The Man You Need (Love on Tour #4) by Kay Harris Page B

short shorts.
    “And that one is definitely the hottest girl in the crowd,” he said, moving his finger to the massive group of people near the stage. “The tall Black girl that looks like she just walked out of a Vanity Fair shoot.”
    I spotted her right away, too. She was tall, and had a thick head of beautiful braided hair. But I wouldn’t consider her model quality. She was a pretty big girl, lots of soft curves, and muscle. She looked like she could kick my ass.
    “Seriously? There is absolutely no pattern in that.”
    He shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t have a type. I just know what I like.”
    I chewed on my lip. This was harder than I’d expected. I needed to know if I was Jack’s type. He wasn’t making this easy. So I just asked, “What about me?”
    Jack looked carefully at my face. “Why? Are you coming on to me?” He tried to make it sound like a joke, but he looked a little nervous.
    “Hell no! I kinda wanted to make sure that, you know, you wouldn’t ever come on to me . Because, Jack, you are not my type.”
    He laughed. “You worried I’m going to get all crushy on you, Stac?”
    “I don’t need that shit,” I said lightly. “I’ve already got Baby and Lisa’s brother getting all weird on me. And he’s showing up tomorrow. I am not looking forward to that.”
    “Don’t worry, Princess. You’re safe with me.”

9
     
    “Hide me,” I said to Jack, as I ran into Sean’s green room.
    “What?”
    “Sean’s on stage and I’m stuck out there with Brad.”
    “What’s wrong with Brad?”
    I rolled my eyes and plopped down on the couch. Jack had been messing around with one of Sean’s guitars, putting a new string on it or something. He turned and leaned against the counter opposite me.
    “I told you. He has a thing for me.”
    Baby’s little brother had flown out to meet up with us in Tampa. He’d be traveling with us as we hit Orlando, then he’d fly back to San Francisco when we got to Miami. It was going to be a long three days.
    “And now he’s hitting on me.”
    “Wait, let me get this straight. For the first time, ever, you want me to actually rescue you from a guy?”
    “Get over it. Yeah, I do.”
    “Huh.”
    “Ugh, can’t you just be cooperative?”
    “You don’t like him?”
    “I like him just fine, but I am so not interested in him romantically. First of all, he’s a tech geek and that is so–”
    “Not your type, I know.”
    “Also, I am not going down this crazy ‘all the siblings in the Roberts family marry all the siblings in the Rushton family’ hole. It’s already weird enough.”
    “I see. So, why don’t you just tell him you’re not interested?”
    “Because I don’t work that way.”
    “What?”
    “I don’t reject guys. I’m not good at it.”
    “You told me, flat out, yesterday that you weren’t interested in me.”
    “That’s different. You weren’t hitting on me. And besides, you’re my friend.”
    “And Brad’s not?”
    “I don’t know, Jack. Honestly, in the time his sisters have been married to my brothers I haven’t had as many frank conversations with him as I have with you in the last couple weeks. Come on, quit grilling me and help me out here.”
    “So, what do you normally do if you’re not interested in a guy?”
    “I blow them off, or avoid them. Avoidance, that’s my thing,” I admitted.
    “Or, you could just have an honest conversation with him and tell him you aren’t interested.”
    I had always done this with men. I didn’t know how to look them in the eye and just say ‘no.’ It was why… Tears sprang to my eyes. Oh, shit. I let out a huge sob. Oh, God. I couldn’t stop it.
    Jack crossed the room quickly and sat beside me on the couch. The crying got worse. I buried my face in my hands. I just couldn’t make it stop. Jack put his arm around me and pulled me to his chest. I heaved and sobbed. He waited quietly and rubbed gentle circles on my arm.
    Finally, my body started to calm down,