Dare to Rock Read online

  DARE TO ROCK

  Book Seven in the Dare to Love Series

  NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

  Carly Phillips

  Copyright © Karen Drogin 2015

  Digital Edition

  CP Publishing 2015

  Cover Design: The Killion Group Inc.

  [email protected]

  www.carlyphillips.com

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  NY Times Bestselling Author Carly Phillips turns up the heat in her newest sexy contemporary romance series, and introduces you to the Dare family… siblings shaped by a father’s secrets and betrayal.

  Avery Dare lives a quiet life in Miami as an online fashion/makeup video blogger. She has good friends, a close, large family and if her love life is lacking, she likes it that way. But when she receives an invitation to one of her ex’s concerts along with an invitation to meet him back stage, she decides to take the risk… and comes face to face with the reality of his rock star lifestyle – the press, the crowds, and the half naked groupies.

  At eighteen, Grey Kingston left everything he knew and loved behind to seek fame and fortune as a rock star, and he found it as the lead guitarist and singer for the band, Tangled Royal. Fans adore him, women throw themselves at him, and he can afford everything he couldn’t growing up. Yet at the height of his career, he’s ready to walk away and return home to a simpler life… and the woman he left behind, if he can convince her to give him another chance.

  Except moving on isn’t as easy as Grey would like. When Avery is threatened by a stalker, it becomes evident Grey’s fans not only don’t want him to retire, they don’t want Avery in his life either. And Avery isn’t sure she wants the pressures that are part of Grey’s life… but she doesn’t want to lose him again, either. Can their recently renewed love survive the fallout?

  “Carly Phillips is synonymous with red-hot romance and passionate love.”

  —Lauren Blakely, NY Times Bestselling Author

  * * *

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Prologue

  Sweat poured off Grey Kingston’s body, and his heart beat a too-rapid rhythm, the high and adrenaline rush from his performance still pulsing through his veins as he walked into the lounge backstage. He pulled off his soaked shirt and tossed it onto the floor, grateful for the stocked room and waiting pile of towels. He grabbed one and dried his face and hair, deliberately trying to slow his breathing.

  The sound of Tangled Royal fans stomping their feet and demanding an encore echoed through the walls, but the band had performed their final set. Even as his pulse still soared.

  He glanced toward the door. “Did she pick up the ticket?” Grey asked Simon Colson, their manager, who was busy texting on his phone.

  “What? Who?” Simon, ever the well-dressed Brit, shoved his phone into his trouser pocket. No jeans for him. “Good show,” he said to Grey and the rest of the band, ignoring Grey’s question.

  Lola Corbin, their lead singer and Grey’s best friend, was still bouncing in her heels, not yet coming down from their shared high either. “We did rock it,” she said, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder.

  Milo Davis, their bassist, grunted something and fell into a chair in the corner. Grey narrowed his gaze. Milo barely had the energy for a full concert these days, and that worried him.

  But right now Grey had bigger concerns and turned to Simon. “I asked you if Avery Dare picked up the VIP tickets I told you to leave at the box office.”

  Simon shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you.”

  Grey scowled at his manager’s I don’t give a shit tone. More and more lately, Simon’s lack of consideration about what the band members wanted grated on Grey’s nerves. Lola might be considering using him for her solo career, but anything Grey did going forward wouldn’t be with the man.

  At least he’d indicated he had left the tickets. He’d be out of a job if he screwed with Grey on this. “Fucking find out.”

  “What’s so special about this piece of ass?” Simon barely got the words out because Grey grabbed him by his collared shirt and pinned him up against the wall.

  “Talk about her like that again and you’re done.”

  “Whoa.” Lola put her petite body between them, pushing Grey away from their manager. “Everyone breathe,” she muttered. “You. Go take a walk and calm down before your company shows up,” she ordered Grey.

  He stormed off, missing whatever lecture she gave to Simon next.

  Though the man had done his job well, helping maneuver Tangled Royal to the elusive top of the charts, he cared about the bottom line and not much else. Especially not the fact that Tangled Royal was more than a band, people with real feelings, issues, and lives. No wonder Simon didn’t believe how serious both Grey and Lola were about changing their futures.

  Danny Bills, their drummer, already had a wife and two daughters who lived in L.A. He was ready for home time, and everyone knew it. Milo was another story. If he didn’t stop the drugs, he wouldn’t have a future.

  As for Grey, he hoped for more than the travel and fame that had been so important to him way back when. He hoped for her.

  His eyes flickered to the door. No sign of Avery. He tipped his head back, wondering if she’d come backstage or ignore the invitation … and him. His stomach gripped painfully at the thought of not seeing her again. She was the one person who not only understood the loner musician he’d been as a teen but who’d grounded him when he’d threatened to spiral. With her soft voice, that thick mane of dark hair, and those lavender-like eyes, she’d burrowed someplace deep inside him. Still, she hadn’t been enough to hold him, not when fame, fortune, and the need to be something more lived within him.

