“Only yesterday.”
“Just dipping your toes into all of this, then?” He tipped his head toward the center of the room.
“Yeah. It’s…different from what I’m used to.”
“Intimidating?” he asked in a tone that was laced with humor. Normally, a pointed question like that from a stranger would elicit a hasty lie, but I felt like he’d know I was lying. His eyes were piercing right through me.
“A little,” I admitted.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “We’re not all as scary as we seem.” For a moment, his attention flickered to Jamie. “Two weeks, huh? That’s plenty to get to know each other better.”
Heat spread across my chest. He wanted to know me?
Don’t get your hopes up. He’s just being nice.
He waited for me to respond, but all I could muster up was another dazed smile. For a second, his expression turned contemplative, but before I could even guess at what he was thinking, he turned and raised his hand to wave someone over. “Let me get you a drink.”
Telling him I didn’t drink was out of the question. While his attention was away from me, I allowed myself to gorge on his appearance, stuffing every detail into memory until my senses were overwhelmed with him. His skin was smooth, like silk, only a little hair scattered over his muscular arms. He wore a black shirt that molded to his chest, with the sleeves rolled up to show off the tattoos on his arms. The scent of his cologne tickled my nose, something sweet yet masculine, dangerous yet inviting. He was sodifferent, so undeniably exciting, that I thought I could happily spend the rest of the evening just staring at him.
The waiter came and left, and soon Oliver’s gaze was back on me. “So how did you convince Cole to bring you on this tour?”
“Didn’t have to do much convincing, to be honest. He agreed pretty easily. My parents thought I’d likely benefit from getting more exposure to…” I trailed off as my brain caught up with what was coming out of my mouth. Where was I even going with this? Did I really need to share with this man how boring my life had been up to this point?
“Cultural events,” he offered with a knowing smirk that told me he knew he was saving me from embarrassment. “Yes, we’re a pretty sophisticated bunch here. As you can see, my colleague Jamie is currently demonstrating a novel mating ritual that involves trying to leave the maximum amount of saliva on another person’s neck.”
A laugh burst out of me. It was a loud sound that landed during a downtempo part of the song, and to my surprise, Jamie lifted his head away from the woman and looked directly at me.
Our eyes met and I held his gaze, emboldened by Oliver’s remark. The blonde began clawing at his leg, her fake nails glittering against the dark fabric of his pants, apparently distressed over the loss of his tongue. Jamie’s face twisted into a frown. I thought he didn’t recognize me—it wouldn’t have been much of a surprise given everything I knew about him—but then he narrowed his eyes at me, and I thought maybe he did recognize me after all.
“Hey.” Oliver trailed his fingertips in a soft line along the edge of my jaw, leaving sparks in their wake, and I flicked my gaze back to him “I heard about what happened,” he said, lowering his hand back down to his side. “I want to apologize on his behalf, since I know he won’t. It was unacceptable for him to accost you like that.”
Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. Given that one of Jamie’s handlers in the dressing room thought I was a willing participant, I would’ve assumed the rest of Jamie’s bandmates would think the same. But Oliver didn’t.
“You don’t need to do that,” I said. “His actions are his own.”
“You’re right, but I can’t help it,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve spent many years now apologizing for his mistakes. And trust me when I say that not everyone is as gracious as you are when it comes to being forgiving.”
“I could tell he was very drunk,” I said. “Not that it’s an excuse, but he didn’t really do anything to me, and when Cole ran in, I was more worried for Jamie than for myself. Your bandmate didn’t look well.”
Oliver pursed his lips in distaste. “I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’d probably be more shocked if you said he was sober.”
“My brother was furious.”
“Rightly so,” Oliver agreed, and swept his gaze over my face. “I heard you’re the one who managed to talk him down. I appreciate it. Saved me from cleaning up an even bigger mess. You seem exceptionally levelheaded for someone who looks so young.”
Everything in me fluttered in pleasure at his words.
“How oldareyou?” he asked.
“I’m twenty-one,” I said in a weak voice.
Oliver smirked. “I think you’re lying to me, Cole’s sister. But don’t worry, I like liars. They keep things interesting.” His green eyes glistened with amusement.
The waiter returned with our drinks, and Oliver handed me a tall flute filled with a bubbly liquid.
“I hope you like champagne,” he said, his lips spreading into a smile so breathtaking it deserved to be painted and admired in a museum. “The best bottle they had to celebrate our new friendship. I have a feeling we’re going to be good friends, Ivy.”
“I’d like that,” I stammered and took the glass from him with a trembling hand. A bright-pink raspberry was bouncing gently in the liquid. I thought it looked like a heart. I wished so badly that everyone around us would just disappear. I wanted to stay with him in this moment forever, undisturbed and uninterrupted by anyone else.
