That’s my girl!
She was putting everything she had into this performance as the images from their courtship flashed over the screen—from Nash saving Emily from the flames of that fire, to riding away from the mansion on his motorcycle. Groans and laughter emitted from crowd as bit by bit, they began to buy the angle that the blackmail footage was a shameless music video plug.
“They say he’s bad news, but you know who loves company, is Little Miss Miss-ery!
You’ve got your baseball cap on backwards, so you can kiss me whenever you want.
I forget to breathe as the bumpy roads throw me closer to your warmth.”
The rodeo came next. He kissed her exactly how he should’ve kissed her the first time that he knew that he liked her. He carried her away on a galloping horse like the suave hero in a western. Next to him, a few women jumped up and twirled to the music, pushing their fists into the air.
“It’s the smolder in those dancing eyes. You don’t play fair.
Who put that sparkle in them? You say it’s me, but I’ve seen it there before.
Mr. Bad to the Bone—too bad that bad company makes for good with a little Miss-Behavior!”
She growled that out, playing up to her new bad girl image like a regular showman. Their night at the karaoke bar played above the stage. Eva had mercilessly found every little time that Nash had forgotten himself enough to stare at her with open admiration.
“That look,” Eva had told him as she began searching through the footage. “That’s the one, where everyone knows that you’re a victim of your own scheming.”
Nash remembered that night at karaoke well. He’d found every excuse in his arsenal to touch Emily… and kiss her. Eva had found that footage too.
The audience let out cheers that had the power to blow out his eardrums. Emily had them in the palm of her hand; so did Eva. Over the video, Trout’s daughter had overlaid the words, “You can’t fake it if it’s real.”
He chuckled through his own embarrassment. Eva was an absolute media genius, to tell the truth. A gem. West had truly met his match in her, and Nash reallydidowe her—a whole treasure trove of diamond earrings left behind in his brother’s car. Too bad West didn’t deserve her.
“How are you going to thank me?” Nash had asked Emily. They’d timed the talking portion perfectly after Nash had sent Eva footage of Emily practicing this song two days ago. On stage, the band played the instrumental portion between the lyrics while Emily’s chin lifted as she watched the screen where the blackmail footage played again.
Nash had given in to his need to touch her and ran his hands down that soft skin. He could almost feel her skin now. Emily laughed in return. Her own eyes showed just how much she liked him. He melted, as the image shifted to Emily letting him into the mansion through the window. He carried Lizardman, though she immediately stole him. Mia walked into the room with cookies, talking about her Harvest Ranch concert. Emily kissed the puppy’s head, her eyes nervous.
“I’ll be there for you,”he’d said.
“Thank you,”she’d whispered.
Some video flooded over the screen that Nash hadn’t realized anyone had caught, like when they stood at the gazebo and he’d been mesmerized by the sunlight playing with her hair. He hadn’t realized how protectively he’d watched her when he was stopping the crowd from crushing her at the recording studio.
He’d protected her then, and he’d protect her now.
Turning, Nash stumbled back when he saw two men that he hoped he’d not see for a very long time. Crawley and Stein moved methodically through the crowd like they’d done with their seismic trucks on Millie’s land when they hunted for oil. Now Lynch had sent them after him.
Fortunately, their presence meant that they hadn’t stumbled on Porter and mistaken him for Nash. Of course, Nash had to give himself up. He couldn’t have them finding his twin and making him pay for their brother turning on him.
But not yet. He needed two more minutes to record the rest of this and repair everything that he’d ever done to Emily.
Nash edged back, using the tent as his cover as the hired thugs moved closer.