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She turned to Moira. “How come they’re playing? Max usually only has live bands on the weekend.”
“The boys thought it might be fun, for old times’ sake.”
“Are they all home?”
“Fergus is away, but the others are home permanently now.”
“Even Cormac?” She’d thought he might not come back, like Moira.
“My baby brother is local law enforcement.”
“You’re kidding.”
Moira looked smug, as if she’d been totally responsible for his career choices. Maybe she was. They were very similar in temperament.
Bonnie scanned the group on stage, still in shadow. Five bodies. The four big brutes would be the O’Brien brothers and the slighter one with the violin would be Xander. As she watched, the stage lights flickered into life. She blinked, letting her eyes adjust. There he was, looking all clean and wholesome.And delicious.
He deserved his reputation. There’d never been a smidgeon of scandal associated with him. Even when Tinker died, the press hadn’t tried to push for further revelations about the rest of the Highlanders. Tinker’s struggles had been well documented, and it would have been hard to hide any other issues under the constant scrutiny.
There’d been no public scandals about women for most of the band either, despite Tinker’s claims. Xander was seen frequently with beautiful women at award nights and celebrity events but he had no failed marriages and if he’d lived with any of them, no one had dug out any of the dirt Tinker had implied with his stories. Bonnie could only assume he’d never got serious about any of the glamourous stars and fellow singers the paparazzi snapped him with in public. His private life remained frustratingly private. Which made her wonder exactly how true some of those stories were. She’d never doubted them before, but thinking back, Tinker had always been jealous of Xander and Leo, eager to put them down.
The music started and the room sat up and took notice, the conversations dying. The Celtic music The O’Brien Brothers Band played got your feet tapping; the flute and Irish bouzouki played by twins Gerry and Joe Junior in sync with the bodhrán, the hand drum played by Connor, the eldest. Brendan, the youngest and best looking of the brothers in the band, was on keyboards and flirted shamelessly with the audience.
Xander’s fingers flew over the violin. He’d become famous for his laid-back country music, mostly playing the guitar, but the violin had been his first love and occasionally featured on his albums. The O’Brien boys had invited him to play with them when he’d been thirteen, and it had been a paying gig for the next few years until he’d saved enough to head for the city.
A body interposed itself between her and the band and she looked up. Ryan. He was a nice guy but, like Xander, not someone you’d get serious about. If there was a girl over legal age in town he hadn’t at least tried it on with, Bonnie didn’t know who they might be.
“Dance?” His eyes sparkled with mischief.
She took his hand with a rueful grin at the rest of the girls and followed him to the open area in front of the stage. The floor wasn’t full but there were a few other couples taking advantage of the impromptu opportunity. Ryan was a good dancer and whirled her around the floor with practised ease. It felt good. It had been a long time since she’d done anything for fun. Catching a glimpse of Xander as they whisked past, she wondered if he minded her dancing with another guy. Not that he’d give himself away. He had his image down pat and jealous boyfriend wasn’t part of the package.
The dance ended and Ryan deposited her back at her table before prowling off to Millie’s table. She watched him flirt with the other women with a kind of rueful admiration. He was so damned likeable for all his faults.
Moira indicated the dance floor with a jerk of her head. “Come on girls, lets show them how it’s done.”
Tamara’s eyes brightened. “Irish dancing?”
Trudie followed them onto the floor with a half-smile. She’d not done classes at the local dance school like the rest of them, but Bonnie knew she could move well.
Moira led the way to the front of the stage and lined them up. She was tall, like the rest of her family, and all lean muscle; yet she managed to look feminine and graceful on the dancefloor. The eldest O’Brien boy nodded and they broke into a fast reel, Xander fiddling away with his brows creased in concentration. She knew he’d seen her, his eyes lighting up momentarily before he focused again, his gaze shifting to Connor.
Bonnie followed Moira’s lead and Tamara slipped into the steps like she’d never been away. Trudie’s skirts swished as she mimicked the others in the group, her smile wide.
The rest of the crowd started to clap and Connor increased the pace, teasing his sister while beating out the rhythm. Moira and Tamara had no trouble keeping up and Trudie laughingly swayed in place. Bonnie spun away from the group, taking a steadying breath as she headed back to the table to grab some food. Moira would understand. She knew Bonnie needed to prep before vigorous exercise. She nibbled on some chips to up her carbs as she watched the others get wilder and wilder as the music sped into an impossible beat.
When it came to an end, the crowd clapped and cheered, surrounding the women. That distinctive prickle told her Xander was watching her and she forced herself to meet his gaze. His brows rose in a query and she gave him a thumbs up. He played another tune and then handed the violin to one of the twins, who swapped it for his flute. She really needed to figure out which of the twins was which. The mischievous pair even dressed alike. Not that she was overly worried. Xander bearing down on her was more concerning at this point.
“Are you okay?”
Bonnie shoved the bowl of chips at him. “I’m fine. I needed to stoke up, that’s all. I wasn’t expecting to dance like a maniac tonight.”
He turned the chair and sat astride, his forearms resting on the timber back. It was a very… masculine… pose, emphasising the worn denim along the zipper and the tightness of the fabric hugging the muscles of his thighs. She shoved another chip into her mouth, hoping to soak up the drool.
*
Xander watched Bonnieeat another chip. She looked fine, but his heart had jolted at the sudden way she’d left her group of friends.
“Is dancing something you need to plan on?”
