Hold on to My Heart (Maine Sullivans)

“Don’t be so sure about that.” He’d replaced the distinctive low rumble of his voice—the sexiest faintly southern drawl she’d ever heard—with a spot-on East Coast accent.

“How did you do that?” She still could barely believe what she’d just heard. “You sound exactly like one of my suppliers in Connecticut.”

“Accents and impressions are a hobby of mine,” he explained, in a British accent this time, looking pleased at having surprised her.

But then something occurred to her. “Does anyone know you can do different accents?”

“I’ve got to have some secrets.” He gave her another extremely charming—and yes, smoldering—smile. “The only one who knows this secret is you.”

Trying to act like her heart wasn’t madly racing again, she told him, “Having secrets in my family—with six siblings, dozens of cousins, and parents I have dinner with nearly every Friday night—is pretty much impossible.” In fact, her only true secrets were her late-night fantasies about Nash, she thought with a blush she couldn’t quite hold back.

“Six siblings? That must be interesting.”

“‘Interesting’ is a good word for it,” she agreed.

“Do you like being part of such a big family?”

Though she wasn’t sure why he wanted to find out more about her, she said, “I do like it. At times like this, however, when one of my brothers decides to act like a Neanderthal, it can be a little grating. Although,” she felt she should add out of fairness, “Brandon is the one who convinced me to come to Vienna. I’ve never been to Europe before, so this trip is a big deal for me.”

“I’m sorry about throwing your day off course.” To his credit, he truly did look remorseful about it, rather than acting like someone around whom the whole world revolved. Which she was certain it always did.

Not wanting him to feel bad—she wouldn’t want to be fed to the adoring mob outside, so she couldn’t blame him for trying to avoid that fate for himself—she told him, “I’ve decided it’s part of my European adventure. After all, what could be more exciting than putting on a disguise and pretending to be someone else for a little while?”

“What were your plans before I begged you to get me out of this mess?”

There was a part of her that felt embarrassed about being the ultimate, itinerary-toting geek tourist. But something told her Nash wouldn’t laugh at her for it. He might be the most famous person she’d ever set eyes on—apart from Smith, Ford, Nicola, and Tatiana—but nothing about Nash indicated he’d be cruel.

How, she found herself wondering, had he ever ended up in jail? Because he didn’t seem threatening either.

Just downright sexy as sin…

“This is my plan for the next forty-eight hours,” she said, reaching into her bag and handing over the list she’d told her brother she didn’t have. “I’ve read so much about Vienna over the years, I can’t wait to finally see it with my own eyes. I have two days to see as much as I can before I go back to Bar Harbor.”

“Any chance you’re looking for a new job?” he said after he’d scanned her spreadsheet. “You’re so organized, I’d sign you up to be my tour manager in a heartbeat.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m happy with my job.” And not just because she worked for her family. She truly loved making the Sullivan Cafés and stores bigger and better year after year.

“I’ve been to Vienna countless times for shows,” he said as he looked at the list again, “but I’ve never seen any of these places.”

“Seriously? Not one single museum or garden or palace?”

“As soon as I land in a new city, I either head straight to the venue, or sit down with press for an interview, or the local label we’ve licensed the record to wants to meet with me, or I’m trying to catch up on sleep. Sightseeing never makes the list.” But then he shook his head. “Forget I just said that, will you? The only thing worse than a celebrity complaining about his fans is a celebrity complaining about his five-star travel.”

“You don’t need to apologize for anything,” she insisted. “I’m close with a few celebrities, so I get that fame and massive career success aren’t always easy to deal with. Do you happen to know Ford Vincent and Nico?”

“I’ve run into both of them on the road at music festivals a few times over the years. How do you know them?”

“They’re married to my cousins Mia and Marcus.” Something else occurred to her. “I have a feeling you might also know one of my other cousins—Smith Sullivan?”

“Smith asked me to do a walk-on role in one of his movies recently,” Nash told her, obviously surprised to hear about her famous family members, “but I couldn’t fit it into my tour schedule.”