Matched(13)

Lindsey swallowed and dug deep for a steady voice. "No trouble. Billy here was telling me how much he'd love to be a guest judge for the Battle of the Boyfriends next month. He thinks he can find you somebody to play for."

"Don't sound like Billy," Mikey said.

"I heard it too," CJ said. Based on the unusual frown darkening her brother-in-law's face, she guessed he'd overheard most of her conversation. "Said he can't resist that much love in one room, especially if it's yours."

Mikey snagged Will by the collar. "Can't leave him alone for anything. That booth in the corner open?" he asked CJ.                       
       
           



       

"All yours," CJ said. "Get you started with a beer? Supply of napkins for those numbers?"

"Two Buds," Mikey said. "And you can give the napkins to the ladies." He yanked Will away from the bar with a clear don't talk to Billy glare aimed at Lindsey.

Lindsey shivered.

CJ handed back her credit card. He flicked a glance behind her, toward Will and Mikey, then to Lindsey again. "I don't know what's going on here, but if you don't tell Nat, I'm gonna invent my own story."

Lindsey reached for her wine, but her hand shook.

And CJ might've been a big, goofy oaf, but she knew he noticed.

Worse, she suspected Will did too. And she knew he was watching.

She could feel him.

"Hey," Nat said suddenly. She paused and looked between CJ and Lindsey. "What did I miss?"

"Lindsey and Billy, part two," CJ said with a nod at the corner booth.

Nat looked back.

Lindsey refused to.

"Sounded to me like she talked him into being a guest judge for the Battle of the Boyfriends," CJ added. "But you probably shouldn't mention it until tomorrow. Or next time you catch him alone."

Nat lifted her brows, but she didn't ask. Instead, she hooked her arm through Lindsey's, sister intuition apparently kicking in. "We'll be late if we don't go now." She grabbed Lindsey's purse and coat and shoved them at her, then went on her tiptoes to kiss CJ over the bar. "Love you. Work hard. Call you later."

She gave the corner booth a wink and a wave while Lindsey glanced at the lonely, newly divorced guy on the other side of the bar.

He wasn't the reason she didn't date seriously, but she'd seen enough people in his situation to be hesitant to get into a real relationship with a man who was anything less than a bright sunny day for her on her anti-match-o-meter.

She felt the sunshine with Will, but she felt everything else too.

Nat dragged her out into the cold night, where salt crunched beneath her snow boots and her breath hung in a neon-lit cloud. "What in the world, Lindsey?" Nat said.

Lindsey had to swallow hard against the lump in her throat before she could find her voice. What she wouldn't have given to be able to talk to Mom now. "We met once," she said while she shrugged into her coat. "A long time ago."

"You and Billy?" Nat whispered.

"Will. His name was Will."

"Omigod. I knew you had a secret lost love, but I had no idea-"

"Neither did I." Lindsey shivered and wrapped her coat tight around her.

"Is he here for you?"

"I don't know."

"Are you-"

"I don't know."

"Oh, honey." Nat tugged on Lindsey's arm. "Let's go have some cupcakes."





Chapter Six



AFTER TWO FULL days of living on chords, coffee, and pizza, Will had thought getting out would be a good idea. He hadn't expected to run into Lindsey again. Ask around about her, yes. Run into her, no.

Now that he had, he couldn't get her out of his mind.

There was a chance he was pushing her too far. He blamed her stiff lawyer face. It irritated him.

Shouldn't have. She was right-they didn't know each other.

But that fire in her tonight-it inspired another song. The other gals he chatted with at Suckers didn't put a tune in his head. There was something about Lindsey, something hidden- a secret or their history or the way she held her mask in place when he knew there was more going on under the surface-that inspired a world of possibilities and made him want to get home to Vera.

Sacha was right. He'd needed to come here to find his music again. Question was, would he still have it when he left?

The thought made him itch to get back to his favorite girl.

But he was hip-deep in taking pictures and signing autographs, playing the part of Billy when he wouldn't have minded being Will. He wouldn't be Billy without the fans, so he kept his smile on and took his time, but when his phone rang, he checked the readout then excused himself.

