Play Mine: Rockstar Romantic Suspense (Brooklyn Dawn Book 3)

by Cari Quinn

  When she finished, I added a little flourish of a few notes at the end—entirely wrong ones that made her laugh and straddle my lap to kiss me. She wove her hands into my hair and pressed her knees into my hips while one kiss rolled into the next.

  I couldn’t get enough of her. Luckily, the feeling seemed to be mutual.

  She was my touchstone. How could I not want to marry her?

  “Do you think this was the kind of friendship Carole was talking about in the song?” she asked between kisses.

  “I’m not sure, but if not, she missed out.”

  She slid her arms around my neck and gave me a full Teagan-watt smile. “Pretty certain everyone’s missing out. But I’m not sharing. You’re all mine.”

  “Same. I’ve gotta say I’m glad you didn’t pick The Golden Girls theme song. My mom watches that show on streaming.”

  “Oh. Hmm.” She pretended to consider. “We’re kind of like them, just with dick.”

  All I could do was laugh.

  Eighteen

  “What a colossal waste of an hour.” Ricki sighed from where she was seated opposite me at our table in the swanky restaurant Priscilla had chosen. “My stomach is about to rip itself apart, and all we’ve had are some fancy breadsticks, salads, and tea. That’s not food. If she was going to ghost, she could’ve at least given us a heads up so we could’ve ordered.”

  Across from her, I gripped my elbows and stared across the gilt-edged blue and white room full of high-backed Queen Anne’s style booths and ornate tables with hand-carved chairs. Framed art adorned the walls and the floor appeared to be marble. A grandiose chandelier glittered overhead, refracting light off the cut crystal glasses on the tables.

  Priscilla had certainly gone for class. And she’d decided not to show, just as I’d suspected she would once I agreed to let Ricki tag along

  “It’s about me,” I said in a low voice. “I don’t know if I’m just an example or to prove a point or… God, maybe it really does have to do with Pat.”

  Ricki stopped digging in her purse for Lifesavers. “You think he could have set this up? And what, I’m here, so they can’t snatch you or something? If they just want information on getting closer to the band, why would my being here make any difference?”

  “I don’t know.” I rested my arms on the edge of the table and lowered my head into my hands. “I just don’t understand any of this.”

  She reached across the table and squeezed my arm. “Whatever the reason is, she’s not showing. Maybe it’s for the best. Why give her a chance to hurt you? To try to get something out of her? Don’t bother. It’s not fucking worth having to live with the fallout.”

  I sat back in my chair. “Snake,” I said quietly. “Here I’m going on and being so insensitive and you went through something so awful yourself. But you did that so you could catch him and finally put all of that to rest.”

  Shortly before I’d joined Brooklyn Dawn, Ricki had killed a man in self-defense who had hated Ripper Records—and her and her brother Nick—for wholly personal reasons.

  Back then, Lila and Donovan had assumed the ongoing threat against the record label had ended with Snake’s life. Now it seemed like there was no end.

  “For all we know now, that was just part of a larger ploy. Maybe we’re pieces in a bigger chess game. Hell, this fucking table could be bugged.” She flipped up the frilly tablecloth and looked underneath then sighed. “We need to go. There’s no real food here, anyway. I want red meat.”

  I had to laugh as I stood. “Yeah. Let’s go meet the guys.”

  “Meet them? You know they’re probably in the lobby.”

  I faltered. “They can’t be. They’d scare her off, if somehow you didn’t.”

  Ricki hoisted her tiny bag higher on her shoulder. “Trust me, they’re right outside. Do you think they care about being circumspect? No. They’re probably trying to look as dangerous as possible. Because they are men. When they are not thinking with their little heads, their supposed big head instructs them that the next best thing after sex is acting huge and hulking and super manly.”

  I couldn’t hold back my laugh. “Well, let’s hope you’re wrong.”

  She wasn’t.

  Small favors, at least they were outside the doors. Approximately six feet away.

