Page 30 of Melody

Kyle paused at a stop sign before turning right. “I hope this has been an okay first date.”

Thinking back over their few hours together, Scarlett could give him an honest answer. “It was far more than okay. I can honestly say I’ve never had a date like this.”

“Is that good or bad?”

Smiling, she turned to look at him, although they were between street lights and it was dim, so he probably couldn’t see her expression. “Definitely good.”

By the time the car passed a lighted area, she could see the grin spreading across his face, and he glanced over at her. “I’m glad you said that.” Then he returned his eyes to the road and was silent for just a moment. Although Scarlett still wasn’t too familiar with Silver City, she could sense that they were getting close to the downtown area. There were more vehicles in motion just a few blocks away, not to mention a traffic signal and fewer trees. “I would have given myself an A for effort, but the outcome—”

“Was perfect. Would I go back to an event at the art gallery? Probably not, but I would never have known about it if you hadn’t taken me there. And if the people could have been removed and it was just you, me, and the woman at the counter, it would have been great. The art was amazing. Dinner too—and not just the food. I figured out there’s a pretty nice guy hiding in there, Kyle. So thank you for a wonderful time.”

They drove past the public library and then Scarlett knew exactly where they were, because she’d walked by that building plenty of times on her walks. They only had a block to Main Street and then another block to Tequilaville…prompting her to say, “I’m sad it’s almost over.”

As Kyle turned the car onto Main, he said, “It doesn’t have to be.”

While he drove down the block, Scarlett contemplated it. What she’d told him was true—that tonight had shown her a glimpse of the real man underneath the aspiring rock star, and she liked who she saw. But she also knew her track record. Kyle was hot and if she were going to have sex with anyone right now, she wouldn’t hesitate to pick him. But she had no business getting into bed with anyone.

Quietly, she replied. “It does, though. I really like you, Kyle, but…”

“No, I get it.” He pulled into a diagonal parking space, this time closer to her apartment door. “Can I at least walk you to your door?”

Relief caused her taut muscles to relax and she smiled. “I’d love that.”

When Kyle got out of the car, Scarlett picked up her purse. Before she could open the door herself, Kyle got it, holding his hand out to her as she placed her feet outside his car and stood. Then he opened the back and handed her the print and her box of leftovers. “It feels even colder than it was on Razor Ridge Drive.”

“Yeah, it does.” Kyle offered his elbow. “Can I carry any of that for you?”

“Sure.” While they walked the short distance to the exterior door to the apartments, she fished her keys out of her purse and slid them into her coat pocket. Soon they were inside and climbing up the stairs.

“This reminds me of my old apartment.”

“What does?”

“This stairwell,” Kyle said. “Four of us in the band used to live in some shitty apartments on the west side of Charlotte and we lived on the top floor.”

“Oh, yeah.” She’d forgotten him mentioning it earlier in the evening.

“The stairwell was a lot like this, only wider—and the lighting wasn’t so good.”

“Well, trust me…these apartments aren’t the best, but the landlord’s a decent guy and seems to want to fix stuff quickly.”

“That seems unusual.”

“Yeah. I guess so.” Scarlett actually hadn’t had much experience with landlords, so she was glad to know she seemed to have a decent one. “I wonder if that’s why the apartments are mostly furnished—because I can’t imagine hauling furniture up these stairs.”

“That’d be a pain in the ass.”

As they reached the top step, Scarlett said, “Yeah. And my stove seems fairly new. I wonder how many people it took to get it up here.” They walked down the hall halfway and Scarlett stopped at the door with the number3on it. “This is me.” Then she braced herself, expecting Kyle to ask to come in for a minute—and her brain scrambled to find the best response.

Instead, he surprised her again. “I had a great time with you, Scarlett. I hope you did too.”

“Oh, I did.”

“Maybe we can do it again—but without the snooty people.”

She started laughing. “We might get used to them if we keep exposing ourselves.”

“No, thank you.” His grin made him all the sexier. Scarlett had seen his brooding expression when he took the stage and, even though he’d smile on occasion, he’d perfected the look ofrage a lot of metal musicians seemed to master. He was hot on stage…but somehow his lighter side was even sexier.

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