Free Superstar by Roslyn Hardy Holcomb

years. She’s opening for the band on
the North American leg of their red-hot tour. From what we can see
in the picture we’re wondering what else she’s been opening for bad
boy Bryan.
     
    Oh my God. The dizziness welled up as she
stared into his vivid blue eyes.
    “Oh no. I’m so sorry,” she whispered her
throat so tight she could barely force the words out. Her stomach
soon followed suit and she feared she was going to lose her
breakfast at any moment. This was just the sort of thing she’d
feared would happen. It would give Bryan an excuse to throw her off
the tour. Not that he really needed one.
    Thad joined them. “What’s the deal?” Bryan
silently passed him the phone. “That sucks man. They were saying
for a while that she was after me.”
    “You know they’ll say whatever gets them the
clicks. I guess I should’ve been expecting something like this,”
Bryan said.
    Sioux shook her head. The tabloids were just
a normal part of the business, but this story was particularly
nasty. “Callie doesn’t think…”
    “Of course not,” Callie said as she entered
the stage, her tiny newborn nestled in a sling against her chest.
“Bryan leave the poor girl alone. She didn’t have anything to do
with this. We know better than most how awful those sites are.”
Bryan’s wife had just joined them the previous evening. Though she
normally traveled with the band, the arduous tour was too much for
a newborn so she was popping in only on periodic stops.
    “I know she didn’t have anything to do with
it, I wasn’t attacking her, just wondered if she knew. What are you
doing down here anyway? We got in so late last night I know you’re
tired,” Bryan asked, his expression immediately softening in an
intimacy so readily apparent Sioux felt compelled to look away.
    Callie gestured toward the little baby. “I
had intended to sleep in, but your offspring had other ideas.”
    Sioux couldn’t resist. She had an enormous
soft spot for babies. She walked over to Callie and peeked into the
sling to see tiny little Zadie Spencer looking up at her. Her
enormous round eyes stared out boldly into the world.
    “Oh Callie may I hold her?” Callie happily
handed the baby over and Sioux took her gingerly into her own
hands.
    “I just love babies. I’ve been waiting
forever for one of my friends to finally have one, but no dice so
far,” Sioux sighed, inhaling the unmistakable sweetness of little
Zadie’s baby smell.
    “Why wait for one of your friends? What
about you?” Callie teased.
    “Oh no. I don’t think I’m mommy
material.”
    “Really? You look pretty maternal to me,”
Callie said, eyeing the way Sioux was holding the baby. “I’d say
you look like a pro.”
    Heat rose in her face as Sioux shook her
head again then looked up to find Thad staring at her with the
oddest expression on his face. She wasn’t sure what the look meant
but she felt the warm regard of his gaze and felt the heat rise in
her face in response. She quickly lowered her eyes to the baby’s
sweet little face.
     
    Thad couldn’t take his eyes off the sight of
Sioux with the baby. Babies were not something he’d ever given much
thought to, at least not his babies. Bryan and Jon both had
kids so they were always underfoot and while he enjoyed them he’d
never had a response like this. Like he wanted kids. With
Sioux . He almost welcomed the distraction when Bryan drew him
off to the other side of the stage while Callie and Sioux were
talking.
    “So you decided not to listen to my advice,
huh?” Bryan said.
    Thad finally managed to tear his gaze away
from Sioux. “What advice?”
    “Sioux.”
    “What about her?” Thad asked through gritted
teeth.
    “You’re sleeping with her,” Bryan said.
    “Why all of a sudden is everybody
interesting in my sex life? Who told you?” Thad asked, making no
effort to hide the exasperation in his tone.
    “Twist.”
    Thad glared at Twist who was behind his drum
kit wearing a head set