  The pair of them looked like they were hired guns in a spy movie. Tall, broad, and somehow both wearing all black, though Cooper had on jeans.

  “Didn’t show, did she?” Mal shook his head. “Knew it. Pussy ass broad.”

  “Could be because of you two clowns. You’re about as unobtrusive as the Vegas sign. Except yours would say danger! Look out! Exactly the vibe we were trying to give off.” Ricki rolled her eyes and gave her husband a hard smack in the gut.

  Cooper wasn’t off the hook though. She just left his corporal punishment to me.

  I was too disheartened to bother. “We tiptoed out of your apartment to get away from Cole so we could do this, and then you two act just like bodyguards. What was the point?”

  Ricki winced. “Yeah, we gave ours the slip too. What excuse did you use? We used—”

  “Sex,” we said in unison.

  I shrugged. “It was the only way Cole would give us any privacy. Then he passed out. Poor guy had to sleep sometime.” I sighed. “Now I feel guilty. We should go back.”

  Cooper shook his head. “We’re going to be on lockdown forever now. We have to make use of our last free day.”

  “The guy has a point,” Mal agreed. “We’re fucked, regardless. Not like we can go back and say sorry.”

  “I need to eat.” Ricki glanced at me. “Burgers and fries? We can go to Greasers, the place where we had our first date. Well, he didn’t talk to me for most of the meal, but I take what I can get.”

  “You love what you get, Shawcross.” Mal gripped her ponytail and hauled back her head for a kiss that probably could’ve gotten them arrested in Times Square.

  Forget the Naked Cowboy. This was close to live action porn.

  I cleared my throat. “I’m up for burgers and fries.”

  Neither of them appeared to hear me or care.

  Cooper grinned at me conspiratorially. “I know you love meat.”

  “Don’t start.” I pointed at him. “He’s a bad influence on you.”

  “Says who?” He grabbed me around the waist from behind and nuzzled my neck. “Let’s just go. They’ll meet us eventually.”

  My stomach growled and made the choice for me.

  Halfway through our greasy burgers, I got a text from Ricki.

  He played dirty and said we could start baby practice if we skipped lunch. He’s not fond of being social.

  Since he doesn’t even talk to you on dates, I can see that.

  We’ll hang out on the road? New buses. Eek. Exciting. I’ll sneak over for a sleepover.

  I glanced at Cooper. “She wants to sneak over to our bus for a sleepover.”

  He cocked a brow and continued shoveling in crispy fries. “Hope the bed fits three.” He leaned over to wipe grease off my chin. “Not that I don’t want you to have fun with your friend, but right now, I’d rather you be in my line of sight. Also, sex.”

  He did have a valid concern. “The importance of that cannot be denied.”

  I sent back a quick reply.

  Only if you like threesomes. Cooper doesn’t go far.

  I could work with that. ;) Anyway, we’ll spend some time for sure. Sorry today was a bust.

  At least we got to not eat lunch together. ILY. Good luck with aiming at egg targets.

  Thx. I love you back. Ttys.

  “I got stood up for lunch twice today. That has to be a personal record.”

  “Hello, I’m here, am I not?”

  “And you’re the most important.” I took another bite of my juicy cheeseburger. “They’re making a baby.”

  Cooper choked and nearly ejected a fry across the table onto my plate. “Right now?”

  I glanced at my phone
again. “Probably in twenty minutes, give or take. I’m not sure of Mal’s stamina. We share a lot, but even Ricki has some boundaries.”

  “Do you? Never mind.” He held up a hand. “Let me keep my illusions.”

  I sighed. “We got precisely nowhere today. I didn’t think we would, but I still had hope. Now we’re getting back on the road tomorrow, and there’s so much to look forward to. Instead of thinking about all of that, I’m focusing on that pussy ass broad, to borrow Mal’s phrase. Although I’d say dick ass broad. I hate using that word as an insult.”

  “Me too, since it’s basically the promiseland. Why waste such a well-loved body part on that chick?”

  I pointed at him with a fry I swiped off his plate. I’d already eaten all mine. “You’re very wise. And your chances of getting lucky today are very good.”

