Free Out Of Place (Face the Music Book 2) by Shona Husk Page A

three-year-old son and a part-time job. My life isn’t as carefree as yours.”
    The waiter placed the pizzas on the table, which gave Ed a moment to absorb what she’d said.
    She had a kid.
    She’d had a fiancé.
    Six months ago he’d have run and run fast because that what he’d wanted. Now he wasn’t sure what he wanted. But picking up after shows wasn’t it.
    Olivia was three years younger than him and she’d lived more than he had—although she probably thought the same about him. Most people thought his life was one big party. For a while it had been. But there were only so many boozy nights and hangovers he could handle and continue to put on a good show. And only so many random encounters before he’d started to feel hollowed out after. The tour had left him feeling scraped clean, as though he’d had nothing left for anyone. It was only now he was starting to get back some feeling other than tiredness.
    Olivia was waiting for him to say something. His mind was blank. She’d have been nineteen when all that had happened. “You’re a survivor.”
    He probably should have put a bit more thought into those words.
    “The alternative is death.”
    “Yeah.” It was. He picked up a piece of pizza and started eating. Now he had an excuse not to talk and the silence returned.
    Skipping conversation and jumping straight to sex was easier, as both parties knew what they wanted. Here he had no idea. He glanced at her shoulder. Every other time she’d worn clothing that had hidden the scars. Today she had them on show. For him?
    Should he ask about them and the car accident? Was it a test to see if he would, or did she not care about them and simply really liked the dress?
    He took a couple more bites and tried to find something else to say. “What’s your son’s name?”
    “Ethan. We’d picked it out before…”
    “You were pregnant at the time of the accident.”
    “Eight months—it wasn’t planned.” She looked at the pizza and picked off a piece of capsicum before eating it. He watched her lips, already thinking of finding an excuse to kiss her. Her gaze returned to him. “Are you being polite or do you want to know? If you want to go, I won’t hold it against you.”
    Did she really expect him to bolt because of what she’d said? Is that what other guys had done? “I like you. I want to know.”
    “I’m not rock star girlfriend material.”
    “I must have missed that memo.”
    Olivia smiled her first unguarded smile of the day.
    The rest of lunch went a little more smoothly and she almost managed to shake some of her doubts about Ed. He seemed genuinely interested, but the truth would be revealed when he did or didn’t call. It was easy to be polite and make promises while out, but much harder to keep them once the reality had set in.
    She wasn’t going to call him to arrange another date. She wasn’t that desperate.
    Yes she was.
    It had been years since she’d had sex with someone other than herself. And while not as long since she’d gone on a date, this one was going much better because he hadn’t freaked out at the scars or Ethan. She was enjoying herself despite herself.
    Ed was attractive. He had that sun-kissed look about him and while his hair was really too short and utilitarian, she wasn’t going to hold that against him. No woman would kick him out of bed in a hurry. And she needed the connection and the chance to be someone other than mum. She didn’t want to wake up alone one day in her forties and realise she’d missed all the fun.
    Dating a rock star would be fun.
    She’d spent all morning trying to work out what to wear and what to say. In the end she’d decided that she’d rather reveal the truth than hide it. Secrets always came out in the end and it would be much worse, and hurt more, if she liked him more. So she’d spent the drive here preparing herself for him to make excuses and bolt.
    He hadn’t.
    She watched him eat the last piece of pizza. He’d