  But it was Avery whose face he saw in the nameless women he’d fucked over the years. Avery whose belief in him kept him going when times were hard. Funny how that worked. He wondered if she’d thought of him over the years and if she was as hyped up about possibly seeing him again now.

  A loud scream brought him out of his thoughts. He glanced up as a group of women poured into the room. Half-dressed, teased hair, too much makeup, and enough perfume to make him gag. Fucking Simon never listened. Grey had specifically told him not to let any of their crazed female fans backstage.

  Grey pushed himself off the wall and stormed over to his manager. “I told you no more groupies after concerts.” Especially not tonight, when he was expecting Avery.

  He shot a disgusted look at the women fawning over a dazed Milo. They wouldn’t give a shit if he were dead; they’d want a piece of him anyway. The thought made him want to gag.

  “Wasn’t me. Security obviously didn’t get the message,” Simon said, but Grey wasn’t buying it. Simon always had an agenda.

  “Grey!” one of the woman shrieked, her high pitch nearly piercing his eardrums.

  He glanced up just as one of the groupies he recognized threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her big, fake tits pressed uncomfortably against his chest, and she raked her clawed nails through his scalp.

  “Baby, you were so good! So hot on stage. I just knew you were singing di
rectly to me.”

  He choked over her sickly sweet scent. More because he’d been dumb enough to screw her once, years ago, after a concert and way too much to drink. She’d been trailing after him ever since. He attempted to detangle himself from her, but she wasn’t letting go. This was why it was time to call it quits.

  “Marco!” Grey called out for the bodyguard who usually prevented him from being mauled, but the guy was nowhere to be found.

  Beside him, Simon merely grinned, pleased with the fact that the band was liked, wanted, and making him money.

  “Back off,” Grey said to the woman, pulling at her arms, but she had them locked tight around him.

  “Baby, you don’t mean that.”

  “Oh, I really fucking do.” He glanced over, hoping to catch Lola or Danny’s attention and get help when his gaze fell on the woman who had just entered the room.

  She was so beautiful she took his breath away. Wholesome yet sexy, creamy skin, gorgeous, silky dark hair, and a nervous expression on her face as she looked around, her overall appearance in stark contrast to the harsher-looking groupies who followed the band.

  And she hadn’t seen him yet.

  Left with no choice, he was going to have to physically extricate himself from the clinging octopus of a woman. He grasped her around the waist, intending to push hard, just as Avery’s gaze landed on him, her eyes flickering from his to the woman he looked like he was holding in his arms.

  A flash of emotion flickered across her expressive face. Everything from awareness, shock, disgust, and hurt all showed before she swung around and headed for the door.

  “Avery!” He called her name loudly enough to be heard across the room while shoving the groupie, sending her tripping backward.

  She wailed and began crying, and her friends surrounded her, but Grey ignored her in favor of Avery. He reached the door just as she paused and turned to him.

  “Avery.” His gaze met hers.

  She blinked, a mix of pain and confusion in her unique lavender-colored eyes. “I shouldn’t have come.”

  “Yes, you should have.” She was so close he could see the light sprinkling of freckles on the bridge of her nose, and his heart threatened to pound out of his chest. “This isn’t what it looks like.”

  She tipped her head to one side. “But it is your life. The one you worked hard to achieve and … I’m happy for you.” But the words were at odds with the sad smile lifting her glossed lips. “It’s good to see you, Grey.” She raised a hand his way before she turned and walked out.

  Shit. “Avery!” He stepped into the hall.

  “Kingston!” Simon barked out. “I’ve got Rolling Stone on the phone, and they want an interview. I need an answer now.”

  A glance back told Grey that Avery had gotten lost in the crowd held back by security. His head pounding, he walked back into the lounge, ignoring his manager.

  “Was that her?” Lola came up beside him, her voice soothing in light of the chaos swirling around him.

  “Was is the right word,” he muttered. “I can’t do this anymore, Lo.”

  She laid her head on his shoulder in commiseration. “I hear you. It’s not good for us either. Rep doesn’t like the crap that comes with this lifestyle,” she said of her serious boyfriend, who was the Miami Thunder’s successful wide receiver. “I want to be around during his upcoming season, and he worries about me when we’re on the road and he can’t be there.” She let out a huge sigh. “We do have a tour to finish though.”

  “We do,” he agreed. “But afterwards? I’m coming home.” And he was going to get his girl.

  Chapter One

  Five Months Later

  “And always remember to be your best self!” Avery waved at the computer screen and hit the stop button on the recording. Another video in the can, she thought wryly. She’d re-watch later and do her editing before putting this one in the queue with the others.

  She taped ahead, and she felt good about the upcoming weeks’ worth of material. In between videos, she interspersed her blog with written stories, photos of clothing and makeup, and the celebrities who wore them well. Those she also wrote ahead of time. And she had plenty of future ideas, she thought, glancing at the yet-to-be-organized piles of free product that had been sent to her for testing.

