by Shana Gray
She looked at his big hand holding the white envelope and reached for it. Their fingers brushed and she had another surge of pleasure. It only solidified her determination that she was doing the right thing. She was cutting her losses to protect her heart.
“Thank you. Well, then…” She hesitated a moment then took a step away. “I’ll get back to my friends now.”
He nodded his head and touched his finger to the peak of his cowboy hat. “Perhaps we’ll meet again sometime.”
Ava nodded and paused a beat. “Yes, perhaps. Sometime.” She let her gaze linger on him for a fraction of a second longer. Before she could change her mind she whirled around and went off in search of her girls, leaving behind one of the most intriguing men she had ever met. The urge to look over her shoulder was great but Ava kept her eyes pinned forward, still feeling the weight of his gaze boring into her back.
Like the song said, these boots were made for walking.
Chapter Seven
Chase watched Ava go. He frowned, bothered more than he cared to admit by her sudden change of heart. One minute, he’s seeing interest in her eyes and the next it was gone, along with her. But he had learned a long time ago that, once a woman made up her mind, it was all over. He’d seen how his buddies had fared. Stump was a prime example. He’d loved Shelly-Jo so much he’d do anything for her, but when there’d been one too many Saturday nights with the boys she’d dumped him like a hot potato. It was as if a switch had been flipped. No matter how much Stump begged or cajoled, he couldn’t bring her around. Chase shook his head and smiled, thinking how devastated he’d been when a similar thing had happened to him at the ripe old age of sixteen. Live and learn.
He figured she’d discovered who he was. How could she not when fans came up asking for autographs? That she still walked away was unlike anything he’d encountered before. He’d experienced women who wanted him for who he was in the music industry and all the trappings that came along with it. They didn’t want him for who he was…the man. For Ava to leave without a backward glance—it impressed the hell out of him.
He saw Daisy back out on the dance floor, glad she was off having a good time. Turning to leave, he spied a few of his buddies on the other side of the Wildhorse and decided to head over there for a bit. As he made his way through the crowd, he noticed people watching him and knew it wouldn’t be long until word spread that he was here. He wouldn’t be surprised if word wasn’t already making its way through the Twitterverse and Insta.
He walked around the end of the horseshoe-shaped bar and approached his group of friends, who sent up a cheer when they saw him.
“Hey, Bulldog, what are you drinking?” The youngest member of their group leaned over to flag down the bartender.
“Nothing tonight, Stump.” They’d all pegged each other with nicknames when they were kids. “I’ll be on my way soon, just wanted to come over and say hey.”
They clapped him on the back as he moved to into the group and they circled around him. His friends knew the drill. When in public, they used their bodies as a shield, closing ranks to keep the fans from seeing him. He’d grown up with this motley crew. They’d fished, hunted, rode horses and played Daniel Boone in the mountains when they were young. They knew him for who he was and never changed how they were with him. And that, he valued.
“You’re performing this week?” Stump asked him.
“Yeah. I’m playing.” Chase scanned the crowd, hoping to see Ava again. It surprised him he was still so unsettled at the way she had left. Troubled and intrigued and…he had to admit it: he wanted to go and seek her out.
“Hey, Sal,” His other buddy, dubbed Magic for always doing card tricks as a kid, hollered at the bartender. “Shots. Jack.” He held up seven fingers.
Sal tossed them a sexy smile. She was a rocking bartender and had a way with the boys, many of whom she’d let take her home.
“Hey, Chase.” She put coasters down on the bar and reached over to touch the back of his hand. He’d never been one who had fallen to her charms, and it wasn’t for her lack of trying. “No shots for you tonight?”
“Not me,” Chase told her and shook his head, carefully extricating his hand from under hers. Even though he’d only been here with them less than five minutes, that was his cue to leave. Once the shots started, it would be a late night of partying that he didn’t need this weekend.
“Gotta run, guys. Catch ya later.” He was about to leave when his other friend, Krill, grabbed his arm.
“Listen, there’s a dance at the Harper place tomorrow night. Not too many people know about it. Are you interested in coming?”
