Willow entered their row first and then Maisy, Kaid flanked them on the end and sat in front of Rook.
“Well, if it isn’t our old bus mates. How the hell are ya?” Cruz asked, as he leaned forward. “My, my, my, Maisy, you fucking smell divine.”
“Fuck off,” Kaid gritted out over his shoulder.
“Whoa, that was a little uncalled for, Kinkaid; I was just telling the lady how good she smelled. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
“Leave her the fuck alone,” that deep baritone voice said in a hushed tone right behind Maisy’s head. Goose bumps sprouted all over her skin at his proximity, and she reminded herself to take deep breaths, that she was going to be okay, and that she was strong enough to get through an awards show.
“Nice to see you,” Grey said to all of them, always being polite. “You guys look great, and I’ve heard nothing but great things about your last tour. Congratulations on your success.”
“Yeah, you guys have been killing it,” Landon added. “We couldn’t be prouder.”
“Thank you,” Kaid said, while politely smiling. “Congrats on your nominations. We’re rooting for you.”
“That means a lot to us,” Grey said.
Willow turned and gave the boys her biggest smile. “Well, we wouldn’t be here without you four, so really, we owe you a thank you. Even though one of you is a giant fuck-up, we still appreciate you.”
“Willow…” Maisy warned, as she leaned into her outspoken friend.
“What? It’s the truth.”
“Just turn around, for fuck’s sake.”
In frustration, Maisy pinched the bridge of her nose and rested her arm on the armrest. She could feel the heat of Rook’s gaze on the back of her head. She was too in-tune with the man not to feel him. As the lights dimmed and the musical beat of Drake started to pour through the speakers, she took a deep breath and tried to forget the gorgeous man behind her. The opening act of the show just began, only so many more to go, intermingled with awards, fantastic.
**Rook**
He couldn’t take his eyes off of her; even though he only was able to look at the back of her beautiful blonde head, he still couldn’t take his eyes off of her. The minute he spotted her out on the red carpet, he knew he was done for. She was it; if that moment didn’t solidify the fact that he would do anything to have her back, he didn’t know what would.
Cole Meyer…Rook knew Maisy and Cole were casually dating, but to see him with his arm around Maisy and a predatory glare coming off of his eyes had Rook itching to drive his fist through his face. Cole had no right to hold Maisy the way Rook had, no fucking right. He didn’t care how the nice the dick was; Maisy was his and would always be his.
That dress, that fucking dress she was wearing would haunt him for a while. It made every beautiful feature of her face stand out; the color was perfect against her alabaster skin and light hair, and it showed off just enough skin to remind Rook what he was missing out on. Everything about her was perfect, from her toes to the damn gold band in her hair. She was just as Rook dreamed every night, fucking perfection.
Now that she was sitting in front of him, he could practically feel the pulse of her beating heart as she kept her face straight. She never once turned around, and that was okay with him because he enjoyed every last inch of Maisy from behind.
He itched to reach out and twist the loose strands of her hair, to run his finger along the slope of her shoulder, to inhale her sweet scent just once. She was so tempting, causing him to have to grip the armrests to stop himself from reaching out to her.
Grey sat next to him and whispered in his ear to relax, but that was easier said than done. There was no relaxing when the love of his life sat right in front of him. He wanted to talk to her, to explain to her about everything that happened that unfaithful day, to beg for her forgiveness, but now was not the time nor place for that to happen. Instead, he just spent the evening soaking her in.
The show flew by, and before he knew it, Twisted Perfection was escorted backstage to announce an award category. During the commercial break, Rook relaxed in his chair and took a deep breath that he felt like he had been holding in for the past couple of hours.
He leaned over to Grey and said, “She is so damn beautiful tonight.”
“They both are,” Grey said back, with sadness in his eyes. Rook forgot how much Grey was hurting from not being able to be with Willow, so he squeezed his shoulder and nodded.
“Maybe you take your own advice and talk to her,” Rook said.
Grey shook his head, “She and Cruz have something going on.”
“You know it’s not serious; look at him.” They both looked over at Cruz, who was taking a selfie of himself and texting it to someone. “He’s not texting that to Willow, that’s for damn sure.”
Grey nodded in agreement, and then replied, “But Cruz mentioned she might be with some other guy as well. Who the fuck knows what she has going on?”
“Well, looks like we get the band back together and figure out what the hell we’re going to do and how we can fix it all.”
Grey laughed and said, “You think the band is going to solve all of our problems?”
“Well, if it caused our problems, it sure as hell better fix them.”
The lights dimmed again and Jimmy Fallon, the host, stood front and center and introduced Twisted Perfection. Like the pimp he was, Kaid walked out with Maisy and Willow on either side of him, wrapped in his arms. They stood in front of the microphone and read off of the teleprompter. There was some kind of lame joke Kaid said about being a lucky guy, having two gorgeous women hanging off of him, but Rook wasn’t paying much attention. All he could focus on was the beauty that was Maisy.
