Page 63 of Reverb
Zavier dropped his glasses on a nearby lounger, then plunged into the pool. Ray yelped and tried to swim away. No such luck. They ended up in a tangle of limbs and pushing and laughing, until they’d both dunked each other under the water.
Those two. She wasn’t sure who’d rescued whom in that pair.
Mish strolled to the shaded bar and ordered a tonic and lime. No alcohol yet. She wanted to take a dip, plus the conversation earlier had her unsettled and aching in her heart.
All those emails and comments. The photos. Her hair. Her ring in someone else’s hands. She shivered, opened a tab on her room, and took the drink to the edge of the bar where she could sit in the shade, yet still watch the antics of her bandmates.
Dom and Adrian were the next to appear, and lord, did the eyes of the pool crowd follow them. They were a sight. Dom, wiry and muscular from dancing around with his guitar, sans his stage makeup but with all his ink on display. Adrian stood several inches taller, broad in the shoulders and chest. He stripped off the T-shirt he’d been wearing.
“Lord,” a woman at the table next to Mish’s said. “Will you look at that?”
Mish chuckled and the other woman smiled.
“I mean, there’s quite the view at the moment.” She waved her hand to encompass Mish’s other band members. “But the arms on that one...”
Theyweresomething, Mish had to admit. Especially when Adrian scooped up Dom to mock protests, and dropped him into the pool.
“Aaaaaaand taken.” The woman sighed and sipped her white wine. “Of course.”
If the woman had been a fan of the band, she’d have known that already. “Very taken, yeah.”
“Lucky them.”
That was true. Both couples were lucky.
The next person to arrive was Marcella, in a colorful one-piece suit of reds and oranges covered in a white sheer flowing wrap. She headed for the bar and then, with a glass of rosé in her hand, joined Mish. “Your man keeping you waiting?”
The woman at the other table raised an eyebrow, but Mish ignored her. “I’m not sure he’smyman.”
“Bullshit.” Marcella sat down next to her, then sighed in contentment. “I so needed this.”
“What, the pool or the wine?”
“Both.” There was a flash of a grin, then it settled to weariness. “They look happy.” Marcella nodded at the pool. Adrian had jumped in at some point, and all four men were acting more like rowdy teens.
“They need that, too. Helps Adrian to feel like part of the whole.”
Marcella sipped her wine. “Mish, doll. Sometimes I think you’re the glue that holds this whole damn band together.”
Mish couldn’t say anything, because her throat was suddenly too dry. She picked up the tonic and let the cold fizzy liquid ease some of that out. Truth was, they held her together. The band. The music. Adrian and Marcella.
David. That thought rose unbidden, and her heart flipped. David, who’d been both gentle and fierce in bed. Who’d let her lead, and also had her back. David loved hervoice. He’d left Marly with her—because he’d be coming back.
“I care about ’em. And you.” She blew Marcella a kiss.
And got a grin in return. “I know.” Marcella nodded at the bar. “And there’s your dude.”
Heat rose to her cheeks. She was certain the woman at the other table was checking out David’s very fine ass in the swim trunks that clung to his hips. No shirt. She shivered a little. His arms weren’t Adrian’s, but they were built and perfect and she knew the strength in them.
Her dude.
When David turned, bottle of beer in hand, his sunglasses hid his eyes, but his smile was as warm and bright as the summer sky above. He picked his way around tables. “I guess I’m late to the party.” He took a seat next her, one that was—thankfully—away from the woman at the other table.
“I see your bandmates have already tried the pool.” He took a sip from the bottle, then set it down on the table.
“Mmm. You missed Adrian tossing Dom in.”
“Poor dude.” David laughed. “He didn’t stand a chance, did he?”
