Catch Me When I Fall (Falling Stars 2)

“There’s nothin’ to tell. I already told you it didn’t come close to getting that far.”

She squealed. “So, it was him! I knew it. God, I’m good. I can sniff out a good romance like nobody’s business.”

“It isn’t your business.”

“Um, hello. Best friend.” She gestured to herself. “It is the very definition of my business.”

This was going nowhere and fast. I needed to shut her down.

“Fine. It was him. I was attracted to him, but that ended the second I figured out he’s only here to play me. Any romance between the two of us would be the very bad kind.”

“Oh, yeah, he does look bad. So wrong he’s right.” She actually waggled her brows.

God, she was infuriating. Was it wrong I wanted to toss her blabbering, smiling face out the window right then?

“Goodness, did you feel the way he seemed to fill up the whole room? I thought I was gonna go off just lookin’ at him.”

“Have at it,” I told her, storming into the bathroom and tossing my toiletries and makeup into my travel bag.

I probably broke a mirror or two.

At this rate, I was gonna have a hundred years of bad luck.

I zipped it up with a flourish.

“Um, no thank you. Not about to fight with my best friend over a boy. Sisters before misters. I’m in for the long haul.”

I was sure I was wearing a scowl the size of Texas when I rounded back out into the room. “I don’t want him, so you can do whatever you want with him.”

“Says the girl whose legs are shakin’.” She pointed at them. “Looks like you’re in need of a little . . . relief. Hold on, I just got his number.”

“I hate you,” I spouted.

She waved me off. “You love me, and you know it. Just like you’re gonna fall in love with him.”

I huffed out in frustration. “Would you stop it?”

“Um, no, I already ordered my bridesmaid dress.”

“Well, I do hope they have a return policy.”

Mel sobered, seeming to catch onto my expression. That this was a bigger deal than she was making it. “Seriously, Em . . . I’m shocked you went for a guy like that. How the hell did that happen?”

I shrugged a helpless shoulder. “It was just one of those instant attraction things. That fuzzy feelin’ you get when you look at someone.” God, it’d been so long since I’d experienced it, I’d forgotten that it was real. “He came up to me when some jerk was gettin’ handsy, and that was that.”

“Love at first sight.”

“Hardly. That guy is an asshole. Singled me out. Tried to get close to me to get his way. I’m not okay with that.”

“Really? So, what, you’re just . . . not attracted to him anymore? Poof. You’re immune?” It was all disbelief.

“Maybe if he hadn’t lied to me about who he was.”

She flopped back on the bed and studied her nails. “Well, at least you know now why he walked out. Standing up for your honor and all.”

“Honor? Hardly. He just figured I was easy prey and would fall all over him and do whatever he wanted. He should have thought twice about that.”

I shoved my makeup case onto the top of my clothes with a little more force than necessary, flinging shut the lid and trying to zip it.

“Maybe he’s a good guy,” she said with a shrug.

I shot her a disbelieving look.

She grinned. “Okay, fine. That boy is as wicked as they come. He looks like he crawled right out of hell, nothing but a sexy, tattooed, fallen angel in a fitted suit. Yummy.”

“What’s gonna be hell is having him on that bus,” I muttered, fighting the flutter of wings that scattered through my belly and managed to flap all the way into my chest at the thought.

Crap.

This wasn’t good.

“Might be fun. Who knows?”

“And it might be a tragedy.”

Didn’t she get it? We were talking about the fate of our band. I was tryin’ hard enough to figure this out. To come to grips. To be brave. Looking for a way to say yes, and not feel like I was selling my soul to the devil.

Guessed I was, after all.

“You’re so dramatic.”

“It’s called realistic.”

Unable to handle the force of it for a second longer, I flopped down on the edge of the bed and buried my face in my hands.

Mel edged forward and rubbed my back. “Hey . . . I’m just teasing you. I get it. You even kissing a man is a big deal, and now he’s gonna be in your face nonstop for a while. But you did the right thing . . . giving this a chance. Maybe it’s time to give your heart a chance, too. Forget that bastard Nile. Only thing he’s ever done is cause you pain.”