Big Girl Going On Tour — Aubrey Rose

Shannon can't get Julian out of her mind - ever since that one wild night after his concert, she's been dreaming about him. A week has passed and he hasn't called, emailed, or texted. Just as she's about to give up on the one man who stole her heart, she opens the door to find true love waiting on her doorstep...

He can't believe she loves him for who he is.

Julian is the lead guitarist for the hit rock band Wilder Side, but is that all he means to Shannon? Torn by doubt, he can't help but think that his fame is the only thing keeping her interested. When he realizes his mistake, all he can do is throw caution to the wind and hope that she finds it in her heart to give him a second chance...

Can two broken hearts ever truly be repaired?

EXCERPT:

Shannon stared across the doorway at Julian, a thousand thoughts running through her mind. It was him. It really was him. She didn't know what to say.

Julian stepped forward, shyly offering her the rose. She took it, and his fingers brushed against hers. The single touch made her body flinch with a desire that she had been trying unsuccessfully to stifle for the past few days.

"I'm sorry I didn't call," Julian said.

"It's...it's okay. I understand. You've been busy with tour stuff."

"That's no excuse."

"You're in a famous band. That's enough of an excuse, I guess."

Julian winced, and Shannon thought she might have said the wrong thing. God, this wasn't starting out how she wanted it to.

"I just mean you've got a lot on your plate."

"It's not that at all." Julian's voice was rough, as though he was stammering through the words, trying to figure out how to move his tongue to get the right letters out.

"What is it?"

"I was nervous. I thought maybe I messed up. With you."

"Messed up?"

"I thought maybe you wanted to be able to tell people you were with, you know, a famous rock star. That it wasn't really me you wanted. That I was just a good story to tell to your friends."
Shannon's mouth dropped open. That was what he was afraid of? A mixture of rage and relief swept through her.

"That's... I don't know what to say, Julian."

"Just tell me what you're thinking."

"What I'm thinking?" Shannon threw one hand up in the air, gesturing wildly with the rose. "I'm thinking that it's ridiculous you made up this whole motivation about why I wanted to be with you out of thin air. I'm thinking you shouldn't have waited a whole week before asking me about it."

"I'm sorry-"

Shannon stamped her bare foot on the floor. Now that he had made her talk, all of her anxieties were rushing out, and she didn't want to stop.

"I'm thinking that you are an idiot and jerk for keeping me in suspense this whole time!"

Julian's eyebrows knitted together in the middle of his forehead. It was obvious no girl had ever spoken to him like this before. But Shannon couldn't stop herself. He had to know what she had done to him.

"I'm thinking that you're possibly the dumbest man I've ever met, because who on earth would meet you and not fall immediately in love with you? It doesn't matter whether you were playing guitar on stage in a packed concert or on a cardboard box in an alleyway!"

Shannon didn't notice Julian's fierce look of desire, or the way that he was slowly inching over the doorstep towards her. Her eyes were welling with tears of anger mixed with joy.

"And I'm thinking that you owe me a lot more than just one rose if you're going to come back and ask me to open my heart back up again!"

Julian stepped forward fully, closing the door behind him. Shannon gasped as his arm reached out around her, pulling her close to him. She could smell his cologne, and when he bent his head to her ear she could hear her own heart beating fast against his chest.

"What do I owe you?"