“Hey,” a woman’s voice cuts in, “behave, Troy.”
When I seewhere the voices are coming from, my eyes go big and round. There is a huge group of people approaching my table. That would be shocking enough, but then I notice that four of the guys are the members of the rock band Social Outcasts.
“Fucking hell,” I breathe out without really meaning to.
A woman giggling pulls my attention toward where she’s standing at my table and my face goes hot. When she sees my obvious embarrassment, her face softens. “Don’t worry about it, we’re used to that reaction. We’re loud, there are a lot of us, and more than a few are obnoxious. I tried to make today for only the women in the family, but the guys insisted on coming. They promised to be our book sherpas and arranged for childcare. I couldn’t say no.”
“Amelia,” a guy whines as he slings an arm around the woman’s shoulders. She huffs out an annoyed breath and rolls her eyes while giving me a pointed look as if to say ‘see, this is what I’m talking about’. “How can you say something like that? You love me.”
Amelia, apparently, arches an eyebrow as she looks up at the blonde man looming over and leaning on her. She makes a whining sound and tugs her curly hair out from under his arm. “Of course I love you, Troy, but it doesn’t mean I’m unaware of how annoying you can be.”
“That’s just mean,” he grumbles.
A man with dark hair and green eyes steps up next to Amelia and gives Troy a death glare. He growls the question, “Why do you have your arm around my wife?”
“Because I love fucking with you, Beck.” He points to a woman with dyed grey hair who is at the table next to mine talking to the author and looking at the books while another man with dark hair stands next to her. He looks at her like she hung the moon. “As you know I’m a very happy man with my own wife.”
Oh. Like the three of them? I think I’ve read that one.
“Then maybe you should go and harass her,” Beck grumbles.
Troy pouts, full on pouts, “She told me to stop hovering and trying to rush her.”
Amelia’s laugh is bright and Beck looks at her with so much love and softness in his gaze that I have to look away. There’s something so intimate about the way he’s looking at her, it feels wrong to witness it somehow and yet it fills me with warmth.
Every woman should know that kind of love.
You know that kind of love now. Joss loves you the same way.
I can’t help but smile at the thought and shake my head. It’s a nice feeling; one I hope I’m able to hold onto. Only time will tell on that one.
“I love your cocks,” a woman chirps brightly as she comes to stand next to Amelia. She has lavender hair and I’m kind of jealous. I could never pull off a pastel color, but I think it’s beautiful.
A man with a man bun steps up to the woman with lavender hair and lets out a groan, “You can’t say things like that, Liv.”
She turns and looks over her shoulder with a mischievous look in her eyes. “What?” She bats her eyelashes with faux innocence. “I do love her cocks. They’re chocolate.”
The man grunts and shakes his head before stepping away to where a few guys are congregating along with the men of Suburban Outcasts. My eyes keep straying toward them because it’s kind of hard to believe they’re here, at a romance book convention.
Yes, I had heard the news of them making Denver their home. You can’t live here and not hear about it, but I hadn’t seen them anywhere. It wasn’t something I really expected to happen.
They sign a few autographs, but it’s quiet. People are mostly focused on the authors they’re here to see.
Liv turns to see what I’m looking at and then looks back at me with a big smile on her face. “It’s kind of shocking to have rock stars at a book signing, huh?”
I swallow hard and give her a small smile that doesn’t feel forced. “It’s not something I see a lot, that’s for sure.”
“You get used to having them around,” the woman says breezily with a wave of her hand.
I’m not entirely sure I believe her, but I just nod anyway. Who I am to argue with someone who is clearly used to being around rock stars? It’s not like I have to talk to them. I hope.
Amelia catches my attention and smiles brightly. “I’m sorry, we didn’t introduce ourselves at all. I’m Amelia, this is my husband, Beckett Banks,” she tells me as she points to the man who is glaring at the cocks on my table and then looking at his wife with narrowed eyes. It’s funny and I have to swallow down the laugh that wants to bubble out of me. “This is Olivia,” she tells me as she nods toward the woman with lavender hair. “There are so many more of us, but we’ll start there. I wouldn’t want to totally overwhelm you.”
I nod absently, my eyes skating over the people who seem to have taken over this section of the convention center. Some of the guys talking are huge and imposing. Their eyes are constantly moving and assessing. It has me tilting my head as I look at them because I’ve seen Joss do the same thing. Maybe these guys are security of some sort? I mean, there are rock stars here and a bunch of people, security seems fitting.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I force the words past my lips when I meet Amelia’s eyes again, “I’m Syndal of Synful Sweets and, as you’ve already noticed, I have a lot of chocolate cocks.”
I almost slap my hand over my mouth, mortified that I would say such a thing, but before I can Amelia is giggling and then laughing so hard that she doubles over. She’s not alone either, there are a lot ofchuckles and maybe even a snort from the people who have basically annexed this area for themselves.
