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“Huh. Well, maybe it’s just me that sees, then.” Liam raised his eyebrows twice in quick succession. “So you gonna give me all the dirty details, or do I have to beg?”
“You? Beg. Yeah, right.” I took a long sip and then rolled the glass on the bar between my hands. “I broke all my rules last night.”
The corner of Liam’s mouth twitched. “The ones that say fucking is off the table?”
“The ones that say fucking around with a client is off the table. Yes.”
“You telling me you spent the night with Killian Michaels?”
The bartender froze as he came to a stop in front of us, surprise on his face as he glanced between me and Liam.
“He’s joking,” I said, so the bartender wouldn’t go run to the nearest phone to call every friend and acquaintance he ever met. It must’ve worked, because he gave an uneasy smile and then slowly backed away.
When he was out of earshot, I smacked the shit out of Levi’s arm. “Would you keep your voice down?”
“You’re the one that wanted to have this conversation at a public bar.”
I rubbed my forehead and groaned. “This was a mistake.”
“Nah, we’ll just use a different name. Like a code name.”
I squinted at my brother. “A code name?”
“Yeah, you know, like Maverick or some shit.”
“Maverick? Jesus…”
“No, Maverick works better in this case, though Jesus is probably easier to remember when you’re screaming ‘oh God’ all night.” Liam, the damn instigator, winked, and I surprised myself by not getting up and walking out of there. But I told my brother everything, and while he always gave me a hard time, he was always teasing. I knew I had his full support no matter what I did, and along with that, his brutal honesty. It was the latter I was here for.
“Okay, so you and Maverick,” Liam said. “You had a good time with this Maverick fellow?”
“You’re ridiculous, you know that, right?” I could only shake my head as I prepared to spill my guts. “Yeah, I had a good time. A great time. The best time of my fucking life.”
Liam whistled. “Maverick’s got skills, huh?”
I tried to bite back the smile that wanted to come out, but it was a struggle that ultimately failed. “You have no idea.”
“Well, I could have an idea, seeing as he wanted to use those skills on me first—”
I shoved him clear off the barstool this time, smirking as he fell on his ass.
“Dude, I was joking,” he protested, clambering back to his feet. “Try that shit again, and you’re goin’ down with me.”
“Talk about Kil—uh, Maverick again and you won’t be able to get back up.”
“Touché.” He chuckled, wiping off the back of his jeans. When he settled back beside me, he finished off his drink and raised his hand for another. This time, he waited for the drink to arrive before starting back up again. “So you like this guy enough to break your rules.”
“Apparently so.” I reached for a napkin and wiped the condensation off the sides of the glass. “I didn’t want to. I tried not to give in, honest to God I did, but…”
“But?”
“Guess my self-control wasn’t as strong as I thought.”
“Bullshit. You’ve been around temptation for years and you never gave in, not since Jon—” Liam stopped himself and shook his head. “What I mean to say is, if you didn’t think this Maverick was worth breaking your rules for, you wouldn’t have done it.”
“Simple as that, huh?”
“Simple as that,” Liam agreed, then paused to take another sip of his drink. “Is that what you needed? Confirmation you did the right thing?”
I set my now-empty glass down and rubbed my hands on my pants. “I guess I asked you here to tell me I didn’t completely fuck myself because of it.”
“Do you regret it?”
“No,” I said quickly.
“Then there’s your answer.”
“No, I… I mean, of course I don’t regret it. He’s amazing, Kil—Maverick,” I said, catching myself as I noticed the bartender coming closer out of the corner of my eye. “Perfect, really. He’s just a good guy. You know? He’s nothing like so many of the groups I’ve worked with, all that drugs and groupies and rock ’n’ roll shit. Well, I’m sure there were groupies—I mean, look at him—but not since I started managing the band, which in rock years is…forever.” I fiddled with a stray string at the seam of my pants and made a note to have them tailored. “He’s funny and charming and…sweet.”
When Liam’s eyebrows shot up, I laughed.
“He is sweet. Don’t go telling anyone that, for God’s sake. He does have a rep to uphold.”
“Hmm.” Liam stroked the scruff on his jaw. “I think you’ve fallen for this guy. I think it’s a completely foreign concept to you and now you’re doubting yourself because of it, but if you want my advice—”
