His Curvy Bride - Nichole Rose Page 0,3

a female voice, and the studio is only ours for a few more hours.

"I'm tellin' you, Bentley," Kasen drawls, watching me like he doesn't have a care in the world. "Cami sings like an angel."

My producer and his assistant ignore my pacing, instead tinkering with controls in the booth.

"Then why is she working for Riley instead of singing for a living?" I ask.

"She's shy." Kase shrugs like that explains everything.

I snort.

"Why have you been playin' guitar for years instead of singing for a livin'?" He cocks a brow and smirks, knowing he's got me on that one.

Which he does. I'm not shy and I don't give a fuck what people think about me, but I've never cared to play by someone else's rules. And in a place like Nashville, you have to be willing to play. When I first came to town a decade ago, I had a record deal. The studio and my manager wanted me singing generic, contrived bullshit. I didn't agree, so I walked. I thought there would be other opportunities, but as it turns out, there aren't a lot of those for guys who won't play the game. So I've spent the years since behind a guitar, backing up guys like Kasen who had the right team behind him.

This time around, I've got the right team too.

With Kase and Riley in my corner, I get to do shit my way, sing the songs I want to sing right out of the gate. No one at the studio was willing to gainsay either of them by shutting me down or trying to get me to do this their way. Kasen makes them millions and Riley represents some of the biggest artists in this city.

I don't want anything fucking up what may be my only shot to make music on my terms. I'm thirty-six. In a city like this, I might as well be a dinosaur.

"Trust me, Bent," Kasen says as if sensing my worry. "Cami is the real deal. She's got an incredible voice. I've tried for years to convince her to sing backup on my albums, but she always shoots me down."

"Why?"

"Maybe she likes you better than me," he says, shrugging.

I snort again. Everyone loves Kasen. He's got that boy next door charm and classic good looks that women eat up. Even when he's a dick, they love him. Me? Not so much. At six foot seven, I'm built like a linebacker, with an attitude to match. I don't have patience for games and women who play them piss me off. Considering most of them see me as a way to get them closer to Kasen, I've taken to avoiding most women since I started playing lead guitar for him two years ago.

I'm not even going to lie though, I'm ready to settle down with the right woman and raise a bunch of kids. I fuck with Kasen about his wife all the time because getting him riled up is funny shit, but I want their kind of love myself. My parents had that forever kind of love before they were killed in a car accident. I refuse to settle for anything less.

"I've never seen you stress before," Kasen muses, watching me like he thinks I'm here for his entertainment. "It's fascinating."

I ignore him to continue my pacing. It takes a hell of a lot to stress me out, but I am stressing about this. Kasen and Riley are taking a monumental risk here. It's unheard of for a guy like Kasen to attach an EP to a new artist's album and package them together, but he's doing it. I don't want to see him flop because he took a chance for me.

He's the closest thing to family I've got.

His phone dings.

"They're here," he says, hopping up. He pauses halfway to the door and shoots me a look over his shoulder. "Be nice to her, Bent. She doesn't sing in front of many people, but she agreed to do this because it's you."

I frown, my brows pulling together. Why the hell would she agree to this for me? I've never even met her before. Shit. She better not be trying to get in good with Kasen by doing me a favor. This wouldn't be the first time it's happened, and I don't have the time to deal with a repeat of that drama right now.

I stomp toward the door, ready to hear this girl so I can judge for myself if she's got the chops needed