She stood tall in her heels, but was still short compared to Willow and Kaid. Her toned legs peeked from under the slit in her dress, and her sweet face was barely touched and painted. Her makeup was natural, bringing out her big brown eyes that were almost too big for the shape of her face. She looked innocent, yet mature and beautiful. She wasn’t the same Maisy; she had grown up a bit, but she was still his edgy angel.
Rook didn’t know what was happening until the stricken look on Maisy’s face showed through. When she made eye contact with him, he clued in to what was going on. They’d just called his band’s name as the winner of Song of the Year. He was in total shock.
The guys were cheering and hugging, dragging Rook out of his seat and ushering him up the stage. Two models from the side brought out four Grammys and handed them to Twisted Perfection to hand out to them. Wanting to grab his from Maisy, Rook made a beeline for her; the stricken look on her face let him know she didn’t want him to come any closer, but he didn’t care. He wanted to share this moment with her, even if it was a crazy, perverse way of thinking. Did that make him a self-absorbed asshole? Yes, but at the moment, he could give zero fucks.
Taking two stairs at a time, Rook made it up the stage before any of the other Shattered Souls and walked straight to Maisy. Her eyes went wide as he reached out for the trophy. His hands brushed against hers, just as he leaned into her ear and said, “Thank you, Maisy. You look absolutely breathtaking, by the way. I just had to tell you.” He let his beard brush against her delicate skin, just as he pressed a chaste kiss against her cheek.
He pulled away and watched how her hand went instinctively to her cheek where he had marked her…he’d marked her as his. Rook could feel the death glare coming from Willow and Kaid, but he didn’t care; this was his moment with his guys, and he was going to do whatever he damn well pleased.
Stepping in front of the mic and looking down at his Grammy, he spoke to the audience. “Wow, I have no idea what to say, but thank you. This has been a dream of ours ever since we started our band, and I can’t believe it finally came true. There are so many people to thank, starting with the label and our manager Pete…without you, we would for sure be lost. Thanks for dealing with all of our antics, man. To our fans, we couldn’t be more grateful f
or your love and support, always being by our side. To our friends, who have been by our side through this crazy journey, thank you…that includes you, Kaid, Willow, and Maisy.” Cheers erupted from the seats up above where the fans were seated. In the far distance, Rook could hear a couple shouts of “We love you Raisys,” the fan name used for Rook and Maisy, come from the balcony section.
Rook smiled and said, “We love you, too. To our families, the ones that matter, thank you for loving us and supporting us through all of our fights and feuds. We couldn’t be more grateful. Thank you everyone.” Rook held up his Grammy, knowing it wasn’t the best speech ever made, but he got to the point of who he wanted to thank.
The models escorted both Twisted Perfection and Shattered Souls off of the stage. The whole time, Rook walked behind Maisy, just begging for her to turn around and congratulate him.
**Maisy**
His lips had branded her cheek. She couldn’t shake the feeling of the light whisper of a kiss he placed on her when he accepted his Grammy. She knew the moment Kaid said Shattered Souls had won, Rook was going to head straight to her; there was determination in his eyes.
She held it together, though; she didn’t allow him to affect her, at least not on stage. Once they got backstage, Maisy tore off toward a back corner to gather herself, while everyone else was being interviewed by reporters. Camera crews, production assistants, and makeup artists scattered backstage in a blur of a hurry as they prepared for the next act to appear on stage.
Maisy tucked herself in a dark corner and leaned her head against the wall. All the emotions that she tamped down over the past six months came boiling to the surface and were threatening to take over her body. She still loved him; there was no doubt about that. Just the fact that she could feel his gaze everywhere she went meant that she was still as in-tune with him as when they first met. But what really set her off was the way her heart beat rapidly in her chest the minute she heard his name, or even just saw him in the distance. As much as she wished she had, she hadn’t gotten over him, and by the way her body reacted tonight, she didn’t think she ever would. Rook Tyler had ruined her for life.
Opening her clutch, she pulled out her lip gloss and uncapped it. She could at least busy herself while she tried to calm her heart.
“Hi, Maisy.”
Her hand stilled at the sound of his voice. She didn’t even have to turn to know who it was; she would know that voice anywhere.
Chills ran up her spine at his nearness, and she debated with herself as to what to do. Did she turn toward him, finally face him for the first time in six months, or did she walk away?
His hand gently squeezed her arm, and from the way heat burned through her skin, she knew she wouldn’t be able to just walk away; she had to face him.
Taking a deep breath, she looked up and met those dark blue eyes that she used to stare into every night…the eyes that once told her she was loved, the eyes that would eat her alive in a second and devour her.
“What do you want from me, Rook?”
Her voice sounded defeated, like she had already given up. There wasn’t much fight in her, because she felt weak around him, too damn weak.
“I want to talk to you, Maisy,” he spoke softly. “I want a chance to explain everything to you. I want to win you back.”
And there it was, the one thing she didn’t want to hear. She didn’t want to know about his feelings; she didn’t want to feel anything for him, and the moment he said he wanted her back, she started feeling.
She shook her head no and stepped back. “No, you can’t do this to me.” She looked him directly in the eyes, trying to cut him with her words. “You cheated on me, Rook. You fucked another woman intentionally to hurt me. Why the fuck would I take you back after that?”
