What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 9)

by Kristine Cayne

  Hanna finished spreading the cream cheese on the final bagel and looked up, her questioning gaze meeting his piercing eyes. “Well, yes. I suppose, yeah.”

  Bo grinned, the amusement back in his eyes. “Not sure if I should take that response as an insult or not, but how about I give you and Jackie tickets to my next concert?”

  “You’re doing a second night here?”

  “Nah. We’re heading to New York, Madison Square Garden.”

  “I appreciate the offer Bo, but New York might as well be on the other side of the world. I have no way to get there if I wanted to. My car is…”

  “Whoa, hold on there.” He held a hand up silencing her. “Travel and expenses, hotel and such are all on me.”

  Hanna dropped the spreader and her jaw momentarily fell open. “Why?”

  Bo tilted his head to the side and eyed her. “What do you mean?”

  “Why would you pay for a stranger’s trip to New York just so they can go to your show? It makes no sense.”

  He spread his hands out at his sides. “Call me eccentric or perhaps egotistical because it kills me that you have no desire to see my show.”

  “Oh my God, I never said I didn’t!”

  “Then take me up on my offer.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Do you ever take no for an answer?”

  “Hmmm. Nah. Not usually, so you might as well just say yes.”

  Suddenly an uneasy feeling came over her; it felt like she was being watched. Without uttering a word Hanna took a moment to glance to her left and then her right. All eyes seemed to be on her and Bo – even those of his entourage. Finally she saw her friend in the corner; Jackie’s eyes pleaded with her to accept Bo’s offer.

  Shit and double shit. The whole situation seemed so surreal. Things like this never really happened to people, did they?

  Crossing her arms over her chest, Hanna eyed him suspiciously, trying to determine whether Bo had an ulterior motive.

  “I don’t understand, why?”

  “No strings attached. No groupie sex required.”

  Oh God! She could hear the humour in his tone which reflected in his eyes, but nonetheless his off-colour comment threw her off, leaving her once again speechless.

  Thoughts of what he’d look like naked, what his body would feel like next to hers – skin on skin, rushed through her mind. She had no doubt he’d had more than his fair share of women over the years, which made her wonder how good he would be in bed. Would his lips and tongue tease and torment every inch of her body? Her panties became wet with her desire as she let her mind wander.

  “No strings attached Hanna. I promise. Just me, trying to acquire a new fan.”

  His voice broke her from her naughty train of thought. She had to admit it would be good to get away for a few days. She couldn’t remember the last time she left her small town and just took some time to enjoy herself. Another glance over at Jackie’s pleading expression was the deciding factor for her.

  Returning his smile, she nodded her agreement. “Alright. I would love it if you would do that for us.”

  She shifted her eyes back to meet his and another wave of heat rushed through her, intensifying the pulsing between her legs. She’d never been one for casual sex, but her body was insisting groupie sex wouldn’t be halfway bad.

  Hanna scoffed at herself for even entertaining the thought. As if…

  “Good. Well, in that case, how about you write your phone number down for me and I’ll get on having the arrangements set up for you in the morning.”

  Taking a deep breath in, Hanna slowly released it and nodded. “Okay… Thank you.”

  Bo gave her a wink, accepting the bagels as she began to pass them to him. “It’s my pleasure.”

  Chapter Two

  “This is amazing. Can you believe it!” Jackie shouted, so Hanna could hear her over the whooshing sound of the helicopter blades overhead.

  Hanna nodded then shook her head. She’d never been in a helicopter before. It had shocked her that Bo was sparing no expense on this trip. He had even booked her and Jackie a suite at the Ritz-Carlton – a room that cost over two weeks’ pay for a night for her. It felt like a dream.

  As promised, Bo had called her the following day and made arrangements for the two girls to see him live in concert at Madison Square Garden. Even though New York was only a matter of an hour or so away, Hanna rarely went into the big city. She never had the money for the trip for the most part. While there were tons of things to do in the city for free, the temptation to splurge and squander money on its luxuries was too great, and so Hanna avoided it.

