Page 21 of Animal Beats

Huh. Any other woman who spends the night with me would happily place the order. Well, she didn’t actually spend the night with me in the traditional sense. My brain scrambles to reassess. “What do you want?”

“Don’t let me fiddle with your little power play.”

It wasn’t a power play. Was it? Hell if I know. “Listen, I can place my own order. Since I’m going to be doing that in a minute, I might as well order for you.” I repeat. “What do you want?”

“Wow. Because you asked me so nicely…” She trails off.

My hands land on my hips. I repeat for the third time—with a twist. “What. The. Hell. Do. You. Want. To. Eat?”

“Fine. I’ll have a grilled cheese with Manchego and churros. Have you ever tried them? They’re like a donut on steroids. You dip them in chocolate.”

“Can’t say as I have.”

“I’ve read all about them in my books.”

I squirrel this nugget away and place our order—minus the beer—then walk over to the beverage station. “Did I smell coffee earlier?”

“You did. I can make you a cup, if you’d like.”

I study the Keurig. “I think I can manage. Is there cream?”

She nods. “In the fridge.”

I start to set up the machine. “Want one?”

“Nah. I’m good. Already had my two cups.” While I putter in the kitchen getting my coffee ready, she says, “Might as well bring you up to speed with today’s PR. You have your soundcheck at four, followed by a meet-and-greet with a local radio station. They did something a bit different—in order to get in, everyone had to answer some trivia questions about the band.”

I sip my coffee and add a tad more cream. “What kind of questions?”

“Easy things, like where you’re all from. How UC got its name. Your top hits—in order.”

I shrug. “Doesn’t sound too tough.” Not like the game show I watched last night. Or was it early this morning? “Except for the last bit.”

“You have to remember, we’re in Spain. Only your die-hard fans here would know these answers.”

Hayden has a point. “You’re right. I bet they could even locate Awesome Amusements on a map.” I chuckle.

“Probably.” The doorbell rings. She looks at me. “You have a doorbell? In a hotel?”

“Sure do, Babysitter.” I saunter over to the door and open it. The hostess gives my bare chest the once over, causing me to smirk before asking her to set up our breakfast in the dining room. Might as well use the entire suite. Since neither bedroom is being used for anything more than sleep.

I give the hotel worker a nice tip—although it looks like she would accept it in other currency besides Euros—and she leaves us alone. I bring my mug into the dining room. “Come on. Your food’s getting cold.”

Hayden takes her seat next to me, lifting the dome over her grilled cheese. Her face flushes, and a smile plays around her mouth. She gets excited over the smallest things.

I finish my coffee, then take a big bite out of my first cheeseburger. “You know what would go really well with my cheeseburger? A beer. Or a Gold Rush.” I moan at the thought of my favorite drink.

“You’ll have those things. Later.”

“Like months from now.” I take another large bite of my burger. I don’t remember eating a better burger. “This is really good.”

Hayden nibbles on her grilled cheese. “This is fantastic. I’ve never had Manchego cheese before, and it’s so delicious.” She takes another, small bite.

When I like something, I go all in. Yet, she’s claiming to love her meal? “Then why aren’t you eating it?”

“What? I am.” She nibbles at her sandwich again. “See?”

“I guess I enjoy things differently. I commit.” To prove my point, I finish my first burger in one large bite, and start in on the second.