“You’re back,” I said as the smell of fresh doughnuts hit my nose. “And you brought treats.”

Linc’s smile seemed off, but I didn’t mention it or ask him if he was okay. We weren’t that close yet. “I figured if I was going to abandon you for a few days without warning, I should come with a peace offering.”

It was hard to believe so much had happened in just a few short days. Why did I feel guilty when I looked at him? I had no reason to feel guilty. We had been on two dates, and he had brought me some sweets to the office. Nothing more.

But what if he asked me out again? Did I say yes? Did I want to say yes? No. I didn’t want to say yes. I wanted Krit. Problem was, Krit didn’t want just me. He wanted to see how it went. There was no request that I not see Linc anymore. If this ended badly with Krit, I didn’t want to have lost a friendship with Linc because of my feelings for Krit. There had to be a way to juggle both.

“Okay, those thoughts are way to deep for a doughnut,” he said as he sat down on the edge of my desk.

I looked up at him and his handsome face. He didn’t scare me. He was very safe. I wasn’t in danger of getting hurt by him. That all sounded like the better choice.

But it was the easy choice.

Krit had the power to hurt me because I cared about him. I wanted him. I craved being close to him and hearing his laugh. I didn’t feel all that when I was with Linc. Did that mean Linc was the friend and Krit was the one I could love?

“Deep thoughts again,” Linc said, leaning down to cup my face in his hand. “Why the deep thoughts? Are you okay?”

He was so sweet.

“I’m sorry. I was lost in work when you came in and—” I stopped. I was lying. I didn’t like lying, but that was exactly what I was doing. I shook my head and let out a sigh. “No. That’s not true,” I admitted.

Linc’s concerned frown deepened. “What is it?”

I had to lay it out there for him. He deserved to know. Keeping him on the side for when Krit dumped me was wrong. I wasn’t going to be evil. I refused to believe I was evil, and I wasn’t about to start doing bad things now. “You met Krit,” I said, and when he nodded slowly, I decided not to give him time to say anything. I had to talk, and if he said anything bad about Krit, I would immediately go on the defensive mode. He would judge Krit without knowing him.

“Well, he’s a friend. A good friend. We eat dinner together most nights. He brings takeout over before he goes to sing at whatever club he’s at that night. Anyway, I like him. I like him more than he likes me. I like him as more than a friend, and he isn’t that kind of guy. He likes to stay free and doesn’t do relationships. I knew and I still know this, but I still can’t help the way I feel about him. So, I’m dealing with how to keep my friendship with him from being harmed because I let myself care about him in a way he wasn’t asking for.”

Linc didn’t say anything. He turned his gaze to stare at the wall across from him, and the muscles in his jaw tightened. I had needed to talk to someone about this, but Linc wasn’t the person I should have unloaded on. But at least he knew the truth now. I wasn’t lying to him.

“Has he kissed you?” Linc asked in a deep even voice. One would never guess he was upset in any way unless they knew he didn’t normally talk in a voice that deep.

“Uh.” Again I didn’t want to lie, but I was pretty sure you weren’t supposed to kiss and tell. Should Linc have even asked me that question? I didn’t ask him who he had kissed. This wasn’t a fair thing to ask me. “I don’t think that is the point of this conversation. You asked me if I was okay, and I didn’t want to lie to you.”

“So he has,” Linc said, and stood up from the desk.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to,” he replied almost too calmly.

I wasn’t sure what to say then. I didn’t expect this reaction.

“I need to go. I’ll see you later,” he said without looking at me, then left the office with long fast strides.

Well, that was great. Now I had to work with his dad and deal with that awkwardness. Guess that friendship was over, but at least I had been honest. I wasn’t going to lie and hurt someone to benefit myself. That would never be me.

* * *

Standing in front of the mirror, I stared at myself. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to dress to even go to this club. I didn’t have the kind of clothes I had seen Krit’s normal dates wear. This was the closest thing I had to sexy. Maybe. The dark blue sundress was strapless, so that was something at least. The flowers on it, however, had made me feel pretty in the store but didn’t really seem like something you would see at a club. It was short, and the girls at Live Bay the other night had been wearing short skirts. So, that might make up for the fact that it was a floral print. Looking down at my feet, I had on a pair of blue ankle boots. They seemed to give more of an edge to my dress. This was the best I could do. I just hoped Krit wouldn’t be embarrassed by me.

I glanced back at my closet and looked at the jeans hanging there. It was still eighty degrees most nights. The idea of being in a packed club in this heat wearing jeans seemed miserable. But maybe they would be sexier.

A knock on the door told me my time was up.

“Where you at?” Krit’s voice filled the apartment. “And why isn’t this door locked?”

Smiling, I stepped out of the bedroom. “I like the riffraff who finds their way in here.”

Krit turned to look at me with a grin that froze on his face. He let his eyes trail down my body slowly and back up again. Then he let out a low whistle. “Damn, love. You make innocent and sweet sexy as f**king hell.”

I let out the breath I was holding. I passed inspection. He wasn’t embarrassed. “Oh, good. I wasn’t sure what to wear to this,” I admitted.

