Brody looked down at Peach. “What do you think, girl? Think you can stay up that late?”
Peach blinked and twitched her left ear, unimpressed.
Brody: Let me know where and when. I’ll be there.
Chapter Fourteen
Troyfinishedhismiccheck and then walked over toward Diego, who had just set up his amplifier. “I’m sorry, man. It was stupid of me to take this gig without checking with everyone first.”
“Stop apologizing,” Diego told him as they went through preparing Brewsters’ small stage for their set. “It’s not an issue.”
“Still was shitty, making you cancel your plans.”
“Not cancel, just delay them a few hours. We’ll still have plenty of time to catch up.” Diego hadn’t shared too much information about Brody with his bandmates, though he suspected that Troy had picked up on Diego’s nerves. “Any chance we get to play is important to the band. Besides, it’ll be a good opportunity to try out a couple of the new songs.”
It would be an easy night. The eight o’clock slot on a Saturday night wasn’t super busy, but the crowd at Brewsters was friendly and usually generous with their applause. Often, one or more of Diego’s close friends would make it when the band played on the weekends, but this had been such short notice and he didn’t expect anyone to come and watch the show.
But right before they started, he spotted Diana at the bar. “I’ll be right back,” he told Georgia, then hopped off the stage and jogged toward his sister. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Diana shrugged. “Alex and I were going to the movies, but she called and said her tummy didn’t feel good and she canceled on me.” She glanced around at the crowd. “No one else here?”
He shook his head. “No, everyone else had plans already. I think Noah’s out of town. Anyway, we won’t be playing that long.”
Her eyes lit up. “Then why don’t we hit a late movie after the show? It’s got that actor that you like, the one who does those men’s cologne commercials.”
Diego took a deep breath. “Um, I’ve got plans tonight. Maybe we can go tomorrow if you want to catch an early showing.”
Diana’s brow raised so high it almost made him laugh. “Plans with who?” Her face dropped as she understood. “Is it him?”
“Yeah,” Diego said without hesitating. “It’s him.”
She closed her eyes. “Diego.”
“There’s nothing to worry about. He wants to thank me for helping out with his business. They got their charitable grant all signed and agreed to and whatever it is you do with contracts.” She didn’t look any less worried, so he added, “It’s okay. We’re friends, that’s all. I’m not going to do anything stupid. I promise.”
Her narrowed eyes told him she didn’t believe him, but before he could respond, he heard Troy calling him back to the stage. “I gotta run. I’ll chat with you later. Enjoy yourself, yeah?” he said as she found a place at the bar, then headed back to the stage. He looked over at his bandmates. “You guys ready?”
They took two quick breaks—one at the forty-minute mark, and another at the eighty-minute mark. “We’ll be right back,” Troy called out into the microphone at their audience—small but lively, at the start of their second break. He grabbed a bottle of beer from the side of the stage as Diego reached for his water. “Javier, you sounded great during that last song. Fucking nailed it. Georgia, you ready to try Diego’s new song?”
“Absolutely,” she told Troy, wiping a bead of sweat from her temple. “I love the changes that you made, Diego. It’s just got this… I don’t know, hopeful vibe to it now. It makes me want to grab someone and pull them close.”
“That’s what I want to hear.” Troy pumped his fist before jogging off stage toward the bathroom.
Diego took another swig from his water and turned to look out in the crowd—and spotted Brody standing in the back. Diego hadn’t expected him to arrive until the show was over, so seeing him early was a surprise. He waved at him, his heart beating fast as Brody waved back and walked toward the stage.
Diego set his water down and stepped off the stage. “Hey.”
“Hi there. You guys are great!” Brody looked around the bar with an excited expression. His broad shoulders filled out his navy Henley, and Diego swallowed hard at the idea that this handsome man was here for him.
“Thanks for coming. We’ve got one more set and then we’ll be done.” Diego spotted Diana walking toward them and sighed. “Um, my sister’s here.”
Brody’s head turned, and he smiled when he saw her approach. “Oh, hi there. It’s so good to see you again.”
Diana seemed unsettled by Brody’s delight at seeing her, and that shook the wary expression off her face. “You too. Diego mentioned that you run a dog rescue now?”
“Sort of. We work with dogs and train them up to be service animals.”
Suddenly, Diego realized someone was missing. “Where’s Peach?” he asked and glanced around.
