Taming the Country Star: A Hometown Heroes Novella (Entangled Bliss) Read Online Free PDF Page A

going?” he demanded, leaning over the flimsy railing and grabbing the blonde’s sleeve.
    She stammered for a moment before finally getting out, “I don’t know.”
    Another camera flashed in his eyes and Cole, finally remembering precisely where he was, dropped the woman’s arm. Brushing her shirtsleeve back into place, she backed away, then followed her friend.
    This would be all over the tabloids in the morning. Maybe it would be dismissed as a publicity stunt. Not that it mattered—Kylie already hated him. No matter how he might have tried to deny it in the past, there was no getting around it now. It was a clear, irrefutable fact.
    But she had come to his show. And damn, she looked good.
    He grabbed the edge of the stage and pulled himself back up. Retrieving his guitar from Freddy, he strummed the opening chords to his older hit “Down, But Not Out.” It was a change from the set list, but it suited his mood, and the band followed his lead.
    He had a set to finish.
    And then he was going to get Kylie Andrews back.

Chapter Four
    Kylie staggered down a nearby hallway. Jimmy’s was something of a maze, but she had practically grown up in it. By ducking into the corridor that led to the indoor rodeo arena, she had been able to lose the one photographer who had actually pursued her.
    The music had started back up a moment ago and she could almost make out the words and tune, but not quite—especially since the indistinct sound of a rodeo announcer’s voice blended with the thump of the bass from Cole’s concert.
    Generally, she avoided the arena. The familiar aroma of dust and cows with a faint overlay of horse manure wafted over her. Combined as it was now with the afterimage from the camera flashes, the smell of horses, bulls, and sweat was almost overpowering.
    It reminded her too much of her father.
    It was like being snapped back to her childhood, and her stomach heaved as a wave of loss crashed over her. She shook with it, and with the aftereffects of Cole’s touch. Her skin burned where he had made contact, while the rest of her shivered.
    Goose bumps popped up on her arms and wave after wave of dizziness brought her stumbling to a halt. Bracing her back against the wall, she slid down until she was sitting on the floor and could drop her head down between her knees.
    “Dammit,” she whispered, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the cold white cinderblock wall.
    She should have known better than to come tonight.
    A single tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and she dashed it away.
    She couldn’t believe LeeAnn had won front-row tickets, that Cole had seen her, had sung a song to her. Touched her. Her fingers still burned where he had clasped them, sending tingles straight up the back of her neck and shivers throughout the rest of her body. She couldn’t believe she still reacted to him so instantaneously.
    Scratch that. She couldn’t believe she had ever agreed to come to this concert.
    When Cole had bounded out on stage, her stomach had clenched. He looked almost exactly like she remembered, all cocksure charm and charisma. His dark-blond hair had grown a little longer, and seeing it made her want to brush it back behind his ears again.
    His grin had been as infectious as ever, the leftover mischievous ten-year-old boy he had probably been peeking out through it. And the sound of his voice, deeper than it seemed like it ought to be, made her head swim a little.
    But the lights were full on Cole’s face, and she doubted he could see much past them. He had talked out to the audience, staring past her and back into the seats behind her.
    By the end of the first song, she had felt safe watching him. LeeAnn was singing along. Kylie had spent far too much time avoiding Cole’s music to really be able to join in, but she clapped when the song ended.
    Two songs later, she was almost enjoying herself, as long as she didn’t think too carefully about the fact that it was Cole up on