“I’ll think about it. I’m not sure exactly what’s happening this weekend. My publicist has a few things lined up. Maybe see you there, though.”
That was a lie, since his schedule for CMA Fest had been set in stone months ago and he knew tomorrow night was free. On second thought, it might be the perfect place to take Ava, so she could dip her toes in the world of country and country music. If that unflattering photo of her made one thing clear, she was a city girl, so she might need a little more southern persuasion. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of taking her to the Harpers’. He knew she was with friends, but he would invite them along if they wanted to come.
Now he was determined to find her. Search her out and try to woo her with his country-boy charm, which he’d been told made panties melt and albums fly off the shelf.
He slapped his hand on the bar. “Later, boys.”
They all grunted their goodbyes and moved apart, making him a path to walk away.
Chase stuck to the perimeter of the room, keeping to the shadows and making sure his cowboy hat was low over his head. He did his best to keep a low profile and realized the crowd of women had likely been what had turned Ava off. If so, he didn’t blame her. It was damn hard getting used to the fans. He still hadn’t quite adjusted.
The Wildhorse was huge, with different levels and numerous bars to serve the crowd, so it was no wonder he had a hard time finding her in the crush of people. It was always a busy place, but tonight it seemed to be bursting at the seams. Lots of out-of-towners here for CMA Fest, no doubt.
After about fifteen minutes of searching the main floor from the shadows and ready to go upstairs to look in the lounge, he spotted her. Ava and her friends were seated at the circular bar in the middle of the room. The only drawback? It was surrounded by the dance floor. That meant he had to make his way through the gyrating, line-dancing throng of people to get to her and would probably be noticed.
He stood for a moment in a dark corner, watching her. It made him feel uncomfortably stalkerish. When she threw her head back and laughed, her auburn hair cascading over her shoulders and down her back, he froze. Watching her movements was like seeing perfection. She was perfection. The disco-ball lighting glittered off her boots, sending shards of light sparking into the air. It reminded him of her hot-pink panties.
Chase groaned at the memory. He pushed himself off the wall and decided that, in more ways than one, she was worth what he might have to face by going through the crowd.
Weaving his way through people, still keeping his head down and the rim of his hat over his face, he managed to avoid being recognized and, a few minutes later, he emerged from the crowd behind Ava.
It was the first time in his life he’d ever felt speechless. He didn’t know what to say, and words were his living! She and her friends all had drinks and were chattering and laughing, looking like they were having a great time. Then the dark-haired one saw him. Her eyes widened and she seemed to be assessing him. He felt under scrutiny, but if gaining acceptance from her friends meant getting to the next step with Ava, he was fine with that.
The woman tapped Ava on the arm and pointed in his direction.
Ava spun around on the stool, and once again, he was snared by her spectacular eyes. A slow smile widened her lips and all he wanted to do was drag her into his arms and kiss, t
aste, consume her. He cleared his throat and took her smile as his cue to step forward.
“Ava,” Chase said in a low voice.
“Chase.” Her voice was lilting, beautiful. And he wanted to hear her talk, moan, whisper in his ear.
“Hi, I, ah, well. I was hoping you’d change your mind.”
Moments later, her other friends spun around on their stools and he was pinned by four sets of eyes. He looked at each one, acknowledging them, and was pleasantly surprised when each one responded in kind. Then he focused on Ava.
“What do you mean, ‘change my mind?’” She leaned back on the stool, resting her elbow on the bar, and gazed at him intently. Ava crossed her legs and his eyes were drawn to her trim thighs. She bopped the toe of her boot and it was all he could do to drag his gaze away and focus back on her face.
Her friends watched him, and it unnerved Chase. Clearly, these women traveled in a pack; they had one another’s back, he was sure of it. If a man hurt one of them, the rest would take him down. He admired that kind of loyalty. He stepped closer to Ava, choosing to forget her friends were there beside her. It was Ava that he wanted to talk to.
