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“This is a great house you got here,” Arsen continued when Rory didn’t come up with a reply. “The acoustics are phenomenal. If this house were mine I’d make a studio here.”
But it is not, she said in her mind, feeling like a possessive brat.
“It is a beautiful house, yes. Belonged to my grandmother.”
“I’ve already asked Don to call a guy to fix that wall I broke last night.” An apologetic look came upon his face. “I’m sure he’s going to get the best guy available and it will look as good as new… or as good as the old one.”
He’s really not as bad as I thought he was. Rory wondered if her opinion of him was being influenced by his rugged good looks or if he truly was the gentleman that he seemed to be in that moment.
“That would be nice. I’m very protective of this house and don’t like it being damaged,” she retorted. Arsen poured some red wine in both of their glasses that were sitting empty. He downed his in one quick swig, making Rory chuckle. His eyes met Rory’s as he put his glass down.
“I know this isn’t the way to drink wine. There are people who can tell the difference between a thousand-dollar bottle and a bottle of cheap wine, but I bet they’re all talking out of their asses. Screw them, I say.” He shrugged, making Rory laugh. He isn’t such bad company after all.
“Cheers to that.” Rory took her glass, drank it in one swig as well, and slammed it on the table. “There!’
“Bravo!” Arsen clapped. “I like a woman who can hold a drink.” And he started pouring more wine into their glasses.
“What? Are you trying to get me drunk?” She feigned shock.
“Do you have somewhere else you need to be?” Arsen shrugged again. Not at all, Rory mumbled to herself.
It was cute the way he shrugged and looked at her in so innocently, as if there were nothing wrong about drinking at noon. He looked more reachable, less perfect, and extremely appealing.
“You know, you’re right. This rainstorm doesn’t look like it will end anytime soon.” Rory paused to listen to the sounds of the thunder that were coming in intermittently.
“The longer the merrier.” His lips parted and he stared intently into her eyes. Rory could feel her heartbeat pumping. Is he flirting with me? She could tell a look when she got one. A moment passed between them, and for the next few, neither said anything. His presence filled her with a delicious fascination that brought with it warmth. The kind of warmth she never thought she’d feel from a man again.
“So you’re a real rockstar, huh?” She quickly tried to change the topic. What a stupid thing to say, she cringed to herself. Arsen paused to ponder over the question for a bit.
“It is the role I have to play sometimes to put bread on the table, but in reality, I’m just a guy who wants to play guitar and write songs.”
Bread on the table? My ass. He probably has his bread made by some fancy European chef or something, she thought.
“Interesting. Your friends seem to enjoy their stardom thoroughly though.” The image of the obnoxious Mickey Nicks came into her mind.
“Everyone handles fame differently. They have their ways and I have mine.” She could tell that Arsen was slightly uncomfortable talking about his bandmates. Rory wondered if like most successful bands, they also had some sort of a feud going on.
“Just like everyone has their own troubles too.” Rory pursed her lips, her own worries threatening to invade her mind.
“I hear ya! Troubles come, but they also go. Cheers to that.” Arsen raised his glass and again gulped the wine in one go.
When will my troubles go? Rory wondered. Her mind instantly went back to the fact that she hadn’t even opened the bookstore today or checked how many online sales she had made. Well, no one’s gonna come to the bookstore in this rain for sure.
“A penny for your thoughts.” Arsen raised his eyebrows.
“It would take a lot more than a penny for that.” It was her turn to smirk now.
“How about a song instead?” he said softly.
“That would work.” Eyes locked, they both were struggling to keep the smiles off their faces. Arsen was about to move to the piano when Lizzy, Mickey, and Sam entered.
“Lunch is served!” Mickey exclaimed as Sam started arranging the bowls on the table. Lizzy quickly started arranging the plates, and soon enough the rest of the party had been called back too.
The fare was not elaborate, but plentiful and tasty. Sam had used ingredients in her kitchen to cook up spaghetti, fresh pesto, and had also added garlic butter to the bakery bread she had lying in the kitchen. With the food ready on the table, everyone realized how famished they were. Before they furiously dug in, Mickey had to take pictures of the food for his Instagram. It took a lot of effort for Rory not to roll her eyes.
Halfway through the meal, Rory realized how long it had been since this room had seen so many people sitting and happily eating together. She couldn’t even recall the last time they had a dinner party in here.
Strangely, she was liking this. A bunch of people sitting in her house, singing, dancing, laughing, and eating to their heart’s content. It made her feel warm and fuzzy, even though she didn’t know these people well.
