In the fresh air, I drop the act, let go his hand, and cross my arms. “I suppose Jack told you I was here?”
“He had to. My watch starts at midnight.” He holds up his cell phone, the digits glowing midnight.
“Oh.”So much for thinking he wanted to see me.
His hand rasps over his beard. “Dammit. Sienna. Drop the ’tude.”
“What ’tude, dude?”
“The one that’s freezing me out. I want things back like they were.”
“Oh well, as Jagger said, you can’t always get what you want.” I know it sounds mean but right now, I don’t care. I want him hurting as badly as me.
I guess I hit the mark because his mouth drops open and a blush hits his upper cheeks. “Dammit. You really mean that?”
Holy shit, I never saw a guy’s eyes shine like that before. My palm reaches to his face and he turns his face into it.
After a bit, he opens his arms, and I hug him tight, not knowing what to say or do. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Maybe, just maybe, he feels the same. When he pulls me from his chest, his greedy lips meet mine and to call what happens next a kiss would be like calling the ‘London Eye’a Ferris wheel. His tongue enters deep into my mouth as he holds me in place with his fingers digging into the back of my scalp. My body tingles all the way to my other set of lips and suddenly, I wish we weren’t standing in the middle of the parking lot.
When we come up for air, he tucks my chin, eyes locked onto mine. “Whatever I said, whatever I did, I’m really sorry.”
“You don’t know?” I think back on what Jack said and begin to see Andy in a different light. He may be brilliant in the courtroom but maybe not so much when it comes to women.
He wipes the perspiration off his forehead with a handkerchief. “I’m guessing it’s the way I introduced you to my mom?”
I nod. “That and witness protection.”
“Luv, you never gave me a chance to explain. I know it sounds bad but it’s not what you think. I introduced you as my client because my mom is, well… She doesn’t believe people should sleep together before marriage and has been known to make a big stink. I wanted to save you the embarrassment. As far as sending you away… Getting the paperwork started was the only way I could get the DA to agree to let you leave the city.
He looks so miserable that tears form in the corner of my eyes. “I think I’m the one who should be apologizing. I jumped to all the wrong conclusions.”
Suddenly, the door to the bar opens and bun-guy steps out. “Sienna? C’mon in. You won. They want you to sing another song.”
Andy’s hand slides to the center of my back as he leads me into the bar. His body language says, ‘Fuck off boys, this is my woman.’
The guy in charge takes my hand and we approach the platform. “Here she is ladies and gents. And here’s her check. Do you think we can get her to sing another?”
I hate singing with the karaoke machine. “Anyone got a guitar they can loan me? Mine’s up north.”
The young woman I sang with jumps up and down. “I do.”
Grabbing my second beer of the night, I wait for her to come back with her guitar. Then, I tune the instrument, we sit on the edge of the stage, and someone lowers the mic stand.
“Okay, I guess y’all know this one. It was made famous by Dolly, later by Whitney.” When I sing about goodbyes and how it hurts so bad, I have to tear my gaze away from Andy’s mahogany eyes.
He’s a lawyer to the rich-and-famous and I’m a foster kid. If I go back into his arms, my heart’s going to get broken. By the last verse, I make up my mind. We’ll have this fling, and like the song says, I’ll let him go. At least I’ll have the memories and a battery-operated boyfriend.
I finish the song, refreshed by the applause of the crowd. “Thank you. I ah, you guys have been so kind.”
Andy’s hand is there to help me stand. It’s warm, firm and strong. When he lets go, I brush off the back of my jeans and hand the guitar back to the young lady.
“Thanks, hun.” After I wave goodbye to the crowd, one very impatient lawyer pulls me outside.
His kiss is so intense, I come close to tearing his clothes off. My hands reach to the back of his head to hold his lips to mine. As long as I can, I’m going to love him with everything I got. For once in my life, I’m going to live in the moment.
“I can’t believe what you do to me.”
He glances down at the bulge in his jeans and when my eyes follow, I moan. “Just get in the truck and drive.”
