Leah rolled her eyes. “If they could hear you snore they’d probably stop calling you that. I doubt any of them want to clean up the kitchen after you make dinner, or pick up your socks and underwear from the bedroom floor and put them in the hamper. Face it, you’re a slob.”
Logan and Meyer looked speechless but Justin and Linc simply threw back their heads and laughed. Justin winked at her. “This is why I’m crazy about this woman. She doesn’t give a rat’s ass whether I’m rich and famous. She couldn’t be less impressed with me.”
If they hadn’t had company at dinner, Leah would have told him in no uncertain terms the ways he did impress her. Instead, she gave him a mischievous look that hopefully conveyed her meaning.
“We’ll e-mail you the relevant documentation,” Logan said. “Wow, that pizza looks delicious.”
Charlie dropped off two large pizzas and a basket of her famous garlic breadsticks on the table before bustling off. The place was packed as usual on a Friday night and would be until closing time.
They were quiet while they ate, Logan and Meyer raving about the pizza and complimenting the town. Several people stopped by their table to say hello, especially women who wanted to meet the two new hunks.
“If you wanted to hang around town, I think you could find a woman or two who would be willing to be your third,” Leah teased. “I’ve never had so many female friends feel compelled to say hello to me during dinner.”
Logan rubbed his chin. “We were planning to stay in Tampa tonight and fly out tomorrow, but I like it here. I think we might stay for a few days. Do you know where we can get a hotel room around here? One with Wi-Fi. We need it to do our work.”
Justin pushed away his empty plate and sighed. “You can stay at our place. We have several bedrooms. You’ll have all the privacy you need. Sock- and underwear-free, I promise.”
Meyer looked unsure. “We wouldn’t want to put you to any trouble.”
Linc grabbed the check as it was placed on the table. “No trouble at all. We can drop your luggage at the house after bingo and before we hit the club.”
Meyer smiled. “Well, if you’re sure, that would be great. Thank you.” He reached for the check in Linc’s hand. “But please let us get that. You’re our client and letting us stay at your place. It’s the least we can do.”
Linc was about to argue but Logan beat him to it. “Please. We wouldn’t feel right about staying with you if we didn’t at least pay for dinner.”
Linc nodded, handing over the check reluctantly. “This one time. Thank you.”
Justin stretched his legs out. “Are we ready to head to bingo then? I’m feeling lucky tonight.” Justin tugged her to her feet and grabbed her purse from under the table.
“Sorry, babe. I’m planning to win the big pot tonight. I know just what I want to do with the five hundred bucks.”
Linc chuckled. “If you want something, baby, we’ll be happy to get it for you.”
She shook her head. “No way. I buy my own things.”
Justin threw an arm around her as they walked up to the cash register with Logan and Meyer. “Isn’t she a gem? I’m a lucky man.”
She pulled him down and whispered a few promises in his ear. He was definitely going to get lucky tonight.
* * * *
Meyer grabbed Linc’s arm and pulled him away from the others.
“We didn’t tell you everything. There’s one more thing.”
Linc didn’t like the look on his old friend’s face. It wasn’t going to be good.
“Fuck, I’m going to hate this.”
Meyer’s lips twisted in a grimace. “I talked to a couple of people I guess you could call Bobbi’s friends. Shit, even her friends know what a phony she is. Anyway, one of them told me she wasn’t going to take no for an answer from Justin. She was going to force him to do the tour.”
“Screw her. She can’t force Justin to do anything.”
“Maybe. The friend seemed to think Bobbi had some sort of evidence that Justin wouldn’t want revealed. Something that would compel him to do the tour even if he didn’t want to.”
Linc was rocked back on his heels. Bobbi was talking about blackmailing them? She knew Justin’s image was a large part of his popularity. He was the golden boy for millions of fans.
“Has Justin done anything you need to worry about? If so, maybe Logan and I can try and cover it up. Make it go away.”
Linc shook his head in disbelief. “No. Fuck no. Justin is as squeaky clean in real life as his image. Hell, he barely drinks, never does drugs, and gives generously to charity. Shit, he’s even nice to animals. She’s bluffing. She’s got nothing.”
“This friend was convinced Bobbi thinks she has something. If you want, I can check out Justin’s past. Maybe she’s planning to reveal something about a family member.”
Linc shook his head. “No. I won’t investigate my best friend. I’ll talk to him later tonight and see if he knows anything. His family is pretty mainstream, Middle America stuff. I can’t imagine them doing anything that would embarrass Justin.”
Meyer nodded. “I just wanted to give you the option. We’re old friends and I’d hate to see anything bad happen to either of you.”
“I appreciate it. We came here to start a new life out of the spotlight. Things are falling into place.”
Linc thought about Leah and how happy they’d all been these last weeks. He didn’t want anything to destroy what they were building together.
“I can see how happy you and Justin are. Leah’s seems great. I wish Logan and I could find a woman like her. I don’t suppose she has a sister or anything?”
Linc laughed. “A brother. A big, mean one. This town is full of beautiful women, however. I’m glad you’re going to stay a couple of days. Maybe you’ll decide to move here.”