  One of the perks of being a professional blogger—vlogger—with a huge online social media presence, she received packages from companies looking for her to pimp their goods. She also relied on her personal favorite products and looks for which she did online tutorials. It’d begun as a cool hobby she’d somehow turned into a career, and she loved it. She supported herself, supplemented by a trust fund courtesy of her maternal grandparents. She was lucky and she knew it. She never took her life for granted.

  The irony of her online persona compared to her real-life one never failed to amuse her. She was far from the extrovert she portrayed herself to be. When she was nine, she’d experienced her first panic attack after the scandal had broken about her father’s second family. The paparazzi had wanted more information about her family, and they hadn’t been above targeting a child to do it. She still had nightmares about the flashing camera lights and the crushing hordes of people coming at her. That incident and the ensuing ones had caused her to withdraw, preferring the comfort of friends and family to large outside crowds and intrusive strangers.

  With those closest to her, she was comfortable and outgoing. To Avery, vlogging was still the equivalent of being behind the scenes, and she had no problem portraying that side of herself on camera. She provided her viewers with advice and how-to instructions on wearing the newest fashions and current makeup styles. She was twenty-five and played to her age group and younger, and her perky persona worked, making her a success. As a result, her fans looked at her as their friend, someone to whom they could relate.

  Her brother Ian might be president of the Miami Thunder football team, and her father owned a renowned hotel chain, but Avery never flaunted her family name or wealth. She’d had enough of public scrutiny to last her a lifetime, and she never sought attention outside her small channel on the Internet.

  A familiar ding alerted her to incoming emails, and she clicked back to her mail program. An email notice from a local gossip blog caught her eye, and she read the subject.

  Reports of Tangled Royal breakup confirmed.

  Avery bit down on her lower lip, not surprised by the mention of the band but always dismayed by the accompanying painful twist of her stomach.

  Grey Kingston, Tangled Royal’s lead male singer and guitarist, had been Avery’s high school boyfriend and first love. And up until five months ago, she hadn’t heard from him in seven years. Then one day, a letter had arrived from Grey, telling her he was leaving her concert tickets and backstage passes. He’d ended with, Love to see you again. G.

  After a lot of consideration, because Avery always thought things through, she’d gathered her courage, invited her sister, Olivia, and decided to attend. Memories of that night still haunted her. She wasn’t naïve or stupid. She understood the magnitude of the kind of life a rock star like Grey Kingston led.

  Even if she hadn’t known, she’d been force-fed pictures and snippets of information over the years by the same online sites she read to keep her blog current. And she’d be a liar if she didn’t admit to setting a Google Alert to Tangled Royal and buying their albums and listening to them in secret, where her family and friends wouldn’t know or judge her. But the on-screen photos and gossip columns had nothing on what she’d seen with her own eyes.

  She’d walked into the room to find a half-naked, bleached blonde wrapped around Grey like a second skin. The other female fans in the room had been dressed equally skanky, and they’d surrounded the band members, serving to remind Avery of how different she and Grey’s lifestyles were. And how they each had always wanted opposite things.

  She’d left the VIP room before she and Grey could do more than look into each other’s eyes. A long,
history-filled stare that threatened all the defenses she’d built up against him after he’d left town … and left her behind. One look at the handsome face she used to love had hit her hard, and she’d known then and there, she would need to protect herself. And she was right.

  Grey hadn’t given up. Every time she posted something meaningful on her blog, like a hot new handbag or a delicious-smelling perfume she’d sampled and adored, the same product ended up being sent to her doorstep, gift wrapped beautifully, with a short card attached.

  I’m sorry — G.

  Give me another chance — G.

  Can’t wait to see you — G.

  Missed you all these years — G. Yeah, that last one got to her most. Because she’d missed him too.

  Then, as routinely as the presents had arrived, they’d stopped. He had sent a note, telling her he’d call when he was back in town, but that had been weeks ago, and she’d stopped holding her breath. No doubt he’d decided she wasn’t worth the effort, not when he had all those easy conquests and female groupies at his disposal.

  She’d tried to put him out of her mind, not all that successfully. Now this band breakup notice stared back at her from the screen. Her finger hovered over the keyboard before she finally gave in and opened the email alert and read the article in its entirety.

  Grey Kingston has been sighted in and around Miami and South Beach over the last week while bassist Danny Bills settles into L.A., adding fuel to the rumors that the band is going their separate ways.

  So Grey was back in Miami and had been for a week. So much for his promise to contact her when he returned to town, she thought, her chest tightening, not with her familiar anxiety but with true pain.

  Though she knew she shouldn’t be all that surprised. It was just another letdown by another important man in her life. This one had once stolen her heart. Only recently had she come to realize she’d never truly gotten it back.

  “Hey.” Ella, her roommate and best friend, stood in the doorway of Avery’s bedroom.