More Than Words (Velvet Shadows #1)

prologue

Meet Kate.

Professional list-maker, binder enthusiast, and chronic over-thinker.

Kate thought she had it all—a steady job, a great apartment, and a tech mogul boyfriend who (spoiler alert) turned out to be a condescending human dumpster fire.

After four years of slowly losing herself in a relationship held together by gaslighting and her own impressive conflict-avoidance skills, Kate did the unthinkable.

She left.

“Come on tour with me,” her best friend, Dani, had suggested the night Kate showed up at her front door with nothing but a suitcase.

“Are you joking?” Kate asked. “Me? On tour with a rock band?”

“Josh needs an assistant in the worst way. The man is falling apart.”

Unsure which of the band members Josh was, a quick internet search left her jaw on the floor.

“Hold on. Josh as in…Josh Calloway? People Magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive,’ Josh Calloway?”

“No, Josh Hutcherson, the actor from The Hunger Games,” Dani said, sarcastically rolling her eyes. “Yes, Josh Calloway.”

And before she could talk herself out of it, Kate—a woman whose wildest recent adventure was switching her milk from almond to oat—said yes.

Sure, she hasn’t been to a concert since the Nashville Symphony's “Evening of French Horns,” and yes, she may have thought a sound check was something her bank did, but if there’s one thing Kate always has, it’s a plan.

She packed her bags.

She listened to the songs.

She made a binder titled “Tour Life,” complete with laminated schedules and a section marked “In Case of Social Media Scandal.”

She’s ready.

…ish.

Ready to leave her old, mostly neutral-toned apartment behind to hop on tour with her best friend and four men who collectively own more leather jackets than books.

It’s bold.

It’s reckless.

It’s borderline unhinged.

But maybe it’s exactly what she needs.

Because beneath the planner tabs and polite smiles, Kate is a little bit lost.

After years of shrinking herself to keep the peace, she’s ready to feel something again—even if that something includes backstage chaos, an emotional rollercoaster ride, and an alarmingly attractive lead singer with a reputation that would make even a romance reader blush.

Catching her reflection in the hallway mirror, she squares her shoulders and forces a deep breath.

“This is fine. Totally, absolutely, completely fine.”

(It was not, in fact, totally, absolutely, or completely fine.)

But one thing’s for sure: by the time this tour ends, Kate Martin won’t just remember who she is—she’ll become someone she never expected.