  He dumped his last few fries on my plate in the ultimate act of boyfriendly consideration. Assuming that was what he was.

  “Are you my boyfriend?”

  He gave me a strange look. “I don’t know. Am I?”

  “I mean, what are we? What do I call you? Besides my flesh manservant.”

  “I’m taking back my fries.” He laughed when I smacked at his hand. “What do you want to call me? Call us?”

  “Together,” I decided. “Just together.”

  “I like the way you think, Daly.” He picked up a fry to feed it to me. I couldn’t say I minded licking salt off his fingers.

  Or other parts of him.

  “What are we going to do today while we’re on the lam? Other than going to Jersey to see my folks.” I bit my lip. “Unless maybe a call would be better?”

  “Nice try. I want to see those cheerleader pictures. And I want to talk to them too.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”

  He grabbed some napkins and suddenly became quite occupied with brushing invisible crumbs off his shirt and pants. “You know, to reassure them about the security issues.”

  “We have a bodyguard.” That we were not making use of at the current time but still.

  “Right.”

  I shook my head. “I can reassure them too, you know. My promiseland doesn’t mean I’m mute.”

  “Yeah, so no big deal. Anyway, what do you feel like doing? Since we’ll be on the road tomorrow night. Last hurrah and all that.”

  I toyed with the edge of my plate. “I feel guilty about Cole. Maybe we can buy him something?”

  His brow spiked. “You want to buy our bodyguard a present because we ditched him?”

  “Kinda?”

  Cooper shook his head, his lips curving. “You’re entirely too good for me.”

  “Have you forgotten all the ways I can be bad already?” I leaned across the table and stroked his scruffy jaw. “I’ll be sure to remind you again later. Oh, Standwick Music?”

  “The store?”

  “Yeah. I like to look. I haven’t had a chance for a bit. And maybe we could stop by the store to get stuff for dinner? We haven’t done an everything but the kitchen sink night for a while.”

  “Sure.”

  “That’s where we can get Cole’s present. I can already tell he’s a meat and potatoes guy. We can get him a fancy steak.”

  “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. But he’s probably reported us already. I’m surprised Lila hasn’t texted.”

  “I turned my phone off after Ricki’s text. Last hurrah day means no pissing on our cloud.”

  “I like how you think.”

  “Really? Is all that okay?”

  “Absolutely. You’re too easy to please. Here I’m thinking you’ll want to go shopping all day, and instead, you want to do stuff I’d pick myself.” He gripped my hand and rubbed my knuckles. “Though stopping by La Perla would actually be a gift for me.”

  It was time for me to raise my brows. “Wait, you’re volunteering to go shopping?”

  “La Perla,” he repeated. “That’s the kind of shopping I’ll never tire of.”

  Which was how we ended up there right after lunch.

  “Whoa, this place is…whoa.”

  “Your powers of speech never fail to impress me.”

  I cupped my stomach. Thank God I’d worn a rather loose dress today, because I would’ve probably popped a button on my jeans. “You know, shopping after I have a food baby is not advised.”

  He turned to me where we stood between racks of skimpy lingerie and flipped up my shirt to kiss my belly.

  A woman studying bustiers nearby turned toward us and cooed. “Oh, isn’t that the sweetest? When are you due?”

  I was so flummoxed I couldn’t even lie colorfully. “The only thing I’m giving birth to is a Greasers’ double stack with extra pickles.”

  The woman frowned and scuttled away.

  Cooper grinned. “Good thing you answered, because I was just about to make up a story about quadruplets.”

  “Do not even joke about such. Hey, they have bra fittings? Score.” I leaned up on my tiptoes to give him a kiss. “This was a brilliant idea. Remind me to blow you on the way to see my parents.”

  “Sentences a man never expects to hear yet rejoices when he does.” He tugged on a handful of my curls. “Can I watch your fitting?”

  “It’s not porn. No. Go find me some sexy things that won’t feel like floss between my butt cheeks.”