Fans or not, when his niece called, he answered.

Will caught Mikey's eye and lifted his phone. "Be right back," he mouthed.

Mikey nodded. Will ducked out the front door and into the darkness, clenching his teeth against the wind. "Hey, peanut."

"Momma saw a picture of you with a girl and she says she's fixin' to yank a knot in your butt," Paisley said.

Will winced and rubbed his shoulder, which had been itching like nobody's business since he saw Lindsey tonight. "Shouldn't you be in bed? What time is it there?"                       
       
           



       

"Uncle Will," she said, dragging out his name to more syllables than her Southern heritage made necessary, "you're in a heap of trouble here. You need to concentrate."

He needed to hash this out with his niece as much as he needed a hole in his head. "How're Chicken and Biscuits?" Will asked. Paisley's dogs were usually a good distraction. "They settling in good?"

"Yeah, but they miss Bandit. And you're changing the subject again."

Will's heart gave a painful pang at the mention of his dog, but Paisley's tone brought out a grin. Girl would be a handful at eleven and a complete Mari Belle clone by thirteen. A five-year-long tour overseas might be a good idea. "Your momma know you talk to grown-ups like that?"

"Momma says you're just a kid who got old enough to drive, vote and have a job. And a girlfriend. Do I get to meet this one? Momma didn't want me to see the picture. She said I hadn't done anything wrong enough to have to stare at the devil."

Will's grin turned into a grimace. "When was that?"

"This morning at breakfast. Daddy texted her."

Will bit his tongue. Both to keep from asking if Paisley wasn't so sure Mari Belle wasn't planning on yanking a knot in her ex-husband's butt, and to keep from filling his niece's ears with his own worries over Mari Belle giving him the silent treatment all day. Now that he knew that's what it was. "You liking your new school? Making new friends?"

"Uncle Will, you're changing the subject again."

He could almost feel the Mari Belle – inherited I-will-melt-your-skin-with-my-eyeballs glare coming through the phone. "You got a copy of the picture?"

His phone buzzed against his ear.

"That one?" Paisley said.

He pulled the phone away and glanced at the picture message. There he was at Suckers the other night, having a stare-down with Lindsey. But tonight he didn't care about the who and the why behind the picture.

Tonight, he cared about what the picture saw. The camera had put some sad all through Lindsey's slender face. And seeing that sad put a crimp in Will's gut.

He remembered that from fifteen years ago too. The look she'd worn the second day he saw her, when she said she was sure her friends would be there any minute, even though he could see she didn't believe it herself. And he remembered feeling like the king of the mountain when he pulled Vera out, played a tune that made her smile and chased the sad away.

He also remembered feeling like the biggest dummy on the face of the earth when she dumped him onstage at the end of the week, talking into that microphone for the whole tavern to hear. We're not a good match. I have this gift-this curse. I'm like a psychic matchmaker. And we-we wouldn't make it. Not long term. We're all wrong for each other, like Mari Belle and Ethan. But the point-the point is, we can't do this. I'm going to be president, and the world isn't ready for a First Bubba.

She'd still inspired songs, even after that. And Will wasn't the brightest guy on the planet, but he still knew he shouldn't get sucked in to caring again. Like she said-they didn't know each other anymore.

"So what's with the girl?" Paisley said.

Will stomped his feet to keep his blood flowing. Dang cold tonight. "She might could look like somebody your momma used to know."

"Is she your snow angel?"

Will swallowed.

Wasn't something his niece was supposed to be old enough to ask.

Ever.

"Where'd you get a question like that?" he said.

"I got ears, Uncle Will. They work real good."

He'd noticed. "You talking to your new friends at school like that?"

"Nah, I'm saving it until they can't live without me," Paisley said.

Will chuckled. "You're your momma's girl, peanut."

"The girl in the picture? She is, isn't she? She's your snow angel. When you get married, I get to be a junior bridesmaid."