  Looking out the window Hanna grinned as she saw the sparkle of lights below as they entered the city. To her surprise the helicopter didn’t land at the JFK, but continued on, towards Manhattan. She glanced over at Jackie, but her co-worker was enthralled by the spectacular sight of New York City at night below them, so she went back to admiring the view.

  “We’re about to land, ladies.”

  Hanna felt Jackie elbow her in the ribs and turned her head to meet Jackie’s excited gaze.

  “We passed the hotel,” she commented.

  Hanna hadn’t even noticed, but Jackie appeared to be correct. Instead of a location near the hotel, the helicopter began to land on the roof of a skyscraper near Central Park. The girls exchanged questioning glances.

  As the helicopter landed, the door leading into the building was flung open to reveal Bo and the man Hanna had later discovered to be his brother and bass guitarist, Jeremy.

  “Hey, it’s Bo and Jeremy!” Jackie elbowed Hanna a second time, this time a little harder than Hanna imagined she intended, making Hanna wince. “Did you know he was meeting us?”

  Hanna shook her head, rubbing the area Jackie had nudged. “No, I didn’t.”

  Her excitement began to flare up. She’d been listening to his music over the past few days and had come to really like it, despite it not being the type of music she normally listened to. Her music preference was somewhat unusual for someone her age; she enjoyed listening to the blues while most of her friends preferred pop or alternative rock, Bo’s genre of music. The propellers began to slow, making it easier to hear as Hanna pulled the headset off of her ears.

  “I think he likes ya,” she finally whispered to Hanna.

  Hanna huffed, rolling her eyes at Jackie. “I seriously doubt that. Besides, I read he was dating some model.” Despite her words, the idea of Bo having an interest in her was a thrilling thought, even if it was simply a fantasy.

  “No. I’m serious. Look at the way his eyes are fixated on you.”

  Hanna glanced out the window again. Sure enough, his smouldering grey eyes had one focus – her. A delicious chill ran down her spine.

  Stop it Hanna, you’re too old to be indulging in teenage fantasies, she scolded herself.

  “That’s okay, I’ll settle for the hot brother.”

  Hanna laughed despite herself.

  “Welcome to Manhattan, ladies,” one of the men who’d been sitting up front announced, opening the side door for them, just as Bo and Jeremy finished approaching the helicopter.

  Bo stepped up to the opening and extended his hand to Hanna to help her down. “I’m glad to see you made it.”

  Hanna laughed as she hopped down from the chopper. “All I had to do was book some time off work. You made all the arrangements.”

  “Well, my assistant did. But, I’ll take the credit. The helicopter was my idea though, figured it would be a fun trip for you two.” Bo gave her a wink that sent her pulse racing, and to her surprise, he kept her hand enclosed in his as he led her away from the helicopter and towards the door leading to the inside of the building.

  Hanna glanced over her shoulder to see Jeremy assisting Jackie. Her grin widened to see Jackie beaming up at Jeremy, loving every second of the royal treatment and attention he was lavishing upon her. Jeremy leaned down and whispered something in Jackie�
��s ear. Jackie glanced at Hanna, and met her gaze for a brief second. Her smile widened and she directed her attention back to Jeremy and nodded, agreeing with whatever it was Jeremy had said.

  “Did you have a good flight?”

  “It was amazing. So much fun. I have no words to describe it. Thank you.”

  He gave her hand a soft squeeze. “Good. Glad you enjoyed it. I was hoping you would join me for a late dinner.”

  “Wow. I – Ya. Of course.” Hanna felt a blush colour her cheeks as she stammered over her words. To her relief, if Bo noticed he didn’t let on.

  “Good. I already have something prepared.”

  “But what if I’d said no thanks,” she teased.

  “Then I’d have been stuck having to eat dinner all alone.” Releasing her hand he pulled open the door to the building and stepped back, allowing her to enter.

  “Oh, I’m sure you’d have no problem finding someone.”

