again but then I remember we’re on a first name basis now that he owns me. “Gage. There’s no need to ply me with champagne. You’ve already won.”
“I didn’t realize this was a competition.”
“I think we both know that’s not true.” And that he’s already crossed twelve finish lines before I’ve even started the race.
“And I wasn’t intending to ‘ply’ you with anything.”
This whole thing was obviously a terrible idea. We don’t have anything in common and can’t agree on a single thing. Not even the Tucker Brothers Band is worth putting up with this for an entire evening. “You know what, I think maybe I’ve changed my mi—”
His phone rings loudly, interrupting me in mid-excuse.
Gage pulls his phone out of his pocket. The screen says Travis. “Do you mind if I take this? It’s probably about our tickets.”
I shrug insolently. He can take whatever call he wants.
He puts his phone on speaker. “Travis.”
“Gage. Where are you, man?”
“On my way now.”
“Come around to the back. There’s been another leak about the gig tonight. There’s already a crowd at the front door. We’re still going ahead but we’re hoping it doesn’t get too crazy.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. How long ‘til you get here?”
“Around ten minutes, depending on traffic.”
Wow. That’s Travis Tucker. A real live rock star. Last night I listened to a few of their new songs as I was falling asleep. They’re amazing. All three of the brothers write songs and each of their styles is slightly different. Travis’s skew more country, Vaughn’s are more rock ‘n roll and Kade’s are, if I had to try to describe them, dreamier. More poetic and soulful. The band has evolved over the past two years to write songs that go beyond stadium anthems into something far more original. It would be a shame to miss a show like this one, especially since I’ll get a chance to actually meet them.
I’m sure I’ll regret it if I bail now.
Still talking to Travis as he holds the limo door open, Gage flicks his eyebrows in a let’s go gesture.
Oh, what the hell. I do it. I slide into the limo to the far side of the seat. Gage slides in next to me and shuts the door. The driver starts the car and we start heading towards Old Town.
“We’ll have a cold one ready for you,” Travis is saying.
“Make it two,” Gage tells him. “I’m bringing someone.”
“Oh, right. The same one you came to Key West to visit?”
Gage’s mouth quirks almost guiltily and there’s a mischievous spangle in his blue eyes as he looks up at me. “No.”
Of course. Travis is probably referring to the woman who threw the drink in Gage’s face that first night he came into the bar with his shirt still wet. Which only cements the fact that Lothario over here is what he is: a serial womanizer. I could see that about him from the very first second I met him.
“See you soon,” he says to Travis. Then he ends the call.
Gage takes the bottle of champagne that’s chilling on ice and pours a glass. He hands it to me. Despite my earlier tirade, I take it. Maybe it will help me relax a little.
He fills his own flute, then he clinks his glass against mine. As he watches me take a sip of the bubbling liquid, I can detect a playful, intense ember behind his blue gaze, like there are things going on inside his head that I really wish … weren’t. This is what he does, after all. Every night of the week most likely. “Please don’t get any ideas.” Shit. Why did I say it like that?
“What kind of ideas were you expecting me to get?” Smooth as velvet.
“I just want to make sure we’re on the same page. About this being strictly a business meeting.”
“Of course. We’ll talk about the ozone layer and listen to some music and celebrate the exciting potential of our business, that’s what we’re here for.” His eyelashes are dark and dense, a fraction too long for a such a masculine hunk of a man. It’s like that with him. I’ve never met a more manly-looking man in my life but there are also details of him that could only be described as beautiful. The way his dark eyelashes sweep sort of poetically. The changing color of his eyes, like a mood ring. The way his thick hair frames his head gracefully. His rugged style. He sure did win the good looks lottery.
And