A woman with needs.
A woman full of lust.
And he’s certainly not a skinny band nerd anymore, either.
He turns and walks into the room, and I draw in a deep breath as I head back to my office.
We can definitely talk later, Tyler. In fact, I think we can do so much more than talk.
I don’t know if Patrick is the one who normally takes food to the band when it’s ready, but I’m not missing my chance to talk to an old friend.
I’m also not letting Christine go in there solo.
So we each take two of the Styrofoam containers filled with chicken fingers and crispy fries and head toward their dressing room about an hour before the openers are set to take the stage.
I knock, and Tommy opens the door a few beats later. My eyes immediately hunt for Tyler. I find him in the corner with a glass of the cheap scotch in one hand and his phone in the other as he stares down at it.
“Food’s here,” Tommy yells, opening the door a little wider, and Tyler glances up.
Our eyes lock, and his lips lift into a smile. He slides his phone in his pocket, and Christine and I set the food down on the table for the guys to grab at their convenience.
“This is Christine,” I say to the four men of Capital Kingsmen plus their manager. “She’s helping me out tonight in Patrick’s absence. Christine, this is the band.”
“Oh I know all about the band,” she says, her voice full of flirtation. “Tommy, Tyler, Brett, and Dustin.”
I try not to roll my eyes.
Her eyes zero in on Tyler. “I’m such a huge fan.”
Hell to the no, bitch. My hackles rise all the way up, but Tyler doesn’t give her the time of day.
Instead, he offers a small smile to the room in general before he glances over at me, and then he makes his way around the table by my side. He tosses an arm around my shoulder. “Did Dani here tell you that we go way back?”
Christine’s eyes widen and her jaw falls slightly open. “Dani?”
I smirk. “Sometimes it’s short for Danielle. Tyler and I used to work together.”
“I must’ve asked her out a thousand times, but she always told me to ask her later.” He glances down at me. “Well, it’s later, so I’ll try once more. Will you come to the after party with me tonight?”
Christine’s mouth falls all the way open at his question.
I lift a shoulder and try my hardest to maintain my cool even though the fangirl living inside me is quaking that this rock star just asked me on a date—even if he is the same boy I once knew. Because that’s the thing...he’s not the same boy I once knew. This is a man, and it’s a man I’m suddenly quite interested in. And I’m not sure we’ll have more laters. We only have now. “I mean, presuming I’m done with what I need to do, then maybe.”
Tyler laughs, and then he lets go of my shoulder and holds a hand over his heart. “Maybe, she says. Maybe. It’s the first maybe you’ve ever given me, and it feels a hell of a lot better than a rejection.”
“Reject him!” Tommy yells gleefully. “The asshole has it coming!”
Everyone laughs, and I love the vibe between these four guys. They seem like they genuinely have a good time together, and I already know that Tyler is a good guy...or, at least he used to be a good guy back when I knew him. I’m sure a lot has changed since he hit the big time.
Christine turns her attention to Tommy. “Do you have a date for the after party?” she asks, and I feel mortified for her at how desperate she sounds.
He raises a brow. “I haven’t decided just yet.” His eyes sweep along her form. “But I could probably be persuaded.”
“All right, Christine, we’ve got work to do,” I say, and she shoots me a look that says to step the hell off. But I can’t. I’m her boss tonight, and I’m very familiar with the responsibilities of her job, so she needs to get her ass moving.
And I do, too.
I’m not sure how long Patrick usually stays after a show, but maybe if he gets the squirrel out, he can get here before the it’s over and take care of the post-show stuff.
Pinning all my hopes for tonight on a squirrel just isn’t how I thought this day was going to go when I woke up this morning.
I send Christine off to manage the ushers, but I stay with the band.
“Your meet and greet starts in twenty minutes. Can I get you anything before then?” I ask.
“I’ll take a yes on the after party,” Tyler says. He glances over at Tommy. “We’re good for the next fifteen, right?”
Tommy nods, and Tyler walks over to me. “They don’t need anything,” he says, and he ushers me by the elbow out to the hallway.
“What are we doing?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I don’t know. I just wanted to talk to you without the rest of them staring at us.”
I laugh. “But I have to work!” It’s a weak protest.
“Isn’t part of your job providing hospitality to the band?”
I lift a shoulder as I concede his point. I don’t actually want to resist whatever it is he’s offering. “Yeah.”
“Then show me around,” he says. “I like taking tours at the venues we play. Let me see your office.”
“My office?” I ask, and I automatically start walking that way because he’s right. If he’s asking to see my office, I’m obligated to show him since my job is to keep the band happy.
“Don’t you think someone’s office says a lot about them?” he asks as he falls into step beside me.
I shrug. “Do you have an office?” I ask, and I chance a glance over at his profile.
Wow.
He’s freaking gorgeous.
A little too much hot stubble, thick hair, those green eyes, a firm jawline, lips that look entirely too kissable...
I sigh.
He nods. “At home, yeah. And I guess you could say my bunk on the bus is sort of my office on the road.”
“What’s in your bunk?” I ask, and my cheeks turn red as I realize I’m asking him about his bed.
He leans in a little closer to me and lowers his voice to a sexy rasp. “Maybe later I can show you.”
Oh jeez. I have no idea what I’m getting myself into here. A guy who looks like he does and tours the country with his band to sold out stadiums could certainly have any pick of women...and tonight, his pick is me. I’m not sure whether to feel flattered or insulted, but I know one thing I’m feeling: Horny.
We get to my office, which is just a few turns down the maze of hallways away from his dressing room. I open the door and motion for him to go first, and he walks around the small room as he looks at every detail.
A huge canvas print hangs on one wall of Russ, the Jack Russell Nate ended up with.
A mirror hangs on another wall, mostly because the decorative frame was so pretty I just couldn’t pass it up.
A large aerial view poster of the Venice beach and boardwalk hangs on another wall, which is something I look at all the time when I need a minute to take a deep breath and reset—usually after I’ve had to deal with Christine. Tyler walks over to the poster and studies it for a beat.
He points to a small restaurant in the photo. “This is Carne’s newest location now. Did you know that?”