“You said you didn’t know my music. I was hoping to introduce you to it and maybe change your mind about spending time with me.” He tilted his head sideways and gave her a grin that he hoped didn’t look like a shark’s smile.
She laughed, and it was a deep, wonderfully throaty sound that echoed through him. He wanted to hear her laugh again—oh hell, he wanted a whole lot more from her. Namely, getting the chance to get to know her, and for her to know him.
“And just what did you have in mind, superstar?” She was teasing him, and he liked the way she played. There was a whole lot more to this woman than what you saw on the surface.
“First, I know you’re going to be in town for a couple of days because of CMA Fest.” He lifted his shoulder and held out his hands. “You can’t hide that from me, so how would you like to spend some of your time with me this weekend and I’ll do my level best to win you over.”
Her eyes widened and she reached the tip of her tongue to touch her upper lip. It was one of the sexiest moves he’d seen, pretty much ever. He realized he was holding his breath waiting for her to say yes.
“‘Win me over?’ Now let me think about that.” She glanced at her friends, who were silently watching their exchange. He had a feeling that, if they disapproved of him, he wouldn’t stand a chance. Chase tried to draw her attention back to him.
“Now, don’t take too long to come up with your answer, Boots. We don’t have all night.”
“Boots, huh?” She stared at him and he forgot how to breathe. “I’ve been called worse. Okay, sure. Dazzle me, superstar.”
Chapter Eight
When Bonnie touched her arm a moment ago and Ava saw Chase standing there, looking all crazy sexy, gorgeous and yet with a vulnerability, it touched her heart.
She glanced around to see if Daisy was with him, but the redhead seemed to have disappeared. For Chase to come over and ask her out made her think that he wasn’t already taken. She’d responded instinctively with her sultry answer and now it shocked the heck out of her that she’d said those words only a moment ago. Dazzle me, superstar.
Ava cringed inside a little and waited to see how he was going to respond. She held her breath and all her focus was on him. Her body hummed and desire settled with delicious heaviness between her thighs. Good Lord, he was definitely the kind of man she’d never, ever met before. She was unable to pull her gaze away from him. His deep brown eyes snagged her and she felt delectably wonderful. She’d never been so turned on by a simple look before.
“Dazzle you, Boots? I can definitely do that. These hands are magic.” Chase lifted his hands and did jazz hands, and Ava choked, lost between amusement and arousal.
“I’m sure you’re a regular Criss Angel, but first I want to know if you have a lovely assistant waiting for you. As in, a girlfriend?” She asked point-blank, wanting that particular scenario cleared up right off the bat; there was no way she was going to beat around the bush when it came to the possibility of being the other woman. When she finally found her man, it would be just the two of them. For life. Ava shared almost everything, except food, but she definitely had no intention of sharing the man that she would spend the rest of her life with.
Which didn’t mean that would be Chase. Because that would be crazy talk. She had just met the impossibly handsome, sexy and charming guy!
“Girlfriend?” He looked perplexed again and glanced around like there would be a clue to what she meant in the crowds. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“What about Daisy?” Ava almost held her breath, waiting for his answer. She wanted, so desperately, for him to deny that Daisy was his girlfriend.
“You got that all backwards.” Chase stepped closer to her and his presence seemed to vibrate in the air between them; it washed over her in a powerful wave. She inhaled a deep breath and held it when the scent of his soap, cologne, wildness filled her. Her eyelids fluttered as the feelings he roused in her did all sorts of good bad things to her, making her heart thump harder in her chest. If he could make her body respond so acutely with just a look, his voice, what he could do with his hands?
She had to think for a minute about what they’d been saying. Oh yeah. “And how do I have that backwards?” Ava asked, tipping her head to the side and looking at him from under raised eyebrows, desperately trying to keep her equilibrium.
“I grew up with her.” Chase edged closer still and rested his hand on the back of her stool. His thumb brushed against her dress. Ava nearly sprang out of the seat at his touch but she saw the grin curving on his face. For a man with a beard and a mustache, something she was not normally attracted to, he had it all.
