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I spun toward Dean’s voice, flattening my hands together.
“You actually showed up,” he said in obvious surprise.
“I had nothing better to do, so…”
“Figures.” He gave in to a smile and dragged his attention over me. “You cold? Come on away from the door. Come sit down.”
Without a word, I followed him to a table by the bar, where Laney was seated, laughing at something a guy—I think I recalled his name was Frank—said. When Laney spotted me, she grinned widely. I was curious what their parents looked like because these two were like an Abercrombie advertisement. Wonder Bread Twins.
“Taylor! Hey!” She pulled out the chair next to her.
“Hi.” I offered her a small smile, and since Dean had disappeared, I sat down, looping my purse around the back but keeping my coat on, rubbing my hands together.
“I don’t know if you remember anyone from last month. This is Hank,” she said, pointing to the guy on the other side of her.
Hank, not Frank, waved. “How’s it going, Taylor?”
“Good.”
“You know,” he said, leaning on an elbow, “you’re not what I expected.”
“Not what you expected from everything Dean has said about me?” I stuck my hands between my thighs. “You expected horns and a tail, huh?”
“Pretty much.” He laughed at himself. “I told him you guys should fuck it out, you know?” He pumped his fist. “Get the resentment out and move on—”
Laney smothered a hand over his mouth. “Dear Lord in heaven, I don’t know why we keep you around.”
He nuzzled into her, wiggling her fingers away from his mouth. “Because you love me.”
“Not really,” she said, looking around. “Where’s Angela? She needs to collar you.”
“Grayson’s sick.”
“Oh, really?” She smacked his shoulder. “Why aren’t you home with them?”
“She told me to come.”
A glass of amber liquid appeared in front of me, set down by Dean’s hand, and I tipped my head up in question. “Whisky,” he told me. “Warm you up from the inside.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded at me then turned to his sister and friend, as if he’d heard their conversation. “I told him he should’ve stayed home. I could do the vocals.”
“Yeah, but I think our fans would miss my stage presence.”
Laney gestured to the whole of the bar, to the few patrons, most of whom appeared not to care less about the band. “Your fans?”
Hank stood up in a huff. “You just wait, Delaney doll, I’ll have them eating out of the palm of my hand.”
I had a feeling Hank was living out some schoolboy fantasy with this band, and I bit my lip to keep from smiling as he paraded to the stage like he was Mick Jagger. Dean shook his head then peered down at me. “I can’t believe you’re here. Of your own free will.”
“Me either.”
“Well, do Hank a favor and, even if you’re bored, pretend you’re not, all right?”
“Sure.” I crooked my fingers into quotation marks in the air. “Hank.”
Laney hooted, pointing a long finger at her brother. “You’re so transparent.”
