Free Songbird by Victoria Escobar Page B

little ridiculous. The
only reason I hadn’t brought it up to Ezra was because the three
girls themselves didn’t seem to mind the sheep herding.
    For the last four cities, I had held my
tongue and requested a room with two beds. When Nicholas was done
with his floozy, he always came over. He also always insisted on
light conversation before lights out. I humored him simply because
it was easier to adapt than fight with him.
    I caught him staring often but it wasn’t
intrusive. I knew creative souls habitually stared into the
distance so I didn’t take it personally. I ignored my reaction to
his nearness because it was suicidal otherwise.
    The bus was en route to Las Angeles. The
schedule overflowed with the necessary meet and speaks from the
moment we arrived. I reviewed time constraints and Googled travel
distances to figure out how much time I could allow for Nicholas to
dawdle.
    “What are you wearing to Angelina’s Garden
Lunch Party thing?”
    “Huh? What?” I glanced up from my notes and
had to swallow to wet my suddenly dry throat.
    Nicholas stood wearing a pair of pants he
hadn’t bothered to button and was running a towel through wet hair.
Water ran down his chest from his hair following the hard planes of
abs to be soaked up by his pants.
    Why the hell didn’t he wait until tonight to
shower at the hotel? His slow, wicked grin alerted me to the fact I
had been staring too long.
    I pulled off my glasses, rubbed my eyes and
refocused, “I’m sorry, Walker; I was focused on work.” I gestured
to my papers. “What did you ask me?”
    His brows drew together. If he had wanted a
reaction to his male glory he’d have a long wait in hell. I was
getting kind of used to—maybe even good at—dismissing the nearly
instant lust his presence caused. I knew better than to show any
interest regardless of what I actually felt. Professionalism
demanded it.
    “What are you wearing to the garden party
thing? I’m trying to decide if I should wear a tie or not. Though,
regardless it’ll probably be a not.”
    Now, I had to frown, “I’m not going. You’ll
be going with one of the guys. Henry will drop you off and pick you
up. It’ll give me time to check on the stage and maybe grant you a
few extra hours away from the auditorium.” I went back to my
work.
    “Then I’m not going.”
    I glanced up sharply. “What?”
    He crossed his arms, “If you’re not going,
then I’m not going.”
    “What are we ten now? What brought this on?
You were looking forward to the Garden Party in San Jose.”
    “That was before.” He sat in a huff across
from me and locked his eyes on mine. “When I thought you were going
and I’d have a chance to ogle your legs.”
    “I wear skirts every day.” I pointed out the
flaw in his logic. “You can ogle my legs whenever you want. I can
find a female companion if that’s what this is about or see if one
of the girls from the opening band can go.” And I should have
thought about that. Nicholas wouldn’t want to go to a glorified tea
party with another guy.
    “I can’t take one of them to something like
this. They’ll get ideas .” The way he said the word made it
sound like the very act was a crime. And he had a point there as
well.
    “Then you can go alone.” This much force
probably wasn’t wise with him, but I wasn’t going. The party was a
big social event that I wasn’t qualified to be a companion for.
Besides that, there would be paparazzi, and while I couldn’t avoid
them completely attached to Nicholas as I was, I didn’t invite the
extra attention.
    “To a girl party? Are you insane? I’d never
come out whole.”
    Son of a bitch. He had a point there too. He
was a philander and most knew it. He’d likely come back to the
hotel missing some… Well, not dignity, but something. I was glad I
dropped the score system somewhere back in Portland or I’d be
outmatched today.
    “Then I’ll find you a professional escort.
They do exist.”
    “I don’t