“Where do you want it?”
She pulled down the collar of her pale yellow dress and shamelessly exposed the top of her breast. Clark, again, didn’t seem even vaguely surprised. He signed her boob, giving her a smirk that made her knees buckle all over again.
He didn’t catch her this time and she reached out to grab the tabletop with one hand, steadying herself as she blinked slowly. Clark sat back down. “You know Callen as well, right?”
The man in question shot him a glare but then forced a grin when the waitress seemed to notice him for the first time and nodded again. Clark ignored Callen as he looked up at her. “Would you like the same from him?”
Wordlessly nodding once more, leaving me to get seriously worried about the effect they were having on her, Callen scooted out of the booth. He took the sharpie from Callen and the phone from the waitress, rushing through the same process Clark had handled with practiced finesse.
When he was done, he sat down but scooted over until his side was pressed to mine. He hung his arm over my shoulders once more before turning his head toward their number-one fan. Opening his mouth, he looked relieved when Clark jumped in to speak instead.
“So, how about those burgers?”
She performed her signature nod again and scurried away. Clark laughed, but Callen looked a little sick.
“Man, I was worried I’d lost my touch earlier with you,” Clark said. “But it looks like you really just are a unicorn.”
Callen’s jaw clenched, but I let my hand glide over to his thigh and squeezed it before raising a brow at his jacket. “That thing is like Mary Poppins’s handbag. What else have you got in there? A sharpie, several thousand dollars…”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he quipped.
“I would actually. Do you also carry signed headshots in there?” My phone buzzed on the table and Julia’s name appeared on my screen. I answered it quickly. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Nothing much. Just checking in. Where are you? I saw you closed up early.”
“Yeah, I’m coming back later. I’m just having lunch at Tony’s with Callen and some guy named Clark.” My smile morphed into a smirk when I met his eyes, and he narrowed his.
“Some guy named Clark, as in the Clark McMann?” she screamed into the phone, causing me to pull it away from my ear. When I brought it back, Julia had hung up the phone.
“What was that all about?” Clark asked.
“You’ll see.”
Five minutes later, we were in the middle of talking about some of the antics the guys had gotten up to when they were younger. Julia barreled into the cafe with bright red cheeks and her flaming hair flying behind her, her eyes wild as she scanned the room.
When she spotted us, she made a beeline for our table and threw herself into the empty seat beside Clark. Without acknowledging either me or Callen, she turned to him and stuck out her hand.
“Clark McMann, it’s so very nice to meet you. I’m Julia, Tiffeny’s best friend and the girl who just left a client in the booth so I could come over here.”
This time, he did seem surprised. But only for a second. It seemed nothing could rattle his cage too much.
A wide grin spread his lips as he reached for her hand. He shook it slowly. “It’s nice to meet you too, Julia. I’m Callen’s best friend, so it looks like we’re going to be spending some time together before I leave. That okay with you?”
“Absolutely.” She didn’t hesitate to start asking him a thousand questions.
Clark answered each one while Callen leaned in to whisper in my ear. “And that right there is why I knew right away you were one in a million. Thank you for being you.”
I melted into a puddle of goo and kissed the forearm resting on my shoulders, unsure how to react to that after everything.
Clark and Julia hit it off like a house on fire, leaving time for me to get caught up with Callen. While we were eating our burgers, Clark’s gaze drifted between Callen’s and me, then to Julia. He whispered something to her. She obviously agreed. Then he turned back to us.
“Julia and I can watch Winter tomorrow night if you guys want to go get some dinner.”
Callen cocked his head, searching for something before he shook his head, but he said, “Yeah, sure. That should be fine. If it’s okay with you?”
If it’s okay with me? Sure, because I was going to turn down a date with a super-hot, amazing man I really liked, who also just so happened to be a tattooed rock star and a sex god? Yeah, right.
Chapter 27
Callen
“So what was that between you and Clark yesterday after he offered to watch Winter tonight?” Tiffeny asked.
She sat across the table from me at a small Mexican place she’d suggested for dinner, her head tilted as she waited for my answer.
The restaurant was casual, with oil lamps on the tables, colorful rugs hanging on the walls, and plastic furniture. I dug it, but what I dug more was that Tiffeny hadn’t dressed up for our date.
She was wearing a black, tight-fitting T-shirt with a V-neck that was cut deep enough to offer glimpses of her cleavage as she shifted. Which was why I was having a hell of a time trying to focus my attention on her eyes and what she was saying.
“Callen?” she asked, a frown pulling her eyebrows together as she leaned forward. “Are you okay?”
It took everything I had to keep my gaze from falling down her shirt. I cleared my throat and put a hand in my lap to press it against my rapidly growing dick. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just really like that shirt.”
Her cheeks took on a rosy hue in the soft lamplight, a shy smile spreading her lips. “Really? My shirt is what’s making you look like you’re lost in space?”
“You have no idea how fucking hot you look, do you?” I leaned over and cupped her flushed cheek, watching as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.
Captivating blue eyes on mine, she shrugged. “Maybe I do and that’s why I chose this shirt. That being said, you’re one to talk. You always look good.”
