drew back ready to blast Striker in his smug face.

My arm snapped forward, stopping inches from my target. I jerked my arm hard, so caught up in my anger I didn’t notice Riff had my arm hooked in his.

Riff dragged me back. “He’s not worth it.”

My nostrils flared, and my brain couldn’t absorb his words. “He needs to stop trying to fuck my girl.”

Striker laughed as he stalked off, my heart still hammered hard as every piece of me still wanted to tackle him with full force.

Riff shoved me back. “Noel, dude, calm the fuck down. He’s just trying to get to you and you’re letting him. This is exactly what he wants—you to doubt Lane and drive her straight to him. Don’t let that happen. Lane loves you.”

My chest heaved as my body was still in fight mode. “You’re right.”

I scrubbed my hands down my face and took a deep breath. Striker found my weakness, and he took full advantage of it.

Trusting Lane wasn’t the issue, but knowing Striker was set on taking her from me ramped me up even more to stake my claim on her for the world to see.

Chapter 11

After two weeks of being without Lane, I still missed her like crazy. Life just wasn’t the same without her.