Page 4 of Rock My Girl

FORD

Holding this precious girl in my arms made me feel more alive than any stadium full of screaming fans.

When I first saw Cassie's lovely sweet face and dreamy gray-blue eyes, my heart nearly stopped. They were the color I envisioned when I had written what turned out to be my biggest hit, "Smoky Mountain Eyes," on a songwriting retreat.

She was so gorgeous I had assumed that she was a model here at the studio. Discovering she was an assistant that I'd get to spend a few hours with was a thrill. I needed to get to know her.

And now that I knew she was a brilliant lyricist with a knack for off-beat harmonies? I needed her on my team any way I could get her. That was almost just an excuse to be near her. Not quite.

I rubbed her back gently, and she eventually stilled. "I wanted to punch him for being so rude to you," I murmured. "But you didn't need any more stress."

"I'm sorry." Her lovely voice was muffled against my chest. "I just can't stand yelling."

I almost didn't want to know, but had to ask. "Your dad yelled?"

A slow nod.

Holding her tighter, I whispered against her hair, "Breathe. I've got you."

After a moment, she straightened up, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I don't normally get that upset."

"He was drunk," I said quietly. "It's a different kind of yelling. I understand."

She smiled, blinking her damp eyes. "You're sweet. I'm sorry about your shoot."

I snorted. "Even if that hadn’t happened, I would have taken one look at that loser and left."

"I can give you the ones I took, if that will help."

Cassie didn't even consider selling me the photos. Just giving. Her sweet innocence was already softening the hard edges that had built up around me after years in a cut-throat industry.

"So…you’re a photographer?" I asked, reluctantly pulling my arms away from her delicate shoulders.

"I'm a freelancer. Bit of this, bit of that. Mostly product photo retouching. Sometimes I write the descriptions for sales websites as well."

"What do you think of me hiring you for a few weeks?"

She blinked. "For what?"

I paused while she bit that luscious bottom lip. She was definitely attracted to me. Thank God. I already felt so much for this girl that my head was swimming.

"I'm in the process of writing my third album, and I'm a little stuck. The label is eager to help the process along."

"What would I do?"

I loved that she was already interested. "On paper, you'd keep me organized, coordinate interviews, make sure the social media people aren't doing anything bonkers, fetch lunch, back up my notes and files properly."

I winked. "But actually, you could help me polish up the album and pull the songs together. You'll get writing credits on everything. I'm not sure how the money will work, but we can figure that part out with Colin."

Her eyebrow raised. "Accountant? "

"Sort of. He helps me with money, legal stuff, contract stuff. He's basically the grown-up so that I can stay in the creative zone."

Cassie's eyes lit up. "That sounds amazing. Thank you so much!"

She threw her arms around me in a hug that turned from friendly to sensual in a heartbeat. For several seconds, we simply held each other, lost in the energy surging around us.

Then she jumped back. "I'm sorry. If you're going to be my boss, I shouldn't be so huggy."

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