  I noticed another woman staring at us as she hurried past and stifled a giggle. “I don’t think I’m classy enough for this store. They probably don’t think I can afford anything here.”

  “Big mistake. Huge.”

  I put my hand over my heart. “Do you know what it does to me when you quote Pretty Woman to me?”

  “I tried to remember it since it’s the only rom com you’ve ever made me watch.”

  “Well, I’m highly selective. How good are you at carrying many multiples of bags?”

  “Expert level.”

  “I don’t doubt that.” I craned my neck to see a teddy on a form above more racks of the same. “Oooh, I like that one. What color?”

  Cooper turned to look. “All of them?”

  “I like the way your mind works. Are you going to say the same thing when I ask what color bra?”

  “Probably. Hey, think they have those crotchless panties here?”

  “I can’t wear your torture device without a crotch to keep it in me, smart guy.”

  “You have a point.”

  A saleslady glided up to us, appearing as if she’d swallowed a summer squash sideways. Her face was bright red. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, please. Can you help me fit these double Ds?”

  “I can,” Cooper muttered, and I jabbed him with my elbow.

  By the time we left the lingerie store, I was fairly certain they’d put us on a watch list never to be allowed back. Along with making any number of loud, lascivious comments, we’d gotten into a minor scuffle near the corsets that had led to one of them being trampled.

  In my defense, while a woman has a food baby is not the time to innocently “suggest” she should shove everything into an implement of sensual suffering.

  I got my payback by making Cooper practically crumble beneath a tower of bags. At least ten. Alas, he didn’t even have the decency to look like he was overburdened. No, he just marched out proudly with his metric ton of bras, panties, teddies, peignoirs, and things I didn’t have names for but were Italian and expensive.

  Me? I carried one small bag with a bottle of perfume for my mom.

  “I like that almost no one knows us,” I said as we walked up the street to the garage where Cooper had parked his Charger. “Sure, sometimes we’re recognized, but if we wear sunglasses and I tuck my hair under a cap and you’re especially beardy, we’re practically inconspicuous.”

  “Except when you talk really loudly about it.”

  “Do you know how easily I could trip you?”

  “And I’d end up with a faceful of lingerie sized to your perfect body. Am I supposed to mind?”

&n
bsp; “Okay, forgiven.” I tucked my arm through his, though it required a little bag shuffling. “Music store next? Then parents. Then grocery store. Then steak for Cole.”

  “What’s for me?”

  “Lean down.”

  He tilted toward me so I could more easily reach his ear. “Remember all those ideas you had for me beside the pool? We’ll lead into them after I model an array of my new purchases.”

  His stride lengthened until I laughed and scrambled to keep up with him.

  After we dumped off the bags at the car, we walked back to the music store hand in hand. The sun was bright, and the temperature was climbing seemingly by the minute. My dress was sticking to my back, and we had to stop for ice cold drinks, but just strolling through the city with the man I loved was incredible.

  I stopped dead in the middle of foot traffic on the sidewalk, making quite a few people swear and detour around us.

  Cooper stared at me. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Oh, look, there’s the music store.” As if I hadn’t noticed it before, I darted up the block and hurried inside.

  I fanned my face with the small purse I’d dug out of one of the bins of stuff from my place. It didn’t smell too bad after dousing it with Febreze.

  When someone called their life a dumpster fire, they didn’t know the half. Yet in the middle of so much chaos, I’d found something so wonderful that I was afraid to examine it too closely for fear it would vanish.

  That he would vanish.

  Cooper joined me after a minute and grabbed me around the waist as he liked to do. “Trying to evade me?”

  No, I just happen to love you.

  So, I ran away. Typical.

  I turned in his arms and pulled down his sunglasses. “I might buy a lot in here, but there’s storage. Unless you think you can carry out a piano on your back?”

  “Definitely wouldn’t fit in my Charger.”

  I laughed. “We should buy you something for a change. What do you want?”

  His arms tightened around me, and his expression morphed into pure desire. “I have everything I want already.”