"The diner always does a good pie," the old lady said.
Pie sounded good. Not very fancy but delicious.
"I'm not sitting in Lill's Diner with the whole town staring at me," Sophie said. "I wouldn't be able to eat."
There was something about the way she held her mouth. It zapped right through me. I did like a woman with a stubborn mouth. But this seemed like one of those discussions that could go on forever and I needed to get her to lunch before she changed her mind. Hell, I needed to get her to lunch before everywhere shut. Lunchtime was officially over.
I wasn't one for dithering. I walked behind the counter.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
Before she could protest, I scooped her up into my arms. She punched at me but that was nothing I couldn't handle. Seemed like every place in town would be out of the question so I'd drive over to Somerton. That was far enough away for her to have some privacy.
"Put me down."
Her fists hammered my back - and they were no girlie punches either. Still, I could stand a little pain to prove my point.
"No way. We're going to lunch."
The old lady giggled and winked at me. The other woman working in the flower shop laughed too. Sophie screamed and kicked.
"Watch yourself," I said. "Or you'll wreck your flower shop. Not that I mind having you squirming in my arms, although I would like it to be for better reasons."
That settled her down.
"Where will I send these flowers?" the other woman asked. "To the motel?"
"Yeah sure," I said, finding it hard to walk with a squirming woman in my arms. "No, wait. Is there an old people's home around here? Send it to them courtesy of their local rock star. Old people never get enough flowers."
The old lady ran and opened the door for me so I could get to my car.
"You seem like a nice young man," she said. "And Sophie deserves a day off. But if you get fresh with her, you'll have me to deal with."
I nodded. That old lady wasn't messing around. And I wouldn't get fresh with Sophie. Not today.
I dumped Sophie in the passenger seat, half expecting her to bolt before I got in myself, but she sat quietly. She did seem the type to stick to a deal. But not the type to do with a smile on her face. She folded her arms, staring out the side window.
The smell of flowers followed her out of the store. Subtle so I only caught an occasional whiff of it as I drove.
We were halfway to Somerton before she talked.
"Don't ever do that again," she said. She didn't look at me and she didn't unfold her arms but she did speak.
"Do what?" I asked.
"Don't ever touch me. Don't ever come into my store. Don't ever speak to me. That just about covers it."
"We'll have a boring lunch if we don't speak and I've still got to go to the flower market with you tomorrow."
She set her mouth in a stubborn line again, staring out the window, not talking. I didn't force it. She'd speak. I'd make sure of that.
It was pretty country around here. All mountains and blue skies. I hadn't had a chance to look around since we'd arrived but it seemed like something off a postcard.
"Who was the old lady in the store?" I asked.
Silence. I turned on the radio for background noise. They were playing one of our songs. I changed the channel.
"Come on," I said. "Talking isn't going to kill you."
"Mrs. Carruthers," she said.
"Town gossip?"
Sophie nodded. Then she scrunched up that little nose of hers. I should've been watching the road but that nose was too darn cute. When she'd wrecked our party, I'd only thought of her as a killjoy but now I got in some mighty fine glancing. She might be a tough cookie but she sure had her good points. That cute nose and those legs, not long but shapely. The way her hair shone when the sun hit it. And most definitely that stubborn mouth.
"I guess I've made Mrs. Carruthers' day?"
Sophie took her hair tie out and shook her hair loose. Oh yeah. Didn't she have any idea what that did to a man? This bet got sweeter and sweeter as the day went on. Next thing, she'd get out her lipstick and reapply it. Two of my favorite things a woman could do, outside of sex.
"I reckon you made Mrs. Carruthers' year," she said. "I don't like being the subject of gossip."
"Comes with the territory in a small town by the looks of things."
We'd come to a stretch of road, running straight for the next few miles. I put my foot to the floor. I hadn't had much chance to really open this car up so this bit of country road with not another car in sight was a gift. And I was never one to question the gifts life gave me.
As I accelerated, I checked Sophie's reaction. Any minute she'd tell me to slow down. Maybe squeal a little. And, as much as I wanted to get on her good side, I loved speed.
She never said a word until we got into the hills. "I love doing that."
"Huh?"
"That road just begs for it, doesn't it? No sane human is going to keep to the speed limit along there. Especially not in the early morning with the roads dead quiet."
I grinned at her. Suddenly that drive to the flower market in the morning didn't seem so bad. I'd love to see her behind the wheel.
"Of course, my old van is nothing on this car."
She'd noticed my car? I gave a little yip inside. I had no idea why other than I was a guy and I liked a woman to notice my car.
"We could take my car tomorrow," I said.
She glanced in the back. "Even if it could hold all the stock, I don't think you'd want dirty buckets all over your upholstery. It can get messy."
She gave me a pointed look. Not the kind of look women usually gave my body.
"What?" That look got me paranoid.
"Ah, when you were grabbing all those bunches in the store..."
My white t-shirt! Well, my once white t-shirt. Now a murky gray. Flowers might look pretty but they were damn dirty.
"I guess that means nowhere fancy for lunch then." Hopefully, I wouldn't look a mess in all those photos people took whenever I went out.
