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“Oh, I’ll just bet you do. Someone else gets to clean your sheets,” Maria teased.
“Ouch, burn,” Diego, the base player, said, laughing.
“The fun’s in making the mess,” Teagan shot back.
Maria shook her head. The man could make anything sound dirty. Surprisingly, though, he hadn’t taken anyone back to his room thus far, and the group had spent at least a half dozen nights at various hotels during the past six weeks. Sure, he’d flirt like crazy with the scores of beautiful young women clamoring for his attention. Maria had watched him dirty dance with dozens and make out with even more during the after parties, but not once had he taken advantage of an empty hotel room. Maria knew he spent his nights alone. It was her job to know.
She tried not to read too much into his actions. This wasn’t his first big tour, after all, and everyone looked pretty beat at the end of the night, Teag included. He was also the only unattached person in the band, and she supposed this could have made it weird for him to hook up with someone new every night. The others took pictures and signed autographs, but none engaged in anything remotely sexual.
The security team made sure all the backstage guests behaved appropriately, and although they gave Teagan as much leeway as he wanted, it turned out he didn’t take advantage of his freedom the way Maria had anticipated he would. She vehemently denied how warm and fuzzy this made her feel inside.
“All right. After the encore, we’re heading straight for the dressing room. Local security is vetting your backstage-pass holders, but we’ll be with you too, as usual. You’ve got an hour, and then we’ll need to get on the road,” Maria instructed, back to business.
The band nodded at Maria, and then they got their cue from the manager to return to stage. The encore only lasted six minutes, the time it took to play an extended version of their biggest hit, titled “Brave.”
Maria had to admit, she loved this song. Fiona sang it with such emotion, and now that she knew the history between Jake and Fiona, the song took on even more meaning. When Jake had been with them for the first part of the tour, Fiona made a point to let the audience know he was right backstage. He’d thrilled the crowd every time when he’d jog out and give Fiona a less-than-chaste kiss.
He and Violet had enjoyed a week on the road, and then Jake needed to get the little girl back home. Maria knew Fiona missed her daughter terribly, and spent hours on FaceTime singing and reading stories, but the grueling schedule would have been too much for Violet, even though the kid seemed to have boundless energy.
When the band wrapped up the encore, the house lights came on, and Maria’s team hustled the musicians to their dressing rooms. They’d get another couple of minutes to breathe and maybe use the bathroom before the venue’s security allowed fans holding backstage passes into the green room for the after-party.
As tired as she knew they were, Fiona and the guys put on smiling faces and seemed to enjoy interacting with their fans. The crowd allowed to meet the band was relatively small, all their identifications run through a quick digital scanner. Tonight’s demographic ranged from teenage girls who giggled like loons, to young guys who practically drooled over Fiona, to the hot women there to try and score with Teagan, to a few serious musicians thrilled to talk shop for a few minutes. In other words, the usual.
When everyone had their pictures taken and t-shirts, posters, or body parts signed, Maria and the team escorted the band to their waiting tour bus.
“And that’s a wrap. Goodbye, Atlanta. Next stop, Miami,” Teag said, flopping down on the sofa.
“Aren’t you from Miami, Maria?” Fiona asked.
Maria had hopped onto the band’s bus for a quick debrief before heading to her own to get some sleep. Since this stop had been uneventful from a security standpoint, the guys on her team had already hit their bunks.
“I am,” Maria answered, surprised Fiona remembered that detail.
“We’ve got almost the whole day free tomorrow. What’s on the must-see list?” Fiona asked.
“There are some great spots in Little Havana to have lunch. Or there’s the Wynwood Arts District, which has galleries, museums, cool outdoor restaurants, and amazing street art.”
“I’d be down for the arts district,” Teag said.
“Tomorrow morning, let me know who wants to go where, and I’ll coordinate. Great show, as usual. Goodnight,” Maria said, standing up to leave and covering her yawn with the back of her hand.
Everyone mumbled their goodnights back, but Teag stood and followed Maria out the door.
“Hey, love, hang on a minute,” he said.
Maria stopped and turned. “What’s up?”
Teagan moved in dangerously close. Maria could smell him. A combination of sweat since he hadn’t showered yet, laundry detergent since he’d covered his inked torso with a clean, vintage Rolling Stones t-shirt, and some deliciously magical scent that was all male. All Teag.
Maria took a step backward. A hurt expression flitted over Teagan’s face and was gone in an instant. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the side of the bus, his familiar cocky smirk firmly back in place. A twinge of guilt had Maria softening her expression. This man twisted her insides. She really didn’t know what to make of him, and her over-the-top attraction to him was damn frustrating.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, her tone aiming for concern versus annoyance.
“I thought maybe tomorrow you might like to go exploring with me. We’ve only got a couple of hours, but I’d really like to spend that time with you.”
“I’m in charge of your security team,” Maria said. Was he seriously asking her on a date in the middle of her job?
“I know that, but you need a break too every now and then. Tank will be stuck to my side like always.”
