“We really had nothing to hide but our association before last night.”
“Now we do.” Her smile reappears.
“Yeah, baby, we do,” I grin back. “As much as I hate this next part, and I think you’re going to too, I don’t think you should attend any more shows for a while. Especially since my dad will be at a lot of them and lodging where the band is after.”
“You’re right. I hate it. Watching you play is my new addiction.”
“I want you there. I love singing to you, but seriously, Natalie, if you want this to remain a secret, we can’t let anyone see us together. And until we come clean with our folks, I’ll be doling out nondisclosures like candy. Even then, we really aren’t safe.”
“I am the media, Easton, so I understand, obviously, but not even Holly?”
“It’s a good thing you didn’t tell her already and hear me out on why.”
She gestures for me to continue.
“So, you tell Holly but leave out the details of who. Guess who she’s going to tell?”
“No one. I told you she—”
“Until she accidentally slips up around Damon or during dinner with your parents. From any point—and I mean any point at all—that you cave and confess, no matter who it’s to, it could snowball. Take it from me. The people you trust the most have people they trust most. Your life-or-death secret becomes a secret they have coffee over in hushed whispers.”
“Holly would never—”
I lift a brow.
“Damn, okay, I’ve got it.” She nods. “I see the logic.”
“Joel is the only human alive I truly trust to keep us safe, and we’re going to need him, a lot if we’re going to pull this off.”
“Okay, I believe you, and I adore Joel.”
“I know you do, Beauty. He feels the same.”
I unhook her seatbelt and pull her to straddle me.
“I’ll have to be all of it, your boyfriend, your best friend, and confidant. I’m fine with that, just until we come clean with our parents. Okay?”
She nods firmly. “Okay. Percy it is.”
“Or me,” I try to assure her. “You can bitch about me to me.”
“That’s not the way it works,” she grins.
“I know. Doesn’t matter anyway. I’ll know when you’re pissed. You’re almost as bad as my mom at hiding your emotions.”
“First of all, I’m not an emotional—”
“Just with me,” I finish, every speeding heartbeat due to her proximity confirming what I already know—this woman is very close to owning me.
“And while the ‘no ex within a hundred miles rule’ is very fucking much in effect,” I add, “insecurity and jealousy will end us faster than our discovery might—at least when it comes to your line of thinking.”
“It would be yours too if you knew what I do. Easton, please just read the emails.”
“No,” I say firmly before swiftly changing the subject. “So, we have to keep our heads at all times. Any photo or anything you read in print gets discussed before it’s argued about.”
“Tell that to yourself and my battered vagina. You really are a jealous idiot, which is ironic because I’m the one who has to deal with hordes of women trying to weasel their way into your hotel room.”
I shake my head in frustration. “You don’t have to deal with that. You won’t ever have to deal with that. I’ve—”
“Been there, yes, I know. That’s all I need to know, thank you very much.” Her eyes dim. “Atlanta next, right?”
I can’t help my grin. “You know my show schedule?”
Her neck reddens, and I grin. “She blushes.”
“You’re making me a weak woman.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I chuckle and brush my thumb beneath her lower lip. “You fought like a four-star fucking general last night.”
“Before I lost,” she adds.
“No, baby. Coming clean with me, that took strength, and thank fuck you did.”
“I’ve never been happier about losing,” she murmurs as Joel taps once on the hood, signaling our time is up. I fight the urge to fly with her and spend a week in Austin, getting lost in her world, inside her. Although, I doubt that will stifle enough of the rapidly increasing ache. “The next few stops are going to be brutal schedule-wise, but can you fly out in two weeks? Lake Tahoe?”