Meyer shook his head. “It would take quite a woman to get us to leave the big city. We’ve spent a lot of years building up our business. Our clientele is made up of some of Hollywood’s biggest names.”
“Are you happy?”
Meyer’s shoulders slumped. “Sometimes. Not enough lately.”
Linc slapped him on the back. “My friend Brayden says life is too short to be anything but happy. Think about that.”
They headed to catch up to the rest of their group. “I will think about it. Your friend is right.”
Linc caught up with Leah and pulled her close. Life was too short. He wouldn’t let anything come between him and Leah ever again.
Chapter Eleven
Justin sat back in his chair, relaxed and happy. The nightclub was packed with happy, dancing people, Leah was sitting next to him, talking with Ava and her men, Logan and Meyer were having a great time, and he was getting ready to go onstage to sing a new song. A song he’d written for Leah. He was nervous as usual, never getting over the stage fright which had plagued him throughout his career. Tonight, however, the stakes were higher. He wanted this song to tell Leah what he felt for her. He’d fallen in love with his pretty little bookworm. He hoped she felt the same.
He believed she loved them as well. Her every action and word said she did. She was too honest and forthright to hide her feelings. It was one of the reasons he loved her so much.
Brayden Tyler signaled the waiter for another beer. He, along with his two friends, had moved from New York and started a new life in Plenty. They owned the coffee shop and the martial arts studio and were engaged to Ava Bryant, a nurse originally from Chicago.
“You’re singing tonight? We don’t get to hear you perform very often.”
Justin nodded. “I am singing tonight. I only like to perform when I want to debut some new material and gauge the audience reaction. I have a new song I just wrote.”
“I’m sure people will love it,” Ava enthused. “I have all your albums.”
Justin let his fingers wander higher on Leah’s thigh, feeling her shiver in response. “Thank you, but with this song, it only matters what one person thinks.”<
br />
Leah’s soft brown eyes were full of emotion. She leaned close so only he would hear. “Am I the one person?”
Justin snorted. “It sure as hell isn’t Linc. I know you don’t care about the whole music thing, honey, but I wrote the song for you. I hope you like it.”
He chuckled as she started to sniffle. “I already like it. It’s the thought, Justin, not the actual song.”
“I could have saved myself a lot of time and just thought about writing you a song instead of actually doing it then.”
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Justin, do you have a minute? It’s important.” Linc was nodding toward their office. Linc’s expression was serious. Justin nodded and made his excuses to the table and Leah, before following Linc upstairs.
Justin closed the door behind him. “What’s going on? You don’t look too damn happy. Problems with the staff?”
Linc leaned against the window looking down on the club. “Meyer pulled me aside at Charlie’s. There was another thing they uncovered in their investigation. Bobbi thinks she had something on you. Some secret so heinous you’ll do the tour to make sure it doesn’t go public.”
Justin shook his head. “There’s nothing. You know that. I’ve lived the last fifteen years with paparazzi following my every move. Nothing was a secret.”
Linc straightened up and started pacing the office. “What about your family? Everything okay there?”
“Of course, we were just there at Christmas. They’re the most boring family in America, living on the most boring street.”
Linc came to a stop in front of him, his expression grim. “I think we need to face the fact she may know about me.”
Justin hopped up. “You? What about you? Are you talking about your reading issue? No way. Fuck, I didn’t even know until three weeks ago. There’s no way Bobbi could know.”
Linc shrugged, obviously frustrated. “What else could it be?” He started pacing again. “If she threatens to go public, let the bitch do it. I won’t let you get blackmailed into doing something you don’t want to do because of my pride.”
Justin grabbed Linc’s arm. “Stop, man. It’s not your job to protect me anymore. We’re partners. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even have a career. I’m not throwing you under the bus to save a career I don’t even want anymore.”
Linc looked shocked. “You’d go on tour then?”
Justin laughed. “No fucking way. Bobbi’s under the impression I care what people think about me. I don’t. I want to live my life quietly here in Plenty with Leah and you. End of story. Nothing she has on me would compel me to do something I don’t want to do.”
Justin swung around when there was a sharp knock on the door. Cheryl opened the door a crack. “The band is ready for you, Justin. Are you still performing tonight?”
“Yeah. Give me five.”
The door closed and he put his hand on Linc’s shoulder. His best friend needed to stop stressing about this. Justin wasn’t worried in the least.
“Forget about Bobbi. She doesn’t have any weapons. Now let’s get downstairs. We’ve left Leah alone too long.”
Justin headed for the door, but Linc hung back. “Are you coming?”
Linc nodded. “Just in case, I’m going to have Logan and Meyer keep investigating her. I want to know what she has.”
Linc would never change, always wanting to be one step ahead of everyone and everything. It’s what made him a great manager.
“You do that. I doubt she has anything we care about.”
He and Linc headed down the stairs. Linc looked pensive. “I hope you’re right, Justin. Bobbi makes me nervous. A desperate person does desperate things.”
* * * *
Leah was sitting in the audience, waiting for Justin to come on stage. She hadn’t wanted to admit it to him, but she’d never seen him perform, even here at the nightclub. She wasn’t much for going out and partying before she met him, and even now she preferred a quiet evening with her two men. They seemed to like it, too.
