Page 13 of SnowFyer (Roosters #8)

SnowFyer had three days to prep for their next concert.

They’d used the time well, rehearsing all day, every day.

They’d made some major changes to older numbers to give Scarlett a chance to showcase her talent.

Arsen was there, guiding her and helping when the transitions didn’t go as smoothly as they wanted them to.

They even put together a number where Arsen and Scarlett both played, giving brother and sister the spotlight.

Arsen assured them all that one number wouldn’t hurt his hands and wrists too badly.

Through it all, Scarlett kept her distance from Seth.

The only time she was near him was when they choreographed a particularly difficult dance during one of her riffs.

He’d insisted they practice it until she looked comfortable doing it because, in truth, it put her body against his for nearly the entire sixteen bars of her solo.

It was rife with sexual tension -- and had been planned that way -- but she couldn’t work her way through it.

She either missed her footing and stumbled or fumbled the guitar and the riff.

Which was colossally bad. She’d moved stiffly and felt too awkward for it to have looked like a natural movement.

They certainly didn’t look like the same couple from the last concert.

Seth now sported several bruises on his face that hadn’t been there before they’d gotten on that plane from LA.

Scarlett wasn’t naive enough to think her brother and the other guys hadn’t put them there.

She thought she should probably feel bad for him, but just couldn’t muster the energy it would take.

“All right, guys,” Arsen said, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Take a break. This isn’t working. We need to regroup.”

They’d been working on this particular number the better part of their downtime between concerts, and they were rapidly running out of time to fuck with it.

It was time to make a decision. Keep the number or not.

Bad as she wanted them to scrap it, she knew it wouldn’t be in SnowFyer’s best interests.

Ra ambled over to her. She could tell he was concerned. “Do we need to back off on the choreography? I know Seth hurt you and you’re still feeling the sting, so if you can’t do this, we need to know now. We’ve only got one more day to put this together.”

“I’ll be fine. I was just…”

“Trying to keep yourself distanced from him?” Ra pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head.

Scarlett was close to tears. Not because of her frustration at the rehearsal.

She could handle that -- and would from this moment forward.

She was ashamed of herself for not being more intelligent than to think she could use Seth’s own personality against him in order to make him see they belonged together.

And that was truly what she’d done. It hadn’t started out that way, but until those last few moments in her cabin on the plane, it was exactly what she’d done.

Played hard to get. Made him think he was the conquest instead of him making a conquest. To say that had backfired would be a royal understatement.

“Something like that, I guess,” she murmured back.

“Look, Seth is just as confused as you are. The only difference is you’re the only one who has reason to be confused. He knows what he wants; he’s just too stubborn to admit it.”

“I guess that’s his problem, then. I’m not throwing myself at him again, Ra. It didn’t work the first -- and only -- time. So we need to find a different way to present this number.”

“That’s all any of us needed to know,” Ra said. “I’ll discuss it with Arsen. We’ll come up with something you can live with.”

Scarlett felt a little like a failure. But what could she do, really?

She certainly wasn’t going to mope around like a silly fool.

The fact that she couldn’t be a professional and just do it the way Arsen had put it together stung her pride.

Maybe she wasn’t as ready to be out front as she’d thought.

Sure, the last concert had opened her eyes to a whole new world, but that was before Seth had reduced their time together to her being some stupid groupie sleeping her way through a rock band.

Immediately on the heels of that damning thought, she recalled her own dismissal of him. Her own proclamations that she’d finally “landed the great Seth Snow” came back to ring in her ears. He’d hurt her, but she knew she’d hurt him first.

With a sigh, she called out to Ra. “Hey, look.” The keyboardist turned, looking at her expectantly. “Let’s try it one more time. I’ll go talk to Seth, and we can give it a go in half an hour.”

Ra hesitated. “You sure? I don’t want you uncomfortable. None of us do. SnowFyer will be just fine without this number.”

“I know.” She smiled. “Just give me thirty minutes. If Seth and I can’t work this out between us, we’ll scrap it and go with something different.”

