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“You’re getting better. We just have to get our act down. I want people to believe it.”
    She knew why he wanted it to be believable but it made her wary. When she put her walls down and sang Touch Me to Trey, it affected her. Was it because she was an amateur that when she sang to him, the emotion was honest? She felt so strange. Maybe exhaustion caused her to drop her emotional boundaries, allowing her to sing the song with the vulnerability and desire she wrote it with. Translating her emotions into song stripped her, but singing it to Trey and remembering why she wrote the song was devastating. How did other singer/songwriters do it? Was this why Trey and Natasha kept being drawn back to one another? The intimacy of stripping yourself and singing to Trey across the stage, trusting him to keep you safe when you made eye contact was a bond not easily broken.
    “ What happened with Natasha?”
    He didn’t answer for a minute and then, “The picture of us fighting in that restaurant was on the cover of every magazine two weeks ago.”
    “ It sure was.”
    She didn’t mention the fact that The Duet was on most magazines daily. Trey and Natasha were the power couple people couldn’t get enough of. Natasha played it up for all it was worth, whether it was a forced PDA or blowing up at Trey or some other poor soul to show how much of a diva-bitch she was.
    “ Natasha is obsessed with her image. She’s upping her costs for appearances, collaborations, concerts, everything! She wants more money, more fame.”
    “ How much more can she have?”
    He snor ted. “She wants it all and I’ve tried to keep the peace between us for work but I can’t anymore. I kept making excuses not to be in the same city as her. When we started planning the tour, she wanted more money than ever and she wanted everything done her way. I’m the headline for this tour, not her, but everyone expects us together when I go on tour.”
    His hands tightened on the wheel and she patted his arm sympathetically. “I know.”
    “ Well, you know how she is. I took her out to lunch and she was a bitch to everybody. I cut line right there. She threw her cocktail in my face, slapped me and walked out.”
    Gwen blew out a breath. “That’s Natasha alright.”
    She could feel his agitation and temper and wished she hadn’t brought it up.
    “I don’t know why I stayed with her so long. We make great music together, but I lost my love for music because of business and I want to go back to enjoying it. I stayed with Natasha for the fans and money. I can’t do anything about her fans and I don’t need the money, so why stay in a relationship I don’t want to be in?”
    He parked the car a little more abruptly than was needed. They got out of the car and Gwen put her arm around him as they walked into the hotel.
    “ Well, I’m glad you’re not with her and I’m glad you’re doing this because you want to, not because you have to,” she said.
    “ Yeah, having you come on tour is part of doing what I want and Angie supports me. People are going to bitch but that’s okay. I make my own rules and you’re going to blow everybody out of the water.”
    She tried to smile when her stomach pitched. “Sure. I don’t know how this is going to pan out but for what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing.”
    His eyes moved over her face. “I think so too.”
    He stopped in front of her hotel room and she tried to shake off the odd feelings in the air. It was making her nervous and she didn’t need that with Trey. She kissed his cheek and unlocked her door.
    “ Gwen?”
    She looked back. “Yeah?”
    “ Thanks.”
     
     
    “ Don’t you look pretty,” Barbie gushed as she finished Gwen’s hair.
    Gwen stood in front of a full length mirror and smoothed her hands over the beautiful, dreamy gown she was trying on. She had four songs and two wardrobe changes. Gwen had to admit, she loved the dress and she liked the way Cassie and Barbie did