Page 72 of Sweet Somethings

"Again?"

"I was married for a couple of years—silly mistake. But you know me, I can be impulsive. Remember that time we made out at the movies?" she asked with a mischievous smile. "We should do that again sometime."

He cleared his throat. If he'd made out with her, he had absolutely no recollection of it. "I need to get ready for my set."

"Maybe we'll talk…later."

"Maybe," he said, knowing he would do everything to avoid that.

Donavan was all smiles when Vanessa walked away, and he looked in her direction.

"See," she said. "Not everyone in town has bad memories of you." She lowered her voice. "But Vanessa? Really? I always thought she made that up about the movies and your make-out session."

"I don't remember it, but let's keep that between us."

"You've got it. And now I'm pretty sure she did make it up. Good luck tonight."

"Thanks."

As Donavan left, Bobby came over with a young woman in her early twenties. She had long, black hair and dark eyes, a bohemian look to her flowy clothes.

"This is Fiona," Bobby said. "Our singer."

"Good to meet you," he said, shaking her hand.

"Likewise. I haven't seen you around here before."

"Just got back into town."

"You ready to rock?" she asked.

"Definitely."

They went over the first few songs they would be playing. Fortunately, he knew the first one really well and the second two he could keep up with. After that, who knew…

He took a deep breath as he got onto the stage. He couldn't remember the last time he'd played for anyone but himself. Hopefully, he wouldn't embarrass the band.

Fiona stepped up to the mic, and with a one-two-three, they were off.

He felt ridiculously rusty at first, even though he'd practiced a few hours earlier in the day. It was very different playing on a stage in front of people than in an empty house. But once the music and beat started flowing through him, he began to relax.

Fiona's voice had a raspy, almost magical quality, that instantly quieted the crowd, and all attention turned to the band.

By the end of the first song, he was feeling it. And halfway through the second song, he thought he might get through the night without any problems.

Then Juliette walked through the door, and he lost his focus for a second, hitting the wrong chord.

He quickly corrected and hoped no one would notice. He watched her make her way to the back of the room. Damn, she was pretty. Even in the dim light, she seemed to sparkle.

He forced himself to look away from her and focus on the music. He wanted to get it right, not just for the band or the crowd, but for her.

They played three more songs before ending their set to a round of applause. As he got off the stage, he saw Doug standing with Juliette. That stopped him in his tracks.

He headed to the bar and got a beer from the bartender, feeling instantly deflated by the sight of Juliette and Doug together. She'd said she wasn't interested in him, but he'd seen Doug change a girl's mind many a time.

John Mickelson came over and gave him a slap on the back. "I knew you were still good, Roman."

He looked into the silver-blue eyes of his grandfather's friend. "Thanks. It was fun."

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