Page 40 of Trouble Walked In

Chapter Eleven

Lizzie clinked her bottle against his and drained it to officially declare a truce with Renic. There wasn't enough beer left to make her feel any better about the current situation. She signaled the waitress to bring another round. She needed two or three to deal with Renic, her errant fantasies about him, and everything else.

While they’d been driving around, she’d received a deluge of texts. The cake couldn’t be delivered because the bakery driver had mono. The beef for the buffet was running late and might not show up until tomorrow. The DJ had shown up early to approve the space and then refused to honor his contract until everything in the ballroom was rearranged to his liking, which would conflict with what the bride had asked for and would also expose the ruined section of wall Lizzie had carefully hidden, which she absolutely refused to do. The stress of all the things that needed to be done for the upcoming wedding increased with every ding of her phone.

She should be at the inn handling all of the last-minute chaos and welcoming the incoming wedding party, notleaving Carrie to do it so she could be out here with Renic eating lunch, but she had only herself to blame. She’d lured him out here under false pretenses. Now she had to deal with the consequences.

The waitress arrived with their order just as the young man on stage sat down at the piano and spoke to the audience.

“Hey. I’m Jacob Evans. Hope you’re all having a great hump day.” His smile lit up the room.

The audience made appreciative noises, and one woman called out, “I am now.”

Jacob’s smile turned a little shy, and he dipped his head in acknowledgment. “Good to see you too. How about a little Billy Joel to start out?”

The audience, predominantly women, hooted their approval.

Jacob began to play, his fingers tripping lightly over the keys as he launched into “Piano Man,” with a few changes. “It’s two o’clock on a Wednesday…”

Jacob’s voice was clear and solid, a low tenor she thought would probably have the range to hit the really high notes if he wanted. He couldn’t have picked a better song for his voice. He wasn’t a duplicate of Billy Joel, but he was in that ballpark. His voice was perfectly suited for ballads and love songs, or maybe even dance tunes. More than that, his grin and energy were infectious, and Lizzie found herself swaying along to the music with the rest of the crowd.

She glanced surreptitiously at Renic. He’d changed since the last time she saw him. His hair was a little less rock, a little more business. His face was distinguished instead of boyish, and his body had filled out in all the right places.

He turned the bottle around and around with one handwhile he watched Jacob, his head slightly tilted as he listened to something nobody else could hear.

She’d seen that look before, every time he’d shown up to scout new talent at a show or venue where her sisters performed. That expression on his face meant he was picturing the artist as they might be in five or ten years. If he licked his lips and pulled out his business card, it meant the future he pictured was filled with platinum records, if the artist had the ambition. If he insisted on a meeting immediately, it meant he thought that person was the next shooting star that he wanted to capture before it escaped.

Renic noticed her looking at him and winked.

It was the tiny, intimate nod to a shared secret that made her instantly picture him in the Rose Room, naked. Heat crept up the back of her neck and across her face. She glanced away and hoped like hell he hadn't noticed.

Renic leaned closer to her so she could hear him over the music. “He’s good.”

She glanced at the young man. The way he played to the crowd, using the piano as a platform for flirting, was more than good. “That’s an understatement.”

“A bit unrefined, but with the right coaching, some image work, and a great label, he could go places. He’s got sparkle.”

Lizzie nodded her chin toward the women at the next table. They were singing along with Jacob, loud and boisterous, and one was fanning herself. “He’s hot enough for the ladies, that’s for sure. And maybe the men too.”

Renic grinned. “Piano’s a nice touch. Lately it’s been all guitars, but there’s something about a man playing the piano that makes for an easy sell.”

“It’s the fingers.” Lizzie let a wicked little smile play across her lips.

Renic stared at her, confused.

She laughed. “Think about it.”

She wiggled her fingers in the air like she was playing the piano, then dropped her hands on his arm to play it like an imaginary instrument. She felt the heat of him even through the long sleeves of his shirt, and a delicious shiver ran up her spine. She lingered over the “notes” a little longer before moving her hands away.

Renic looked at her with a smoldering intensity that made her stomach flip.

She shouldn’t have touched him. The fantasies she’d been trying to suppress came surging back. She wanted to lose herself in that gaze, and his arms.

She gave herself a little shake. What the hell was she thinking? She hated Jackson Renic and everything he stood for.

She’d thought those words to herself multiple times over the years. She’d said them out loud on more than one occasion, laced with all the venom of a pit viper. But right now, in this moment, they rang a little hollow in her mind and heart, and the anger that used to come so easily refused to fuel the flame.

He wasn't a jerk. He was the kind of man who looked after his people, even if that meant a last-minute trip to the middle of nowhere to face off against a woman whose last words had been spiteful and cruel.

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