Free Assure Her (Assured Distraction Book 1) by Thia Finn

know Gunner will want the crab cakes from SoCo Cafe,” KeeMac piped up with the suggestions. “Chan, they have just about anything you want in one location.”
    “Sure. I’ve eaten at those spots a lot, and we can have a cupcake to top it off.” She smiled, thinking about Hey Cupcake’s signature Red-Headed Stranger cupcake. It was her favorite, and it being named after Willie Nelson added some whimsy in her mind.
    When he heard her comment about the cupcake, Keeton seemed surprised. “So, how long have you been in Austin? I thought you just moved here a few weeks ago.”
    “Yeah, I just moved back, but I’ve lived here basically my entire life. My parents weren’t really much for eating at places without tablecloths and cloth napkins but I could live on food trailer food.” As they walked side-by-side along the sidewalk, Chandler explained about living between Austin and D.C., and going to Juilliard.
    “You know, maybe Cash should have given us a little more of your background information before we interviewed you because you are full of surprises,” he laughed, and then gave her that smirk she was coming to expect from him. While he used it this time to cover his ignorance of her musical training that far exceeded his own, she assumed he unleashed it on most females. It made her wonder what other looks he used to lure them into his trap. One look from him was likely all he needed to capture the attention of most women. He was undeniably hot.
    While they chowed down on their individual choices of lunch fare, the group talked about getting on the road. KeeMac filled them in on what he had learned about Chandler’s life. She was glad he did because she didn’t want to go through it all with them individually.
    “We’ve got us a Juilliard-trained band member, huh? No one would ever expect that when this bunch of misfits get on stage,” Ryan winked in her direction. Chandler laughed at his humor, and she was sure that his fun personality and easy-on-the-eyes looks meant they would get along great during their time on the bus. She was already enjoying this time learning about each member in a more personal way before they left. Ryan’s hair and fashion choices definitely made the most of his good looks but his mild country drawl was the very hot icing on the cake. She didn’t know where he was from originally but she doubted he had actually lived in Austin the entire time.
    The afternoon went by quickly, and by eight they were all beat. Even taking short breaks for a Monster didn’t help after everything they had covered on their first day of rehearsals. When Cash wandered into the rehearsal room and looked them over, he could tell they were drained. “How did the day go? Any comments or requests?” They all mumbled rude comments in his direction but he laughed at their responses. He knew they had put in a long day since he had been checking in with Peri and she was giving him reports on their progress.
    Chandler noticed that Keeton seemed to stick pretty close to her and spent most of their breaks with her. He made a point to ask her about the music each time, but then he would continue talking to her until the break was over. She learned how the band got to where they were, and they even talked a little about his life outside of music. She was happy to get to know him better and thought he was doing a really great job of making her feel like a welcome addition to the band.
    Before they could leave at the end of the day, Cash gave them their marching orders, “Go home. Get some rest and pack your bags. You can bring most of it here tomorrow, and I’ll see it gets on the bus. Remember, you have a small amount of extra personal space on the bus, only a little space under the bus and even less space in your bunks. Don’t over pack or you’ll be sleeping with it. Be back here in the morning by ten. We can go over any last minute ideas or continue rehearsing as you need to and then you all will have the