My eyes shifted to her left hand to check for a ring, and I was shocked to find it totally bare. I was even more shocked by how relieved I was.
“Should we go in?” The sound of Liv’s voice interrupted my thoughts. She chewed her bottom lip, and my heart thundered in response. “I wouldn’t want you to get mobbed. I mean, I could try to fend off a crowd, but I don’t know if I’m quite as intimidating as your tattooed friend with the muscles as big as my head.”
“Oh, yeah, come on in.” I cleared my throat, stepping to the side for her to walk past me into the dressing room. As she did, the sweet scent of orange blossoms beckoned me to follow behind her. I pulled the door closed and locked it as instructed.
The other two girls, Grace and her mom Ella, were already chatting animatedly with the rest of the guys.
“Guys,” I said. “This is Liv.”
“Hello, Liv,” our manager greeted her, stepping forward to take her hand. “Cash Montgomery. I’m the guy that keeps these fellas in line.” His phone rang, and he quietly excused himself to take the call in the corner of the room.
Our bass player extended his hand to shake Liv’s outstretched one. “Nice to meet you. I’m Derek.”
“I dig the Queen shirt, Liv.” I watched as Luca Sterling took her hand in his and kissed it. My jaw clenched involuntarily. I knew that compliment meant our lead guitarist had already been checking Liv out, and that annoyed the shit out of me. He was the brooding, individualistic type. He knew the effect he had on the ladies, but Liv seemed unfazed.
“And this is Dallas.” I gently guided her toward our drummer. He was the spirited one of the group, and even though Luca was the oldest, Dallas was our leader. No decisions got made without his approval.
“Wait,” Liv said as she shook his hand. “Dallas as in Midnight in Dallas? Is that where the name came from?”
“Yep,” he answered, his mouth stretching into a broad grin. “Derek here is my cousin, and his last name is Knights with a K. When the two of us started out as a duo in college, we were Dallas Knights, which was honestly fucking weird because nobody knew how to spell it. Also, because Derek is a terrible singer. When Jaxon and Luca joined us, we knew we had to rebrand if we were ever going to go anywhere as a band.”
“Midnight became the witching hour for us.” I jumped in, longing to see her eyes back on mine. What color were her eyes? Green? Hazel? I wanted to look closer, but I didn’t want her to think I was a total weirdo. “We used to rehearse in Dallas’s old garage well past midnight, and that’s when our best ideas came to us.”
“Hence Midnight in Dallas,” Luca explained with a laugh. “Because Midnights in Dallas’s Garage didn’t have the same ring to it.”
Derek leaned against the counter. “The artists formerly known as Dallas Knights.”
“And that’s how Midnight in Dallas was born.” Dallas chuckled.
“So what brings you guys out tonight?” I asked Liv, but Grace answered.
“These tickets were my birthday present.”
“They went on sale a week before her birthday in March, and I nearly took down Ticketmaster to get them.” Ella looked over at her daughter proudly. “You guys are her favorite band. I was prepared to do whatever I had to in order to make that happen, including, but not limited to, becoming a stowaway on your tour bus. Aren’t y’all glad it didn’t come to that?”
“Listen, Ella,” Luca flirted. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
“Hey, no threats here,” Ella said with a shrug. “Only promises.”
“Ooooh,” Dallas hooted. “Sounds like Miss Ella came to play.”
“Please remember when you find her hiding somewhere on your bus looking all fatal attraction that you encouraged this.” Liv raised her brow at Dallas. “I will have no sympathy for any of you.”
“I promise to send postcards from the road.” Ella stuck her tongue out at Liv. “Take care of Grace for me.” Grace playfully punched her mom in the arm.
“So, it sounds like you may be fairly new to our music?” I asked Liv, nudging her with my arm. I wanted to reclaim her attention and have any excuse to keep her talking to me.
“I am.” She smiled sheepishly. Her smile made my knees weak for reasons I didn’t understand. I only knew I wanted to see it again. “I love music, but I’ve been a little out of the loop lately. I heard ‘Fortress’for the first time last week, and I loved it. It’s been in my head ever since, and I listened to your stuff all day today. You guys are really good.”
“Fortress” had been an instant hit with its slow, steady beat that built up to a stunning guitar solo, courtesy of Luca. The entire song felt like you were climbing up a mountain. By the time you reached the bridge, you were standing on top of the world, soaking in a panoramic view. It started off sad, but by the end, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of hope.
“We had to get this one out of the house,” Ella spoke up, pointing at Liv. “She hasn’t been out inages.”
“Mom.” Grace elbowed her mother, and Liv’s eyes fell. There was a sadness that crept onto her face that said there was much more to this story, and it was a story I wanted to know all about.
“So, it’s a girls night?” I asked, wanting to put Liv back at ease. “Where are you ladies sitting?”
Liv pulled her ticket from her back pocket, inspecting it. “Main floor, row S.”
