Chapter one
Silver
"This will do," Alice Krantz, my manager, says, walking briskly into the spacious hotel suite and straight to the wall of windows. She turns quickly in her high heels and narrows her eyes at the hotel manager, who swallows hard in response to her intense gaze. "We were promised a view of the water."
"I'm sorry about that, Ms. Krantz." He turns to me with an apologetic smile. "Ms. Langford, we have a number of celebrities in town for the Summer Concert Series, and the water views were sold out. But this is one of our best suites."
"I see." Alice crosses her arms as the manager's gaze snaps back to her. Alice is barely five feet tall and one hundred poundssoaking wet, but she’s like a dog with a bone when it comes to pushing my career. It's why I hired her. She focuses on building my brand, and I stick to writing music.
I gaze around the swanky hotel suite. The plush sofa is pristine, and the French doors lead to a king-size bed decked out in a duvet so fluffy it looks like it was sewn together using actual clouds.
I run my hand along the gleaming, dark wood of a conference table I'm not even going to use while I'm here and turn to stop Alice from demanding the presidential suite from the poor manager who has apologized fifteen times. "This is gorgeous."
Alice huffs and rolls her eyes but clamps her mouth shut. She strides to the conference table without another word, already typing furiously on her phone.
I try to hand the manager a tip, but he waves me off.
"No, Ms. Langford. We’re honored to have you stay with us this week." He glances at Alice, who doesn't look up, before he hightails it out of the suite.
"You deserve a water view," Alice grits out as the door snicks shut.
I turn to her with a grin. "Did you want to field social media posts all week about what a diva I've become?" I tease as I drop my guitar case on a carpet fancier than anything I've ever had in a home in my life. I stop myself from kicking off my shoes and digging my toes into the soft threads—at least while Alice is still here.
Alice snorts in response, then turns her attention back to her phone.
I walk to the king-size bed and fall back onto the mattress like a kid. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto," I whisper.
That's an understatement. I grew up moving from trailer park to trailer park, rental to rental. If a mattress was over an inch thick, it felt like a luxury. We didn't have much, but we hadlove. That's what Mama always said, and she lived up to that statement. She’s the hardest-working woman I've ever met, and I’ve just sold enough albums to buy her a house.
I pull out my phone and type a quick message.
Got to Sunbreak Harbor. You working on your garden today?
Sliding up the mattress, I barely make it to the pillow before her response arrives.
Mama
My plants are thriving, and the flowers are gorgeous. Can't wait for you to see them.
I smile and put my phone down, gazing out the window, wondering if I can squeeze in a brief visit to Tennessee before my next gig. The little ping of an incoming message has me picking up my phone again.
Is Hulk there with you this time?
I roll my eyes.
No. And stop calling him that.
I never should have told her about him. Hulk, aka Dane, is the bodyguard who stole my heart in Fox Falls. I've been on a summer festival tour, and a few months ago, Alice hired a bodyguard to help increase the perception of my brand. She said I should look like I needed a bodyguard if I wanted fans to thinkI was important enough to need protecting. I eventually caved to her persistent insistence, and Dane was my bodyguard at the music festival in Fox Falls.
Honestly, it felt weird having someone with me all the time... until it didn't. We didn't do anything until the last day when we got up close and personal in an elevator as he rounded the bases like a pro. Hell, I would’ve given him a home run if we hadn’t been in public.
But then the concert was over, and I got on the bus to the next gig. Well, ran like a chicken is more like it.
He's all I've thought about for months.
Shaking my head, I sigh at my stupid, lovesick heart—the one that gives me so much material for my songs.
I'm going to try to swing through on my way to the gig in Oklahoma next. I'll keep you posted.