“What?” I lifted my new blue T-shirt away from my body. “This old thing?”
Tiffeny laughed. “Yeah, that old thing. Anyway, now that we’ve established you are, in fact, capable of speech and not sick but just horny, are you going to answer my question?”
“There was nothing really going on, but you know he only offered to watch Winter for us tonight so he could get to know Julia better, right? I might be horny, but I guarantee I’m not the only one.”
“You mean he didn’t genuinely only want to give his friend the night off to go on a date and to spend some time with the goddaughter he adores?” She batted her long, dark lashes. “Well, I never.”
“Yeah, all his intentions were noble all right.” I chuckled. “I hope your friend knows what she’s in for.”
“I’m pretty sure Julia would be in for anything with him, so I don’t feel too bad about taking them up on their offer.”
“Neither do I.” A server delivered our nachos to the table, also bringing a pitcher of beer and two glasses.
He set the nachos down, filled the glasses, and asked if we needed anything else before he hurried away. Tiffeny plucked a nacho off the plate and popped it in her mouth, achieving the impossible by even making eating nachos look sexy.
Christ, there’s something wrong with me.
Ever since I’d realized I wasn’t about to give her up, it was like my mind was stuck in an infinite loop and every one of the thoughts in that loop involved Tiffeny. Some of them were dirty, but most weren’t. I’d even written a song about her, not that anyone except for me knew or ever would know about that.
After she swallowed the nacho, she took a sip of her beer and sat back, smiling at me. “I didn’t know you were working on Clark’s album.”
“That’s because I’m not working on it,” I said before taking a long pull of my own beer. “Like I said, I’ve only written a few songs for him.”
“Songs he’s obviously
willing to pay you for, which kind of means you’re working with him.”
I chuckled and popped some nachos into my mouth. They were cheesy, crunchy, and spicy. The perfect blend.
“Yeah, if you look at it that way, then I guess I am. I’m not recording with him, though. It’s his album.”
“That may be true, but he already said he’s putting your name on it as well.”
“It’s only going on to credit the songs I wrote, nothing more.” I’d fought him on that, but he insisted on having my name on the album. Credit having to be given where it was due and all.
Thankfully, it wasn’t like anyone ever actually checked who wrote which song on an album. Slapping my name down next to the songs I wrote wouldn’t affect the relative anonymity I had going on in Myrtle Beach and wouldn’t thrust me into the press.
“Well, I, for one, can’t wait to hear them.” She smiled and wagged her brows at me. “What are you planning on doing with your unexpected windfall? Take an exotic vacation, buy a sports car, go on a shopping trip?”
I raised one shoulder. “I’ll probably just set it aside for Winter. I think we’ve traveled enough this year. Taking a vacation doesn’t really appeal to me at the moment and we don’t need a new car or anything else. Besides, sports cars don’t take car seats, which means I’ll have to wait until Winter’s out of one to indulge in any midlife crisis.”
Drumming two of her fingers against her chin, she narrowed her eyes in thought. “I wonder what a rock star’s midlife crisis looks like?”
“You’ve seen it in the news a lot. Usually, it involves drugs, booze, parties, fast cars, and faster women. Since I’m a much tamer, more responsible rock star, mine will probably be limited to the fast cars. Hell, I won’t even be a rock star anymore by then. I’m not even sure I’m one now.”
“You’ll always be a rock star to me,” she said, reaching out to pat my hand as she flashed me a playful smile. “My tame, responsible rock star who’s a great dad and values his life and daughter too much to mess around with that other stuff.”
“I didn’t say tame. I said tamer. Saying I’m tame and responsible makes me sound lame. God, now I’m even rhyming. Maybe I am lame.”
“You’re a songwriter. Isn’t rhyming in your blood?” She popped another nacho in her mouth, chewing as she kept her eyes on mine, waiting for my answer.
“Songwriting isn’t all rhyming, but I guess there is a fair amount of it involved.” I shrugged. “I’ve never really had to think about it that way. Songs just kind of—I don’t know—they just come to me and insist to be let out.”
“I’m impressed.” She dabbed the corner of her mouth with a paper napkin. “I’ve never written a song in my life, and I don’t think I will, but I can’t imagine it comes that easily to everyone. Do you think you’ll keep doing that? Writing songs even if you don’t get to be the one to perform them?”
“I love performing.” I frowned. “Or I used to anyway. I think songwriting is probably a better option for me than touring all the time, though.”
“Well, if it pays as well as it seems to, it certainly seems like a good alternative.” She put her fingers around the edge of her glass and spun it slowly on the table, her gaze on the swirling amber liquid inside. “Will you miss performing and touring?”
Should’ve seen that one coming. I filled my lungs with air and held it there while I mulled over the question. It felt like the answer should have been easy, but if I really thought about it, it wasn’t.
Eventually, I settled on the only truth I could offer unequivocally. “Performing used to be my life, but being on the road is tough. Winter misses out on a lot of social interaction, even though I try to get nannies and sitters who can keep her up to date developmentally. There are other kids on tour with us. Some of the crew and roadies bring theirs too. It’s just not the same, though.”
