Page 124 of Hope & Harmony

“Yeah. He invited me here tonight. I thought…I just wanted to say hi.”

“He did? Yeah. Of course, he did.” A smirk curved over the guy’s lips. “Give me a second to finish putting this away, and I’ll find him for you. In fact—” He paused, glancing across the stage, and sighed. I followed his gaze, my eyes widening as I took in the unexpected sight of the lead singer making out with a dark-haired guy, right in the middle of the stage. The guy in front of me clapped his hands together. “Huxley! Get your mouth off your boyfriend and get this shit packed away! Cole! Make yourself useful.”

They broke apart, and the dark-haired guy grinned, throwing up his middle finger.

“Can’t take them anywhere.” The lead guitarist turned back to me. “I’m Tom, by the way. The sulky-looking blond guy’s Huxley, and the one who had his tongue down Hux’s throat is Cole. He’s Huxley’s boyfriend and our unofficial roadie. The guy who looks like a Viking is Rob, our bass guitarist and keyboardist.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jay—I’m Jaxon. Or Jax, if you like.” The way my former nickname had almost slipped out…I needed to be careful. Despite the friendliness of this guy and the vibes that I got from Curtis, the fact was, I knew nothing about them. And there were those who would seek to take advantage of me and my music connections.

“Alright, Jay Jax Jaxon, let’s find Curtis.” He straightened up, flashing me a smile. “Wanna come with me?”

“Sure.” Ignoring my suddenly racing heart, I climbed up onto the stage and followed Tom out through a side door and down a short corridor. There was another door, propped open, leading out into a small parking lot where a van was waiting, already filling with the band’s equipment.

Tom came to a stop next to the van. “Curtis! You out here?”

There was the sound of scuffing footsteps, and then he appeared.

CHAPTER 3

CURTIS

I stopped and stared, my mouth falling open.He came. The guy from the music shop. Just as unassumingly cute as I remembered, biting his lip as he shot me a cautious look.

Tom cleared his throat, amusement dancing in his eyes. “I’ll leave you to it. Have fun.”

When he disappeared, I stepped closer to the guy, a smile spreading across my face. “You came.”From the way he’d run out of the shop, I hadn’t thought I’d see him again. But here he was.

“Yeah…well.” He shrugged. “A stranger in a music store invited me to watch his band play. I had nothing else planned, so I thought I’d check it out.”

“Yeah? What did you think?”

“You were good. Really good. I…it’s different from the music I usually listen to, but I liked it. You were good.”

“You already said that.” Closing the final bit of distance between us, I leaned against the side of the van, trying to act casual, even though my heart was pounding.

“Yeah, well, I meant it. And…” He audibly inhaled, his chest rising with the movement. “I wondered if you wanted to celebrate a successful show by letting me buy you a drink?”

My smile widened. “I’d like that.”

He grinned, relaxing, and then held out his hand. “Yeah? Maybe we should start by exchanging names. I’m Jaxon, or Jax, if you prefer.”

My breath caught in my throat as I curled my fingers around his, his palm warm against mine. Fucking hell, I shouldn’t have been this affected by a simple handshake. “Hi, Jaxon. I’m Curtis.” Releasing his hand a little reluctantly, I inclined my head towards the door. “I need to finish packing up our equipment, but if you don’t mind hanging around, I’ll be free in about twenty minutes. The pub’s closing, but there’s a bar not too far from here with a late license.”

“Need any help? I’m stronger than I look.” Raising his brows, he flexed his biceps. “See?”

I laughed. “Okay. Come on. I’ll introduce you to the others.”

Somehow, we’d managed to find seats in a tiny, hidden corner of the busy bar, which was a miracle, considering it was the weekend and we were in central London. Even better, we were seated on a small loveseat that was not designed to hold two grown men, which meant we were plastered together, Jaxon’s thigh a hot, delicious press against mine. My pint was gathering condensation on the table in front of us, but I ignored it for now, far more interested in the guy sitting next to me.

“So,” I began. “When we met, you mentioned you were going to be here for a while. Based on your accent, I was thinking you’re American, but I guess I shouldn’t assume…” I trailed off, hoping he’d volunteer some information about himself. I didn’t want it to seem like I was interrogating him, but it was always a bit awkward at first, getting to know someone completely new.

He sighed, staring into his drink as he traced patterns in the condensation on his glass. “Yeah. I’m American. And British. My dad’s a Brit, and I have dual citizenship, but this is the first time I’ve been here since I was a little kid. I was…uh…living in New York City until recently, but I decided I needed a change, and here I am. As for how long I’ll stay, I don’t know for sure, but I like it here. I needed…a break, I guess, and my dad has an apartment in London he uses for work, so it was as good a place as any.”

I nodded. “That makes sense. What did you need a break from, or is that too personal? Sorry—tell me to back off if it seems like I’m prying.”

“You’re not.” His lips kicked up at the corners. “Believe me, having someone want to get to know me and not just assume they already know me is a novel experience.”

What did he mean by that comment? I didn’t have time to think about it because he continued to speak.

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