Rock Chick Reckoning(169)

They arrived half an hour late.

No one cared.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra finished, Lana and Indy stopped swinging each other around and Nick’s voice came over the sound system.

“Got a request,” he told the crowd. “From a man named Kai.”

There was some general muttering but my eyes flew to Nick, my breath caught and before I could unhinge it, a hand was at the smal of my back. I looked over my shoulder and Mace was standing behind me. He started pushing me toward the dance floor as Bil y Joel’s “And So It Goes” started playing.

We were on the dance floor, one of his arms sliding around me, the fingers of his other hand drifting down my forearm when I found my voice.

“Mace…”

His arm went tight around my waist bringing my body ful frontal to his. The fingers of his other hand laced with mine, he brought our hands up, twisted his wrist and rested the back of mine against his heart.

“Dance with me, Kitten,” he whispered.

That was al he had to say.

I melted into him.

Mace and I had never danced before and he was good at it. Not like he was a bal room dancer, just that his body fit perfectly into mine, his swayed with a natural grace and he was so strong, mine went along for the ride.

“Got a confession to make.” He’d tipped his head forward so his smooth cheek was against mine, his mouth at my ear.

“What?” I whispered into his.

“Went to The Bear to watch you play. I don’t like missin’

your shows and I wanted to talk to you after the gig, work out our shit.” His hand gave mine a squeeze. “I saw you singin’ this to me.”

My head jerked back, my face coming to the side to look at him. His head lifted an inch and his eyes locked on mine.

Before I could say a word (not that I had any words to say), he kept talking. “Watchin’ you sing that, hearin’ the words, knownin’ what it meant, it was then I knew I loved you, Stel a.”

I wanted to find words but I couldn’t. So instead, I slid the hand he wasn’t holding from his shoulder to around his neck and I got on my toes and kissed him.

He kissed me back. When he was done, he put his cheek back to mine and we finished the song, bodies pressed together, cheek-to-cheek.

For your information, it was the single most beautiful moment of my life.

Outside of the first time he told me he loved me, of course.

When it was over, he touched his mouth to mine again.

We disengaged and he started to guide me off the dance floor but our eyes hit Chloe and Lana who were standing together at the edge of floor and watching us. Chloe (definitely a crier) had tears in her eyes.

Lana smiled at me.

I smiled back.

Mace caught the smile exchange, his hand slid from the smal of my back to around my waist and he gave me a squeeze.

We arrived at Lana and Chloe and I was going to say something but I saw movement at the entryway. Roam and Sniff were standing there. Sniff was bouncing on the bal s of his feet and grinning ear-to-ear. Roam gave me a chin lift.

“Erm, excuse me,” I mumbled to Mace, Lana and Chloe.

I turned and raised my hand to motion to Nick. I’d primed him earlier so he gave me a nod, a grin and he grabbed the microphone.

“If everyone could go out onto the patio,” he announced.

A murmur went through the crowd and the guests al looked at each other in confusion. Then slowly, with more guidance from Nick, they did as they were told.

Mace’s fingers tightened at my waist. “What’s goin’ on?” I smiled at him. “Nothing, just…” I paused, “I’l see you back there.”

I pul ed free and went out the front door. Floyd, Pong, Hugo, Buzz and Leo were al waiting for me. Buzz and Leo were holding their guitars. Pong was holding his drumsticks. Floyd had my guitar.

I took my guitar from Floyd and nodded to my band.

Then I said, “Let’s go, guys.”

We walked through the club and by the time we got back to the patio where Roam, Sniff and the Gypsies had set up our amps, Pong’s drums, Hugo’s keyboards, a set of bongos and wheeled out the Club’s piano, al the guests were gathered around. The band took their places and plugged in while I went to the mic.

I put the strap of my guitar around my shoulder as my eyes found Indy and Lee.

Once I did, into the mic I said, “Don’t have a lot of money so we thought we’d give you a memory.”

Indy pul ed in her lips, Lee’s eyes crinkled and I nodded to Pong.

He started the beat.

Then I started to speak the first words of Shania Twain’s

“You’re Stil the One”.

It was hokey, but for Lee and Indy, it was just perfect.

Hugo started at the keyboards and, as I finished speaking, Floyd’s piano came in then I hummed a sweet,