With a curt nod, Ra turned and met up with Arsen. Both men headed to the tour bus, probably to work out an alternative in case things continued to suck a donkey dick.

“Scarlett!” Seth called out to her from across the parking lot. She’d hoped to have a little bit to calm her mind. No matter. She could do this. It might not be eloquent, but she’d manage.

“Hey. I was just coming to look for you.”

He gave her a startled look. “You were? What’s up?” The look on Seth’s face said he was afraid of what she had to say to him.

“Look,” she began, toeing a bit of gravel on the pavement, trying not to look at him too much. “I’m sorry. I’ve handled everything badly from the beginning of this misadventure.”

Seth looked like an animal sensing a trap but unable to tell from which direction it would spring. “You did?”

“Yeah. The bus was… Well, that was unexpected, so I’m not taking responsibility for that. But the plane…” She sighed. “I shouldn’t have implied I was only with you to make a conquest. Anything you said to me was only in retaliation for what I said. What I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry.”

“Yeah. For that. For not putting aside my differences with you to make this concert the best it can be. You were right,” she said, finally meeting his eyes.

“I have no idea what it means to be on the road as an actual front member of a band.” She sighed.

“I have talent. I know I do. There aren’t many people in the world who are better than me technically.

But I’ve got a lot to learn about being a professional.

I’d appreciate it if you gave me another chance. ”

Seth looked at her like she’d grown two heads. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

Just like that, her hopes plummeted. He wasn’t going to give her another chance. Before she could blink them back, tears filled her eyes and one spilled down her cheek. She tried to turn to leave, but he caught her shoulders and pulled her to him.

“Look at me, Scarlett.” Seth cupped her face and used his thumbs under her chin to force her head up to his.

When she finally met his gaze he smiled at her.

“None of that was your fault, baby. I was an ass. You were just trying to protect yourself, and I understand that.” He rolled his eyes. “Now. Now I understand.”

There were a few moments while Scarlett processed what he was saying. Another few moments for her to actually believe him. She looked into his eyes, really seeing him. There was no masking his expression, his feelings plain for her to see.

“You love me,” she whispered, another tear dropping from her lashes. “You do, don’t you?”

With a groan, Seth fastened his mouth to hers, kissing her deeply and a little desperately. His tongue swept over hers like a lick of fire, scorching her with need and a passion so deep she knew she’d never be rid of it.

“I do, Scarlett,” he whispered back. “Lord knows I didn’t want to admit it. But I do. I have for a long time.”

With a glad cry, Scarlett threw her arms around his neck, sobbing in relief and a love in her heart so strong there was no other way for it to be expressed. “I love you, too, Seth. I love you so much!”

They stood there for a long time, holding each other. Scarlett was certain she felt dampness where Seth’s tears fell against her neck. He kissed her skin, burying a hand in her hair and holding her close.

“Well, if you two have worked out your issues,” Arsen drawled, “we need to try this again. If it doesn’t work this time, we’ll do some rearranging.”

Scarlett looked around her at the guys. All of them had smirks on their faces, grinning openly at them. Well, except Titan. He simply rolled his eyes and headed toward the practice area. “‘Bout fucking time,” he muttered. “Best beating I ever gave anyone.”

Seth took her hand, urging her in the same direction as Titan.

As she went, her step lighter and happier than she could remember being since she’d left the stage that first time, she spied a reporter she knew.

The guy was with a popular member of the press with a good radio/TV station.

He waved to Scarlett and Seth as they walked by, and Scarlett suddenly had a killer idea.

* * *

If she hadn’t been their promotions manager, Seth would have balked, but Scarlett had proven herself in that capacity time and time again.

Besides, he owed her one. More than one.

She might be willing to take what she considered as her share of the blame, but he wasn’t.

If she thought letting KROK radio/TV film their rehearsal was a good idea to promote the charity concert tour, he was good with it.

His only problem was in them coming in immediately, before the band had a chance to make sure any kinks were worked out.

After the last two hours they’d spent trying to just get it workable, he thought he had a right to be a bit apprehensive.