He winced at her words, but stood strong.
“Because we are meant to be together. Because, no matter what you think, I’ve never stopped loving you, and I’m going to make it my damn mission in life to make you mine again, even if it kills me.”
“No, no!” she practically shouted. “You don’t have the right to do that. We’re done, Rook, we’re through. You lost the privilege of making me yours the moment you took someone else to the back of your bus. So, fuck you and fuck your mission, because you will never have the chance to be mine again…ever.”
“Is there a problem here?” Cole said from behind Rook.
Slowly turning his head, Rook said, “No, I was just leaving.” Before he took off, he leaned in one last time and whispered in her ear, “I understand I lost your trust and you owe me nothing, but I don’t give up that easily, Maisy. I want you, I need you, and I’m going to make sure that I never have to live without you again.”
His fingers ran up her arm and then back down, where he squeezed her hand softly, and then took off while he took Cole in. For a moment, Maisy was nervous that the stare down the two were giving each other was going to turn into a brawl, but Rook smartly moved along.
Once Rook was out of sight, Cole grabbed ahold of Maisy and pulled her into his chest as his hands ran up and down her back.
“I’m glad I came back here. Once I saw the stricken look on your face when Shattered Souls was called up, I knew I had to get to you, and I’m happy I did, because who knows what that jackass would have done.”
Confused, Maisy said, “He wouldn’t have hurt me.”
“He already hurt you, Maisy, and he doesn’t need to strike you to hurt you; he could verbally abuse you. The guy is a loose cannon and a giant fuck-up. I don’t want him coming anywhere near you.”
For some reason, Cole’s overprotectiveness was not settling well with her, so she pulled away and said, “I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself, Cole.”
Taken aback at her comment, he replied, “I know you can, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I am; I’m fine. I just need some time to think.”
Cole ran his hand through his hair and said, “Please don’t tell me you’re going to go back to that douche bag. He cheated on you, Maisy.”
“I know,” she practically shouted, drawing attention from people around them, even Rook, who wasn’t standing that far back. Apparently, now that he was in her life again, he was making sure his presence was known. “I know,” she said more quietly. “I don’t need everyone reminding me of what he did; believe me, it hasn’t left my mind.”
“Then, why do you need time to think?”
“Because I do, Cole. Alright? I feel like I can’t breathe right now with everyone hovering over me. I need some to just be free and figure everything out.”
“You think I’m hovering over you?”
Maisy looked around and said, “Cole, what the hell do you think you’re doing right now?”
“Being a kind and caring boyfriend.”
“No, you’re checking up on me, and I just don’t need that right now. I need some space, okay?”
Nodding his head, Cole stepped back and said, “You know what? I don’t get you, Maisy. You act like you need space, but in reality, you’re needy and demand attention. You think you know what you want, but you have no fucking clue. You go around acting all innocent when, in fact, you just use people for your own benefit.”
Insulted, Maisy felt her mouth fly open at his words as he continued.
“Do whatever the hell you want because, frankly, I don’t give a shit anymore. No wonder Rook cheated on you, because you’re fucking unstable…”
Cole didn’t get to finish his insulting rant because he was spun around in a matter of seconds as Rook’s fist connected directly with Cole’s jaw. The six foot man was tossed across the room as onlookers gasped at the spectacle.
Rook hovered over Cole, and then bent down and gripped his shirt. Cole’s mouth was bleeding and he looked slightly delirious. Cruz and Grey both ran to Rook to pull him off of Cole before he did any more damage. Cole gripped his jaw and stared up at Rook.
“You’re going to regret t
hat,” Cole warned.
“Like you fucking matter to me? I could give zero fucks for what you think of me, but when it comes to Maisy, you treat her with fucking respect, because she deserves it.”
A laugh escaped Cole as he stood. “Just like the same respect you gave her when you decided to fuck someone else for her to find?”
Like a bull out of his cage, Rook got right in Cole’s face and said, “You have no fucking clue what happened, no clue, so it’s best you stay out of it, because it would be a shame to see that mouth of yours plastered against my fist once again.”
Cole stood up against Rook, and Maisy was afraid they were just going to continue their stare down all night, until Landon came up to them with Kaid and Willow and said, “Dude, we have to go sit down again; production is getting pissed.”
Nodding, Rook tore his gaze away from Cole and then looked at Maisy one last time. His face softened at the sight of her and a small smile tweaked the corner of his mouth before he took off. Maisy watched as his suit clung to him in all the right places as he walked off with his bandmates.
Cole spit blood out of his mouth and then took off without another word. Both Willow and Kaid looked at Maisy, confused, but she just shook her head and started heading back out to their seats, where they would have to sit down in front of Shattered Souls for the rest of the award ceremony. Maisy was so numb, she didn’t even care.
They worked their way back to their seats during a commercial break and, for a second, Maisy made eye contact with Rook, who was rubbing the back of his right hand, the one he punched Cole with. Maisy told herself not to feel bad for him, to not care that he might be hurt, and quickly turned and sat down in her seat.
As if she was expecting it, Rook leaned forward in his seat and spoke softly in her ear, to just put the nail in the coffin of her night.