She’d heard his music. When he’d moved here, she’d purchased some of his songs for her iPod. He had a great voice, and she liked listening to his smoky vocals whether the song was soft and slow or an up-tempo rock song.
Tonight was different. He was singing a song for her. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to act. Was she supposed to rush the stage like a teenage fan girl or act all grateful when he was done? She was a private person and her first instinct had been to beg him to not perform it on stage here in front of everyone. She’d rather hear it when the three of them were alone.
She didn’t do it. She could tell it was important to Justin. This relationship wasn’t all about her, even though her men often made it seem that way. It was about their needs, too. Tonight she would put Justin first.
Linc pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. “Justin will be on stage in a minute. Are you going to be okay when he sings?”
She frowned. “Are you afraid I’m going to get a case of the vapors like some simpering heroine from an antebellum novel? I can assure you I won’t.”
Linc laughed at her clipped tone. “Hell no. You’re definitely not the fainting type. I only meant are you going to be okay with him singing a song to you in front of all these people? I know don’t like being the center of attention. You like your privacy.”
Her heart warmed and she cuddled closer to Linc. He really understood her. “I do like my privacy. I can tell this is important to him. I can handle it for one night.”
“He won’t say the song’s for you when he’s onstage. He knew you would be mortified if every head in the place swiveled to stare at you. He’ll just say he has a new song.”
It hasn’t occurred to her he might talk about her onstage, and she felt relief and gratitude he wasn’t going to do it. He was right. She would be mortified. Mortified and hiding under a table.
“Justin’s song is for you?”
Gabe was standing over her, smiling. She pulled him into the seat next to her.
“Shhhh! Keep your voice down. I don’t want everyone in Plenty to know my business. Got it?”
Gabe simply laughed and signaled a waitress. “Got it, sis. Damn, you get feistier every day. Justin and Linc are a good influence on you. Hey, Linc.” Gabe shook Linc’s hand before asking the waitress for a soda.
“Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in days it seems like.” Leah kept her eyes on the stage where Justin and the band were tuning up.
“I’ve been back and forth to Orlando, spending time with a friend there and working some with him. You didn’t think I came back to Plenty to be a bum and sponge off of you, did you?”
“I can hardly say that, can I? Groceries magically appear, the house gets scrubbed by fairies, and my laundry shows up clean and folded on my dresser. I’ve never had it so good.”
Gabe chuckled. “It’s the least I can do. I want to make up the last few years.”
She put her hand over his. “You have. I want to see you make up with Jason most of all.”
Gabe accepted his drink from the waitress with a smile. “We’re working on it, sis. It’s going to take some time, but we both want it. You can’t erase what happened overnight.”
Leah didn’t know everything that happened, but knew it had been a nasty blowup between the two of them.
“As long as you two are talking about your feelings, everything will be okay.”
Linc almost choked on his beer.
Gabe grinned. “Linc, will you tell my little sister men don’t talk about their feelings with other men? We just beat on each other until the feelings don’t matter anymore. The only feeling is pain.”
Linc coughed and shook his head. “Baby, your brother is right. He and Jason will work it out like men.”
Leah snorted. “And take ten times as long to do it. One good conversation and some tears would set this right tonight.”
Gabe and Linc looked shocked. “You want me to cry?�
�� Gabe asked. “I’m not going to cry to Jason. Fuck, he’d kick my ass and tell me to man up. He’d be right, too.”
Leah shook her head. “Men. Lord save me from all the alpha males in my life. You make everything more difficult than it has to be.”
Gabe pointed to the stage. “Looks like one of your alpha males is ready to sing.”
The lights went down and the stage was illuminated by spotlights. Justin was smiling and he did look like the golden boy he hated to be called. His blond hair caught the lights, and his tan skin glowed. He was handsome and sexy in an all-American way.
The man next to her was sexy in a sinful, dark way. She rested her head on his shoulder and his arm tightened around her as Justin stood at the microphone.
“The song we’re about to perform is new. I hope you like it.”
Leah wasn’t sure what she had been expecting. If she had been a betting woman, she would have guessed the song to be a ballad. It wasn’t by a mile. The band was rocking and Justin was playing his guitar and having fun. The whole band had grins on their faces and she found herself tapping her toes to the beat and smiling at the words.
Kisses sweet, sunshine and wine
I’d never met a girl so fine
You’re gonna make me toe the line
You’re my world, my life, my star
I had to travel wide and far
You’re a woman wise and strong
I’ve waited for you too damn long
Believe in us, believe in love
Plenty to believe
Plenty to believe
Plenty to believe in
By the time he finished the entire song, Justin was covered in sweat and grinning ear to ear. He winked in her direction and her heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t sung her some mushy love song. He’d written her an anthem for what she was becoming and who she wanted to be.
She turned to Linc, who was smiling and relaxed. “Had you heard the song before this?”
He kissed the top of her head. “Yes. I helped him with the lyrics, baby. I do that a lot.”
Plenty to Believe [Plenty, FL 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 11