AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When he let me go, I asked about his very pregnant wife. “How’s Malka?”
The smile that breached his lips said everything. “Gorgeous. Hoping she’ll make it to a few shows. She’s nesting, though. Doesn’t like to leave home.”
Jasper and Malka had bought a house in Germany, where she was from, and were living there until their baby was born. She was a musician too, a very talented one, but was taking time off to have her baby. I had no doubt she’d be rocking twice as hard once she got out there again.
As they got ready for sound-check, I stood off to the side, scrolling through my phone. Hector still worked with Nick, and another guy—probably the new guy Michaela had mentioned—stood in front of the drums. Ian went through each piece of his kit, tapping to test the sound quality.
The boys ran through a portion of each of their songs. It took some adjustments, but once everyone was happy, they were ready for tonight.
The Blue boys headed off stage to get changed and prepped for their show as the crew made final touches. I’d started to turn to head back to where I’d stashed my laptop when the new sound engineer caught my eye.
He was headed to my side of the stage, looping a black cable from his hand to his elbow. His head was down, watching what he was doing, but I still recognized him. How could I not?
Something got his attention. It wasn’t me. I hadn’t moved or even breathed. A whooshing filled my ears, deafening me to everything else.
My reaction shouldn’t have been so extreme, not after all these years—not after all he’d done. I was a thirty-four-year-old woman, not some starry-eyed nineteen-year-old.
But when hazel eyes met mine, my knees nearly gave out. I had to grip the metal framing I stood next to so I didn’t end up on the floor.
His steps faltered, but only for an instant before he was moving straight toward me, stopping a foot away.
Too close.
His eyes widened, then narrowed, tracing over my face like I was a painting he could study for hours on end, not a living, breathing woman who felt his gaze like razors on my skin.
Finally, his eyes came to a stop, locked on mine, and one corner of his mouth hitched.
“Hey, Stripes.” That voice. It had been years since I’dheard it in person, and even longer since I’d heard him say those words.
It hurt, seeing how unchanged he was. Same hazel eyes, same full lips, even the same damn wallet chain hanging from worn jeans. He was no longer the gaunt twenty-something he’d been at the height of his addiction. He appeared healthy and strong. Beneath his snug T-shirt were lean muscles and sun-kissed skin. There were fine lines around his eyes, and a thick scruff on his jaw that gave him a rugged edginess.
Squaring my shoulders and straightening my spine, I countered his gaze with a steely one of my own. “Hey, Jude.”
