AllFreeNovel
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I rode back to the house, handing off my ATV to Gabriel, while David hopped on the other one. Tali was easy to find, standing by the granite bar on the corner of the patio, deep in conversation with a guy I knew to secretly be a world famous DJ. He wore a horse mask when he performed, but his identity was more of an open secret than anything. They both held a beer, and hell, most everyone else did too. I grabbed a water from behind the bar, making sure my presence was known, but also giving Tali room. If she’d rather spend her time talking to a douche who regularly wore a horse mask, I had to be okay with that.
For now.
As the daywore into evening, the crowd dwindled, including the horse DJ, leaving just the members of the two bands behind. Gabriel and Jenna insisted we stay for dinner, and since none of us were ready to rush off and sit in our hotel rooms, we agreed.
After the most gourmet barbecue I’d ever had the pleasure of eating, I sat between Nick, with Dalia on his lap, and David, strumming borrowed guitars and singing “American Pie.” I couldn’t even count the number of parties I’d been to that had wound up the same way.
Gabriel flopped down in the empty chair across from me. “Damn shame you don’t perform anymore.”
“Eh, I still get on stage a few times a year. For me, it was never about the performance. Making music has always been my passion,” I said. “That sounded pretentious as hell, didn’t it?”
The guys cackled, then David leaned forward, his eyes darkening slightly. “I couldn’t help but notice our beloved manager shooting eye daggers at you all day. You didn’t fuck up, did you, Jude?”
“She’s rightfully pissed at me, but I’m not sure if she ever wasn’t pissed at me. We mighta had a truce there for a minute, but that’s all it was,” I answered.
Nick jerked his chin toward where Tali shared the sectional in the corner of the patio with Mo, Ian, and Ian’s wife, Valentina. “You gotta watch that one.”
“Which? Ian?” I asked, even though I knew I damn well didn’t have to watch out for that guy. The rest of the world barely existed when his wife was around.
“Mo. He’s a good guy, but that little shit has hit on all our wives at one point or another. He takes no for an answer, but he’s got the whole adorable, puppy dog eyes thing combined with the whole rock star vibe. A whole lotta chicks cannot resist sweet Moses.” Nick raised his eyebrows, giving me a long, appraising look, like he wanted to see if I had it in it me to do something about it.
All of us turned to watch Tali and Mo interacting. I couldn’t quite hear what they were talking about, but Tali seemed to find young Mo quite funny. Every time he spoke, she laughed and leaned closer to him.
My molars ground to dust. Fuck that guy. He was an infant. What the hell would a woman like Tali see in a child like that, rock star or not?
Rising from my seat, I brushed my hands over my jeans. “I’ve got to stretch my legs.”
David grinned. “And if you end up on that side of the patio...”
I shrugged, my mouth quirking. “Then it’s just a coincidence.”
I felt Gabriel, Nick, and David’s eyes on my back as I meandered over to the sectional where Tali sat. Mo was basically right on top of her, even though there was plenty of room two or three or five hundred cushions away. He even had his arm slung over the cushion behind her. I propped on the wicker arm of the sectional diagonal from Tali, and it gave a slight creak under my weight. Conversation continued around me, with a tip of the chin from Ian and a side-eye from Tali.
“Mo asked me to make him a cape,” Valentina said.
“Ian showed me her dope Instagram page and all the cosplay she’s made. I’ve been wanting a cape to wear on stage for a long time,” Mo said.
“A cape? Like Superman?” Tali asked in bewilderment.
Mo laid the back of his hand on Tali’s thigh, grinning. My fingers dug into my legs at the casual way he touched her. Like he’d done it before. Like he had some right. She brushed him aside with an easy move of her hand, which brought me an ounce of relief. The kid might’ve had eyes for her, but the feeling wasn’t mutual. It wasn’t that I blamed him. Tali was a stunning woman. It was that I couldn’t stand the thought of someone else touching her, much less witness some kid at least ten years my junior trying to cop a feel.
“Nah, like Jimi Hendrix. He had a couple sick capes.”
“He asked for beading,” Valentina added.
Mo lifted a shoulder, unperturbed. “I’ve got a look in mind. And Jimi pulled it off.”
“Jimi was Jimi,” Ian said, sliding his arm around Valentina’s waist and pulling her close.
“You’ll see. Everyone’s gonna be wearing capes once I get my Valentina original.”
Tali nudged his calf with her bare foot. “You’re going to look like a complete tool.”
“Say it again,” he warned, fingers in a claw, ready to tickle her. My stomach churned, and something akin to rage roiled inside me.
“You’re going to look like Elvis!” She squealed, trying to get away, but his arm on the back of the couch came down around her shoulders, holding her there as he tickled her ribs.
Every muscle in my body tensed. Ian must have felt the anger vibrating off me. He looked from me, to the soon-to-be dead man touching Tali, and shook his head.
