Free Hillbilly Rockstar by Christina Routon Page B

sheets tangled under their bodies, those words whispered in her ear at a crucial moment. His breath wafted over her ear like a warm summer breeze. It would be so easy to turn her head just a little, just a tiny bit, and meet his mouth with hers. She remembered his soft lips on her mouth, his hands on her hips. Her legs grew soft and she didn't know if she would be able to walk away this time. Her mouth opened and she fully expected to hear a "no" come from her lips.  
    Instead, she heard herself say, "I'll be here."
    Trace stepped back, nodded in agreement, and with a tip of his hat turned to follow the production assistant backstage.
    ###
    Lisa was sitting in Tanya's dining room table, trying to enjoy their usual Saturday morning brunch, but she couldn't concentrate on anything her friend was saying. She put her coffee cup on the table and interrupted her friend's rambling about her date with Doug, the man she'd met the previous week.
    "Tanya, I have a confession."
    Tanya stopped rambling. "You have feelings for Trace Harper."
    Surprised, Lisa looked at her friend. "How did you know?"
    Tanya laughed. "Sweetie, who doesn't know? Number one, you talk about him all the time."
    "He's my client."
    "Two," Tanya continued, "you create excuses to go see him at the studio."
    "Again, he's my client. And I had schedules and promotions to discuss."
    "Three, you get this dreamy look whenever you talk about him. So what's he like?" Tanya cut into her plate of pancakes, took a bite, and waited expectantly for Lisa to spill.
    "I told you he hit on me at Six Guns. I blew it off, telling myself he was drunk, he didn't know what he was doing. But when I went to his apartment --"
    "Wait, you went to his apartment? When?"
    "Last Monday. I went to go over the initial promotion materials with him. He kissed me."
    "And you're telling me this now? A week later?" Tanya punched Lisa in the shoulder.
    "Ow! What was that for?" She rubbed her sore arm.
    "For keeping that from me. You don't get kissed by a hot, sexy, famous singer and not tell your best friend."
    "I didn't want to say anything because it doesn't mean anything. All he's interested in is this." She ran her hands up and down her torso. "He wants the body, that's all. Just like Danny always said."
    Tanya walked around the table and hugged her close. "Sweetie, all guys are not like Danny. I hate what that idiot did to you."
    "Tanya, he never physically hurt me."
    Tanya hugged her again, then squatted in front of her friend, taking her face in her hands. "Lisa, he hurt you. He hurt you because ever since your divorce you either won't or can't imagine that anyone would be interested in you. That's how Danny hurt you. He took away your confidence. Listen to me, and hear me. You are a beautiful, smart, sexy woman. You are so much more than your body. Stop seeing yourself through Danny's eyes."
    Tears flowed down Lisa's cheeks, over Tanya's hands. She knew that Tanya, her friends, her family, they'd all tried to tell her something similar after her divorce. But Danny's words were too fresh in her head, in her heart, in her soul.
    "You're worthless," he'd told her the day they'd signed the papers. "You're never going to amount to anything without me." He dashed off his signature and left her sitting in the attorney's office, crying, wishing for what could have been, wishing for what she'd thought marriage would be like and feeling like a failure because it hadn't worked out.
    She swallowed back the tears and hugged her friend back. "You're a great friend, Tanya. Thank you for standing by me."
    "Where else would I be?" She gave Lisa another quick squeeze, then moved back around the table and took her seat. "When are you seeing him again?"
    "I'm going to the taping tonight. I wasn't planning on going, but he asked me to be there and I found myself saying yes."
    Lisa saw Tanya's eyes sparkle and a grin moved across her face.
    "No, I'm not going shopping or to a spa or nail salon. I'm going to wear what