Free Outlaw Country by Davida Lynn

why TMZ says were dating?”
    Colton had assumed that Roger was behind it. He was great at planting stories and keeping Colton in the news. His head shook side to side. Again, Gracie had left him speechless.
    She hit a button on her phone and turned it back to him again. He stared at the picture, all the good memories from Muscle Shoals came back to him. He wanted to laugh when he saw the picture, but he knew that would do no good. No good at all.
    The photographer must’ve gotten a great shot right at the moment when Colton grabbed Gracie’s ass. The angle was just right; there was no mistaking where his hand was in that photo.
    The hurt in Gracie’s eyes slowly changed to anger. “This picture is all over the Internet. All over Facebook, all over Instagram, all over everywhere! You dumb, cocky son-of-a-bitch.” Gracie moved forward as she chewed him out. Colton took several steps back. At least   she was coming into the hotel room. It was better than nothing.
    “I was just having a goof.” Colton put up his hands as if he was surrendering. “You gotta know how to play the PR game. That’s all I was doing. One good shot like that, and the media eats it up, and we’re on the front page of every website.”
    “I have an image to uphold, Colton.”
    Knowing he was making a mistake, Colton laughed anyway. “So do I.”
    Gracie slammed the door, Colton’s arrogance taking her from anger to outright fury. “There is nothing funny about this. It’s like you don’t care at all. Your actions have an affect other people. One picture and then they think were dating. A second picture of you with another woman, and they think you’re cheating on me. You look like a player, but I come out of it looking like a weak little girl. I come out looking like a fool. You don’t know how hard it is to be a woman in this industry. I am constantly under scrutiny and constantly under attack. Things like this give them all the ammunition they need. This could be devastating, Colton. But you don’t care about that. You care about getting a little PR and getting handsy with some skank in a bar.”
    It wasn’t often that Colton was left speechless. He always had a snappy comeback, and it always got him in shit. Gracie had managed to shut him up, though. Even Colton knew that it was a rare feat.
    Instead of doing what he usually did, which was some snappy retort, Colton actually thought about what she said. He knew she was right about it all. Colton knew he had to apologize, but he had to find the right words, first.
    With a sigh, he said, “Come on in.” He headed down the hallway that led into the large room. Sitting down on the most expensive couch of his life, Colton gestured for Gracie to sit across from him. He felt regret wash over him, hoping she’d pity him enough to stay.

    Gracie stopped at the end of the hallway. She watched him for a time, deciding if she wanted to bother with him any longer. She didn’t want to be a diva, but she knew she had the power to getting thrown off the tour in a heartbeat. She had the power to make a lot of things happen, and maybe Colton needed to learn that. Colton had his strengths. She saw him as a manly, sexy beast, but that didn’t mean he was in control. Gracie had all kinds of control that he didn’t know about.
    Thinking about control sent Gracie’s mind to the night before. She forgot about her power and remembered his. In the ways that Colton was strong, he was very strong. He was a magnet, and she couldn’t get away. Besides, he looked so pained like a sad little puppy.
    Gracie walked into the room and sat down in a love seat across from Colton. She was mad about the TMZ article, but she was more upset at what her mother’s reaction would be. Kathleen was barely tolerating Colton, his band, and his manager. Gracie was afraid her mother would pull the plug at any second.
    “I know your mother don’t like me. Hell, a blind man could see that.” Colton hung his head down.