"I guess not. What's with this lunch thing anyway?"
"I told you. I felt bad about last night. I wanted to apologize."
"I'm not buying it."
Well, I couldn't exactly blurt out that I had to sleep with her to win a bet. I got a feeling she wouldn't like that. I also got a feeling that the whole situation was wrong. As an abstract concept, the bet had been a bit of fun but with Sophie sitting in my car besides me, I wasn't so sure it was the right thing to do.
She wasn't a girl you messed around with. I wondered if that stubborn mouth had been kissed, really kissed, in a way that made the rest of the world disappear. Not a fumbling kiss by a rough country boy but a real kiss. If I was responsible for awakening that in her, who knew what trouble I'd cause.
It took a bit of driving around to find somewhere for lunch this late in the day but eventually, we found a Mexican food truck.
"Mexican's fine with you?" I asked her.
"Mexican's great."
She grabbed one of the rough wooden tables in a laneway while I went to order. Only, when I got to the counter, I wasn't sure what she liked so I ordered one of everything. This was not panning out to be a romantic lunch by any stretch. I'd imagined a fancy place with white tablecloths and fancy wines and soft music playing in the background. Instead, we had a rough bench and some loud maraca music.
Those tacos sure smelled good, though.
When I got back to Sophie with a tray laden with tacos of every description, she laughed.
"Is all that for me?"
"I thought we'd share," I said.
"You think I won't eat it all?" She raised her eyebrow.
"Is that a challenge?" I asked. "Because you'd be surprised how many tacos I can put away and still keep this perfect body."
She screwed up her mouth. "You're on. Loser pays for lunch."
"Hey, I've already paid," I said.
&
nbsp; "Guess that makes you the loser then." She poked her tongue out then reached for a taco.
There was no way I'd let her win. I reached for a taco of my own. But it was fish and I hated fish tacos. I'd meant to put that one to the side so I wouldn't accidentally eat it. No way would I be seen struggling with the first taco. I shoved the whole thing in my mouth then grabbed my soda to wash it down.
"Come on," Sophie said. "I've finished my second one. Trust me, if you lose, this will be all over social media."
Damn the woman. I made sure my second taco was all meaty. She'd stuffed her third taco in her mouth before I'd finished my second one. There was no way I'd win this unless I shoved in two at once.
She'd finished hers then laughing. A thrill ran through me that I could make her laugh like that. She'd started melting already
I grunted, not able to talk through the mouthful of food.
"Look at you," she said. "Are you really a big, famous rock star? Sex symbol of a generation?"
I tried to argue but the words came out as gibberish and I think I spat a jalapeno across the table.
She bent down and got her phone out of her bag. No way. There'd be no photos. Not with my mouth stuffed full of tacos and probably sauce smeared across my face. I struggled to swallow those tacos while she could get her camera app working.
She got one shot before I emptied my mouth. "That's not fair," I said. "Also, we're equal now."
We exchanged looks then lunged for our next tacos. A big glob of guacamole landed on her nose so I got out my phone and took a revenge photo.
"What?" she said in between mouthfuls.
"Nothing."
Finally, there were two tacos left out of the twenty I'd ordered. One each.
Only, my stomach clenched at the thought of more food.
Sophie grinned. "You can quit now."
"I wasn't thinking about quitting." I shrugged. "Just wondering what I'd have for dessert."
"Is that why your face is green?" she asked.
"Yours is greener. You've had guacamole on your nose since taco number three."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I took a photo."
Her eyes widened, like she wanted to lunge at me and get my phone, but she stopped herself. I grabbed a napkin and wiped her nose, surprised she let me that close.
I eyed the taco again. There was a real chance of a blowout if I ate that taco. My insides churned. But Sophie picked up hers. Instead of putting the whole thing in her mouth, she licked at the sour cream dripped on the side.
Dear God, no. She could not do that to me. As her tongue flicked over the shell, the churning in my stomach took a different turn. That girl had a wicked tongue. A very wicked tongue indeed.
She wasn't nearly as uptight as she made out.
Sophie
I'D VOMIT. NOTHING surer. I'd be vomiting all over this rock star and all over his fancy car before the day was out. That was way more tacos than any human being should ever eat. They weren't even those mini tacos either but regular size ones. I hoped he was joking about dessert.
I struggled to swallow the last mouthful but, before I could down it, he banged his hands on the table.
"Done!"
"Done?"
"I win. I'm the taco eating champion. The reigning king."
"It wasn't about who finished first. It was about who ate the most." But as soon as I said that, I regretted it. He might just go for a second round and that wouldn't happen. Not with my belly.
"So, what is there to see around here? I expect a full afternoon of sightseeing."
"No way. I have to get back to the store. We only agreed to lunch."
"That was before I won the taco eating contest. I think the winner gets to decide the afternoon's activities."
Then he winked. Damn it. I could put on the coldest front possible. But, even hating him and everything he stood for, I had the man voted second sexiest alive wink at me. Only a corpse wouldn't respond to that. He might even wake the dead with that twinkle in his eyes and that dimple in his cheek.
And really, I had no reason to go back to the store. Janice could look after things and there'd be a whole lot less gawkers with me out of the way.
