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I'm forever yours, faithfully
    Circus life under the big top world
    We all need the clowns to make us smile
    Through space and time, always another show
    Wondering
where I am lost without you
    And bein' apart ain't easy on this love affair
    Two strangers learn to fall in love again
    I get the joy of rediscovering you
    Oh girl, you
stand by me, I'm forever yours, faithfully
    “Oh, got you
now.” She nodded understandingly when he finished.
    The quiet moment
was interrupted by an eruption from her stomach confirming that the pink
lemonade hadn’t made much of an impact.
    “I’m
starving.” She tried to hush her growling stomach by placing a hand on it. “I
don’t suppose I can get room service at this time.” She saw that it was after
two in the morning.
    “You’re
with the band,” Steve reminded her. “You can get anything you want. Besides,
this is Vegas, the other city that never sleeps.”
    “True.
I forgot. I guess there are benefits. That reminds me that I’m supposed to meet
Nick for the first interview tomorrow. Make that today, at two, in his suite. Not
the best meeting place, but Lily said that if we go anywhere in the hotel he’ll
be recognized and that will be chaos.”
    “You
got that right,” confirmed Steve. “We all hang out in each other’s rooms and
sometimes we share; it’s not a big deal. Anyway, you’ll be lucky if he’s up by
two,” he warned.
    “Especially
if he gets lucky tonight and it sure looks as if he will,” Brian said, sounding
envious.
    “What’s
so lucky about that?” Shari asked drily.
    “Know
what you mean,” Steve murmured.
    “How
do you manage not to get caught up with all that?” Shari asked curiously,
gesturing in the direction they had left.
    “It’s
not easy,” he admitted. “I love my wife, but you have no idea how hard it is to
resist what’s thrown at you so easily. So I try to avoid the after parties most
of the time and I usually go back to my room and call her. But even so, it’s
not easy being apart for so long. I guess that’s why most of the guys aren’t
married. Nick was married twice, but the last one ended a couple years ago.”
    “I
wonder why he bothered,” Shari mused.
    “It feels
good to have someone to go home to. Being on the road can be lonely. Even for
Nick.”
    Shari
was skeptical.  She remembered the glimpse she’d had of Nick on the dance floor
sandwiched between the pole dancers. He hadn’t looked at all lonely to her.
     

Chapter 3
     
     
    Shari
knocked at the door of Nick’s suite. It was one of Las Vegas’ best, of course. Nothing
less for Nick Badley. She eyed the Do Not Disturb sign that hung on the handle while
she waited for him and hoped he had only put it out so that housekeeping would
not wake him up too early.
    After
a minute or two she was still waiting, so she knocked louder. Realizing there
was no way he would hear her from inside the undoubtedly vast suite, she pursed
her lips in annoyance. Taking out her cell phone, she called Lily and told her
that she was outside Nick’s door and asked if she could call him. Obviously, Shari
hadn’t been given Nick’s cell number. A person with that information could
probably retire early.
    Several
minutes later, where every minute she waited added to her impatience, the door
opened and a rumpled-looking Nick propped against it lazily. He looked as if he
had literally tumbled out of bed, rubbed his eyes and came to the door. She
would have to be dead not to notice his bare, sculptured torso and the
beginning of his V-line that the black gym pants failed to cover.  She silently
acknowledged that he could be a model for Abercrombie & Fitch, except, of
course, that he had his own brand of clothing, she’d read somewhere. However, she
was there to do a job, not admire his V-line. She had to admit it, though; Nick
Badley was too sexy for his own good.
    “Ms.
Shari Goodwin,” he drawled. She wished he would stop calling her by her full
name in that mocking tone.