Second Chance Lane (Brockenridge #2) - Nicola Marsh Page 0,91

what she had to do: an online search or two, contacting universities, talking to admission offices, researching learning by correspondence, tasks she’d avoided for so long because she wanted to devote time to Isla when she wasn’t working. She’d been resigned to finishing her degree some time in the future. But what if that timeline had been brought forwards because she’d let Kody into their lives?

When he continued to stare at her, she sighed. ‘Fine. I’ll look into it.’

‘That’s my girl.’

Before she knew what was happening, he’d leaned across and kissed her. On the mouth. A quick kiss and nothing like their steamy pash last week, but enough to resurrect the memory of how damn good it had felt.

‘You need to stop doing that,’ she said, no sting in her words.

‘And you need to stop telling me what to do.’

This time when they grinned at each other, Tash sensed the deeper bond they’d once shared slowly but surely growing between them.

It terrified her.

CHAPTER

33

The Watering Hole was nothing like what Kody expected. He’d envisioned a small, grungy venue similar to the dive bars the band had played in around the States. Back then, Rock Hard Place had been trying to cement the success of their first song climbing the charts by playing as many gigs as humanly possible. They’d done a road trip from LA to San Fran, across to Las Vegas, down to New Orleans and back to the City of Angels. By the end of those six months, they were being labelled a band to watch, courtesy of a big-name rock star in Vegas asking them to open his show when another band pulled out.

Their first song had done okay, their second hit the top twenty and their third shot to number one, catapulting them to the kind of fame he’d only ever dreamed about. Being so busy those first six months had been a godsend because it gave him little time to dwell on Tash walking away from him and the heartless way she’d done it. He’d drowned his sorrows in bourbon, women and song. Many songs, penned in the dead of night when the rest of the band members had crashed from partying hard and he’d be left alone to ponder their rapid rise to fame and what that meant for his future.

Never in a million years had he anticipated factoring a kid into that future. He’d worn his single status like a badge of honour, intent on never stringing a woman along. Sure, he’d slept with his fair share, but they’d all known the score. And while those encounters had been fun, he’d never had the deeper connection he’d had with Tash. A connection that was still there, if he dared admit the truth to himself.

He didn’t want to delve into his reawakened feelings for her. He didn’t want to give her false hope. It could only end badly between them and considering he’d be in touch with her for years to coordinate parenting Isla, he couldn’t afford to screw this up.

His logical plan wavered when Tash locked the front and back doors of the roadhouse, leaving them alone in a dimly lit room that smelled of barbecue wings and beer, the exact aroma of the Princeton when they’d first met and fallen for each other many moons ago.

‘Did you mention to Isla we were doing this tonight? Because she didn’t say a word when I dropped her off at Ellen’s for a sleepover.’

He shook his head. ‘No, I didn’t want her asking a bunch of questions I have no idea how to answer until I actually make it up onto that stage so I haven’t texted her.’ He jerked his thumb at the corner. ‘Just looking at it makes me want to puke.’

‘You sure you want to do this?’

He nodded, despite the tension that held his spine stiff and made his palms grow clammy. The thought of picking up a guitar and stepping onto the stage terrified him.

Crazy, because there was nobody here to witness his humiliation if he couldn’t do it. Tash would give him complete privacy if he asked, she’d said as much on the drive over. Better here, on a small stage, than at a Rock Hard Place gig where he’d let down thousands.

Tash eyed him warily, as if she expected him to bolt any second. ‘Do you want me to wait in the kitchen?’

‘No, but I’d love a bourbon.’

‘I’ll make it a double,’ she said, slipping behind the bar, leaving him