Page 9 of Falling for the Guy Next Door

I sipped the wine and glanced around the room. This time I wasn’t looking for Dustin. I was looking for my tall, handsome human shield. He must have decided against stepping inside. I couldn’t blame him. Something told me the bar was past fire capacity.

Emily must have spotted my disappointment from not seeing Mr. Nash.

“What’s wrong? Is he back?” she asked with some effort to show concern. She was just too far gone in Moonstone groupie land to care much about her friend tonight.

“No, I don’t see Dustin. I was looking for that cute guy who hid me from view.”

Betty came out on stage to let everyone know we were at capacity, and if we left, we wouldn’t get back in. There was another lecture about leaving the bathrooms the way we found them and not leaving drinks unattended. People chatted animatedly through her admonishments.

“What did he look like?” Emily asked as she half-listened for the words she was waiting for.

I opened my mouth to answer just as Betty welcomed the band to the stage.

A woman with fiery red hair came out first, twirling her drumsticks. She climbed behind the set of drums. A short, stocky man wearing a black beanie, even though it was hot in the club, waved to the crowd and stood behind the keyboard. A tall, thin guy with a bass guitar hanging around his shoulder came out next. His wave got a round of cheers, and a few people yelled out “Bosco!” so I assumed that was his name. And then I could literally hear women sucking in their breaths and holding them as they waited for the singer. The room erupted like a volcano when he walked on stage holding a guitar and flashing a big white smile.

I stared up at him in shock. “That’s him,” I said under my breath.

Emily didn’t hear me. She’d moved a few inches closer to the stage. She clapped so hard; I thought she might break some fingernails. “Isn’t he dreamy?” she asked without looking away from the stage.

I nodded. There was no sense in bringing up my story again. Emily would have forgotten all about it after tonight. She would probably have a hard time remembering her own name after standing so close to her crush.

I leaned in. “What did you say his name was?”

“Nash, Nash Ledger. He’s even more gorgeous in person.”

The stage lights made his gray eyes an ethereal color, and Emily was right. He was gorgeous, dreamy and all the other adjectives she’d be spilling out the rest of the night. I laughed to myself. For a second, I thought I might run into my friend from outside and get better acquainted. I guess I was joining the long list of groupies who had to admire Nash Ledger from afar.

Nash picked up the microphone. “Hello, everyone, we’re Moonstone.” There was another round of cheers loud enough to shake the light fixtures and slosh some beer foam over the rims of glasses. Nash turned around. He was wearing faded jeans and a gray T-shirt. “We’ve got Seth on keyboard.” Seth played a few bars to applause. “The unsinkable Ronnie Brown on drums.” She played a few beats to applause. “And, of course, Bosco on bass.” Bosco strummed some impressive notes on his bass guitar. I realized then that we were deafeningly close to the speakers, but Emily didn’t seem to notice. She hadn’t pulled her gaze away from Nash. “And I’m Nash Ledger.” His last name was drowned out by the screams.

It was like being at a Beatles concert in the 60s. I wondered if we’d even be able to hear the music. Fortunately, the rambunctious crowd quieted down. Nash’s gray eyes swept around the room. With the stage lights in front of him and the dim lights at the back of the bar, I was sure he couldn’t see more than ten feet in front of him, so Emily’s plan wasn’t too bad. She would definitely be one of the admiring faces he saw staring up at him all night.

“I’m going to dedicate this first song to a young lady I met earlier tonight. I’m happy to be your human shield anytime.” His eyes swept down, and our gazes clashed. He winked before singing a rock classic, Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl.” It didn’t take more than a few seconds for me to see what all the hype was about. His voice, slightly gritty, yet smooth like cream, filled the room. The sound, coupled with the way he looked, the way he moved on stage, created a spellbinding magic that took my breath away.

Emily grabbed my hand, startling me from the trance. “Did you see?” she asked excitedly. “Did you see that? He winked at me. I’m sure of it.” She gripped my hand. Her wine sloshed over the other hand. “I might faint. My plan is working. I’m telling you, La-la, by the time we leave here tonight, I’m going to be Nash Ledger’s girlfriend.” Then her smile faded some. “I wonder what he meant about the human shield.” She was in such a tizzy about the wink, she’d forgotten my story about the parking lot encounter. It was just as well. There was no way I was going to spoil the moment for her. She was on top of the world—certain that he’d dropped that wink her way, and heck, maybe she was right. After all, she’d been right about Nash Ledger. He really was something.

ChapterSix

Nash

The first set was over, and I’d found it hard to focus on the music. The brown-eyed beauty, who’d inadvertently stepped into my life in the parking lot, pulled way too much of my attention her direction. I felt sorry for the guy she hid from. I was willing to bet that even after only three months, she wasn’t the kind of person you could easily walk away from. Before the end of the second set, she’d left her spot near the stage. Sitting close to the speakers got old fast. If she’d moved farther into the barroom, I couldn’t see her from the stage. I was plenty disappointed but even so, I was going to stay in the back for break.

“You going out to the barroom?” Bosco asked.

“Don’t think I’m in the mood tonight,” I said. I pulled a bag of chips and water bottle out of the cooler we’d brought along. “I need a break.” Stepping into the barroom during breaktime meant spending the whole time signing autographs and smiling for photos. It wasn’t a break at all.

“Suit yourself. I saw a few cuties in the crowd, and I plan to scoop up some phone numbers.” He walked out. Ronnie had gone out to the van for some peace and quiet, and Seth stepped out to call Brianna.

I pulled my phone out of Bosco’s guitar case, where we stored them between sets. There was a message from Becky to call her. She sounded frantic on the voicemail, which put a knot in my stomach. I called and she picked up on the first ring.

“There you are,” she said.

“I was on stage, Beck. What’s wrong?”

“I’m sitting in the ER. Mom slipped getting out of her chair. She was in a lot of pain, so I had to call an ambulance. They’re doing X-rays now.”

I closed my eyes and absorbed yet more bad news. An ambulance ride was going to add to the medical debt we’d been accumulating since Mom’s accident. “Jeez, Beck, poor Mom. Do you think she broke something?”

“Not a doctor, remember? Just an underpaid caretaker.” Her voice wobbled. “Sorry, it just shook me up, that’s all.”

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