I sighed and gave him a half-smile. "I'll call the store and make sure everything is okay first."
"I'm sure the flower shop can live without you for one afternoon. You don't even have any stock, remember."
"There's still a ton of other work to be done. Orders come in. Cleaning. All that kind of stuff."
"And your assistant can't do it?"
"That's why I'm phoning her," I said. "Just in case."
Janice picked up the phone. "Of course I can handle things. I never expected you back today. Just remember, if you can't be good, be careful."
Oh dear. I hoped he hadn't heard that. Even if I didn't come in for the afternoon, I wouldn't be doing that.
"There must be something to do in this town," he said.
I wracked my brain. He could say that but he didn't realize what a lame place this was.
"There's... umm... the Pioneer Village," I said, but I looked around furtively, not wanting to commit to something so crappy. It was a place we'd been dragged to on school trips. Nothing exciting but one of the few touristy things in the town.
"That sounds fun."
"You're kidding, right? It's not actually fun."
He grinned and boy, did that grin pack a punch. I had to avert my eyes. I would not let his rock star grin get to me.
"Let's do it," he said.
Since I couldn't think of anything better, I had to go along.
When we got to the car, he put the top down. I raised my eyebrows. The sky was overcast and it was only a five-minute drive.
"Hey, we just ate a fuckton of Mexican. There's no way I'm getting in the car with no ventilation."
He made a fart joke? Well, maybe not so much of a joke from the way my stomach rumbled but it made him seem so normal, not a famous person at all. I'd never really thought about it but I guess famous people farted too.
I'd forgotten what the Pioneer Museum was like. I just had a general impression of it being dusty and boring. But when we got inside there was a costume hire place.
"We've got to do this," he said.
I shook my head. "No way."
"Come on. I won the taco eating so it's my call, and anyway, we have to get into the spirit of things. This old-fashioned dress would really suit you."
He held up a pale blue dress with a sweeping skirt.
What the hell? I guess if he was willing to get dressed up, I could too.
I came out of the change room with my arms folded over my chest. The dress was way too long for me and the bodice stretched tight over my boobs. Way too tight. The dress might have a modest neckline but it still left nothing to the imagination up top.
Then Ethan came out wearing workman's trousers held up with braces and a white collarless shirt underneath. He'd topped it all off with a dapper hat.
"My lady," he said, holding out his arm.
I giggled and put my arm on his.
The old man who ran the costume shop rushed over to take a photo. I wasn't sure if he knew who Ethan was or if he took photos of everyone. I soon found out the answer to that when he tried to make us pay for the photo.
"I'll take two copies," Ethan said. "It's a special day."
I rolled my eyes.
I had to keep telling myself the guy was a player. I'm sure every day and every woman were special to him. I'd seen him dancing with that girl last night. And all those other girls waiting for their chance with him. And I sure didn't think I was better looking or more special than any of them.
While he paid the man, I went to look at the first exhibit. That gave me an excuse to pull my arm away from him. Even though I only held my hand lightly on top of his, the hairs on his arm lightly brushed the delicate skin of my wrist. It was a disarmingly pleasant sensation.
He came back and handed me a cop
y of the photo.
"We could've taken our own photos," I said.
"Hey, that old man has to make a living. I'm betting he doesn't get a lot of business."
"He could put up an 'as worn by famous rock stars' sign now. That might help."
Ethan laughed. "He had no idea who I am and we can drop the famous rock star stuff. I'm just a regular guy. A regular guy with the voice of an angel and a killer body, but a normal guy all the same. I still put on my pants one leg at a time."
"And need to put the top down on your car when you eat too many tacos."
He glared at me then laughed. "True facts. Not even a rock star digestive tract can deal with all those beans. By the way, are those old plows really that interesting or are you avoiding looking at me?"
"A bit of both," I said.
This was nothing more than an amusing way to spend the day. I still hadn't worked out why he'd invited me. Maybe a PR thing so I wouldn't go to the media with stories of their wild parties, but then he didn't seem that worried about hiding that side. And, yes, I had googled him.
I sneezed. This place was as dusty as I remembered and the displays weren't all that great but somehow, they seemed more fun than when I was a kid.
As I leaned over the railing to check out the pioneer kitchen, he moved so that he stood behind me. I didn't turn or acknowledge him. His body didn't even touch mine. But his breath lightly tickled my neck and the closeness of him pounded through my body.
My common sense screamed at me to move. My body had other ideas, though.
I carefully read the description on the display board.
Just why had I been angry with this guy, anyway? He'd had a noisy party and been a bit of a jerk when I'd told him to quieten down but I guess I could've asked nicely before taking a baseball bat to his stereo.
Maybe I'd over-reacted just a little. It'd been a long time since I'd laughed as much as I'd laughed today. The band was only in town for a short time. It wouldn't hurt to have a little fun.
I sighed. So long as it was just a little fun.
He moved away.
I was an idiot. Ethan didn't give a damn about me, even for a little fun. He had a whole world of women ready to give him whatever he wanted. Better looking, sexier women than I'd ever be.
Rock Mayhem: 8 Complete Rock Star Romance Novels Page 88