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"Anyway, my buddies and I just started this band. We're kind of heavy metal with a folksy twist and call ourselves Non-Castrato. I think we'd really fit in with the Forbidden crowd."
I arched an eyebrow, making my brow ring pull a little. "Oh, you would, would you?"
We'd never had a live band before, didn't even have a deejay or an area appropriated for music. But the seed he planted was already making my head spin with a sudden flurry of ideas.
"Yeah," he went on, looking excited. "You guys have been getting really popular lately. Just imagine what holding a few gigs for local groups would do for you." Then he added, "We could play for free."
I grinned and shook my head. This kid was quite the salesman. But still . . . "I'm sorry, Hart, but I haven't even considered bringing bands in here. I'm still trying to find another bartender right now."
"I could bartend," he said helpfully, his eyes full of hope. Then he shrugged, and his lips lit with a rueful grin. "I mean, if we're not going to be paid to play, I'd have to make money somehow. On the nights we're not singing, I can mix drinks."
His enthusiasm warmed me, but I only sat back down in my big-ass boss chair and folded my hands together under my chin as I studied him. "You must not have a woman."
The question seemed to catch him off guard. "Uh, no. Why?"
"You just promised all your nights to me. That's not going to leave a lot of time for anything else."
A slow grin spread across his face. "Are you saying I'm hired?"
"Of course you're hired," a new voice answered from the doorway. Eva swept into the room, looking so amazing she damn near glowed. Going to Hart, she took both his hands and beamed up at him. "I think the idea is wonderful. We could do so much if we put up a stage and sound system. And with your enthusiasm, I already know exactly who to put in charge of that. Welcome to Forbidden."
When she went to hug him, I bristled and pushed to my feet. I wasn't upset because she was barging in here, making decisions. Aside from watching our kids, she doubled as my partner in running the business. In fact, she usually took care of filling out all the legal forms I hated, though I was still trying to learn how to deal with them, anyway.
No, I was upset because Asher Hart seemed a little bit too enthusiastic about hugging her back. His eyes looked glazed when she pulled away and grinned at him.
Taking her hand, I pulled her to my side and wrapped a propriety hand around her waist. "She's taken, by the way."
Hart glanced between the two of us. "I kind of figured that out when I spotted your name tattooed on her."
"What?" Startled by his declaration, I twisted back to Tink and caught her chin before turning her face until I could see behind her ear. When fresh, black ink stared back, spelling out my name, I sucked in a breath. "Shit, you really did it."
She winked up at me. "I didn't want any of your glimpses not to come true."
I grinned and kissed her hard and long.
Remembering we had company, I glanced up to find Hart watching us in amusement. "So, when can I start?" he asked.
"Tonight." I was starting to tell him every new bartender needed to get broken in on a ladies' night, when I suddenly realized where I'd seen him before. The tat behind Eva's ear brought the glimpse back into my mind. Hart was the deejay who was going to play at my wedding reception.
Realizing he would have a bigger role in my future than I'd first realized, I smiled at him. "Yeah, I think you're going to fit in just fine. Wear at tight, black T-shirt and jeans and show up before six when we open."
A grin spread across Hart's face. "Will do, boss."
After he disappeared from my office, the woman with her arms wrapped around my waist gazed up at me with absolute adoration. "So I'm guessing you're not pissed at me for hiring him on the spot. I just felt a good vibe from him."
I leaned down to rub my nose along hers. "Don't worry. I got the same vibe. We definitely have us a new Forbidden boy."
"And he's definitely hot enough to fit in," she answered, her unique blue eyes gleaming with mischief.
I narrowed mine. "Oh, you think he was hot, huh? That why you were so eager to hug him?"
She laughed, spilling out that sound I loved most in the world. "No, I hugged him so you'd turn all jealous and caveman and pull me away from him."
"You are one devious woman," I murmured. "Is that the only reason you came in today? To make me prove how crazy I am about you? I thought you were staying home with the babies."
"I was but . . . " She yanked open her purse and pulled out an official-looking envelope. "This came in the mail, so I dropped the kids off with Reese and came straight here."
My stomach roiled with instant unease. We'd gotten too many official letters lately. After her father's death, his will had stipulated Eva get a nice chunk of his inheritance that she was forced to share with her newly widowed mother. But her mother had been fighting for more of the money, so she'd hired a lawyer, to which we'd had to put our new lawyer to more work to fight back.
