his mansion. Was he really an unfeeling ass? Maybe he would have gotten along better with Susan.
“I’ve been without work for a while,” the fan said. “I’m trying to find a decent job, but nothing ever seems to pan out for me. I was so bummed that I couldn’t afford to see you guys play live this year, but my bros got me a ticket for the show. It made my year to get to be here tonight. You have no idea how much it means to me to stand here talking to you. I just wish I wasn’t such a fuck-up.”
Dare’s grass green gaze lifted to meet Toni’s, and her heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t been sure if Dare realized she was recording his apparent disinterest, but with one look, she knew she’d judged him unfairly. He was aware of everything going on around him and in perfect control of his surroundings. It was as if the universe was a slave to his whimsy. He turned to the disheartened fan to his left and grabbed the guy’s hand in a tight fist. Dare yanked him forward until their shoulders knocked together.
“Don’t let life get you down, man,” Dare said as he used his free hand to pat the man’s wide back. “Everything will work out. You have to believe in yourself even when no one else sees your true worth.”
Surprised by how much she needed to hear those exact words, Toni felt that Dare were talking to her. Why couldn’t her editor—or her mother—ever say something like that to her?
The fan beamed, tears in his dark eyes. He pulled a cellphone out of his pocket. “Can I get a picture with you? My friends are going to kick themselves for going directly to the hotel. They’ll never believe this shit without photographic evidence.”
Dare wrapped an arm around his new buddy and smiled, making a pair of devil horns with one hand while the guy held his phone in front of them and snapped a picture. Dare patted the man on the back before turning his attention to a gushing fangirl.
“Oh God, you’re so gorgeous, I’m about to wet myself.”
“If I was really that gorgeous, you’d already be wet,” Dare said.
Toni snorted in a most unladylike fashion. She had no problem picking up on the meaning of that jest, seeing as Dare’s quiet control and amazing green eyes made her wet in uncomfortable places. Toni pulled out a release form and handed it to the long-winded fan. When she explained that he might be included in an interactive e-book about the band, he was very accommodating.
“And I might be in the book? With Dare Mills?” he asked, nodding eagerly.
“No guarantees,” she said, “but yes. We can depict you as an anonymous fan or include your name. Just indicate your preference there on the form.”
“That is so cool! Definitely use my name. I need this book. When will it be out?”
“Next year.” Assuming she didn’t mess this up. She glanced at Dare, who was back to pretending detachment, and remembered his words of encouragement. They hadn’t been directed at her, but she could pretend they had been. She had to believe in her abilities even when no one else did.
While she waited for Long-Winded—the guy was still talking—to fill out his personal information, Toni searched the crowd for her next point of interest. She didn’t see the golden-haired bassist, Logan, anywhere, but the band’s vocalist was readily identifiable. Toni tucked the completed release form into her bag and started toward Max, who was surrounded by at least twenty fans—all women, all trying to get a hand—or two—on him.
“If they knew what he was really like, they wouldn’t chase him like that,” someone said in her ear.
Toni turned to find herself staring into Logan’s stunning blue eyes.
“I find that hard to believe,” she said.
Logan grinned and shrugged. “Believe what you want. He’s a complete control freak.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” She was a bit of a control freak as well. Toni liked things orderly and neat, but Birdie could scarcely function without a smooth routine. Toni fleetingly wondered how her mother was coping with Birdie on her own.
“It is if it gets in the way of my good time.”
Logan’s smile made her toes curl inside her boots. Why was he looking at her like that? Was he trying to set her panties on fire? If they hadn’t already been damp, she was sure they would have ignited by now.