  He frowned and rubbed his chin, which harboured a couple days worth of beard, giving him a dangerously sexy look. “There’s a difference between having dinner with just anyone and having dinner with someone you really want to get to know.”

  Bo loved the soft dimples that appeared as Hanna’s cheeks reddened from his compliment. Over the past few years, since he had become a success, there were two types of women who seemed to flock to him – teenage groupies and other celebrities, who dated him more for publicity than because they had a connection with him.

  As Hanna swept past him and into the building he took a second to let his eyes sweep up and down the length of her body. The black sundress she was wearing tied behind her neck and had a keyhole front, which gave him just enough of a glimpse of her cleavage, leaving him yearning to see more. Her figure was curvy, another feature he loved and a complete contrast to the women he usually associated with. He gave himself a moment to indulge in the thoughts of pulling her into his arms, kissing her glossed lips and running his hands over her soft curves.

  “Thanks man,” Jeremy murmured as he and Jackie walked past him and entered the building.

  Pulled from his thoughts, Bo followed behind the others letting the door shut behind him, silencing the thumping sound of the chopper as it prepared to take off from the rooftop. Jackie and Jeremy had already made their way down the flight of stairs to his suite, which occupied the floor below Bo’s, but Hanna hung back, waiting for him.

  There was still a faint tint of her blush on her cheeks as she looked up at him, a smile touching her lips. “They took off.”

  “Yeah, Jeremy isn’t the patient type.”

  Hanna crinkled her nose that featured a row of faint freckles, which matched her long fiery red curly hair beautifully. “Neither is Jackie.”

  Taking her hand in his, Bo led her to the stairwell and they began to descend the stairs. “Then they just may be a perfect match.”

  Hanna laughed. “I don’t know how well that would work out. They don’t exactly socialize in the same circles.”

  “What does being in the same circles have to do with anything?” They reached the door leading to his suite, forcing him to release her hand so he could pull his card key from the back pocket of his jeans.

  Hanna shrugged. “Well, she’s just a coffee shop girl. You guys are used to dating models and celebrities… And…”

  The door beeped and he opened the door, ushering her in. “I don’t always date celebrities.”

  Hanna walked past him and into the grand room. “Wow,” she gasped as her eyes surveyed the massive room featuring a marble fountain with a staircase made of ivory and glass leading up to the second floor. “It’s beautiful.” Her eyes lowered to the floor. “Even the floors are amazing. What are they made of?”

  It was Bo’s turn to flush. He wasn’t used to people reacting with such amazement in his home. His jaw clenched. He found her reaction to the grandeur of his home embarrassing. The amount of money spent just to create the room could easily be considered excessive when that money could have been used for something more useful or be given to people who were struggling to simply pay their monthly bills. It was more than embarrassing to him, it was humbling.

  “Marble,” Bo murmured.

  “Wow.”

  Bo pushed his embarrassment to the back of his mind. Placing a hand at the small of her back, he motioned her to the archway to the left. “The dining room is this way.”

  Her eyes continued to scan the penthouse with amazement, as he led her to the dining room.

  “I don’t always date celebrities, you know.” Why he felt he needed to make that point clear to her, he had no idea but he did.

  She glanced up at him, and chewed at her lower lip, making his eyes lower to her lush, glossy lips, waiting to be kissed. “That’s not what I read online when I Googled ya.”

  Bo stopped walking and raised a curious brow at her. “Wait, you Googled me?”

  She shrugged, and ran a hand through her long red curls. “Well, yeah. I hadn’t heard much of your music and didn’t know much about you, so I thought it would be useful to learn a little bit. You were being nice enough to fly us here for your concert, I figured it was the least I could do.”

  “I’m not sure I even want to know what you discovered about me on the internet. It’s almost as bad as the tabloids.”

  “Nothing bad, just that you tend to prefer your women of the model variety.”

  Bo cringed, that was so far from the truth it wasn’t even funny.

  “Dinner is on the table. Will that be all, Sir?” The sound of his housekeeper’s voice cut in before he could correct her on that inaccurate piece of information.

