He found his bag among the pile of the band's overnight luggage and tossed on a pair of well-worn jeans, a T-shirt, and his favorite boots. He didn't bother spiking his still wet hair as he planned to go to bed soon, so he tugged on a baseball cap and headed to the conference room at the end of the hall. The room was packed wall-to-wall with guests.
Gabe headed for the bar. One beer. That was all he needed to unwind, and then he could disappear. He made a concerted effort to greet everyone who recognized him. Shake hands. Pause for a photo. Smile and bullshit. Sign an autograph. Laugh at a joke. Accept praise. Enjoy the excitement. Seek out the familiar faces of his band mates in a sea of strangers and exchange a nod of recognition. Finally, he reached the bar.
"Corona?" Jordan asked.
He knew damned well that's what Gabe wanted. He'd been with the crew all summer.
"Yeah."
Jordan disappeared beneath the bar and emerged with a bottle. He popped the cap and handed it to Gabe, who took a long swallow. It went down smooth. Good stuff.
He caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned his gaze on the sweet piece of ass beside him at the bar. Long, brown curls fell to the middle of her back, and her jeans clung to her curvy backside in a most distracting fashion. High-heeled sandals accentuated her long legs, which would look perfect wrapped around his hips. If the front of her looked half as spectacular as the back, he was definitely interested in hanging around a while longer. He wasn't that exhausted.
Chapter 3
Melanie took the glass of whiskey out of Nikki's hand. "You've had enough." Even though they'd arrived in Nikki's car, Melanie realized she'd be the designated the driver tonight, so she'd stopped drinking after one apple martini. They had a three-hour drive just to get home. But while Melanie showed restraint, Nikki used the open bar to its full potential. She had yet to request one of everything, but each time Shade laughed or said something loud enough for her to hear, Nikki ordered another drink.
Nikki stole a glance over Melanie's shoulder at her current obsession, who had yet to notice her. Probably because she was standing out of his line of sight. His inattention had Nikki reliving her college party days-get drunk, sleep with some jerk, wake up not knowing where she was, call Melanie to come get her, cry on Melanie's shoulder, eat chocolate ice cream, rinse and repeat. Melanie had thought Nikki had finally outgrown the pattern. Apparently not.
Melanie's patience was at its limit. Nikki had behaved like a lunatic to get backstage and now she was too chicken to even approach the guy. Maybe if Melanie introduced her to Shade before she was completely wasted, she wouldn't start throwing herself at the nearest dick, which happened to be attached to the greasy bartender. Determined that her friend would set her sights on more attractive man-meat, Melanie took her by the arm. She knew Nikki would lament for the next thirty years about how she'd missed her chance if she didn't at least talk to Shade.
"Wait, wait," Nikki pleaded as Melanie dragged her away from the bar. "I need to check my make-up first."
When Melanie stopped in front of the lead singer of Sole Regret, Nikki's elbow began to tremble uncontrollably in her hand. Shade paused in midsentence, his handsome face turned in their direction, and then he took a nonchalant swig of his beer. Melanie watched his Adam's apple move as he swallowed. She couldn't tell for sure if she had his full attention because he was still wearing sunglasses. Indoors. At night. He was taller than she'd imagined-over six feet-and built. Between all the booze and women, Melanie wondered how he found the time to work out. But he had to. Black leather pants clung to muscular thighs, and his white T-shirt strained to contain his well-defined chest as he moved his beer bottle away from his sensual mouth.
"Hi," Melanie gushed before she lost her nerve. She now understood why Nikki had needed copious liquid courage. Intimidating? That was an understatement. "I'm Melanie and this is my best friend, Nikki." Melanie tugged Nikki forward. Nikki tripped over her own feet, and Shade took her by one shoulder to steady her.
Nikki swayed toward him and pressed the back of her hand to her mouth. "I don't feel so good."
The only thing worse than having Nikki miss her chance at talking to Shade would be Nikki throwing up all over him.
"Are you gonna be sick?" Shade asked, setting his beer down on the table he was leaning against and taking her by both shoulders.
"I think . . . " Nikki swallowed queasily. "I think I need to lie down for a bit."