and then meet us at the store. Kind of hard to do a signing without our lead singer, so he better get his ass here.
Once the parking lot’s clear, Robbie waves us off the bus. I help Mallory down the steps last and we follow the rest of the guys over the cracked asphalt parking lot.
“I should’ve skipped the heels,” Mallory says.
I run my gaze over her red plaid dress—tight on top with two layers of ruffles flaring out below her hips, black lacy tights that end below her knees and shiny red spike heels. Before we left the hotel, she’ added a short denim vest with little silvers studs sprinkled over the shoulders. The overall effect is a bit rock-n-roll, a little Debbie Gibson, a dash of biker chick and one-hundred percent hot as fuck.
“You can always wear whatever you want.” I slip one hand behind her legs and the other around her shoulders, scooping her up into my arms and swinging her in a circle. “I gotcha.”
“Chaser!” Her wild laughter dissolves in the noise of the city.
At the back door, I gently set her down.
“Thanks for the lift.”
“Anytime, little dove.”
The guys have already filled the small storage room in the back of the record store. The owner stops to introduce himself but keeps staring at us like we might disappear at any moment. “Holy shit! I’m so honored to have you here today.” He shakes all of our hands with enthusiasm but stops dead when he reaches Mallory. “Oh my God. I never thought…I never expected you to show up too, Miss Dove. Wow. Thank you so much.”
I swear he’s either about to bow down to her or faint. One or the other.
Mallory beams at him and holds out her hand. “It was a last minute decision. I hope that’s okay.”
One of my possessive caveman arms is wrapped around Mallory like a fuckin’ python, but the dude still takes her hand and pulls it toward his gaping piehole. He leans down and brushes his lips over her knuckles. “It’s an honor. I’ll find an extra chair for you right away.”
I clear my throat and he finally drops her hand.
“Is someone still out there to open the gate?” Alvin asks. “Jacob’s coming by taxi.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll send someone right now,” he promises.
“Did Andrew know you’d be here today?” Mallory asks.
“I don’t think so. Why?”
“I’m worried that we couldn’t find him this morning.”
Yeah, it’s not a good sign but it’s also really not my problem. Andrew’s an adult—sort of. “Let’s get through this afternoon and then I’ll worry about his whereabouts.”
The back door bounces open and Jacob steps through with his arms outstretched. “Your fearless singer has arrived!” he announces.
“Settle down, Rocky.” Alvin rolls his eyes but slaps one of Jacob’s outstretched hands.
Garrett grabs Jacob in a bear hug and bounces him up and down like a big, fat baby. Jacob grins at me over Garrett’s shoulder. “Had you worried, didn’t I?”
“A little bit,” Mallory says.
“Nah, I knew you wouldn’t miss an opportunity to have girls fawn all over you,” I answer. “Pamela get to the airport?”
“Yup, on her way to L.A. now.”
“Good.” Since we can’t get rid of Andrew, hopefully her departure alleviates some of the drama in our lives.
The owner moves us into the store where he’s set up a long row of tables to form one big barrier between us and the rest of the shop. He has an impressive number of Kickstart merchandise, records, tapes, posters, and T-shirts staged at various points along the line for sale. Thom did a good job arranging this at the last minute.
I point to the first chair at the end of the table. “Jacob, you should have that spot. Let your sunny face be the first thing people see when they walk in.”
He salutes me and marches toward the seat facing the front door.
Garrett takes the next chair. Mallory and I set up at the third spot, with Alvin in the chair a few feet to our left.
“Mallory.” The owner drops a medium-sized, thin cardboard rectangular box on the table in front of us. “I found these in the back, if you’d like something to sign too.”
He pulls the lid off, revealing a thick stack of glossy eight by eleven promo posters for ‘Candy Jar’ featuring Mallory in her tiny denim shorts and halter top.
For a brief second her smile falters but she pulls it together and thanks him.
“Are you ready?” he asks, glancing up and down the length of