was a fleeting thing.
Mal leaned down in front of me, getting in my face. “Nope. No crazy eyes. Your theory is bullshit, pumpkin. They’re only for me.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Jimmy,” I said, pushing my pretend partner out of the way.
“She still doing the eyes thing?” asked Jimmy.
Rock stars gossiped. There you go.
“Lust has no expiration date, Jimbo. And hello, Lena. You look very nice.” Mal offered his free hand to the woman at Jimmy’s side. The arctic chill of her manner turned equatorial in an instant. How strange.
“Mal. How are you?” The woman gave his fingers a brief squeeze, before offering her hand to me to shake. Brown hair fell past her shoulders and funky red plastic-rimmed glasses sat on her nose. “And this must be Anne. Great to meet you. Mal’s told me so much about you.”
“He has?” I shook her hand, returning her smile.
“At band practice today, you were all he could talk about,” she said.
“She’s the love of my life,” sighed Mal, throwing an arm around my shoulders.
“See? You’re the love of his life.” Lena gave me a charmed smile. Apparently it was only Jimmy she detested.
“This week,” said Jimmy.
With a small sigh, Lena half turned her head toward him. That was all it took.
Jimmy gave me a strained smile. “Sorry. That was a shitty thing to say.”
“Pumpkin, Lena is what we in the industry call ‘a babysitter’,” said Mal. “If you’re an unmitigated fucking asshole who doesn’t know how to behave, you get a gorgeous girl like Lena to follow you around, making sure you’re not a PR disaster for the record company.”
“I said I was sorry.” Jimmy stared out across the room, doing the same crinkly forehead thing his brother did. It kind of reminded me of James Dean.
“Hey.” Ben appeared on my free side, staring down at me from his lofty height. There was more chin tipping. All of the band members wore matching black suits, but Jimmy had lost the vest and added a thin black tie. Ben wore the tie but had ditched the vest and jacket and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up his strong arms. Both limbs were liberally inked. Tattoos and suits made for a damn good combination.
The quality of the eye candy tonight was off the scale. Mal still had them all beat, of course.
“Pumpkin, guess what?”
“What?”
Before I knew what was happening I’d been dipped back over his arm. The entire room had turned upside down. Fuck, was the front of my dress gaping? I slapped my hand down over my collarbone, just in case.
“Shit, Mal! Up.”
He immediately righted me. Blood rushed about inside my head and the room spun. Beside us, Ben and Lena laughed. I think Jimmy was busy doing his bored-stare thing. It was hard to see with my head still spinning. I’m pretty sure people were watching. If I heard an upside-down girl shouting obscenities, I’d probably take a look.
“No one saw anything,” Mal said, reading my mind. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Fine.”
His thumbs rubbed circles into my hip bones through the fabric of my dress. He held his face close to mine. “Sorry, pumpkin. I didn’t think.”
“It’s okay.”
He squinted down at me. “Is it really okay or are you just saying it’s okay and you’re going to bust my balls about it later?”
I thought about it for a moment to be sure. “No. But don’t do it again or I’ll hurt you.”
“Got it. No more throwing you around.”
“Thank you.”
“I won’t embarrass you again, Anne. Promise.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“See,” he said, his smile huge. “Our communication skills as a couple are fucking excellent. We’re working out great!”
“Yeah, we are,” I said, my heart elated. It was strange, we’d only known each other a few days but I trusted him. I liked him and I was really grateful to spend this time with him. After the disaster with Skye, I needed Malcolm Ericson in my life right now. Hell, after the last seven years I needed
Mal leaned down in front of me, getting in my face. “Nope. No crazy eyes. Your theory is bullshit, pumpkin. They’re only for me.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Jimmy,” I said, pushing my pretend partner out of the way.
“She still doing the eyes thing?” asked Jimmy.
Rock stars gossiped. There you go.
“Lust has no expiration date, Jimbo. And hello, Lena. You look very nice.” Mal offered his free hand to the woman at Jimmy’s side. The arctic chill of her manner turned equatorial in an instant. How strange.
“Mal. How are you?” The woman gave his fingers a brief squeeze, before offering her hand to me to shake. Brown hair fell past her shoulders and funky red plastic-rimmed glasses sat on her nose. “And this must be Anne. Great to meet you. Mal’s told me so much about you.”
“He has?” I shook her hand, returning her smile.
“At band practice today, you were all he could talk about,” she said.
“She’s the love of my life,” sighed Mal, throwing an arm around my shoulders.
“See? You’re the love of his life.” Lena gave me a charmed smile. Apparently it was only Jimmy she detested.
“This week,” said Jimmy.
With a small sigh, Lena half turned her head toward him. That was all it took.
Jimmy gave me a strained smile. “Sorry. That was a shitty thing to say.”
“Pumpkin, Lena is what we in the industry call ‘a babysitter’,” said Mal. “If you’re an unmitigated fucking asshole who doesn’t know how to behave, you get a gorgeous girl like Lena to follow you around, making sure you’re not a PR disaster for the record company.”
“I said I was sorry.” Jimmy stared out across the room, doing the same crinkly forehead thing his brother did. It kind of reminded me of James Dean.
“Hey.” Ben appeared on my free side, staring down at me from his lofty height. There was more chin tipping. All of the band members wore matching black suits, but Jimmy had lost the vest and added a thin black tie. Ben wore the tie but had ditched the vest and jacket and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up his strong arms. Both limbs were liberally inked. Tattoos and suits made for a damn good combination.
The quality of the eye candy tonight was off the scale. Mal still had them all beat, of course.
“Pumpkin, guess what?”
“What?”
Before I knew what was happening I’d been dipped back over his arm. The entire room had turned upside down. Fuck, was the front of my dress gaping? I slapped my hand down over my collarbone, just in case.
“Shit, Mal! Up.”
He immediately righted me. Blood rushed about inside my head and the room spun. Beside us, Ben and Lena laughed. I think Jimmy was busy doing his bored-stare thing. It was hard to see with my head still spinning. I’m pretty sure people were watching. If I heard an upside-down girl shouting obscenities, I’d probably take a look.
“No one saw anything,” Mal said, reading my mind. “You okay?”
I nodded. “Fine.”
His thumbs rubbed circles into my hip bones through the fabric of my dress. He held his face close to mine. “Sorry, pumpkin. I didn’t think.”
“It’s okay.”
He squinted down at me. “Is it really okay or are you just saying it’s okay and you’re going to bust my balls about it later?”
I thought about it for a moment to be sure. “No. But don’t do it again or I’ll hurt you.”
“Got it. No more throwing you around.”
“Thank you.”
“I won’t embarrass you again, Anne. Promise.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“See,” he said, his smile huge. “Our communication skills as a couple are fucking excellent. We’re working out great!”
“Yeah, we are,” I said, my heart elated. It was strange, we’d only known each other a few days but I trusted him. I liked him and I was really grateful to spend this time with him. After the disaster with Skye, I needed Malcolm Ericson in my life right now. Hell, after the last seven years I needed
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