Manhandled: A Rockstar Romantic Comedy (Hammered Book 2) by Cari Quinn, Taryn Elliott Page A
Authors: Cari Quinn, Taryn Elliott
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and bar stools in one little freaking place? The walls were chalkboards with art from local artists with a timer at the edge of each one.
True pieces of flash art.
It was about the only interesting part of the damn place. They ruined coffee with chocolate and caramels and all sorts of flavors. I had to tell the waitress three times to just put coffee in a mug and hand it to me. No extras. Not even sugar.
But Faith was in her element. Her smile was huge and her laughter rang through the room. Even people who hadn’t realized she was famous couldn’t help but notice her. She practically shone like a beacon.
It was fascinating and horrifying from a job standpoint.
How was I supposed to keep her incognito when we went on her tour? She was a natural entertainer with quippy conversations and a laughter that drew people to her like a siren song.
I know I was already in danger of crashing into the rocks for her.
Fuck.
I was getting as fanciful as she was.
Not good.
My phone buzzed at my hip. I checked it briefly and groaned. I was set up to receive any and all alerts from her media accounts. It wasn’t like I hadn’t given her permission to do it, but I’d hoped she would avoid telegraphing her whereabouts our first time out.
A fancy coffee filled the screen and the edge of the menu. At least she didn’t tag the place outright. But it seemed like the entire area flocked to this establishment for their froufrou coffee.
She had her second huge mug of coffee-laced hot chocolate in front of her with mountains of marshmallows and whipped cream. Who the hell needed both?
She was going to be zooming on sugar and caffeine for the rest of the damn day. I’d probably get another medley of songs as my afternoon treat.
Fucking wonderful.
I stood against the wall, three feet from her. An octopus and a ship were in an epic battle in DayGlo orange and purple over my shoulder. And across from me was a startlingly lifelike mermaid on a craggy rock.
Fitting.
Sirens and mermaids were pretty much the same thing.
A murmur of voices ramped up, and I stepped forward away from the wall.
Faith smiled at two children who came up to the table.
“Your rings are pretty.”
“Why thank you.” She held her hand out to show off a half dozen sparkles on her fingers.
“I’m sorry.” A woman rushed to the table and I moved behind Faith. She had a short cap of blonde hair and a harried look on her face. I relaxed slightly as she led the children away from the table with more apologies.
Faith waved to the youngest girl with wispy pigtails in her almost nonexistent hair.
She dropped her other hand and waved me back.
When two more women came forward, I stiffened.
“Keys? Faith Keystone?”
She smiled warmly again and pushed her sunglasses up. “You got me.”
“I can’t believe it’s you.”
Faith waved her hand to encompass the room. “Who doesn’t like chocolate and coffee?”
Me.
I’d never loved my sunglasses more than today. It was getting harder and harder not to roll my eyes at the incessant chatter about spice this, and dark-chocolate-sea-salt-fantastical-blend-with-a-hint-of-coffee that. Seriously. These people wouldn’t know a decent cup of coffee if it was poured over their heads.
The three of them raved over their favorite drinks for a few minutes. Faith got each girl to talk through the stutters with kindness until they were all laughing like old friends.
She was kind of amazing.
The light conversation faded to the back of my mind as I watched the room—until one of the girls asked a question that made my ears perk up.
“We read such awful stuff on the internet about you. We’re so glad you’re all right. How could anyone be so uncool?”
Faith sipped her drink without answering. She gave her a noncommittal hum instead of actually going into detail.
Good girl.
“You’re not canceling the tour, are you?”
Heaven forbid.
I knew from a business standpoint there was no way to do that, but the
True pieces of flash art.
It was about the only interesting part of the damn place. They ruined coffee with chocolate and caramels and all sorts of flavors. I had to tell the waitress three times to just put coffee in a mug and hand it to me. No extras. Not even sugar.
But Faith was in her element. Her smile was huge and her laughter rang through the room. Even people who hadn’t realized she was famous couldn’t help but notice her. She practically shone like a beacon.
It was fascinating and horrifying from a job standpoint.
How was I supposed to keep her incognito when we went on her tour? She was a natural entertainer with quippy conversations and a laughter that drew people to her like a siren song.
I know I was already in danger of crashing into the rocks for her.
Fuck.
I was getting as fanciful as she was.
Not good.
My phone buzzed at my hip. I checked it briefly and groaned. I was set up to receive any and all alerts from her media accounts. It wasn’t like I hadn’t given her permission to do it, but I’d hoped she would avoid telegraphing her whereabouts our first time out.
A fancy coffee filled the screen and the edge of the menu. At least she didn’t tag the place outright. But it seemed like the entire area flocked to this establishment for their froufrou coffee.
She had her second huge mug of coffee-laced hot chocolate in front of her with mountains of marshmallows and whipped cream. Who the hell needed both?
She was going to be zooming on sugar and caffeine for the rest of the damn day. I’d probably get another medley of songs as my afternoon treat.
Fucking wonderful.
I stood against the wall, three feet from her. An octopus and a ship were in an epic battle in DayGlo orange and purple over my shoulder. And across from me was a startlingly lifelike mermaid on a craggy rock.
Fitting.
Sirens and mermaids were pretty much the same thing.
A murmur of voices ramped up, and I stepped forward away from the wall.
Faith smiled at two children who came up to the table.
“Your rings are pretty.”
“Why thank you.” She held her hand out to show off a half dozen sparkles on her fingers.
“I’m sorry.” A woman rushed to the table and I moved behind Faith. She had a short cap of blonde hair and a harried look on her face. I relaxed slightly as she led the children away from the table with more apologies.
Faith waved to the youngest girl with wispy pigtails in her almost nonexistent hair.
She dropped her other hand and waved me back.
When two more women came forward, I stiffened.
“Keys? Faith Keystone?”
She smiled warmly again and pushed her sunglasses up. “You got me.”
“I can’t believe it’s you.”
Faith waved her hand to encompass the room. “Who doesn’t like chocolate and coffee?”
Me.
I’d never loved my sunglasses more than today. It was getting harder and harder not to roll my eyes at the incessant chatter about spice this, and dark-chocolate-sea-salt-fantastical-blend-with-a-hint-of-coffee that. Seriously. These people wouldn’t know a decent cup of coffee if it was poured over their heads.
The three of them raved over their favorite drinks for a few minutes. Faith got each girl to talk through the stutters with kindness until they were all laughing like old friends.
She was kind of amazing.
The light conversation faded to the back of my mind as I watched the room—until one of the girls asked a question that made my ears perk up.
“We read such awful stuff on the internet about you. We’re so glad you’re all right. How could anyone be so uncool?”
Faith sipped her drink without answering. She gave her a noncommittal hum instead of actually going into detail.
Good girl.
“You’re not canceling the tour, are you?”
Heaven forbid.
I knew from a business standpoint there was no way to do that, but the
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