“Deal.” He got up and wrote his song request on a piece of paper and stuck it in the glass bowl on the piano with a couple dollars.
He stood at the bar and ordered their drinks, watching her while he waited. She looked more relaxed and at peace than she had all week. What had happened between Blair and Neil in the parking lot? According to her, the wedding seemed to really be off this time. He hoped it was true, but he needed to put his insurance policy into place just in case.
He slid his phone out of his pocket and pulled up Neil’s number, and then typed out a text.
We need to talk. Omni Hotel. Room 678. 10:00 a.m. I’ll make it worth giving up Blair.
Neil still hadn’t answered by the time the bartender returned with their drinks, but if Garrett knew him at all, he would come. Still, he wouldn’t rest until this scenario had played out—until he knew there was no chance Blair was actually marrying the guy.
Blair glanced up at him and smiled. He was suddenly overwhelmed by his good fortune. He couldn’t believe he was here with her tonight, that he was possibly getting this second chance with her. Grinning, he carried the drinks back to their table. He handed her a glass as he sat down next to her.
She took a sip and looked amused. “Whiskey?”
“If I’m making you sing, I figure the least I can do is provide liquid courage. Beer didn’t seem to be enough.”
She laughed and glanced at his glass. “But you’re still drinking beer.”
“I’m less inhibited than you.”
Something flickered in her eyes, and he thought he’d lost her, but she grinned and took another sip. “What did you request?”
He waggled his eyebrows. “It’s a surprise.”
“Now I’m scared.”
“You should be. When he starts to play the song I requested, remember that you promised to sing.”
She laughed. “Now I’m really scared.”
He scooted closer to her on the upholstered bench, close enough that their thighs pressed together. He watched her face to see if she was bothered by the contact, but she rested her chin on her hand as she watched the pianist belt out a Britney Spears song.
It was still early, not quite nine o’clock, but the bar was already busy and more people were coming in the door. Blair was finishing her drink when the pianist pulled out a slip of paper and groaned after he read it. “Really?” he asked, looking up and searching the crowd. “‘Piano Man’ by Billy Joel. Who requested this?”
Garrett grabbed Blair’s hand and lifted it into the air. She tried to pull loose, but he held on tight while he shouted, “She did!”
The pianist turned the spotlight on them. “Can’t you come up with something else? It’s such a cliché.”
Garrett put his arm around Blair’s shoulders, pulling her close as he squeezed. “It’s her favorite.”
The musician turned on his bench and played a few notes before stopping. “‘Piano Man’ is your favorite, huh?”
Blair glanced up at Garrett with a look that said he was going to pay for this later. She gave the entertainer a dazzling smile. “You have no idea.”
“Okay . . .” He shook his head, grinning. “I’ll only do this if you sing.”
Garrett held up his beer bottle in salute. “Oh, she plans on singing.”
The crowd broke into applause as the pianist started to play the first notes of the song. “I’m going to play a Billy Joel medley, so make sure you sing all the parts.”
“Oh, shit,” Blair said under her breath. “I don’t know many Billy Joel songs.”
He leaned into her ear. “Should have thought of that before you requested him.”
The pianist started singing the first lines of the song, and Blair joined in as best she could, stumbling over the words. But instead of getting irritated, she laughed and looked up at him, her eyes pleading with him for help.
He joined in, his arm still tight around her back, and she made no move to get away.
They sang the chorus, and then the pianist moved into “Only the Good Die Young.” Blair knew this one better, and she looked up into his face from time to time as both of them sang, laughing when they both stumbled over a line. The rest of the bar had joined in by the time the song merged into “Just the Way You Are.”
Blair’s smile faded, but she continued to sing, and Garrett picked up her hand and held it to his chest. He gave her a grin, and her playfulness returned. The entire bar was singing with them now and drowning them out.
When the song ended, the crowd burst into applause and someone shouted, “You’ve gotta kiss her, man!”
“They’re right, dude,” the piano player cajoled Garrett. “Give the crowd what they want.”
Blair’s back stiffened, but she searched his eyes, and her body softened. “Well?”
He lifted his free hand to her cheek, and her eyes fluttered closed as he pressed his lips gently to hers. She leaned into him, and he fought the urge to deepen the kiss—a herculean task after the taste of her last night and considering how much he’d dreamed of doing more than this over the last week. Hell, the last several years. But Blair had never been a fan of public displays of affection, and he didn’t want to push her boundaries too far. Baby steps.
He lifted his face and searched her eyes while the crowd cheered and catcalled all around them. She smiled, her eyes lighting up. She looked happy, and his heart burst with joy at the knowledge that he’d played a part in that. His thumb brushed her cheekbone before he dropped his hand and captured hers again.
The pianist had moved on to a Keith Urban song, and the crowd’s attention moved on to someone else.
She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he was scared to move in case it would be just the jolt she needed to change her mind. But several minutes later, she turned and looked up at him, her eyes hooded. “Let’s go.”
He hesitated, worried that he’d gone too far and that she’d changed her mind about him. Worried that she’d run from him once they left the bar.
She got up, and he followed her out the door, ready for the debate of his life. But as soon they walked out into the summer night, she turned to him and pressed her lips to his. He froze for fear he’d ravage her in public.
When she pulled back, she looked up at him with her sexy eyes. “Take me to your hotel.”
He wondered how fast he could get there.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Blair Myers Hansen wasn’t impulsive. Every move was carefully thought out and executed. So on the surface, asking Garrett to take her to his room seemed impulsive. But she had no doubt that it was the best idea of her life.
She’d spent most of her time in the piano bar trying to talk herself out of it, but no argument had stuck. Ultimately, she believed Garrett’s account of their breakup. And if he hadn’t cheated on her and she was now single, what was keeping them apart?
The speed with which Garrett was ushering her down the sidewalk to his car was amusing. “It’s not a race, Garrett.”
“Says you,” he muttered, looking down at her shoes. “Can’t you go any faster?”
She laughed. “No. I’m not frolicking off to have sex with you. This isn’t some cheesy movie.”