Her eyes lit up instantly. “You’re really going to sing?”
Her excitement made me chuckle. “Don’t get too excited. It’s just a shitty bar, and a couple of songs. Nothin’ fancy.”
“So modest,” she laughed. She looked up at me, “well, I can’t wait to hear you up there, Tex.”
Something about the way she said that made my chest feel tight in a way I hadn’t ever felt before. I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. I heard my name being called again and she squealed, following me across the bar to the stage.
I set my beer down on top of the jukebox near the small stage and the bartender handed me the old acoustic they kept behind the counter. I adjusted the mic and glanced out at the crowd.
The other Kings had heard me sing and play hundreds of times, so they didn’t give a shit about any of this. Instead, they looked happy that they were finally free to use the pool table Rowan and I had just been using all night long.
All except Moose and Bear, who came to watch, and keep a close eye on Rowan. None of us had forgotten that we were here to draw the cartel out, though as the night had gone on it had become less likely that they would show.
I zoned back in, not really seeing the crowd, or Moose or Bear, anymore.
Instead my eyes found Rowan.
She was standing close to the stage, drink in hand, watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
The room quieted as I strummed the first chord. The familiar rhythm settled into my hands automatically. Normally when Iplayed, I let myself disappear into the music. Into the familiar feel of the chords on my fingers and the words on my tongue.
Tonight was different though. Because every few seconds my gaze drifted back to her.
To the way the bar lights caught in her hair.
To the way her lips curved up when she smiled and her lashes fluttered at something Moose said against her ear.
To the way she watched and listened to me like she’d never heard music before.
By the second song I barely noticed the rest of the room because all I could see was her—Rowan.
And the dangerous thought circling in the back of my mind was that if I didn’t get some distance from her soon, I was going to want to kiss her.
No. I would kiss her.
And that would be a very bad idea.