I shook myself out of my thoughts because if I was honest, I did miss it sometimes. “Enough about me. What about you? What does your future look like?”
“If I’m lucky, it looks a lot like my life does right now,” she said, a serene smile appearing on her lips as she leaned back in her chair. “I love how things are at the moment. I have my shop, a great friendship with Julia, and some other friends I can do stuff with when she’s busy. I’m getting to spend some time with you and Winter. All around, I think the only thing I’d like to work on is getting a few more contracts like the one I have with the day-care center. If I can do that, my rent will be taken care of, regardless of what Nicholson does next. Then life will be good.”
“You’ve got it all figured out, huh?” Damn it, I wish I could be that content and at peace with where I am at the moment. “I’m almost jealous.”
“You?” She arched a dark brow. “You’re a rock star with more money and talent than you know what to do with. How can you be jealous of me?”
“I said almost jealous, but that’s still an easy question to answer. You’re self-assured, independent, you’ve built a life you are proud of and can build a future on. That’s no small thing.”
“Yeah, maybe.” She dropped her head to one side, her gaze narrowing on mine. “But you know music is your future. I heard all those people singing along to your songs at Julia’s party. You’ve definitely built something you can be proud of, so we’re not that different in that respect. You just need to figure out which direction your music is taking you. I only figured out the bulk weekly contract thing recently and decided to do more of that in the future. All you need to do is figure out what your proverbial ‘bulk weekly contract’ is.”
“True, but somehow, we’ve managed to start talking about me again.” I raised my glass and let it hang in the air between us. “Here’s to us no longer talking about what the future might hold and focusing on the here and now instead.”
“Cheers.” She smiled and clinked her beer against mine before taking a long sip and swallowing. Then she glanced down at her menu. “Speaking of the here and now, we’d better order. What are you going to have?”
Tiffeny and I kept the conversation light after that, just getting to know each other better. When our meals were eaten and our bill was paid, we left the restaurant hand in hand.
“I should probably be getting home soon, but let me call Clark and find out how things are going. If they’re okay there, maybe we can grab dessert from somewhere.”
“There’s a great ice-cream place near here.” Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight as she looked up at me on the sidewalk. “I happen to have the keys for it on me. No idea why the owner would let me have them. She must be crazy.”
“She must be.” I laughed as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed someone on my speed dial. Clark picked up not a minute later. “Hey, bro. How’s the date going?”
“Good. We just finished dinner, so I’ll be home soon. I just wanted to check in on you guys.”
Clark scoffed. “You will not be home soon. Stay the night with Tiffeny, Cal. It’s been a long time and you deserve a proper break. Jules and I have got this. Winter is in bed, and we’re watching a movie. There’s no need to rush.”
Translation: his date wasn’t done yet. I had to admit, though, the idea of getting to spend the night with Tiffeny was tempting. If there was anyone I trusted to have them stay over with Winter, it was Clark. I knew he would take care of her like she was his own. He always had.
“I’ll think about it,” I said finally. As much as I knew Winter would be fine, I didn’t know if I would be. I hadn’t spent a whole night away from her in a long-ass time. “Either way, you guys are welcome to take a guest room even if I end up coming home.”
“Don’t come home,” he said, then sighed. “But you got it. At least try, okay?”
“Okay.” We hung up and I grinned at Tiffeny. “They said to spend the night together.”
She tapped the corner of her mouth as she smirked up at me. “You know, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I have some ice cream at home. Want to get
dessert at my house?”
“Fuck yes.” I pushed my worries to the back of my mind and followed my own request from earlier to focus on the here and now. Taking her hand in mine and winding our fingers together, I led her to my car. “You know, now that I think about it, there’s something else I’d much rather have for dessert.”
Her fingers tightened on my hand and her tongue swept across her bottom lip. “Same.”
We made it to her house as fast as I could get us there. As soon as we were in her entrance hall, I kicked the door shut and her lips were on mine.
“Wait,” she murmured between kisses, putting her hands on my chest and pushing back gently. I obliged immediately, keeping my arms around her waist as I raised a brow and looked into her hooded eyes. Her gaze darted from one of my eyes to the other and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, running my fingers lightly up and down her sides. “We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.”
“It’s not that. Trust me. I do want to. There’s just something I wanted to say first.” She licked her lips, but it was more of a nervous tick this time. I let her think, keeping quiet despite my body’s demands to get her to hurry up.
“I know we said we’re only focusing on the here and now tonight, but I wanted you to know I’m okay with that being how things are between us. Not just for tonight. You’ve got some stuff to figure out and I don’t want to be an added weight or an extra pressure. This thing between us doesn’t have to be anything more than it is. I’m okay with it just being what it is.”
“Okay.” My eyes dropped to her lips.
At some point, I was going to have to come clean to her about the way I felt, but I didn’t have to get into all of it right then. I ran my fingers across her jaw and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, my gaze never leaving hers. “You could never be an added weight or extra pressure, but thank you for saying that. Was there anything else?”
Keeping Secrets Page 19