  “Yes. Thank you, Maria. I’ll be seeing you in a week or so.”

  “Thank you, Sir.” Maria, an attractive woman in her mid-forties, hurried off, leaving them alone.

  Bo looked down at her curious green eyes and sighed, raking a hand through his dishevelled dark hair. “Most of the women I date are simply PR gimmicks. The truth is that I haven’t genuinely dated someone in a few years. Not since my first record came out. I’ve been too busy and just haven’t met anyone on the road that has caught my interest. It’s not as easy as you’d think for me to meet someone.”

  He could still see the disbelief in her gaze, which was extremely frustrating to him.

  Bo reached past her and opened the glass double doors leading into the dining room. As he reached past her, his nose caught the smell of her strawberry shampoo. He lingered close to her for an extra second, enjoying her nearness and her scent.

  “No one? All those women throwing themselves at you and not one of them caught your interest?”

  Bo pulled back and caught her gaze, and then shook his head. “None. I don’t date fans and as I mentioned celebrities are simply PR gimmicks. Between me and you, models and celebrities in general have egos too big for me to handle. That’s the one thing I really miss about my life before our first hit came out – meeting real women, who weren’t interested in the fame, but just liked being with me. For me.”

  She frowned, her eyes filling with sympathy, a look he rarely got from anyone. “That’s actually really sad,” she said, her voice taking on a lower tone.

  He held her gaze a moment, not sure how to respond. When he gave it thought, he supposed she was right. He had so much, everything anyone could ever dream of; fame, money, women throwing themselves at him… But the one thing he was missing was the one thing he always longed for – someone genuine to share it with. Someone who wanted him for him, not for what he did for a living or what he possessed. He supposed that was one of the things he missed about being plain old pre-stardom Bo, the people were genuine for the most part. Perhaps that’s why he was drawn to Hanna, she seemed genuine. He liked it.

  Chapter Three

  The dining room was as impressive as the grand room. A large mahogany table that seated twelve dominated the dining room. Once her eyes finished examining everything from the finely detailed maroon wallpaper to the crystal candelab
ra chandelier overhead, she realized that there were only two place settings set up at the very end of the table, and no sign of Jeremy or Jackie.

  “Where’s Jackie and Jeremy?” Hanna looked up at Bo, confusion showing slightly on her fair features.

  “They would be at Jeremy’s place in the suite a floor below us.”

  Hanna’s heart began to flutter. Me and Bo alone? In a romantic setting like this? Is this a date? She silently chuckled at herself at the craziness of it, as if Bo Savage would be interested in dating a girl he met working at a coffee shop.

  The fact he flew her and Jackie there to begin with was a dream in itself, but to think he had a romantic interest… She shrugged off the idea. Men like him didn’t fall for girls like her. She did her research on him the day he phoned her with arrangements. She knew his type and she wasn’t it – despite what he claimed to be the truth. He was just a nice guy, and that was it.

  “Come on. Let’s start, before it gets cold.”

  Bo placed a hand at the small of her back and the heat from his palm seemed to radiate through the material and warm her, igniting her desire. She cursed herself for allowing him to get to her. Falling for him would only bring her heartache and that was the last thing she wanted or needed.

  Bo pulled her chair out for her. She sat down and watched him walk around the table to sit down across from her. She took the opportunity to appreciate how the grey ribbed t-shirt clung to his lean torso and how his jeans hugged his thick powerful thighs. Her eyes dipped to his crotch, for a quick moment, but she didn’t avert her gaze quickly enough and she found her cheeks growing hot, knowing he’d caught her as he took his place across from her at the table.

  “Looks good, doesn’t it?”

  Oh, dear God! Her face grew hotter, but she forced herself to meet his gaze. He pointed to the lobster sitting in front of her, but the wicked gleam in his eyes told her his comment was far from innocent.

  “I… Um…” She reached for her glass of ice water and took a long drink, grateful for a reason to avoid his gaze.