“What?” I chuckled. “It’s normal to be nervous before a date, isn’t it?”
“You’re asking the wrong girl. I can’t remember the last time I went out with a guy.”
“I guess being at the beck and call of the band makes it difficult to meet people.”
“Good job I’m only at your beck and call now.” She winked at me, grabbing my purse off the table and thrusting it at me. “Promise me, you’ll enjoy tonight.”
“I will. What will you do?”
“Keep Phoebe away from Hudson’s bad influence.”
“You don’t think he’d really try to...” My eyes widened. She was so quiet and naive. And deep down, a part of me was hoping he would sort out his crap and call Molly.
“I don’t think it’s Hudson we have to worry about.”
My brows furrowed before realization dawned on me. “Levi would never... Besides, Phoebe isn’t like that.”
Or was she?
“You fell for the Hunter charm.” She levelled me with a knowing look.
“You cannot let Levi seduce her, Letty. He’d eat her alive.” Besides, it was a whole heap of drama we did not need right now.
“Jealous?”
“What? No! But I don’t want her to get hurt and I don’t want Levi to do something he’ll regret.”
“She’s not the innocent girl you think, you know?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means... everyone has a story, Eva.”
“I guess.” Before I could ask Letty what she thought Phoebe’s story was, there was a knock at the door. “Are you expecting someone?” I asked her. I wasn’t supposed to meet Rafe for another twenty minutes.
“It’s probably Phoebe, or the guys. Can you grab it? I need to...” She thumbed to the bedroom, a faint smirk playing on her lips.
“Letty.” It was my turn to glare at her.
“Eva.” Her smile grew. “Go, have fun. And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
I checked my reflection one last time, took a deep breath, and walked to the door.
“Hi.” Rafe was standing there, arm propped against the jamb, looking every bit a gorgeous rock star. “You look beautiful, Starshine.” He pulled his hand from behind his back and presented me with a bunch of pale pink roses.
“They’re beautiful.” Butterflies flapped furiously in my stomach as I took the flowers from him. “I thought we were meeting downstairs?”
“I want you to have the full date experience.”
God, he looked good in black jeans and a black shirt peeking out of his leather jacket. His hair was damp, curling around his ears and hanging over his eyes a little. Eyes that lazily raked up and down my body.
“See somethin’ you like?” I asked.
Rafe’s gaze landed on mine again, and he swallowed. “If we don’t leave soon, I’m not sure I can be held responsible for my actions.”
“Give me a second to put these in some water and then we can leave.” I backtracked into the suite.
Letty was hovering. “Boy did good.” She eyed the roses. “Let me take them and you two lovebirds go.”
“Thank you.” I handed her the bouquet and made my way back to Rafe. He was in the hall talking to Travis, the two of them close, voices hushed.
“What are you two talkin’ about?”
“Just discussing final arrangements.” Rafe shot Travis a narrowed look, and my bodyguard let out a frustrated breath.
“Will you be joinin’ us, Travis?” I tried to make light of the tension simmering between them.
He grunted some inaudible reply, ushering us into the elevator. Like most of the hotels we stayed in, it had a basement level parking lot. The sleek black SUV greeted us, its engine already purring. I spotted Fenton behind the wheel and waved at him. They were all so damn serious all the time.
Travis went to open the door, but Rafe cut him off. “I’ve got that,” he said, yanking it open.
I stifled a giggle as I slipped inside and shuffled across the seat to give Rafe space. He climbed in beside me, tangling our hands together. “You should probably know I’ve never done this.”
“You’ve never been on a date before?” I didn’t know whether to be relieved or feel sorry for him.
“There’s never been anyone like you before, Eva. I hope you know that.”
My breath caught. Being with Rafe was intense, different to anything I’d ever experienced before. But I had underestimated just how new all of this was for him too.
“Do I get to find out where we’re goin’?” I asked, nervous energy vibrating through me.
“It’s a surprise.”
When we pulled into a car rental place ten minutes later, I was no closer to guessing the location of our date. This time, Rafe let Travis open the door. He climbed out first, offering his hand to me. I frowned as I slid out.
“Okay... this wasn’t quite what I had in mind.” It was already dusk, the sun disappearing on the horizon. The place appeared deserted until a light went on inside and a guy appeared with a set of keys. Travis beckoned him over and the two of them discussed something out of earshot.
“What are you up to?” I asked Rafe, who kept toying with his lip piercing.
“You’ll see. Come on.” He grabbed my hand and guided me over to where the two men stood.
“Mr. Hunter. Miss Walker.” The guy greeted us. “Got a real beaut ready for you. She’s got a full tank of gas and the... special requests all on board ready to go.”
I shot Rafe a curious look, but he only smirked, accepting the keys from the man and leading me to a sleek black pickup truck.
“What is happenin’ right now?” My brows bunched together as Rafe opened the door and motioned for me to get inside.
“Travis and Fenton will be right behind us.”
I glanced back at my bodyguard and he nodded, despite the disapproval etched into his expression.
“Are you sure this is safe?” I whisper-hissed. I didn’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but we weren’t usually granted so much freedom.
“We’ve got it covered, I promise.” Rafe helped me into the truck before jogging around to the driver’s side. He climbed in, the click of the door taking the air with it. We were alone. No security. No bandmates. No Riley or Alistair.
Just the two of us.
A thrill shot through me.
“I thought we’d be goin’ to have dinner in a shadowy corner of some fancy restaurant with Travis and Fenton standin’ over us.”
“You can thank the fangirls from last night. They made me realize something.”
“Oh yeah?” I couldn’t hide my smile if I tried.
Rafe fired up the truck, and the engine rumbled beneath us. “Yeah, now buckle up. We have somewhere to be.”
It was a fifteen-minute ride out of the city. The familiar SUV tailed us, but the constant reminder that our lives were no longer our own didn’t dampen the anticipation zipping through me.
When Rafe pulled off the main highway and down a darkened track, my heartbeat sped up.
“Nervous, Starshine?” He reached over and tangled our fingers together