Wanderlust Read Online Free Page B

Lex shook his head. “No, this is the chick I did the body shot with on stage.”
    “Yeah, that’s me,” Aubrey said dryly, “reporter and stage prop.”
    “Shit.” Lex scowled. Of all the goddamned luck.
    Aubrey crossed the room with a graceful, confident stride and stuck out her hand to him. Her smile seemed strained, though, like it was hurting her face “Hey, no big deal. You didn’t know, and I didn’t want to be a bad sport in front of the crowd. Why don’t we pretend it never happened and that we haven’t met yet? I’m Aubrey.”
    He gripped her hand. He didn’t want to pretend it never happened. The moment that had passed between them on stage had been the only interesting moment of the whole drag of a night. “Lex Logan.”
    “Nice to meet you,” she said, dropping his hand and taking a significant step backward, as if he were contagious or something. “I guess Pete told you about Nick.”
    Lex nodded.
    “Yeah, so my boss asked me to take over. Nick’s going to be out of commission for a while.” She tucked her wavy, coffee-colored hair behind her ears, and Lex let his eyes roam to her jawline and the delicate curve of her neck. Her skin looked like the kind of pale that would burn rosy red if touched the right way. He wanted to reach out and test that theory, but he forced his eyes back to her face. She was still talking. “He said that the piece was supposed to be a slice of life kind of thing. A week in the life of a rock star. Is that what he had talked to you about?”
    Lex stuck his hands in his back pockets and shrugged. He had no idea what she’d asked. He was suddenly too focused on the soft pink of her lips.
    Pete jumped in. “Yeah, that’s what we discussed, Ms. Bordelon. A weeklong exclusive.”
    Pete’s words dragged Lex back to reality. Why was he standing here like an idiot thinking about how beddable this girl was? She was a reporter, a reporter who would be trailing after him like a gnat while he tried to get his head and band back together. No way.
    “Look, Aubrey,” he said, trying to sound as polite as possible. “I’m sure you’re a great music journalist and all, but I think I’m going to have to decline. I need the next few weeks to focus on my music and the next album. This is supposed to be a sort of inspiration vacation, if you will.”
    He grinned at his clever term.
    Her sweet smile disappeared and a no-nonsense look took its place. “Mr. Logan, I’m sorry you feel that way, but your manager signed a contract with the magazine guaranteeing the exclusive.”
    “For an interview with Nick,” Lex said.
    “You signed it with the magazine, not a specific reporter. Now, I can promise you that I will be as accommodating as possible. I don’t plan to get in the way of your
inspiration
. I simply need to observe and ask a few questions as we go along. I can be one of the guys just as much as Nick would be.”
    He snorted. “Yeah, sure you can.”
    She crossed her arms and a tinge of color crept from her neck to her face. “I assure you I’m qualified to handle the story.”
    Lex tried to ignore how the flush in her cheeks made her look even more enticing. She was off limits. Not only off limits but trying to force him into a miserable week of interviews and hiding the truth. “Are you now? What other bands have you done interviews with?”
    Her green eyes shifted away briefly. “I’m . . . just moving into the music portion of the magazine. I’ve been focusing on culinary articles up until now.”
    Lex let out a loud laugh and turned to Pete. “They sent the goddamned restaurant reviewer. Can you believe this crap? They must be on some major drugs if they expect me to spend a week with a food and wine debutante. She doesn’t even write about music.”
    Pete crossed the room and placed a hand on Lex’s shoulder. “Lex, calm down. Ms. Bordelon, I’m sorry. Lex is under a lot of pressure right now. He doesn’t mean to be so rude.”
    She raised an