Page 59 of Extended Bridge

“Cool!” Tristan’s fist pumps the air. As does Río’s and Coop’s. Pierce doesn’t react in the same way, but he’s smiling, so there’s that.

Luke captures our attention. “B, you don’t usually join in our reindeer games. Are you okay with this?”

My brows close. He must stay away to protect himself. Well, not on my watch. My hand rests on his forearm.

“Seems like the little lady wants to do the tour, so sure. Why not. Count us in.”

A couple of hours, plus the only therapy session of the day later, the buses pull into a bourbon distillery. “Are you excited to get the skinny on the alcohol?”

“I’m excited to spend more time with you,” he corrects.

“Plus, fun time with the band. Which is as important,” I add.

He pulls my back against his front. “I’d be happy to spend all this time in bed with you.”

I relax against his hard chest for a moment. “No sex for two more days, remember?”

“Counting the minutes.” I wait to see if he’s going to say anything more, and am rewarded when he says, “This seems to be important to you, so I’ll happily check out this bourbon trail.”

I’ll take this as a start.

Several hours later, we collapse onto the bed in his hotel room. “That was fun.” I giggle. I down more than my share of sips of the brown water.

“Have to say, I had a blast.” His head flops toward mine. “Thanks for forcing me to join the guys. I’d almost forgotten how enjoyable hanging out with them can be.”

It’s as if my limbs gain fifty pounds. Why does he block his road to happiness with the band? I’m going to make him see they have his back. I turn to my side. “They like you, Bennett. They treat you like their friend.”

“I don’t know about that. You were probably looking through bourbon goggles.”

“I wasn’t.” I lift onto my elbow but can’t keep my balance and wobble. “You need to see the band like I do. You’re all in this together. Fighting against annoying media reports. Performing in front of thousands of fans. Let them in.”

“What if I have everything I need without sharing my stupid shit with them? I have a great career, amazing venues to play music with my band, and you. I don’t need anything else.”

Ignoring the final part, I focus on how he described the band. My finger rubs against his stubbly chin. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you call UC ‘my band.’”

He bites the inside of his chin. “Well, I guess it is ‘my’ band. I’m the lead singer and all.”

“That’s not what you meant. The members of the band are your people. You are a group of friends getting together to play music, and not a bunch of individuals who perform onstage like you first described Untamed Coaster.”

His eyes close. “I don’t know, Jenna. I don’t do friends.”

I need to push him on this. I want him to understand he is amongst friends. “What am I?”

He sits up. “Jenna, what do you want me to say?”

My back hits the hotel’s plush upholstered headboard. “Only what you feel. I can tell you what I see, but if you don’t feel the same way, what good is it?”

He contemplates my question for a long while. “I don’t know. There’s always been a disconnect between me and the rest of the band. We enjoy performing together and have fun being on tour. However, I don’t share my secrets with them.”

“Not even with Luke?” Their manager is close with Bennett. He told me so.

“He knows more than most, but not everything.” Bennett cups my cheek in his hand. “You’re the closest one to knowing all of my secrets.”

“I’ll never betray your confidences. Ever.” I reach over and kiss his nose. “I’d like for you to share more of your burdens with others. Maybe let Luke in. Tristan seems like a good guy, if you’d feel better with someone not original to the band.”

“Have a crush on Tris, do you?”

“Oh, yeah.” The back of my palm flies to my forehead. “I can’t wait to get closer to him by spending all my time with you, like a good Black Widow would.”

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