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She closed her eyes and nodded. “I know. How about the weekend after you get back from promo? That will give us a bit more time together, let the hype of the album launch calm down, and let the heat between us settle.”

“I hope it never settles.” I slipped my arms around her and drew her into my embrace. I kissed her forehead. I wasn’t happy I had to keep lying to the guys, but I wanted her to be sure about us. There was no need to burst this bubble if she wasn’t on the same page as me. “I’ll just have to work on convincing you that we are a good thing.”

She glanced up at me. A smile slid across her face, and her eyes shimmered with that fire that always simmered between us. “I look forward to it.”

“Good. Me too.” I glanced at the clock. Shit. 6:10 a.m. It was fucking early. Too early. Cole would be home from running soon. I patted Tia on the butt. “But right now, you’d better get out of here and go to work. You don’t want to be late.”

“Okay.” She rolled to sit upright. Leaning over, she kissed me. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yeah.”

She grabbed her robe off the floor, slipped it on, and disappeared out the door.

I sank into the pillow and draped my arm over my eyes. Fuck!

I could do this.

I could keep my mouth shut for a few more weeks. I’d be gone for three of them.

She was right. We needed the fire between us to settle and not make any rash decisions.

She was worth the wait. Everything would be fine.

And just when I’d convinced myself of that ...Emilio texted. Again.

Lew, I love you with all my heart and soul.

be my future.

please call. Forever yours, Em.

Shit. I should’ve blocked his number. I wanted to put the heartache behind me, hoping that we could remain friends. But I wasn’t sure that was possible. I had to cut the cord. So why couldn’t I hit DELETE?

I had to.

I would.

Soon.

Just not today.

After a long day of rehearsals at Flint’s for the album launch, the guys and I were wrapping up our last song when Sutton and Tia came into the studio and headed for the sofa. Tia raked her sexy gaze over my sweaty black T-shirt, and threw me a wicked smile and a wink—the kind that always made my day.

At the end of the track, Slip filled the room with an ear-splitting strike on his strings. The electric twang reverberated through my chest as I clapped and whistled. “Woohoo. That was awesome. Great rehearsal, guys.” Today had been good. We’d nailed every track.

We grabbed our towels, wiped the sweat off our faces, and joined the girls. Flint sank onto the seat beside Sutton and planted a big, sloppy kiss on her lips.

She giggled and shoved him away. “Yum, but gross.”

“You love it.” He straightened, resting his arm along the back of the sofa behind her.

“Hi.” I rubbed Tia’s shoulder as I passed behind her. Tiny tingles shivered across my fingertips in the wake of touching her. Hooking my towel around my neck, I sat on the adjacent single sofa chair and threw her a little smile.

“You gals ready for dinner?” Cole sank onto the seat beside Tia and grabbed his cell phone out of his shorts pocket. “I’m starving. I need a fix of carbs. Everyone good for pizza?”

She patted him on the knee. “Yes, but can I tell everyone something first?”

“Sure. What’s up?” Slip sat on the sofa arm next to Flint and guzzled down half his huge water bottle.