Page 3 of Star Rucked Lovers

A loud buzzer sounded, and Myst sighed. “There’s notime,“ she said, despairing. “Can you come back, after the show?”

“For a while.” He looked sheepish. “I have to be back at the hotel by midnight.”

His life was probably almost as regimented as hers, she realized, constrained by a timetable written by others. Nodding, she accepted the stricture. “I’ll finish around eleven. If you’re in here then, we could get a few minutes to talk.”

“I’ll be here.” He took another small step closer. “Whatisthis?”

She knew exactly what he was asking, and she told him the truth. “I don’t know.”

He reached out a hand, palm up. Waiting.

With only a brief hesitation, Myst held her own hand out over his, noting with amusement the size disparity between them. George must be at least six foot four and massive, burly with muscle, whereas she was five foot one in her bare feet and less than half his weight. Her hand looked childlike over his, in the few seconds where she held it still before lowering it and letting her skin meet his for the very first time.

She didn’t know what she’d expected, but the jolt of electricity felt almost familiar,expected, as though she’d known from that first moment of looking into his eyes that this was how it would be when they touched. Thick fingers closed gently around hers, and she saw the awareness, the shared sensation, in his eyes.

“Whatever this is,” she said, “I’m not willing to walk away without finding out.”

“Me neither.” He moved a half-step closer, and in an unexpectedly gallant gesture, bowed over her hand and kissed the tips of her fingers lightly. “You have to go.”

“I do,” she agreed, wincing as the buzzer sounded again. “That’s my two-minute warning.”

He lowered her hand, letting it go with apparent reluctance.

“Myst!” Jessie’s voice yelled from outside in the hallway.

“I’m coming!”

George moved aside to let her pass, followed her out.

She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. “Enjoy the show.”

“I’m looking forward to it… and even more to the end, because I’ll see you again. I’ll be here.”

Myst felt her smile widen. Jessie took her arm, tugging on it, pulling her towards the stage entrance.

“You look incredible, by the way!” George called from behind her.

She looked back, seeing him standing there square-shouldered and solid, a still, massive presence amidst the chaos backstage. He smiled when she looked back and she laughed, still unable to believe the sheer ridiculousness of it all.A rugby player. Of all the unexpected, unlikely people for me to have instant chemistry with!

There was no more time to think as Jessie practically pushed her up into the stage wings, where her band were waiting for her, jogging on the spot with impatient energy. Trying to push George from her mind, a feat she feared was going to prove utterly impossible, Myst pasted on a smile and took the microphone her sound manager held out with a nod of thanks.

“Good evening, Dublin!” she cried, walking out on stage, and, as it always did, the welcoming roar of the crowd filled her with a surge of energy. Her smile turned genuine as the band struck up the opening chords of the first song, and she opened her mouth and let the music pour out.

Chapter Two

Myst worked incredibly hardon stage, George thought as he sat in the stands watching. She didn’t do much of the choreographed dancing he saw some singers do, but she was constantly on the move, engaging with the audience, running all over the stage. Her music was vocals-heavy, making the most of that astonishing, powerful voice. She took two quick breaks for fast outfit changes, and he suspected that was more because she was literally soaked in sweat than just for aesthetics.

The crowd, over 10,000 strong by his guess, loved every minute of it, especially when Myst performed a U2 song, laughingly saying she couldn’t come to Ireland for the first time and not sing U2. Her own songs were immensely popular too, and George realized he did know a couple of them, having heard them on the radio but not known the artist. The song she performed for the final encore was even more familiar; it had been used as the soundtrack for a popular car brand’s latest commercial, one which had been getting constant airplay in Australia right before he left.

“Coming back with us, George?” the team-mate on his left leaned in to ask as Myst finally left the stage and the audience gave one last round of thunderous applause.

He shook his head. “No, thanks, I’ll make my own way back. Got someone I want to see.”

He slipped away from the group as they made their way out, ducking his head to disguise his height and lose himself in the chattering, surging crowd, pulling out the lanyard he’d tucked inside his shirt so the others wouldn’t see. Two minutes later he was slipping back into Myst’s dressing-room, and a minute after that the door clicked shut and he turned from staring at the rack of glittering stage costumes to see her smiling at him.

“That was incredible,” he said, and she laughed, obviously on an adrenaline high.

“What a great crowd!” Grabbing a towel lying over the back of a chair, she started blotting at her damp, sweaty face with it, checking in the mirror to ensure her makeup was still intact, or so he assumed. “Grab a chair, if you like. I’ve really only got a few minutes before the record company executives start knocking on the door.”

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