He keeps a lot of rock memorabilia on his bookshelves. One shelf is dedicated to photos of friends and family. I recognize his mom and Gary in some of them. He’s with friends in others. I pick one up and smile. “Is this you and Liam? How old were you?”
“I think we were ten.”
Crew is “singing” into a broomstick, and Liam is playing air guitar. “You wanted to be a singer even then?”
He comes up behind me, wrapping me in his arms. “I was born to sing.”
I look at some of the other photos and notice two clean spots where pictures should be. He didn’t just want to tidy up. He came up first to hide her from me.
I want so badly to ask him again. But the way he’s holding me; he’d stop doing it if I did. And I decide I want him to hold me more than I want to ask about her.
I spin to face him. “You were a cute kid.”
He pulls me tightly against him. “What about now? Am I still cute?”
“Cute? No. Incredibly hot? Absolutely.”
“You think I’m hot?”
“Oh yeah,” I drawl.
“You’re not half-bad yourself.”
I stand on my toes and peck him on the cheek. He momentarily glances over at the photo shelf and then back at me. Then he kisses me hard, with tongue.
“Wow,” I say breathlessly. “What was that for?”
“I’ve wanted to do that since rehearsal. You were great today. You’re great every day, but today there was something more, if that makes any sense.”
“It’s amazing what a few orgasms can do for a lady.”
He laughs. “Why don’t I give you a tour of the place?”
“I’ve seen it.”
“Let me clarify. Bria, do you want to see my bed and maybe let me strip you naked and add to your orgasm count?”
My cheeks flush. “Lead the way.”
~ ~ ~
We drive to Dirk’s house. Correction, his mansion. “Holy crap. You didn’t tell me Liam’s uncle was a billionaire.”
“What did you expect? He owns a huge car dealership and half the city.”
I park to one side, embarrassed to be driving my old car. I get out. Among the vehicles in the massive driveway are a shiny red Porsche and a white SUV. “He invited Ronni and Jeremy?”
Crew shrugs.
A big black limousine pulls up to the front walk, and a man and women get out of the back.
“Who’s that?” I ask.
“Could be anyone. Dirk has lots of friends in high places.”
I look down at my dress. “I feel underdressed, like I should be wearing a tiara or the Hope diamond.”
He takes my hand. “You look amazing.”
“Thanks. So do you.”
Watching Crew get ready for this thing was nothing less than spectacular. Seeing him put on a suit was almost as fun as seeing him remove all his clothing before we have sex. I’ve never seen him wear anything other than ripped jeans and T-shirts. He’s gorgeous.
Crew nods to the end of the driveway. “Here come Brad and Garrett.” They park and join us. Crew walks to the door.
“What about Liam?” I ask. “Shouldn’t we wait for him?”
“He lives here.”
“But he hates his uncle.”
Garrett says, “Yeah, but not enough to pay rent on some dive instead of living in the damn White House.”
“Says the guy living in a dive instead of on his family’s estate,” Crew says.
Garrett shoots him a biting glance. “Whatever.”
Before we can ring the bell, the door opens, and someone who looks like a waiter greets us. “Welcome. Mayor Campbell and his guests are waiting in the salon.” He points us in the right direction.
“Oh, my God,” I whisper to Crew. “This house has a salon.”
“It’s a fancy word for another living room,” he says, clearly not as fascinated as I am with our surroundings, maybe because he’s been here so many times. I don’t care how often I come here, I’ll be impressed every time.
Dirk sees us and hurries over. “Ah, the guests of honor. Let me introduce you.”
Along with Liam, we are paraded around the room and introduced to lawyers, a Wall Street tycoon, the owner of the Knicks, and two politicians.
“All this for us?” I ask.
Liam snorts. “It’s not for us. We’re Dirk’s shiny new toy now that we’ve gotten airtime. He probably had this dinner planned for months, but he wants you to think otherwise.”
“But then why are Jeremy and Ronni here?” I ask.
“Not just them,” Liam says. “Ronni’s boss too. The head of IRL.”
“Really?” Crew says, suddenly interested.
“He probably couldn’t turn down an invite from someone as influential as