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“Shut it, Gen,” Roanna mumbled, her cheeks filling with pink.
“Ah, come on, Ro. You know I’m only teasing.” She hugged the other blonde, leaving her arm around her as we continued to walk. “But I knew if anyone had the details on the TK assholes, it would be you.”
As they pulled Riley into conversation, one of the vendor tents caught my attention, and I stopped. Guitars hung on the back wall of the tent in various colors. Even from where I was, I could see the scribbles of signatures across them.
I was definitely going to have to check that out and hoped they could ship one for me so I wouldn’t have to risk damaging it on the plane ride home. Lifting my drink to my lips, I turned back around to tell Riley, when I walked right into a solid wall. As I started to fall backward, the air rushed out of me.
Along with the mouthful of margarita I’d just filled it with.
The spray of lime juice and tequila hit the solid wall right as a pair of hard hands caught me by the ass.
Mind racing, I lifted my eyes, and my heart seemed to trip over itself as I met dark brown eyes. Definitely not a wall that I’d walked into, but an actual, living, breathing, deliciously solid guy. An ache started low in my tummy, and I squeezed my thighs together as I focused on his entire face rather than those coffee-colored, soul-stealing eyes.
Recognition and humiliation filled me the second I realized who he was.
Cash Graves.
Sweet Jesus.
His full mouth lifted in a grin, and I nearly passed out at how beautiful this guy really was up close. The neatly contained scruff on his jaw made him look a little older than I knew he was from the band’s website biography. His hair, shorter on the sides and considerably longer on top, was pushed back from his face in a feigned-careless way. He lowered his lashes, giving me a sultry kind of look from beneath them that did nothing for the inferno that was already starting to blaze deep inside.
“You okay, Dreamer?”
The amusement in his tone snapped me back to reality, and I clamped my mouth shut before I could embarrass myself even more by actually drooling. “Oh, um, yeah,” I squeaked out. Seeing the mess I’d made of his shirt, I quickly started wiping my hand over it. “Shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to give you a margarita shower.”
Laughing, he caught my wandering hands, which had been doing more of a muscle inspection than cleaning him off. “It’s okay. It was kind of refreshing in this heat, actually. A little sticky, but I think I’ll live.” He skimmed his gaze over me, taking me in from head to toe in a matter of seconds. He veiled his eyes completely from me as he stepped back, releasing my hands and offering me one of his. “Cash.”
Swallowing hard, I placed mine in his. “Amara.”
“Pretty name. I like it. Suits you.” He glanced down at my now-empty cup lying on the ground. Bending, he picked it up. “I think I owe you a fresh one.”
“No, no,” I laughed, shaking my head. “I think I’ve had plenty if my walking skills are anything to go on. I’ll stick to lemonade and water for the rest of the day.”
“Then let me buy you one of those.” Putting his hand on the small of my back, he urged me over to one of the lemonade vendors. “You should stay hydrated in this heat. It can turn dangerous in no time if you aren’t careful.”
Pressing my lips together, I accepted the large cup of fresh lemonade and murmured my thanks. My eyes were glued to him, unable to tear them away even though I had no idea where Riley and the Bombshells had disappeared to. Right then, my best friend could have been on her way to the moon without me, and I wouldn’t have cared.
When his gaze met and locked with mine again, I saw his pupils dilate and knew that whatever the hell was going on wasn’t one-sided.
I gulped down a drink of lemonade then offered it to him. “You look a little thirsty yourself,” I murmured.
Eyes still trapped with mine, he took the cup and swallowed two big mouthfuls before handing it back. “Thanks. I needed that.” Lifting a hand, he pushed my hair back from my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek for a moment longer than necessary.
“Amara!”
My head snapped back from his touch as if I had been caught doing something wrong, and I spotted Riley waving like a lunatic from the other side of the field. “Crap,?
? I muttered. “I forgot all about her.”
Cash cleared his throat, and I noticed his hand ball into a fist at his side. To keep from touching me again? That thought made something warm unfurl in my stomach, and it had nothing to do with the tequila from earlier. This warmth was strong, more intense, and I never wanted it to burn out. “You should rejoin your friend. I actually have some work to do. I’m in a band, and we’re playing later this afternoon.”
“I know who you are,” I assured him with a grin. “Sorry, I’m not the type to start bouncing up and down when I see someone famous. Especially when I’ve just doused him in tequila.”
“That is refreshing.” He smirked, and he skimmed his fingers over my cheek again, having lost the fight not to touch me. “Will you come watch us? We’re on the bigger stage, and it would be nice to look out and see your beautiful smile.”
If that was a line, I wasn’t going to call him out on it. Not when it was making the heat in my stomach burn hotter. “Riley and I will be as close as we can possibly get,” I promised him, then shot my friend a glower when she started screaming my name louder. “Damn it, Riles!”
Cash stepped back. “I’ll see you later, then, Dreamer.”
