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Chapter 5
The last couple of days before the tour were busy. Maria checked and double-checked the schedule, coordinated with local security at every venue, and spoke with hotel management anyplace they were booked to spend a night. In between, she caught up on her own laundry and repacked her suitcase for the extended trip.
Used to coming and going regularly, she had an efficient system in place for holding her snail mail, forwarding emails, setting the lights on a timer, and clearing out the fridge. The fact that she’d never really planted roots anywhere hadn’t bothered her much before, but now Maria found herself slightly annoyed that her running dates with Liss would be on hold and she’d be missing out on all the summer barbecues. There was a cooking class she’d been looking into as well, but the session started next week.
Maria sighed and shook her head, wondering what was wrong with her. This was the life she’d created, the career she’d wanted, the one she’d worked damn hard to excel at. So what if she didn’t have two-point-five kids, a dog, and a picket fence. Still, as she looked around her stark apartment, she had the urge to warm it up a bit. Maybe buy some paintings, or pottery, or hell, even a few throw pillows.
As she tossed the last article of clothing into her suitcase and zipped it up, her chest tightened. She knew this sense of longing she’d been feeling for the last few months was about more than pillows and pottery. Maria wanted a real home, a partner, a family, but she’d been running away from those desires for so long, she’d almost convinced herself they weren’t real.
Maybe it was the fact that her thirtieth birthday had come and gone. She told herself age was just a number, and of course, that was true, but the passage of time reminded her that if she wanted something different from her life, she’d have to reach for it. She couldn’t stick her head in the sand.
Well, she’d left the military. That was a big change. Of course, her job with TSI, while it offered better pay and the ability to opt out of an assignment if she needed to, still demanded a lot from her. It wasn’t really conducive to settling down, building a family, or even dating.
Still, Cam and Lissa made it work, as did Allie and A.J., and Fiona and Jake. So maybe she was making excuses. Maybe she was letting her past dictate her future. Was this a midlife crisis? Oh, hell, she wasn’t middle-aged yet. Not even close.
Slamming the trunk of her Range Rover, Maria metaphorically slammed the door on her errant thoughts and peeled out of her driveway. She needed to focus on her job. These jumbled feelings would be here when she returned.
**
Maria was close enough to the stage to watch droplets of Teagan’s sweat fly through the air as he pounded out his drum solo. Not only that, but she could see the muscles in his arms and chest ripple and flex. From her hidden alcove, Maria unabashedly stared at Teag’s athletic body, as mesmerized by him as he seemed to be by the music.
Damn, he did something to her insides.
Shaking herself free from the distraction that was Teagan Tate, Maria backed farther into the wings and pulled the radio from her belt.
“All stations, report,” she barked, her tone a little shaper than she’d meant it to be.
The additional five members of the TSI security detail checked in. Four of them stuck individually to their assigned band member while in public spaces, one always brought up the rear when they were on the move, and Maria ran point.
While the band performed onstage, the team generally kept alert backstage and interfaced with the venue’s security detail to assure the transitions on and off stage, and into and out of the stadium, went smoothly. They also watched the show. One of the perks of the assignment.
Over halfway through the tour now, Maria knew almost to the note when the band was wrapping up the final set. She knew they’d be going out for an encore, but they’d catch a breather backstage for a few minutes first. Her team needed to be in position.
Fiona hit a final note, held it for longer than seemed humanly possible, and then everything went silent. For half a heartbeat it was if the audience had been left stunned, which maybe they had been, Fiona was that good. Then, thunderous applause shook the arena. As the band took their bows, Maria’s team materialized around her, all smiling like teenagers at, well, an awesome rock concert.
It was easy to get caught up in the energy of the moment. Maria still felt an echo of rhythm pulsing through her body even though the musicians were all jogging offstage. A couple of roadies held out bottles. The sweating band members snagged them and gulped the water down.
After taking a long drink, Teagan poured the rest of the water over his half-naked body and then rubbed a hand through his soaking wet hair. When he caught Maria staring, he winked. Maria rolled her eyes.
“You nailed it, Fi,” Teag said, shooting Maria a smirk and then turning toward the tiny singer.
“We were on tonight, for sure,” Fiona said, her face flushed.
“We need two more minutes to reset the lighting board,” one of the crew said.
“No problem,” Fiona answered.
Maria surveyed the activity around her, still in awe of the time, energy, and skill it took to pull off a two-hour show.
Fiona closed her eyes and leaned against the wall.
“Doing okay?” Maria asked.
“Yeah, just tired.”
“One more night on the bus, and then a nice, comfy hotel bed awaits you,” Maria said.
“I like hotel beds,” Teagan said, nudging Maria with his elbow and giving her a sexy smile.
