Page 20 of Mysterious

Hurrying over to where he stands off left center stage, I grab him by the arm to get his attention. “What’s going on? Is there something we need to deal with?”

A slow smile lights up his face. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

“What the hell does that mean? I need to know if there’s anything we need to pay attention to, Drew. What’s with the riddles?”

He tilts his head toward Mia out on stage and shrugs. “No riddles. I’m just wondering about what I was seeing a minute ago.”

I still have no idea what the hell he’s talking about, but if there’s some danger I’m not seeing, he needs to let me know now and stop with this bullshit. “What? Was someone trying to get close to the stage? Those local guys have been good all night. What happened?”

Jesus, my heart is racing like someone’s chasing me. I need to calm down if I’m going to handle some problem he’s about to point out to me.

Drew slugs me in the shoulder and laughs. “Not that, you jackass. I’m talking about you watching her like she’s some angel sent from heaven. You got it bad, man. I can see it as clear as day.”

So much for keeping this thing between us a secret.

“Damn. I thought I was being cool too. How obvious is it?” I ask, dreading the answer he’s about to give me.

Grinning, he says, “Well, I guess if someone’s blind they wouldn’t know. It’s not like any of the other guys have said anything, but if they’ve been watching you like I was, they have to know something’s up.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, angry at myself for being so careless. “Okay, do me a favor. Don’t say a word about this to anyone. If any of the guys say anything, I want you to blow it off like you think they’re crazy. Or if you can’t do that, just send them to me and I’ll do it.”

Drew and I are tight, but he isn’t the kind of person to lie to others. I’m putting him in an awkward position with the rest of the crew. He shouldn’t have to do that.

Before he can say anything, I shake my head and reverse what I just told him. “Forget that. I shouldn’t be asking you to lie to people. That’s a shitty thing to do to a friend. Sorry about that.”

“It’s cool. I don’t need to tell other people your business. Hell, you didn’t have to admit the truth to me, so let’s just pretend I know nothing and I’ll funnel any questions your way. Word to the wise, though. Stop mooning over this woman in public or everyone on the goddamned planet is going to know what’s going on between you two.”

I grab his hand to shake it, thankful for his suggestion. “I’ll definitely do that. And here I thought Mia was going to be the one who would blow our cover.”

When she finds out I’m to blame for someone else knowing, she’s never going to let me hear the end of it.

Alone in my hotel room,I wait for Mia to finish her after-performance routine with her entourage. Now that Drew told me he knows about us, I have to let her know. The only problem is I don’t know how to do that.

Pacing back and forth, I look out the window at the French Quarter below with every pass. It’s been a bunch of years since I got to enjoy New Orleans. The last time I was here it was Cash, Alex, Cade, and me celebrating Alex’s twenty-first birthday. That was a weekend to remember, except we partied so much I only vaguely recall arriving at the first bar on Bourbon Street and waking up on Sunday in the hotel room with the headache to beat all headaches.

When I walk back to the door, I hear three knocks, Mia’s made up code to let me know it’s her. I open it up without looking out the peephole and immediately chastise myself for not following even that most basic of protocols.

This woman has me turned upside down.

She rushes into the room, and I slam the door behind her. When I turn around, I’m met with a look I hadn’t expected. Instead of her brown hair, she has platinum blond hair about three inches shorter than what she usually has. She’s also dressed in the tiniest black dress I’ve ever seen with four-inch heels dangling off the fingers on her right hand and a little red purse hanging off her left wrist.

“Do you like it? It’s my disguise. I got it from Crystal. I want to go out into the French Quarter and have a good time tonight. What do you say?” she asks, practically bursting from excitement.

Still trying to get used to her new appearance, I smile. “Sounds good, but did you forget something?”

For a second she stops bouncing up and down in front of me and thinks about what she may have forgotten. “I don’t think so. Wig for disguise. I’ve got money. Sexy bodyguard to protect me. Nope. I got it all covered.”

I take a step toward her and lean down to kiss her. “You’re not twenty-one, Mia. No one is going to let you into a bar without ID.”

Although this would seem like an insurmountable challenge, she waves it off like it’s nothing. “Ridiculous. You can walk around drinking right on the streets in this city. Do you honestly think anyone is checking people to make sure they’re of age? Anyway, I have ID.”

“That says you’re nineteen.”

Juggling the shoes and the purse, she whips out a small plastic card and holds it in front of her. “Wrong again. I have Ainsley’s. She let me borrow it. So you have no more excuses. Let’s go!”

Remembering the reason why my job guarding her happened later than it was supposed to, I quietly ask, “Do you think going to a bar is a good idea? I mean, since you’re not that long out of rehab?”

Mia shakes her head and laughs. “Don’t worry about that.”

---