“Doesn’t matter who he is. I don’t want to know. I’m Team Sex, remember?”
“What if he’s eighty with a beard down to his waist?” Maya teased.
Kate twisted around to peer through the crowd toward the stage. Too many people were in the way, so she stood up. Even though she was on the tall side, all she could see over the sea of bobbing heads was the neck of the bass—a hand working the strings—and a black cowboy hat.
Okay, she could work with a black cowboy hat. And that hand moved so smoothly across the strings. It was a large hand, with long fingers and a wide spread. A man’s hand.
And then the crowd shifted just enough so she could see all of him. He was a big guy, just…big. Wide in the shoulders and long in the legs. Tall and powerful and husky and fit and tall. He played standing up, bent over the upright bass, pouring all of his attention into the strings he was plucking and slapping. Along with the black cowboy hat, he wore a black t-shirt and black jeans.
She couldn’t see his face under the cowboy hat, but just then he looked up and—pow. He grinned at her—or maybe it was at the crowd in general—the kind of smile that spread across his entire face and made her want to do wild and naughty things to him.
And wait—was that—holy shit! She almost hadn’t recognized him.
She dropped back down on her seat. “I do know that guy. I mean, I don’t know him, but he pulled me out of the mud earlier today.”
“It’s destiny,” Jessica said excitedly. “Clearly there’s something going on here. He pulls you out of the mud. Then he pulls you out of your bad mood.”
“You should talk to him,” Maya agreed.
“Are you guys trying to get me into trouble?”
“At least it’s the good kind of trouble.” Maya and Jessica laughed and exchanged a high five.
Kate sucked down more tequila. It was kind of odd that her friends weren’t warning her away from the bassist. Normally they would because he was a stranger. Except he wasn’t totally a stranger, since he’d already rescued her from the mud. But maybe they agreed with her that she needed some fun. Or maybe the tequila was blurring things just enough so she didn’t care.
Was he from Oregon, like the rest of the band? If so, what had he been doing on the muddy back roads of Lost Harbor? Visiting friends or family? Sightseeing?
If he was from Oregon, what was the harm? There would be no chance of running into him at the bank or the grocery store or Gretel’s Cafe.
She could follow Maya’s suggestion and go ask him.
She hadn’t come out tonight for anything other than seeing Maya and Jessica. But life had been very challenging lately, and maybe she really did need a distraction.
Like dancing.
“Come on, you guys. Remember when we used to secretly borrow Jess’s dad’s car and drive up here to go dancing? Why are we just sitting here! Let’s move!”
She jumped to her feet and ditched her jacket.
Maya shoved her chair back and rose to her feet, already moving to the beat. “So long as no one takes any damn selfies.”
“Why are you even worried? You don’t look anything like your usual self. I didn’t even quake in my shoes when I saw you,” Kate teased her. “It’s amazing how effective that uniform is.”
“It’s not her uniform,” said Jessica, making her way to her feet. “It’s her natural authority.”
Maya froze her face into a severe frown, then relaxed it again with a laugh after Kate’s eyes widened.
“Damn. You really are good.”
“Yup. It works on everyone except the guys I happen to like. Makes them disappear.”
They all laughed as they carved out a spot on the dance floor. The crowd was a mix of couples and amorphous groups dancing together—like them. The music pulsed right through her system, lighting her up from the inside, like a switch turning on.
Kate threw her head back, letting the beat take her wherever it would. All the mess in LA faded away. It was all so far away now. Her legal career was dead. Her condo sold. Her future unknown.
And right now, none of it mattered.
Next break, she was going to tell Sir Armor-all what a magician he was. Maybe ask him where he lived.
Just then, he looked up and caught her eye. And winked. Obviously he recognized her too.
She must have made a sound, because Maya and Jessica both slowed their dancing and looked in the direction she was staring.
“Wow,” Kate breathed. “That man might make me break my biggest rule.”
Maya shot her a curious look. “Which is what?”
“Only one stupid thing a night. I already got stuck in the mud, so I’ve filled my quota. On the other hand, he’s possibly from Oregon, so maybe it isn’t all that stupid.”
She caught another of those odd glances between Jess and Maya.
“What difference does Oregon make?” Jessica asked her.
“The men here aren’t really my type.”
Maya’s eyebrows climbed up her forehead. “Oh really? But that man up there behind that upright, he is your type?”
Kate looked at him again, her mouth literally watering. “I don’t know if he’s my type, specifically. It’s more like he’s anyone’s type. I mean, look at him. Would you kick him out of bed?”
Maya exchanged another glance with Jessica, this one filled with secret laughter. There was some kind of joke that Kate was missing here.
“I see your point. So what are you going to do about it, Team Sex?” Maya asked.
Jessica nudged her. “Did you know the owner has fishing cabins out back that he rents out?”
“Oh ho, so the Moose is Loose is for lease?”
Kate giggled at her own joke. She was pretty loose herself right about now. Loose was good. Loose was great. She felt loose and relaxed and happy, and it wasn’t just the tequila.
It was the juicy thrill of attraction. The glance across a room. The connection sizzling through the notes of that deep bass. They were dancing together, her and Sir Armor-all, even though he was still onstage. She could feel each note he played curl into her bloodstream.
After everything she’d been through lately, couldn’t she allow herself one flirtation with a smoking-hot man? Did that even count as a “stupid thing?” He’d already rescued her once. He was very likely from out of town. How risky could it be?
Chapter Four
Oh man. How was Darius supposed to concentrate on “Light My Fire” when the woman from the stuck Saab was out there dancing in that red top? And those curve-hugging jeans? And those flirtatious hair tosses?
Darius caught a glance from the band’s singer as he came close to falling behind the beat. After getting held up by the mud-rescue situation, he’d barely made it up the peninsula in time for a quick rehearsal. Luckily, they were pros, and he was pretty damn good himself, for an amateur. He used to play back in Texas, and still did when he could find someone to jam with.
Oh shit. Now the woman—Kate, he remembered—was tossing back an entire glass of something that looked like tequila. That couldn’t be good. The friends she was dancing with would probably take her home, and he wouldn’t get to lust after her from his spot behind the bass anymore.