“What happened to Nickel?”
He unrepentantly lied to a concerned Ginny who started to go back down the corridor. “He ate at Dirty Dan’s for lunch. The greasy fries are catching up with him.”
“Oh.” Blushing, Ginny quickly spun around, hurrying in the direction of the stage as if the hounds of hell were after her. Nothing embarrassed women more than men’s bluntness on having to take a shit.
He was two steps from the top of the metal stairway when he looked up to see Ginny standing above him.
“You’re very handsome when you smile.”
Mesmerized, he watched Ginny move closer to the edge of the step until a centimeter separated them, he then warily watched her hand reach out to rub her knuckles down his bearded jaw.
“I like your beard.”
Fighting the instinct to rub his jaw back against her hand, he snatched her wrist to jerk her hand away when the metal under his palm broke the spell she had placed over him.
“Who gave you the bracelet?”
So close to her, Reaper saw her pupils dilate. He knew before she answered that Ginny was going to lie.
“I bought it for myself.”
He narrowed his eyes up at her, letting her know without words that he didn’t believe her.
She trailed her hand away from his, leaving him standing alone on the steps, as she moved into position behind the curtain.
Coming up the remaining steps, he stopped at her back. “Who gave you the bracelet?”
When Ginny didn’t answer immediately, he thought she wasn’t going to answer at all or repeat the same lie.
“It was a Christmas gift.”
“From whom?”
“My sister.”
Chapter Eighteen
Ginny’s answer made sense. Wearing her dead sister’s gift would carry an intense sentimental value. What he couldn’t understand was why she lied to him in the first place, but he wouldn’t be able to harp on why she lied without coming across as the world’s biggest a-hole.
Before his talk with Nickel, it wouldn’t have bothered him to be cast in that role. Hell, he had been working on that role since getting on the plane to Nashville. However, something told him if he handled it the wrong way, he would get his wish, and he wasn’t sure he wanted it to come true any longer.
Catching Ginny’s stalker would save The Last Riders’ manpower to use elsewhere right now. Having to worry about Ginny removed from Viper’s shoulders was another plus, as well as making him feel as if he was pulling his own weight since returning to the club.
Each excuse could be good enough on its own merit, yet there was an excuse he didn’t want to acknowledge—the fear of Ginny cutting him out of her life like she had Moon and Doc. Refusing to admit the truth eliminated the fear of Ginny getting close to breaking through the barrier he placed around his heart.
After Taylor, he believed no other woman would be able to get past his defenses, yet Ginny was managing to twist him inside out in a matter of days.
When the spotlight hit the side of the curtain, Ginny stepped out onto the stage as the music switched from grating high notes to soft strands that floated over the heads of the cheering audience. The applause was cut off as the music dived low. The onlookers went silent, wanting to hear the new chords of a song they had never heard before.
Moving closer to the curtain so he could get a better view, Reaper saw Kaden and Ginny together behind the microphone. Seeing them in the spotlight, he understood why the crowd had gone silent. They were a perfect foil for each other. Kaden’s raw masculinity gave an illusion of a sexual chemistry to Ginny’s more feminine allure. Reaper was sure more than one onlooker was imagining Kaden and Ginny fucking. The image was so powerful that it even had him going there, despite having proof that Kaden was a faithful husband.
The new song played to Kaden’s more dominant personality, while Ginny’s voice was weaker, the idea of her not arguing back. But as the song progressed, Ginny’s grew firmer, while Kaden’s softened.
As the song trailed off, you could hear a pin drop in the nightclub. Even the waiters and waitresses had stopped, caught up in the heartache of the song.
The applause was deafening as the audience rose to their feet.
Kaden gave a sweep of his hand, as if giving Ginny all the applause. Grinning as an upbeat song started playing, Ginny started this time, with Kaden joining in intermittently. The audience didn’t bother taking their seats.
When the second song ended, Kaden thanked the audience for coming to their show, but he had to start over when the audience wouldn’t stop calling for another song.
Reaper saw a look of surprise cross Kaden’s face when Ginny’s hand covered the microphone as she said something to him. Kaden nodded at her, then stepped aside to go to Ax, who then began playing another song. The band joined as Kaden walked back to the microphone with Ginny.