I hold up my half-full red wine. “Good for now.”
He downs the rest of his beer and slams the bottle on the coffee table in front of him. “I think I need something a little stronger than this.” He turns to his drummer. “Beau, where’s the tequila?”
Beau is sitting beside a box and pulls a bottle out, handing it to Lincoln.
“Now we just need shot glasses.” He looks around. “Does anyone know where the shot glasses are?”
A passing crew member stops. “I can get some from the bar?”
“Good man. Thank you.”
Lincoln focuses on me. “How’s your business going?”
I find it unsettling to be on the receiving end of such an intense gaze. “Great, actually. We almost ran out of stock in the first few days, but we managed to speed up production just in time. Initial feedback is that everyone’s loving the product. Hopefully, next year, we can expand the range and number of outlets that stock them.”
He suddenly reaches out and touches my hair. “I love your fire hair.”
Oh my.
“Thank you.”
It would be so easy to flirt back and run my hands through his curls, but I know I have to tread carefully. It hasn’t been that long since Rachel and the girls left. He’d still be mourning their loss. Possibly even starting a court case to regain some sort of visitation rights. I don’t need to complicate his life right now.
He sits there, continuing to look at me with a small smile on his face. I don’t know what to do, so I stare at the floor.
“Do I make you nervous?” he asks.
“A little,” I admit.
“Why?”
Because you are hot as hell, and I’ve been dreaming about sleeping with you for quite some time now.
“I don’t know. You just do.”
He chuckles. “I…”
He’s cut off by the crew member returning with a bunch of shot glasses. He plants them in Lincoln’s hands.
Lincoln lines them all up on the table. “Who’s having shots?”
Millicent looks over. “Me.”
Almost everyone in the room yells some form of agreement, so Lincoln pours eight shots. He hands one to me and picks one up for himself. He holds it up in the air. “To a successful tour.”
The rest of the band cheers. I raise my glass in Lincoln’s direction and then slam it back.
I wince as it warms the back of my throat.
Lincoln is already pouring himself another.
And then another.
He doesn’t stop until he’s had six shots of tequila in less than two minutes.
He leans back on the couch and puts his arm out so it’s resting just behind my head.
I could never in a million years have imagined being in this situation, but I’m still wary. Even more now that Lincoln has had all that alcohol.
“How’s Daisy?” he asks.
“She’s good. With her grandparents tonight.”
“So, you don’t have to be home by any particular time?”
“Uh…”
His eyes twinkle. “Relax. I’m just making conversation.”
“Well, I do have a work call in the morning, but it’s not something I need to prepare for.”
He nods, satisfied.
“Was your first show everything you hoped?” I ask, trying to get back on safer ground.
“Definitely. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the tour.”
“Where are you going next?”
“Next weekend, we head south down the east coast and then to all the other states after that. We’re playing four nights a week until almost the middle of October.”
“That’s exciting. I’ll bet you’ll get lots of groupies fighting over you.”
Why on earth did I say that? That makes me sound like a jealous girlfriend.
He raises an eyebrow. “I guess we’ll have to wait and see. We didn’t get many over the last few years when we were doing smaller gigs.” His face clouds over. “But then I never really hung around after a show, because I always wanted to get home to the girls.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything…”
“No, it’s okay. I knew I’d have to deal with these feelings eventually. This is my first show without anyone to go home to.”
It takes all my resolve not to offer my bed tonight. But that wouldn’t help anyone.
I look at Millicent. She’s rubbing her hand up and down the bassist’s thigh. Lincoln follows my gaze and laughs.
“She looks like she’s enjoying herself.”
“I apologise for Millicent. She’s not a shrinking violet by any means.”
“You don’t have to apologise for your friend. We’re all grown adults here letting off steam.”
He leans his head on my shoulder, and I tense up.
“You know, I thought the worst thing that could ever happen was when the record label dropped me a year after I was on Have You Got What It Takes? But you don’t realise that everyone loves a comeback. Unless you’re a complete tool, people like to see you rise again and be happy. But with Rachel…” he trails off.
“It’s hard to come back from, huh?” I say quietly.
“I don’t know how to come back from it. How do you get your head around the fact that someone you loved actively lied to you for four years?”
“I’m not sure. I guess just give yourself time to feel all those crappy emotions and surround yourself with good people.”
“But I thought she was good people!” he says, anguished. “I never once suspected she was anything but genuine.”
“I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I know, to a lesser extent, what it feels like to be abandoned.”
“How did you cope after your ex left?”
I smile dryly. “I didn’t, really. I just knew I had to be strong for Daisy and get on with it. My parents and Millicent have been amazing. If it helps, I promise to always be real with you and try to be what Millicent has been to me.”
He leans his head closer to my face. “You are awesome, Tash…”
I feel like things are getting a little out of control. Lincoln is drunk and vulnerable, and if I let this go any further, we’re both going to regret the aftermath.
I gently extricate myself from him and stand up. “I should go. But please contact me anytime if you need to vent.”
He smiles ruefully. “Sure.”
I go over and grab Millicent’s arm. “We have to go,” I whisper in her ear.
She looks up, annoyed. “You’re killing me, Tash.”
“Sorry, but I need to give Lincoln some space. If you want to stay, I’ll catch an Uber on my own and see you later.”
She sighs loudly. “No, no. I’ll go with you.”
She finds a pen in her handbag and writes her phone number on the bassist’s arm with a big love heart. “Call me,” she says before following me back outside.
“I can’t believe you’re the one making me go home,” Millicent says.
“It would have gotten messy if I’d stayed.”
She stops and looks at me with respect. “Babe, I am so proud of you right now.”