Page 47 of Everlasting Love

“Take a breath, Quinny.” She takes an exaggerated breath and blows it out. “Thanks for rushing home to come with me tonight.” I can’t keep the tinge of nervousness out of my voice.

She shifts in her seat to face me fully. “Tell me you’re not nervous. Because that’s the vibe you’re giving off right now.” Iopen my mouth but before I can answer, she adds, “Don’t lie to me either.”

Damn it. That’s what happens when you have a friend who knows you so well. “I was going to say,of course not, but I am. Really nervous.”

She pats my thigh. “You have nothing to be nervous about.”

I try to push down my jitters. “It matters to me what you think of Shane. I’m worried I’ve made him into something he’s not and you’ll see through his façade and I’ll kick myself because I missed the red flags yet again.”

“I’m pretty sure you know what to look for now and to trust his actions rather than his words.”

I hum. “Yeah, well, his actions spoke pretty loudly when he walked away from me after the wedding.” I ended up calling Quinn and talking through the whole thing with her; I gave her all the details I left out when I talked to Tristan.

Quinn sighs. “I already told you. I agree with Tristan. I think he’s holding back, maybe trying not to cross the line since you’re his boss’s sister-in-law. I’m looking forward to watching the dynamic.” She raises an eyebrow, then smiles wide. “I can’t wait to see Cass. It feels like forever since I’ve seen her. I can’t believe she’s married to Toby Summer.” She fans her face. “I’ve seen pics of Toby with hisbodyguardin the background and I have to say, your taste has certainly improved. So there’s that.” She winks at me as she snickers.

I pull into the parking lot down the street fromBrady’s Puband we climb out of my car. Quinn hooks her arm through mine and we make our way to the front door. Thank God there isn’t a line yet, the temperature’s dropped rapidly over the last few days and it’s too chilly to have to wait outside. Obviously, news hasn’t got out yet that Toby’s playing or it would be a completely different story. When we open the heavy door, I’m surprised byhow crowded it already is. “I guess we didn’t beat the crowd after all!” I shout to Quinn over the noise.

“At least we beat the line.”

I nod. “Yeah. I don’t like the idea of having blue toes.”

We chuckle as we make our way through the crowded bar area and take the stairs down to where the bands usually play. I’ve been to watch Toby play here a few times but this is the first time I’ve dragged Quinn along because she doesn’t enjoy being in crowded spaces like this. If I thought the upstairs was crowded, then the downstairs is nuts. Toby hasn’t even started playing yet and we can barely make our way through the crowd.

“Cass said she’d hold a table at the front right-hand side of the stage!” I shout, then grasp Quinn’s hand and try to weave my way to the stage. Pushing my way through the throng of people is hard work and feels futile. I don’t think I’ve moved more than a couple of feet.

Suddenly, the crowd parts like the Red Sea, and I almost lose my balance without people pushing at me from all directions. When I look up to work out why we suddenly have space to move, I spot Shane stepping toward us, giving everyone the evil eye as his jaw flexes. I sigh with relief and Quinn squeezes my hand; when I glance back at her, her grin is obnoxiously huge.

Shane steps closer, bending down close to my ear. His warm breath ghosts across my flesh before the deep rumble of his voice. “Hey, Blue.” There he goes again with my nickname in that sexy voice of his.

“Hey. Thanks for the rescue.”

“Anytime.”

“How did you know I was even here?”

“I was keeping an eye out for you coming down the stairs. I didn’t want you to have to struggle through all the people.” He takes my hand and guides me through the parted crowd. I squeeze Quinn’s hand tight to make sure I don’t lose her as wemake our way toward my sister, who’s exactly where she said she’d be.

When we arrive at the table, Shane releases me and I instantly miss the security and safety of his hold. Cass leaps up from her chair and wraps me in a tight hug. “I’m so glad you could come,” she says as we sway side to side as if we haven’t seen each other for months not less than two weeks. “Thank you so much for our new plants. The area looks stunning.”

I chuckle. “You already thanked us.”

“Yeah, but I only thanked you over the phone so I couldn’t hug you.” She spots Quinn over my shoulder. “Quinny! You came.”

She releases me and pulls Quinn in for a hug. Toby stands and repeats the process with me, then I introduce Quinn to Toby and Shane. Toby greets her warmly with a hug but Shane tips his chin with a quiet hello. Four of us settle around the table and Toby slides two glasses of Moscato across the table, while Shane stands behind me, keeping an eye on the crowd and I wonder if he’s planning to stand sentry all night. I guess he has to work in a situation like this and can’t join in.

While Quinn and I sip our wine, Toby and Cassia tell us about their honeymoon, well, the parts they can share, and before we know it, it’s time for Toby to hit the stage. He grabs the mic and the crowd grows louder; the excited buzz in the air becomes overwhelming. I don’t know how he does it but I guess he would have grown used to it by now; this is nothing compared to the size of the audiences he usually performs for.

“Thank you for coming out tonight. Your support means more than you’ll ever know. I recently returned from my honeymoon—” The crowd goes wild. Wolf whistles and applause fill the room to an almost deafening volume and Toby chuckles, giving Cassia a wink. “With my wife and daughters. Man, I’ll never get tired of calling this woman”—he holds his hand outto Cass—“my wife. I have to be the luckiest man on the planet.” The crowd cheers loudly and when I look at my best friend, she reminds me of the heart eyes emoji with the way she’s leaning forward resting her chin on her hands. “Anyway, I wanted to see what you thought of some of my new material.” He strums a few chords on his guitar, and a hush moves through the room.

Toby plays song after song after song, keeping us all mesmerized with his deep raspy voice and meaningful lyrics. More wine is placed in front of me and Quinn, while Cass’s water is refilled and the water jug is placed in the middle of our table. Our empty glasses are removed, and when I try to catch the waiter, he moves too fast to hear my request for an empty water glass. I push away to stand, ready to go after him, but Shane’s strong hand lands on my shoulder, keeping me in place. “What do you need?”

“I’m driving, so I don’t want another wine. I was going to ask for a water glass like Cass.”

He listens intently, then nods. “I’ll get it for you. You stay here.”

He disappears into the crowd before I can thank him and Quinn leans in close. “I approve.”

My lips tip up but I’m not sure how she’s made her judgment so quickly. He’s barely said two words which isn’t unusual for Shane; it’s not like he talks a lot. “Why?” I’m genuinely curious.

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