Four minutes and twenty-nine seconds later, I stand behind the blue velvet curtain with my bandmates, waiting for our cue. It all comes back to me—the nervousness, the sweat rolling down my spine as I wait for thousands of screaming fans to rush the stage. Tonight, it will be friends and family sitting around the tiny bar stage, but the feeling is the same. When the band decided to retire, I thought I’d miss the excitement, but I was wrong. I quickly discovered how much I enjoy living a quiet life. It took several months, but I adjusted to life after touring. Somewhere along the way, I found my true passion, writing music for other performers, and never looked back.
As the curtain raises, the lights above the stage spin, momentarily blinding me. I close my eyes and let the beat take me away. When I open my eyes, I almost drop my drumstick as my vision clears. I blink several times, wondering if I’m imagining her. My curvy soulmate goddess is tending to the crowd surrounding the bar. The darkened club makes it hard to see her clearly, but I’d recognize her anywhere. My fucking heart beats for her. The beauty stole my heart, and now she’s stuck with me.
I’m tempted to sayfuck itand hop off the stage to get to my girl, but Pen steps over to hiss at me, “Get your shit together.” I force myself to ignore my soulmate while I finish this set.
I keep an eye on my soulmate pouring drinks behind the bar. Figuring she must work here, I know she won’t be getting away, so I relax and throw myself into rocking this performance. Once it’s done, I’m going to find out my girl’s name and make a few things crystal clear to her—she’s mine and I plan to keep her forever. No matter what it takes. Even if that means handcuffing her to my bed until she sees things my way.
CHAPTERTWO
ADALYNN
“You met Razor Freaking Montgomery?” Gemma, my youngest sister, whisper-shouts. “And youran away?”
“I don’t think that’s his middle name. And I didn’t run away,” I protest, cringing as her voice echoes through the car speakers. Put that way, it sounds terrible. Ididn’trun away. I made an executive decision to retreat when faced with a horde of screaming teenagers and a ridiculously hot drummer. See? Not the same thing at all.
“You ran away,” Leia, my first sister snorts, sending static crackling through the car speakers. She’s not buying any of my crap. Then again, she never does. I think she was born with her BS meter fully functioning. She can smell a lie a mile away. Between her BS meter and Garrett, our overprotective older brother, Gemma, Heidi, Charlie, and I never get away with anything. “You like him.”
“I don’t even know him,” I splutter, my face heating as I navigate traffic in downtown Silver Spoon Falls on my way to the bar where I work. I’m already running late, thanks to my jerk of a boss. But there’s nothing I can do about traffic when he’s the one who scheduledBentto play tonight. Well, okay, that's not strictly true. Bender, their lead singer, is a partial owner of the bar. But blaming Roger is more fun because I actually like Bender.
A little thrill goes up my spine at the thought of seeing Razor, the band’s drummer, again. My stomach trembles with nerves at the same time. The man is seriously hot. His piercing ocean-blue eyes and panty-melting smile had my heart beating double-time.
Thank God he delivered a terrible pick-up line because all I could focus on were the tantalizing peeks of skin showing through the dozens of holes in his shirt. I’m not sure if he’s fallen on hard times or if he normally dresses like he got in a fight with a bear, but his shirt probably should have retired when his band did.
Oh. Maybe the show tonight is a benefit for him.
Aww. I’ll donate all my tips to him.
“Adalynn!” Charlie, my third sister, cries, “Are you even listening to us?”
“No. She’s daydreaming about doing dirty things to Razor,” Heidi, my second sister, says, laughing wickedly. “I bet he has her bent over a flat surface right now.”
“Shut up,” I mumble, glad this call is voice only and they can’t see how red I am right now. I miss my sisters like crazy, but I’m suddenly grateful they’re scattered all over Texas. Because I haven’t even told them thatBentis playing at the bar tonight. They’re going to lose their minds.
“Why were you at the mall anyway?” Leia asks before I can divulge that detail. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
“Don’t ask.” My brows furrow, annoyance channeling through me.
“Well, now you have to tell us,” Heidi says.
“Do I dress like an old lady?”
“What?” Leia growls. “Who told you that?”
“What the heck, Addy?” Gemma says.
“My boss heavily insinuated that I invest in more appropriate work clothes because I dress like an old lady,” I mutter, flipping on the blinker to make a right turn onto Broadway. Traffic is lined up all the way down the street. “He wasn’t very nice about it.”
“First of all, rude,” Charlie says, indignation plain in her voice. “Second of all, he can go kick rocks. Your wardrobe isn’t his concern. Third, you do not dress like any old lady I’ve ever met. You have a killer fashion sense.”
“Does he want your vajayjay hanging out or something?” Leia snarks.
“Probably,” Heidi and Gemma say at the same time.
“Well, you can tell him to shove his sexual harassment up his butt,” Leia says. “Unless he wants to supply everyone at work with a uniform, he doesn’t get to dictate what you, personally, wear.”
“He sounds hideous,” Gemma says.
“I miss Kingston,” I mutter. “He didn’t suck as a boss. Roger sucks as a boss.” Kingston, the former manager, quit a few weeks ago. Bender hired Roger to replace him. He’s a jerk to everyone.