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Chapter Seven

My lips were still tingling. I was sure my makeup girl was going to point out the evidence as she applied my gloss.

I hadn't seen Nate since he stepped off the bus. The image of him in the shower only made my day worse. Those strong arms rippling with water and...

"Boy, you're warm. Are you getting sick?"

I glanced into the mirror.

"No, it's just hot in here."

"There's a fan blowing right on you."

I didn't know what to say to that. Luckily, I didn't have to. My dressing room door opened and one of the most beautiful women in the world bounced in.

Aunt Angel had arrived.

"Hey BooBoo!" she said. She dropped her purse down on the floor. She hugged me for just a second before the makeup girl went back to work.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice," I said. Angel laughed.

"Your dad did me a favor. Logan's dad arrived early. It was the perfect time to leave."

"I didn't think Logan ever saw his dad," I said.

"Actually, I told Logan when he got old enough that if he wanted to reach out and contact his dad, he should. I didn't want to be the bad guy in all of this. Surprisingly, somebody must have put a boot up Matt's ass because he seems like he truly does want to try. So, Matt's moved down to Tampa temporarily and I took it as my cue to leave."

"What if it doesn't work out?" I asked.

Angel looked down. She seemed hesitant; a little nervous.

"Don't tell your dad," she warned.

I had never had Aunt Angel tell me not to tell my dad something ever. I glanced over at her. This had to be serious.

"If it doesn't work out, I promised my mom that she could check up on Logan periodically."

My forehead creased in confusion. My makeup girl sighed in frustration. My facial expressions were causing her anxiety.

"Your mom?"

"Your grandma."

"But she's...but she's nuts!"

I didn't know a lot about grandma. I had a few fuzzy memories, but not many. Most of my memories were of her screaming at my dad. After the kidnapping, I knew she had gone to jail. I didn't know her part in the whole thing, but I knew she had done something wrong. Dad never talked about her and I just assumed she was either still in jail or in an insane asylum.

"She got help while she was in prison. She's not so bad. She's repented. She's seen Logan a few times and she just adores him," Angel explained.

"Well, she hasn't tried to contact any of us," I said.

"That's because your dad has a restraining order. She's not allowed to contact you guys."

"Really?"

"Really."

We lapsed into silence. The makeup girl finished her thing and Lola came over with my first outfit.

I didn't know how I felt about that grandma. I mean, I had a grandma. Grandma Carrie was all the grandma I thought I really needed. And I had Grandpa Mike and Grandpa Bob.

I had to trust that dad was just looking out for our safety.

Just like he always did.

All of a sudden, Angel clapped her hands.

"So, change of subject. Your dad tells me that I'm going to need to watch my hormonal niece closely this tour," Angel teased. I looked up in surprise; Lola was wrapping a chain around my waist.

"What does he mean by that?" I asked.

Angel laughed. "Well, I might be jumping to conclusions, but there's a totally cute young man sitting outside the door with a camera. He's been watching everyone go in and out of this room sadly."

My heart took a giant leap. "That's Nate," I said with a grin. Angel laughed.

"Take it from experience, honey. A guy that good looking is trouble."

It was on the tip of my tongue that I liked trouble, but I didn't say it. Angel was my aunt and she was the one that I had to suck up to in order to get a little more freedom. It was best not to get off to a bad start.

"You're all set," Lola said. I turned around and thanked her.

"Can you let him in now?" I asked Angel as I turned around. I crossed my fingers dad hadn't imparted his 'no dressing' room policy upon his favorite sister. Angel smiled.

"Sure."

She opened the door, poked her head out, and said something. A second later Nate walked into the dressing room with her. He looked around with a big smile.

"I'm dressed," I said. I held my arms out for emphasis. He laughed.

"I see that. It must be the power of the room," he chided.

Angel and I looked at each other. She pointed to the door, winked, and left.

My awesome aunt scored a million points in my book with that move.

"I won't take any photographic evidence that I'm in here. I have a feeling your dad will be checking up on you through my work," he added with a grin.

"You do good work," I said.

His eyes floated down to my bare midriff.

"So do you."

All of a sudden, my legs moved independently from my mind. I closed the distance between us. His arms went around my waist. I felt his fingers press into the bare skin of my back. I was amazed at the shot of desire that flowed through me like a bird heading south for the winter. We stared into each others eyes for a few delicious seconds.

"You look gorgeous tonight; but, I'll admit that I like you better the other way," he said suddenly.

"What other way?" I asked in confusion.

"Without all the makeup," he said. His fingers trailed a slow circle around my sides towards the expanse of abdomen that my shirt allowed on display. I bit my tongue. Hard.

"And I like you in your regular clothes," he added. His face reddened. "You kind of remind me of a Barbie doll right now."

"But I'm anatomically correct!" I blurted out. There was a long agonizing moment where there wasn't even the sound of breathing. I watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard. His fingers splayed out. I felt just the tips graze the underside of my breasts. My knees shook. Slowly his hands dropped from my body.

"I'm going to go," he said slowly. We both exhaled at the same time. "Before the dressing room becomes an un-dressing room."

He took my hand, gave it a squeeze and walked out. As the door closed, I backed up and sat down on the couch. Hair be damned, I lowered my head between my legs and started to hyperventilate.

"FIVE MINUTES!" I heard someone shout.

I had five minutes to go from horny teen to irresistible pop star. I shook my arms out along my sides.

I could do this. I just had to get my game face on.

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Author's Note: By popular request, I have another LiveJournal exclusive of Liv finding out there's ANOTHER Carter on the way. Click here to read it. You can leave me a review (if you want) via Heartbreaker here on AC.

Also, I've done my Friday update of Murder at Backstreet Mansion. If you haven't started to read it, give it a chance. It's a perfect Halloween story! Click here to read it!