Page 7 of Melody

Kyle took that as his cue. As much as he loved the idea of two girls at a time, he didn’t want to get the shit beaten out of him by two furious guys who thought theywerethese girls’ boyfriends, regardless of what the women thought. And even though the devil on his shoulder asked where those guys were if they were so important, he knew there would be plenty of unattached girls here tonight withoutanystrings attached.

Hoping he was being subtle enough, he made his way down the bar a bit, just enough to put a little distance between him and the girls. They were definitely on the prowl, again something that wouldn’t ordinarily bother him, and maybe they could be his plan B.

For now, he needed to keep looking.

He was a few feet away, still behind people, but the place was packed. He knew, though, that if the girls wanted to find him, they wouldn’t have a problem. Kyle’s height made it almost impossible to hide behind other people. As he stood therewaiting as patiently as possible, he caught the bartender helping the girls looking over at him.

Until that moment, he’d barely noticed her.

And what the hell was she thinking?

Although she didn’t avert her eyes as if she’d been caught, she did shift her gaze to mixing a drink. But Kyle couldn’t stop looking now. He assessed her, wondering what he’d seen in her eyes.

Probably nothing.

But he wondered if maybeshewould be his object of pursuit tonight.

She was intriguing. If there had ever been a woman he would describe as having elfin features, it was her. From his vantage point, she looked very thin, with delicate wrists and high cheekbones. Even though her shoulder-length brown hair covered her ears, it didn’t alter the illusion that she was some sort of ethereal creature. Under the bar lights, her ivory skin seemed almost translucent—as if he would get closer and be able to see inside.

Just examining her made something stir inside him. A woman like that would need protecting.

“What’ll ya have?” The thirty-something brunette, the other female bartender serving the thirsty crowd, caught his attention.

By now, though, he’d decided he wanted to have the other woman pour his drink. So he lied. “I don’t know yet.”

Damn. He’d movedtoo fardown the bar.

Her face took on the appearance of disgust. “Suit yourself.” Quickly, she turned her attention to another guy, one who looked like he played football for a living, and asked, “You?”

When the other bartender finished the cheating girls’ drinks, they didn’t look hard for Kyle. Instead, they made their way back to the stage—and Kyle took that as his cue to take a couple of steps back in that direction.

Then a few more.

As he watched the woman work, he noticed a couple of things: one, that she seemed to be a little flustered but trying to keep her cool; and, two, that made her even cuter. The way one of her brows turned down and the moment when she bit her lip made her more adorable than she would probably want to hear.

After paying for a mug of beer, a guy sitting at a stool turned and stood. He said to Kyle, “Hey—great job up there tonight! I think you guys are my new favorite band.”

“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” He shook the man’s hand. “We play at The Apothecary in Charlotte every Saturday night.”

“I’ve never been there before.”

“It’s an interesting place. I recommend coming out at least once.” Grinning, Kyle wished he could lower his voice, but he risked not being heard over the music. “The drinks are cheaper there.”

“Good to know.” The guy stuck out his hand again. “I’m gonna go watch these other guys now.”

Kyle gave the guy a chin nod and smiled. So far, Impending Cataclysm was pretty damn good. They had a heavier sound than Intent to Murder, bordering on death metal. The more he heard from them, the more hewantedto hear. Intent had written heavier songs since Liam’s death, but Kyle figured they couldn’t get much heavier with Hayley as their lead vocalist.

And he was okay with that. He’d enjoyed the hell out of creating music again, especially over the past few months.

The empty stool in front of him, Kyle decided to take it. Initially, he’d just planned to get a beer and sit somewhere else, but with this intriguing woman in front of him, he decided to take a load off for a bit. The manager of the place had said they could have all the free soda they wanted, but Kyle was in the mood for something just a little stronger.

When her gaze met Kyle’s, he was struck by her deep emerald eyes. From a distance, he’d only noticed their almond shape but, up close, the hue was striking. “What can I get for you?” she asked.

She was gorgeous—and if he wanted anything to happen with her, he knew he had to play it cool. A woman this stunning probably got as many offers as she took breaths in an hour.

Still, he couldn’t help himself. “Your number.”

She didn’t miss a beat. “That’s original.” And she was impatient. “Is that all?”

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