“I slept,” she said in wonder.
Connor nodded. “Yeah, you did. You crashed around five.”
“What time is it now?”
“Eight. I would have let you sleep longer, but I’ve got to get your security squared away today and then we have to move you.”
“Okay.”
He eased back and she struggled to push herself up, her brain clouded and fuzzy. She blinked to try to clear the cobwebs and for a moment she simply stared around the room, amazed that she’d fallen asleep with him next to her in bed.
Maybe her exhaustion had finally caught up to her and she’d simply passed out. Even more surprising was the fact that she really wanted to lie back down and sleep for several more hours.
She should be jumping at the opportunity to surround herself with people for the day. Being on her own and with Connor had been a strain, and she was starting to show signs of cracking.
She rubbed at her face and then glanced over at Connor, who was sitting at the end of the bed watching her. “Are you done in the bathroom?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve already showered. It’s all yours.”
“Good. I’ll need a bit to get ready.”
She threw the covers aside and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Damn, but she was tired. As she trudged toward the bathroom, Connor said, “You want breakfast? I was going to order room service. I’d rather you not go down and eat. More chance of you being recognized.”
She covered a yawn and nodded. “Yeah. Sounds good.”
“Eggs? Bacon? Pancakes? What’s your poison?”
“Yes, yes and yes.”
He laughed. “Okay, I’ll order everything they have. It’ll look like a buffet because I’m starved.”
She shook her head in amazement. “You put away a lot of food just a few hours ago. How can you possibly be starving again?”
He ignored her and picked up the phone.
Fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of the shower feeling somewhat revived, and after drying herself, she put her hair up in a towel, pulled on one of the big, fluffy robes the hotel provided and padded back into the room to figure out what to wear.
She was back in the bathroom drying her hair and fluffing it out when Connor hollered that the food had arrived. She didn’t have makeup on yet, but she was tempted to go au naturel. She didn’t often go without full treatment, hair, nails, outfit and makeup because she literally never knew when and where she might be photographed.
Today she just wanted to be . . . normal. Unrecognized. Anonymous—and not only because she had some lunatic freaking her out. Okay, so that was the biggest reason, but the other was simply she was looking forward to being around people she could actually be herself with.
She walked back into the hotel room to see Connor putting a dent in the array of food arranged on the serving cart. If she wanted to eat, she needed to wade in and rescue something before he ate it all.
“Do you always eat so much?” she asked once she was cross-legged on the bed, her plate in front of her.
He frowned and stopped chewing for a minute. “I haven’t eaten much in the last couple of days. Been too busy with you.”
Her eyes widened. If he considered what he’d eaten “not much,” she’d hate to see what he considered a normal appetite.
“I bet you ran your parents ragged trying to keep you fed. You probably ate them out of house and home.”
He grinned. “Pop may have complained a time or two.”
Her gaze roved up and down his lean, muscled body and she shook her head. “I don’t know where you put it. I think I hate you.”
“I work out,” he defended. “Not like all I do is sit around and eat.”
She snorted. “Yeah, I bet you work out like once a week. It’s obvious you’re one of these people blessed with good genes.”
“And what about you? You aren’t exactly a delicate miss when it comes to eating and what are you, a size two?”
She nearly choked on her food. Maybe this guy didn’t have as much experience with women as she thought. “I’m a twelve. Sometimes a ten. I’ve been as high as a fourteen. No, nothing huge but not bone-thin either. I have to work hard to keep it under a ten. When I’m on tour I keep my weight down because performing almost every night keeps me fit. But when I’m not on tour and writing songs or in the recording studio, I gain weight just looking at food. I have to have a strict exercise regimen to keep it under control.”
He frowned. “I think you’re pretty damn perfect as you are. You don’t need to be any thinner.”
Then again, maybe he had plenty experience with women, because he sure knew what to say.
“I’m straining the waists of my size twelves right now,” she admitted. “I’m at the end of my tour and the shows are further apart and I’ve been stress-eating. Not the best habit in the world, but there you have it. I have a weakness for salty and sweet. Carbs. I love carbs.”
His eyes narrowed and she could feel his gaze examining her. His frown grew fiercer as he met her eyes. “You look just fine like you are.”
Warm pleasure bathed her cheeks until she was sure she glowed. In her world she was never perfect. She had fitness trainers telling her she needed to shed pounds. Her manager telling her what she could or couldn’t eat. Even her stylist waded in with her opinion and clucked at Lyric whenever her outfits got too tight.
And yet Connor was positively glowering at the idea that she needed to lose weight.
She beamed at him and polished off her breakfast, then chugged down an entire glass of orange juice. She nearly groaned with pleasure. She loved juices but had been forbidden to drink pretty much anything but water.
“Better?” Connor asked when she pushed her plate away.
“Yum. That was fantastic.”
He checked his watch. “You have a few minutes. Micah and the driver are coming up for you. I don’t want you standing around in the lobby where you’re visible while you wait.”
“Okay. I need to brush my teeth.”
She bounced off the bed feeling better than she had in days despite the fact she hadn’t caught up on her sleep. She brushed out her hair one more time and left it loose. Then she cleaned her teeth, gargled with mouthwash and checked her appearance in the mirror.
She wouldn’t stop traffic but she didn’t look all bad. And there was a lightness to her eyes she hadn’t noticed in a long time. She smiled back at her reflection, decided she’d survive being seen without makeup again and then left the bathroom.
Connor was on the phone. He turned and held a finger up to Lyric and then said, “I’ll have her right down.”
She raised an eyebrow as he shoved his cell phone back into his pocket. “I thought they were coming up?”
“Sam is parked at the side employee entrance. We’re going to go out that way. You won’t even be outside a second.”
“And you?”
“I’m going to my office to meet with the security team your label hired. I want to make damn sure they’re competent enough to do the job. I’ll come get you when I’m done. In the meantime, I’m having a few guys come in and clear out your hotel room, so if there’s anything you need, get it now.”
She scooped up her purse, looked to make sure her wallet, sunglasses and phone were still in it and then slung it over her shoulder.
“I’m ready.”
Five minutes later, Connor rushed her into the back of a Bentley and she blinked at the sumptuous leather and the obvious expense of the luxury car. She was a freaking rock star and she didn’t get to ride around in vehicles like these. Any wannabe could hitch a ride in a limo, but these wheels cost some serious cash.
The driver was a broad-shouldered boulder of a man who filled the driver’s seat. The steering wheel looked small in his hands, like it would break off if he turned it too hard. He flicked a glance at her in the rearview mirror but his eyes were covered with dark shades, and his bald head gleamed like he’d just shaved it that morning.