Page 43 of Broken Bridges

He laughed, soft and sexy. “I meant watching me play with the band, not my attempts to pick up men.”

Crap! We were clearly on different wavelengths. Drawing my shoulders back, I threw him a saucy grin. “Good thing I’ve enjoyed both. But I’m sure you won’t get the same level of satisfaction as I do from watching you.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Okay.” I spun on my good heel and made my way back on set. So much for toning things down. Our suggestive banter hadn’t ceased. We still gave each other loads of crap, teased, and taunted each other. Flirting with him was like an addictive drug; I wasn’t able to quit. I wanted him to watch me. But I’d preferred to have him do it when I wasn’t on set or in character.

Thirty minutes later, we finished filming. Sutton and I changed into our regular clothes and said our goodbyes to the cast and crew. Then, the four of us jumped in Sutton’s BMW and headed to Sun Valley.

Just after seven o’clock, we pulled to a halt on the curbside outside Duke’s home, an old Spanish-styled place complete with white rendered walls and terracotta roof.

Sutton killed the engine, and we hopped out of the car.

Flint headed to the trunk. “It’s a double celebration tonight. Duke’s turning twenty-four, and he and his band have just signed with Everhide’s EH4 Records to make their first album.”

“An album?” My voice piqued. “That’s brilliant.” Now I was glad I came. Duke had been playing for as long as The Flintlocks had been but hadn’t had anywhere near the same success. Duke and his boys deserved their break.

Flint opened the trunk and grabbed a gift bag covered in balloons. The bottles inside it chinked together. This night clearly had been preplanned. “Duke will be stoked you’re here, Tee.”

“Yeah. It will be good to catch up.” I felt bad it had taken me this long to see the people I cared about.

Lewis offered to carry me up the steep steps, but I blatantly refused. Partly because I was pigheaded and could walk up a set of stairs, and partly because him touching me wasn’t a good idea. I had enough issues controlling my body temperature around him without his hands actually on me.

The front door was wide open. We made our way through the foyer, the arched walkways, and terracotta-tiled hallway, and headed toward the music and chatter drifting inside from the patio.

Around a long wooden table covered in pizzas and drinks, our guys sat with Duke’s boys and some of his stage crew, and a few faces I didn’t recognize.

The moment Duke saw me, his hands shot into the air, and he shook his wavy brown curls. “Oh my fucking God. Tia!” He hollered loud enough for everyone miles away in Venice Beach to hear. He clambered off the bench seat, and rushed over to hug me. “How are you, girl?”

“I’m good, Duke.” Lie. “Happy birthday.”

“Best birthday surprise ever.” He turned to Flint. “Always good to see you.”

“Happy birthday.” Flint shook Duke’s hand and handed him the present.

Duke took it and peered inside the gift bag. His eyes widened as he nodded. “Sweet. Vodka. Looks like we’ll be doing shots later.”

“I never say no to vodka.” Flint slid his arm around Sutton’s waist. “You remember Sutton?”

“Sure do.” Duke hugged her hello. “You can steal my stage anytime.”

“No, never again.” She giggled. “Happy birthday.”

Flint grinned as he waved Lewis forward. “And this is Lewis. Our new bassist.”

“Nice to meet you.” Duke slapped his palm against Lewis’s hand and drew him into a half-hug. “Grab a drink and come meet everyone.” He waved toward the table. “Tia, Chloe will be bursting to see you.”

I waved to his wife who was jiggling on her seat, and called out to her, “I’ll just grab a drink.”

“Hurry up, bitch,” she yelled. “I’ve missed you.”

Lewis jutted his chin toward Flint. “You and Sutton go sit. I’ll help Tia with the drinks. Beer and champagne, right?”

“Yep, thanks.” Flint took Sutton’s hand, and they rushed over to join the partygoers.

“What do you want to drink, Tee?” Digging into the cooler full of drinks on ice, Lewis pulled out two beers and the bottle of champagne for Sutton.

“Just water.” I snapped a bottle out of a pack on the table. I still didn’t drink anywhere near as much alcohol as I used to, and I needed to keep my wits around Lewis at a party.

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