Page 16 of Knox
Kelsey stood up, wiped her sweaty hand on her jeans, and held it out for Rafe. Handsome, dark brown hair, muscled and lean, he bore the look of a man who knew his way around a rodeo. And his wife, Katherine, had the long dark hair and smile of a grown-up cowgirl, from her pink shirt to her skinny jeans and designer boots.
“Glad to meet you,” Kelsey said, not sure what else she should add. Begging briefly shot through her mind, but she’d just given them her best. She wasn’t sure what else she could offer.
Either they liked the Belles, or they didn’t. She looked at Carter, searching for rescue.
And for the first time since she got offstage, a tremor ran through her. What if—
“You were amazing.”
The voice slid under her skin, landed in her bones, and her breath hiccupped as she turned to look for the source.
Knox had walked up, stood behind Katherine, grinning at Kelsey.
And just like that, Cowboy Marshall had the power to stop her world from spinning out from beneath her.
“Hi,” she said softly, nothing of the stage in it, knocked away by the spell of his eyes.
Those dangerous blue-green eyes that held her, the language in them something rich, although a little confused.
“I…almost didn’t recognize you.”
Katherine had stepped aside, and Knox came up to Kelsey, his gaze taking in the feathers, the brown V-necked NBR-X T-shirt, cutoff jeans, and black tights that molded her legs, down to turquoise cowboy boots.
Okay, yeah, she looked a little different.
Whereas he looked exactly the same. Except for the suit coat over his black T-shirt.
Wait—was he on the board, too?
She drew in a breath, because…
The last thing NBR-X wanted was a crazy person, a troublemaker, someone who might crack at any moment, on their roster.
Or, probably, a liar. “I didn’t want to…I…” She bit her lip, not sure what to say about her glaring omission last night.
He shook his head, grinned, saving her again. “It’s okay. I get it. Sometimes a person just needs to eat cheese curds in anonymity.”
Her mouth opened, closed. She nodded.
Shoot. Because this man had definite swooniness. “What are you doing…I mean, did you stay for the concert? Because you said you were leaving—”
“You two know each other?” Rafe Noble glanced at Knox.
“We met last night. She was picking up some wings at the beer tent,” Knox said, not giving her up.
“I told little Miss Noble here that you’d sign a poster for her,” Carter said, indicating Tori. She looked up at Kelsey, her eyes shining.
“Of course I will. You want to see my dressing room?”
Tori nodded, and Kelsey held out her hand, glancing for the okay from Katherine. “We’ll be right back.”
She waved her hand to Glo and Dixie, leaving them to mingle as she and Tori pushed through the crowded room. When they emerged to the hall, she noticed Knox had joined them. She met his eyes. “Really?”
“I want a signed poster too.” He grinned then, and a strange warmth poured through her, touching her belly.
They wove their way to the back rooms, and she pushed open her door, a tiny room that held her costumes, makeup, and yes, that leftover pizza. She flicked on the lights.
Tori’s eyes widened as her gaze fell on the rack of costumes dragged in from the bus. “You wear all these?”