Page 47 (1/2)

For all that he’d tried to keep their relationship to just sex, it hadn’t been Not even close Herpart of who she was, and he needed to see it, needed to understand it, needed to know that part of her as well as he knew the contours of her beautiful body

The stage lights went up slowly and everyone shot to their feet as Nicola walked onstage Marcus’s breath caught at how shts, but how she owned it--and everyone in the room--nonetheless

He was surprised to see that she was still wearing her T-shirt and skirt Fro of her when he’d flipped past the music cable stations with his re one of her skimpy costumes, the outfits that were part and parcel of the super-sexy ie he’d ripped apart on the beach just hours before

"Hi, everyone"

The two large screens on either side of the stage showed hi, but a little nervous at the saht he saw hints of sadness in her eyes, but there was excite?

But then, suddenly, he knew, even before she said or did anything else: His beautiful girl was taking control

"I’ht with me The Musicians for Literacy Foundation is really important to me"

A voice called out, "We love you, Nico!"

She laughed "I love you, too"

The words fell so easily off her tongue and he knew she meant it Her fans meant the world to her She didn’t take the opportunity to play her htly

"I’ht and take this acoustic for a while Is that okay with you guys?" Five thousand voices cheered her and her smile lit up the dark roouitar froht how right she looked like that

He’d suddenly saw that he’d been wrong out on the beach She hadn’t been hiding all of herself, just one half of herself Because she was both the sex kitten fro out pure and strong as she struuitar and broke all of their hearts with the sis

People sat back down in their seats Not because they weren’t thrilled with the music, but because they wanted to be able to listen more closely, to better hear every note and nuance of her performance A perfors, she was utterly disar as she told the stories behind her inspiration for the lyrics and h And then, when she sat down at the piano in the spotlight and began to play the song he’d heard at her video rehearsal--All it took was one moment, one look in your eyes, one taste of your lips, to know that you were the one--she held out her entire heart to her audience

A heart for them to holdor to crush