He walked toward me, and the tight black jeans he was wearing with black combat boots made my mouth water. “Truth is, little dancer, you could wear a granny gown and turn heads.” He reached for my waist and pulled me close to him. “You ready to do this?”

If he meant kiss, then, yes, I was very ready.

He kissed the tip of my nose and stepped back, a playful grin on his face. “Let’s go. The guys are waiting on us downstairs, and Matty, like the dickhead he is, will start blaring the horn in a minute.”

I grabbed my purse and followed him to the door. He stepped back and let me go first, then he held out his hand for my keys. I gave them to him and watched as he locked the door up tight and then handed the keys back to me. “Time to party,” he said with a sexy wink.

KRIT

Green was standing outside the black Escalade that we had bought from Matty’s dad. It was our traveling vehicle. It was roomy enough and had the power needed to pull our trailer with the instruments.

“Whose car is that?” Blythe asked when she saw Green standing there, arms crossed and looking annoyed.

“The band’s. It’s what we travel in,” I explained.

“Nice,” she said, smiling.

“Glad y’all could join us,” Green drawled when we got to the door.

“Shut up,” I snarled, and held Blythe’s hand as she climbed inside. They had left the back for us. Normally, I rode up front, but being tucked in the back with Blythe and everyone else in the front sounded pretty damn good.

The short little dress she was wearing rode up as she bent over to climb in the back, and the blue satin of her panties peeked out. I heard Green’s sharp intake of breath and shoved him back so he couldn’t see her ass. Then I climbed in behind her to make sure no one else saw her either.

Green was laughing as he climbed in after me and sat down in the middle. Legend was sitting up front in the passenger seat, and Matty was driving. Legend glanced back. “What’d I miss?” he asked as Green continued to be entirely too amused.

“Nothing,” I snarled.

Legend’s eyebrows went up, and he nodded before turning back around. “Got that,” he mumbled.

“You always make him this testy?” Matty called back, looking at Blythe through the rearview mirror.

Blythe tensed up beside me, and I was ready to get out and smash all their faces in. Leaning back, I slid my arm around the back of the seat and pulled her closer to me. “Ignore them. They get like this before we perform,” I told her.

She relaxed into me. “Do they not like for you to bring women?” she asked.

Unfortunately, she asked just loud enough for Green to hear her. He let out another laugh and turned to look back at her. “He takes ’em home, Blythe. He don’t bring ’em with him. You’re a first.”

Her head snapped back up to look at me. I didn’t meet her curious gaze. I knew what she wanted to know, and I had no idea what the answer was. This morning I had been ready to put her at a distance when I left her apartment. I had been mentally preparing myself to keep the friend thing going, and nothing more. Then Green said the one word that sent my monster inside into a frenzy—Linc. I didn’t like the idea of anyone else spending time with Blythe. No one else needed her laugh like I did. No one else knew how to make her laugh, and no one else made sure she had everything she needed for her sweet tea. That was all me.

The word mine kept rearing its head too, and I kept pushing that away. No one was mine. I didn’t claim women. Not my thing. If I was going to claim anyone, it would be Blythe, but then the idea of hurting her was too much.

One argument with Jess, and I had gone off and f**ked two girls backstage. Jess hadn’t given a shit. She’d been fine. She was tough, and she had her own walls. I couldn’t penetrate them. But Blythe, hell. What if I did something like that to her? What if I snapped and hurt her that way? I couldn’t think about it. Hurting her would destroy me. I wouldn’t be able to pull out of that.

But then the name Linc taunted me. I couldn’t lose her to him, either. I couldn’t share her. She was . . . Fuck! That stupid word again. She wasn’t mine. She was her own person. She was her own beautiful perfect person. She didn’t belong to anyone.

“Krit?” Her soft voice broke into my internal, battle and I gazed down at her.

“Yeah, love?” I asked, wanting to kiss the frown off her lips. I didn’t like making her frown.

“Where will I sit while you sing? I won’t know anyone there, will I?”

I pulled her tighter against me. “You’ll stay backstage. You can watch from there, and when I take my breaks, we can hang out together.”

She let out a sigh of relief. Had she actually thought I was going to send her out into that crowd alone? Probably. The girl didn’t have a clue.

“I’m excited about hearing you again. This time without the interruption of having to talk to my date,” she said.

I was pretty damn excited about that, too. I wouldn’t have to pretend I didn’t care that some other man was near her. Making her smile. Buying her drinks. “Good. I’m gonna sing that song I’ve been working on. I got it right one night last week. I know the way it ends now.” I knew because I admitted to myself who the song was about. Who I was singing it to. Once I admitted that the song was for Blythe, I was able to finish it. My screwed-up issues all came pouring out, and the song was pretty badass. I was happy with it.

“Can’t wait to hear it,” she said, snuggling closer to me.

If she kept that up, I was going to forget we weren’t alone.

Blythe shifted and crossed her legs. My eyes were instantly drawn to the movement. The short little sundress rode up, leaving all the soft silky skin of her thighs bare for me to see. I wasn’t able to stop my hand before it decided to move on its own accord.

I ran a finger up her leg from her knee to the top of her leg. It was like cool silk. “You cold?” I asked, unable to look away from my hand on her thigh.