With a shake of his head, the voice of Venery chuckled. “For the screams, Trouble.”
Ohhh.
She probably should’ve watched some YouTube videos of Venery playing live, then maybe she would’ve known that. Until that moment, she hadn’t known Matt contributed vocally at all, but now that Gina thought about it, Sloan couldn’t be the only voice on the record now, could he?
“Five minutes,” Brendan announced.
“Time to go, bunny.”
Glancing over to the tent’s open flap, Gina watched Taylor kiss his daughter’s cheek as he handed her off to Jesse. His family accompanied him outside, the bassist and drummer following along right behind them.
With eyes of the deepest brown looking into hers, Matt tucked a curl behind her ear and smiled. “Walk me backstage and kiss me for luck?”
“All right,” she said with a nod.
Teo and Luca waited just inside the opening with Kevin, his aunt, Kelly, and some guy who looked like a bad-boy version of Jesus.Holy hell, that’s Kodiak?Brendan joined them, Katie and their son at his side. Gina had never been more relieved to see another familiar face than she was right then.
It was twenty feet to the tall metal stairs that led up to the stage. Her brothers walked in front of her, Matt and Sloan tethered at her sides. Brendan and Katie took up the rear. Security personnel kept determined fans at bay, while menwith cameras positioned themselves nearby, aiming for a photo opportunity. Of what exactly, Gina wasn’t sure.
“Fucking ridiculous.” Sloan tucked her under his arm, blocking the men holding cameras from view. “Remember when it was just the local crowd?”
His fingers squeezed into her hip, and Matt snickered. “How many times have we played this gig now?”
“Tonight makes five.”
“See? They expect us now.” Those fingertips traveled to her rib cage, rubbing up and down her side. “People travel from all over to inundate our little neighborhood festival. It’ll never be just the local folks ever again.”
Brendan chuckled from behind them.
“Paps hiding in the fucking bushes amuses you?” Sloan turned around to glare at him. “You’re the one on the festival committee. You got us into this gig in the first place.”
“Don’t look at me.” Holding his hands up in mock surrender, Brendan grinned. “Tay’s the one who offered.”
“I remember. He wanted to get to Chloe.” Matt glanced down at her, and with his arm circling Gina’s shoulders, he pressed a kiss on her temple. “Long story.”
She was so out of the loop. These people shared a history, a lifetime of memories she’d never been a part of. Gina smiled up at him, and, laying her head against Matt’s shoulder, she found she wanted to hear all of his stories. More than that, what she longed for was to be in them.
“Everyone’s just waiting on you two,” Jesse said, hitching his thumb behind him at the bottom of the stairs. “Here, I snagged some drinks for the rest of you. Chloe’s out front holding your seats.”
“Showtime.” Matt held her out in front of him, his hungry gaze taking her in. “Meet me here right after?”
As Gina nodded, he brought her chest to his, and threading his fingers into her hair, his thumbs caressing her face, Matt kissed her. On a hot summer night, goose bumps sheeted her skin. Electricity sparked at the back of her neck and ran along her spine. Tingles popped between her thighs. How could a simple kiss do all that?
Sloan poked her shoulder, shoving Matt to the side. “Hey, what about me?”
Gina pecked the singer’s cheek.
Then, hurrying up the stairs, Matt blew her another kiss and disappeared.
“Champagne slushy.” Jesse pressed a plastic souvenir cup with a purple straw into her hand and winked. “Festival tradition.”
“Thanks.” Tentatively, she took a sip, the icy libation going down easy. “Mmm, I like it.”
Katie took them to a section in front of the barricade cordoned off for the media and VIPs. The security guard ushering them through, Gina filed in behind her with her brothers, Kevin, his aunt, and her boyfriend, and followed to where Chloe waited for them.
“There you are,” Chloe exclaimed and hugged Katie. “Were the kids okay?”
“They’re fine. The guys got it handled.”
