More of Us ( A Love You More Rock Star Romance #3) - Laura Pavlov Page 0,19

My legs trembled and I struggled to stay upright.

Cruz Winslow.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” I asked, completely flustered.

Wow. He’d filled out. His shoulders were broad and muscular. He looked—gorgeous.

Beautiful.

Perfect.

My heart raced and I wiped my sweaty palms on my pant legs.

“I convinced your dad to let me pick you up. I’m taking you straight to the firehouse.” His gaze searched mine before he reached out to pull me in for a hug.

I was wrapped in a cocoon of Cruz Winslow, and it felt damn good.

Like I was home.

I don’t know when I’d dropped my bags, but I did, and my hands wrapped around his middle and I hugged him tight. I pulled back, my fingers settling on his chest, meandering over all his hardness.

Someone cleared their throat from behind me and I stepped back.

“Oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry. This is, um,” I said, and I had a complete brain malfunction and forgot his name. Hell, I couldn’t remember my own name right now.

He laughed before extending a hand. “I’m Richard.”

Cruz studied him before slowly lifting his hand. “Do you go by Dick… or Richard?”

Richard smirked. “Ah, you must be the rock star. Well, if things go my way, I’m guessing you’ll want to call me Dick. See you Friday, Jade.”

He adjusted his bag over his shoulder and winked before walking away.

Awkward.

Cruz leaned down and picked up my bag and my backpack. “You ready?”

“Yes. Of course.” I was still in shock that he was here. In person.

We made our way outside, and he reached for my hand and interlaced our fingers as he led me through the crosswalk. Just the simple touch of his skin against mine had my body reacting in crazy ways. I was hot. And flustered. When he pulled his hand away and tossed my bags in his car, I missed his touch already. We both slipped inside.

“Hey,” he said, looking at me as he started the engine.

“Hey. So how did you get my dad to agree to this? I didn’t think you were going to be in town.”

“We’re friends, right? Why wouldn’t I come see you? I didn’t think you’d mind,” he said.

I studied him. Was he messing with me? “Of course, we are. I just didn’t know you’d be here.”

“I wanted to be here. I missed you, More Jade.”

“I missed you too.” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

“So, is that the guy? Are you dating him now? Did I mess things up for you?”

He tried to keep it light, but I saw the concern on his face. The tic in his jaw. But it wasn’t my job to rescue Cruz right now. This was exactly what I was worried about.

Old habits die hard.

“I’m not dating him. I agreed to have dinner with him Friday.”

I waited for the jealous rage. The anger. The overreaction. It never came. He seemed completely calm. Who was this boy sitting beside me? He was as confident as ever, but he appeared calmer now. More mature, maybe?

“Okay, good. I wouldn’t want to mess anything up for you,” he said, glancing over at me before returning his eyes to the road.

I studied his profile. He looked incredible. Healthy. Gorgeous. “Wow, that MMA fighting is really paying off for you, huh? You look really good.”

“Thanks. I like it. You’ll have to meet Gio, my trainer. He lives in the city, but he tours with us now.”

“Are you back in Chicago for long?”

“Nope. We head out tomorrow. I moved things around so I could be here tonight. But we’re doing a lot fewer shows this year. Our home base is here now, not on a tour bus. It’ll be much more manageable.”

I squirmed in my seat at the thought of him being around more. I couldn’t breathe. And was it unusually hot in here? I fiddled with the nobs