Little Secret, Red Hot Scandal. Cat Schield

given up on pursing a relationship with Nate.

      In the beginning she’d simply enjoyed Nate’s charismatic presence. Not only was the lead singer of Free Fall a musical genius, he had killer dimples that rendered her speechless, and the sort of lean muscles that made her all too aware of her vulnerable heart, unsteady knees and tendency to blush.

      At first she hadn’t taken his attention seriously. Fate had seen to it that Ivy was granted all the beauty and most of the talent. Most people outside their family didn’t even know Mia and Ivy were sisters, much less twins. Ivy had taken their mother’s maiden name because she liked the way it sounded, and Bliss worked great for marketing.

      And then one day Nate had been backstage while Ivy rehearsed. She’d stopped the sound check and was shrieking at the drummer for messing with the tempo. Across the ten feet separating them, Mia saw the gesture Nate made, and amusement must have shown on her face because he snagged her gaze and winked.

      Mia had signed, asking him if he knew what that particular gesture meant, and he signed back that he absolutely did. For the duration of Ivy’s sound check, they’d discovered through sign language that each had a hearing-impaired family member. That day something unexpected had happened to Mia. She’d made an unlikely friend. And in the weeks that followed, it became more.

      Ivy broke into her thoughts. “Can you stop and get me a coffee on your way back? You know how I like it.”

      Keeping up with Ivy’s demands required Mia’s full attention. For most of her life that hadn’t bothered her. But ever since Nate had come along and actually noticed her, not as Ivy’s twin or her assistant, but as a desirable woman, Mia spent more and more time thinking about a life away from Ivy.

      “Sure.” Now all she needed to do was find a way to explain to her family that she wanted to strike out on her own. And that was not going to be easy. “I know exactly how it needs to be.”

       Two

      As soon as Mia left the studio, Nate got on the phone with Trent’s sister. Melody had been on the tour with him as the opening act for Free Fall the entire twelve months.

      Because he knew her as not only a fantastic songwriter and singer, but also as the little sister of his best friend and business partner, when she’d asked what was going on between him and Mia, he’d told her. Melody didn’t like the way Mia was treated by her sister any more than he did. She’d grown up with a father who liked to bully people and had a particular sensitivity to such treatment.

      Once she’d been clued in to what was going on, Melody had helped keep Ivy distracted so Nate and Mia could have as much uninterrupted time together as possible. At first Nate wasn’t sure if Mia had any idea how Melody was helping them, but she’d caught on quickly. Mia and Melody shared a talent for songwriting and during the hours they spent collaborating became good friends.

      The difference in Mia when Ivy wasn’t around showed Nate how unhappy Mia was being her sister’s personal assistant. Yet whenever he broached the subject of leaving her sister’s employment to do something for herself, he hit a brick wall.

      “You told your brother I met someone while on tour?”

      “I might have mentioned that you were a bit distracted.” Melody responded carefully, but there was laughter in her tone.

      Nate closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. Melody had a romantic nature and succumbed easily to simple gestures of affection, like the dozen handwritten notes her boyfriend, Kyle Tailor, had tucked amongst the clothes in her suitcase. She’d discovered them halfway across the country and been over the moon that Kyle had done something so romantic.

      Unfortunately, the strain of separation for so many months had led to trouble in their relationship. Nate blamed himself. If it weren’t for him, Melody never would’ve gone on tour. He’d been the one who persuaded her to leave behind the anonymity of songwriting and to join him onstage. She had a fantastic voice and deserved to shine.

      Fortunately, Kyle didn’t blame him. If he had, it might have put a strain on their business partnership in Club T’s.

      “He thinks it’s Ivy.” Nate spent the next minute listening to Melody’s laughter. “It’s not funny.”

      “Oh, it is. Why does he think that?”

      “Because I suggested I produce her next album. It’s the only way I could think of to spend more time with Mia. She’s determined we’re over.”

      “I think that’s fantastic. The girl has a killer voice and needs a producer who can showcase it. Besides, no one but you can stand up to that father of hers and make sure her next album kills it.”

      “I’m flattered that you think so.” Nate’s tone was as dry as the Mohave Desert.

      “So how did the meeting go?”

      “It didn’t. Mia showed up without her sister and father. Apparently they were taking a meeting with someone from Mayfair Cosmetics. They’re considering Ivy as their next spokesmodel.”

      “Are you kidding? They stood you up? Don’t they realize who you are?”

      “Obviously someone they can skip a meeting with.” Nate thought about his stern words to Mia about her sister and regretted taking his frustration out on her. It wasn’t her fault how her sister and father behaved. “I’m taking them to dinner tonight. Hopefully, they’ll show up this time. I’m going to be out of commission for a few weeks starting tomorrow.”

      “Out of commission? What’s going on?”

      “I’m going in for surgery on my vocal cords.”

      “What? When did this come up?”

      “I started noticing a problem on the tour, but we were so close to the end, and I didn’t want to cancel any shows.” In part because to do so meant shortening his time with Mia. Their relationship heated up a lot in the last two weeks and he wouldn’t have missed that for anything.

      “This is serious. Why didn’t you say anything to me? Does Trent know?”

      “I told him earlier today.”

      “Is he taking you to the surgery appointment?”

      “He’s out of town. I have a car scheduled. It’ll be fine.”

      “No it won’t. I’ll get on a plane and be there to take you back to the hotel.”

      “That’s not necessary. You need to stay in Vegas and work on your album. I’ve given you a deadline, remember?”

      “A couple days isn’t going to matter one way or another.”

      “Humor me.” Letting anyone baby him was not in his nature. “It’s outpatient surgery. I’ll be in and out in a few hours.”

      “Why do you have to be so strong all the time? It wouldn’t kill you to accept help once in a while.” Melody let loose an exasperated sigh. “You are so stubborn.”

      After a childhood spent bouncing from one backwater town to another, Nate had learned to take care of himself. Sometimes his dad would be gone for months, sent all over the country to whatever oil fields needed his expertise the most. If the job required an extended stay, he might bring Nate and his mom along. Nate’s dad never cared if this meant his son had to fit in at a new school or that his wife would have to take whatever job she could to make ends meet.

      “I could say the same of you.” Nate knew of only one way to get Melody off this particular subject. “How are things between you and Kyle? Have you talked yet?”

      “Did you know that Trent hired Hunter to DJ twice a month at Club T’s?”

      “He mentioned something about it. I told him it was a bad idea.”

      Hunter Graves was Melody’s