The urge to raise her hands and grab the bolo tie to pull him down to her so she could kiss him was nearly overwhelming, so instead she shifted to reach for her drink, and managed to tip it over. The contents of her glass spewed over the bar in the direction of Fredi and Celia. They both sprung from their seats with cries of alarm.
“Damn, Ava, we’re not the ones who need a cold shower!” Fredi stood back with her hands out, looking down to make sure nothing had got on her clothes. Celia, on the other hand, had quickly grabbed a rag from the other side of the bar and was mopping up the mess.
Ava was mortified. She was behaving like a child: nervous, clumsy—and it so wasn’t like her. Lord, she needed to get a grip, and fisted her hand when it began to tremble. She stared at it, not wanting to look up to see the humor that was probably shining in Chase’s eyes.
From behind her, Bonni put a hand on her shoulder and Ava heard her whisper right next to her ear. “Chill, Ava. This man has gotten you all aflutter. Just relax.”
Ava turned around enough to be able to look Bonni in the eyes. Her bestie nodded at her and squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. “Thanks,” Ava said gratefully.
“You’re welcome. Now, go with him. It’s not like I can’t track him down if I need to,” she said in a low voice, and gave Ava a little nudge.
Ava steadied her breathing then turned back to Chase. “Have you met my friends?” She decided to avert her nerves by making introductions. “That’s Celia, cleaning up my mess—she’s an amazing writer. Over there with the curly hair is Fredi; she’s a wedding-dress designer.”
Ava turned to Bonni, not wanting Fredi to be her normal self and blurt out anything about how she had inundated Fredi with wedding-dress designs. Good Lord, could you imagine? “This is Bonni. She’s a cop—a detective, actually.”
Celia waved the rag in Chase’s general direction and Fredi opened her mouth before snapping it shut at a killing look from Celia. Bonni leaned around Ava and put her hand out for Chase to shake. “Pleased to meet you.”
“That explains it,” Chase said quietly as he shook hands with Bonni. As they let go, Bonni gave him a little nod combined with a warning look and Chase rested his finger
s on the brim of his hat, as if tipping it.
“Explains what?” Ava asked, looking between the two of them.
“Ah, nothing. It’s nice to meet you all. I know you’re here for the festival and that you are spending time in one of the arena suites. But if you’re free tomorrow night, after the last concert, I was wondering if you’d all like to come to a party.”
“Oh, I don’t think so. It’s going to be so late—” Ava started to answer.
“A party?” Fredi interjected, and smiled brightly at Chase. “I’d love to go to a party.”
“Hmm, Celia, what’s on the schedule for tomorrow night after the concerts?” Bonni inquired.
Ava was getting a little annoyed that this conversation was happening as if she didn’t exist.
“Tomorrow—Thursday—is actually free during the day, and then the first performer goes on at the Nissan at—”
“Okay, guys, listen, I think I have some input here…” Ava said, giving them each dagger stares.
“Ava, you can think on the party and let me know. But I have another proposition for you.” Chase pushed up the brim of his cowboy hat with his fingertip. The shadow gone from his face and the bar light reflecting in his eyes, she realized even more how ruggedly handsome he was.
Her mouth went dry and now she desperately needed that drink she’d just knocked over. Ava craned her neck to see if she could flag down the bartender. If there was ever a time for two piña coladas, this was it!
Chapter Nine
The bartender was not cooperating with Ava’s need for alcoholic relief as she was helping customers on the other side of the bar. Ava ran her fingertips along the hem of her new dress. Best to keep her hands busy so she didn’t flail again and send another drink flying. That had been so embarrassing, but it was really his fault for being so darn hot. Drawing in a steadying breath, she met Chase’s gaze.
He was affecting her like crazy. A hint of his scent heated the air between them. It was spicy, leathery and fresh, like cotton sheets drying on a clothesline, worn saddles, and the slightest hint of jalapeños. Ava inhaled deeply, liking how it teased her nose and lingered in her senses. Years could go by and, if she ever caught a whiff of it again, it would bring her right back here. To this moment. She fought for words to say, but it was as if her voice had decided to do a vanishing act.