She took her position, listened to the last song and subsequent applause, and took a deep breath to center herself as the thick red curtains began to lift on her. The white lights flooded her vision as she walked confidently to the mic stand. The room was absolutely jam-packed. Even though she couldn’t see past the third row of tables, she could feel the crowd’s anticipation. The shoulder-to-shoulder murmurs. The shushing followed by silence.
She glanced over at the pianist and gave him the faintest nod. The music swelled up as he made his intro, and as Gentry opened her lips to lift the first note, her eyes focused on a table in the center of the third row. Her heart leaped into her throat and adrenaline rushed through her body. Gazing back at her, framed in fuzzy light, were Seth and Linc.
8
Seth
Seth looked around the crowded blues lounge, taking in all the sights and sounds. Every little round table was occupied. There were even members of wait staff bringing in extra wooden chairs so that more people could squish their way into the lounge. The room looked to be at almost maximum capacity and vibrated with all the chatter and tiny movements of more than a hundred human beings.
Currently, there was a group of local bluegrass musicians performing onstage. The band plucked their banjo strings, tapped their booted toes, and harmonized beautifully into the shared microphones. Seth was impressed. It wasn’t quite his usual style, but he couldn’t deny how pleasant a listening experience it was.
When he looked over at Linc, he couldn’t help but grin. The dark-haired cop was staring at the stage with his usual contemplative, serious expression, but his fingers lightly tapping his knee gave away how much he was enjoying himself.
It wasn’t just Seth peering around at everyone either—the two men were garnering looks and whispers themselves. Granted, most of the interest came from the usual demographic of women between the ages of twenty and seventy who couldn’t resist drinking in all the eye candy. After all, Seth knew they looked damn good in their street digs. He was relaxed in his white button-up tucked into blue jeans with brown boots that would’ve been just as appropriate on a work site as they were here in the lounge. Lincoln wore a black shirt with khakis and black boots. With their rugged good looks and well-built bodies, the pair of them looked like a couple of cowboys taking a breather in between roping cattle and breaking hearts.
After a particularly foot-stomping fiddle solo, the bluegrass band finished up their set and stood for their applause. The lounge erupted with cheers and clapping, and the band started to file away off the stage. Seth’s heart skipped a beat. Now that the band was finished, he knew Gentry was coming up next. The bluegrass folks were a great opening act, but Seth was here for her. He could hardly wait for the curtain to lift again. He wondered what she was wearing, how her hair would look. He hoped she let it down and loose—he liked it that way. Although he had a feeling he would like just about anything Gentry did.
A waitress with a name tag that read TRISHA appeared at the side of their table and bent down a little so as not to block the view of the stage for other clients. In a lowered voice, she asked, “Can I get you boys anything before the next act begins?”
“Water, for me. No lemon. Thank you,” Linc replied quietly.
“Same here, but I’ll take his lemon,” Seth added.
“Gotcha. I’ll be back in a minute,” she said. The waitress smiled and tucked her bleached-blonde hair behind her ear as she stood to flounce away.
“Gentry’s up next,” Lincoln said to Seth.
Seth smirked. “Yep. Time to see our girl shine.”
Something like a smile played on Linc’s lips for just a second before his expression went grim and he looked away. Seth felt a pang in his chest.
Our girl.
The words felt so light, and yet so burdened with the kind of baggage people don’t like to talk about. Seth regretted his phrasing immediately. He could feel the tension in Linc’s body language as he stared straight ahead at the stage now. Seth sighed and sat back in his chair. The waitress returned and set down two glasses of water on their table.
“Thank you,” Seth said.
“You got it, handsome. Enjoy the show! The next one’s a real treat,” the waitress chirped with a sassy wink.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Seth murmured to himself.
Finally, the moment they had been looking forward to all day long was here. The bright white stage lights danced around the room before focusing on the center of the stage. The curtains parted and lifted away to reveal a single, stunning woman walking confidently up to the mic stand. Linc’s jaw dropped. Seth sucked in a sharp breath.
There she was: Gentry Hays.
Gone was the modest blue gown of yesterday; now she was dressed in a skin-tight black dress that clung to every swell and curve of her perfect body. Seth gazed at her long, perfect legs and outstretched arms. His eyes followed along her exposed collarbone to the delicious cleavage between her full breasts. She opened her rosebud lips to sing the first note of her song, and Seth was riveted to the spot.
Her voice flowed around him like warm water while she made love to the music. Her beautiful hair glistened with every tilt, and the stage lights illuminated her with an unearthly white glow. She sang with passion and careful power. Her lungs, her throat, her lips—they produced notes so clear and true. She was a consummate performer without having to resort to a flashy display or distracting set design.
Just her, alone on the stage, enchanting an entire audience with just the sound of her angelic voice. And whenever that faint Tennessee twang filtered through, Seth felt a rush of adoration for her. Every little detail revealed more to like about her. Her soulful delivery and sensual stage presence made his heart leap. Her undeniable, luminous beauty made him feel things he hadn’t felt in a long time. Maybe ever. The way he ached for this girl was unmatched. They hardly knew each other, and yet… Seth was hooked. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her as she swayed on the stage.
He wasn’t the only one, either. He glanced around the dim lounge, counting the reverent faces of the crowd. They were all enamored with this sweet, sexy starlet. Linc looked like he was having a religious experience watching her. Seth felt a rush of pride for Gentry; sure, they were just acquaintances, but he could tell how much work and dedication she poured into her craft.
As much as he wanted her set to go on forever so he could listen to her sing until the end of time, Seth was a little torn. He also wanted the set to end, just so he would have the opportunity to really see her again. Offstage. Off the record. He was hooked on Gentry just from their brief interaction last night, and he was jonesing for another hit.
It crossed his mind that he had the day off tomorrow. He had really worked his ass off around the department to get Sundays, and he was damn glad for it tonight. Of course, he knew he was partly here on business. After all, the lieutenant certainly hadn’t assigned him the job so he could ogle and flirt with Gentry Hays, but if a little ogling and flirtation happened to occur while he was doing his due diligence, well… that couldn’t be wrong, right?
Seth would gladly stay up all night with her. Hell, he would bend time and space itself just to spend a little while longer basking in her golden rays.