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Her eyes darted to Zac, who looked less than pleased with his bandmate’s flirtatious tone.
Caleb, Crossfire’s blond-haired, green-eyed drummer, was next. “Hi there, gorgeous. I can see why Zac doesn’t want to let you out of his sight.”
“Uh…”
“That’s enough, guys. You can leave Cassie alone. She’s just here to watch.”
With big grins on their faces and a wink from Caleb, the three other Crossfire band members sauntered over to Zac.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s get this run-through started.”
The guys collected their instruments and made their way through to the studio’s rehearsal room.
Zac came over to her, holding his guitar. “You going to be all right here?”
“Yeah. I’m excited to hear you play.”
“Okay. It’s set up so you can hear us, but we can’t hear you. Just use the intercom if you need anything.”
She nodded, and he headed into the room behind the others. It was a strangely distant interaction. This was only her third day in LA, but things had started to change between them almost as soon as they’d gotten back off the tour. He still surprised her with little signs of affection, and he’d been nearly insatiable sexually in the short time she’d been staying with him. But other times, he seemed to revert to keeping her at a distance.
Cassie sat down on the comfortable couch and pulled her legs up underneath her. She was going to try not to worry about it. He was under a time crunch to get this album done, so she couldn’t expect him to be all about her. And this would be her first time hearing all four of them playing together in the one spot. She was really looking forward to it.
The guys joked around in the rehearsal room for a bit before Zac pulled them into line. They started the first song, and Cassie leaned back against the couch, a smile on her face as she listened to them practice the songs she’d heard them write.
Her eyes rested on Zac, her body warming. He was so beautiful. His movements were smooth and efficient. His intensity as he focused on what he was doing such a turn-on.
That was even more true when all that intensity was focused on her.
Cassie gave a little shuddery sigh. She couldn’t get used to this. He hadn’t talked about what would happen after he left for the UK, and so far, she’d been too nervous to bring it up. She couldn’t get her hopes up that there would be anything more for them. As much as she might wish there could be.
She forced her muscles to relax. She wanted to listen to him play and sing and not worry about what the future might hold.
But they weren’t playing or singing at the moment. They’d paused mid-song and were discussing modifying the transition between the second verse and the chorus. Caleb said something that made Zac smile, and a tingle rushed through her. His smiles did something to her. Maybe because they so often seemed hard-won. He was always pushing himself. He really needed to relax more—to enjoy the incredible success he already had. She’d thought that without his father around to try to prove himself to, he might ease up a little. But that was apparently wishful thinking.
She wanted to be the one to ease his heart. She wanted to be the one to support him and show him he was enough. To show him how amazing and talented and beautiful he was. To let him know every day that he was loved—
Her breath stalled in her throat.
Loved.
She loved him. Of course she did. Deep down, she must have known for a while. At least since the hotel room after the funeral. Maybe before.
Tears stung the backs of her eyes, and she swallowed past the hard lump in her throat. She was so screwed. In less than two weeks, he was going to head to the UK and forget about her. He didn’t do relationships. He didn’t do long-term. And if his father’s death hadn’t changed how hard he pushed himself, it wouldn’t change how he felt about committing to someone.
What was between them wasn’t real. Maybe it felt real. Maybe she’d convinced herself it was real. But reality was going to bite her in the ass when he said goodbye and walked away.
The rapid thumping of her heart had temporarily drowned out the sound of their playing. It was only when she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself that she noticed what song they were practicing. It was the one she’d helped Zac with during their first night staying in a hotel together.
Her eyes flew open and locked onto his. He must have been able to see something was bothering her, because he was watching her through the glass with a crease between his brows. He was focusing on her, not what he should focus on. His music. The thing that was most important to him.
She forced a smile to her face. She didn’t want to be a distraction. Not when what he was doing meant so much to him.
For a second, his brows stayed drawn together, and she worried her smile hadn’t been convincing enough. But then his expression cleared. He flicked a sexy little half-smirk in her direction, then turned back to his bandmates.
Cassie’s pulse had kicked into high gear. The walls suddenly felt like they were closing in on her. Her heart was going to end up broken again, and there was nothing she could do about it.
This time, she’d walked into the flames with her eyes open.
