“I know, right?” Gally preened and asked, “Want me to show you how good?” just as Asher joined us.
“Hey, Sticks. Good job tonight.”
Forgetting Gally, Jodi gaped at him, her eyes bulging as she slugged me on the arm.
“Holy...shit,” she whispered. “Asher Hart is standing right there.”
“Oh, my God,” I whispered back. “You see him too?”
Asher chuckled. “Hey,” he said, holding out his hand to Jodi. “You must be Remy’s friend.”
Jodi whimpered as she shook with him. When she continued to stare and pump his hand up and down without saying anything, I rolled my eyes.
“This is Jodi,” I said. “She’s my friend who...typically has better communication skills than I do.”
“Quiero sentarme en tu cara,” Jodi blurted.
Though Asher blinked in confusion, obviously not understanding, I screeched, “Jodi!” Unable to believe she’d just asked to sit on his face, or that she actually remembered how to pronounce the phrase right, I gaped at her in horror.
“What?” she asked me innocently. “He can tell me no if he’s not interested.”
With another laugh, Asher managed to extract his fingers from hers. “Your buddy here saved our ass tonight,” he said, obviously having no clue what Jodi had just requested. “I don’t know what we would’ve done if we hadn’t found Sticks to join the band. He has some wicked talent.”
“Oh, I know!” Jodi looped her arm through mine and pulled me close with a proud smile. “Remy’s played drums since we were running around in diapers together. She’s amazing.”
I stopped breathing as Asher blinked. When I pinched her where no one would see, Jodi jumped and let out a squeak of alarm, her eyes going wide. “I mean, he. He’s amazing.”
“Damn, girl.” I pulled away to send her a censorious glare. “How much have you had to drink tonight?”
Jodi gave a nervous laugh, her eyes glassy with panic. “Too much.” She turned back to Asher and gulped. “Obviously.”
Asher grinned at her but just as quickly turned to me. “Hey, whenever you have a second, I want to introduce you to the guys I work with.”
He was looking right at me, so I guess he was talking to me. I bit back a wince, a little wary of meeting too many more people in this mask. It was a great guise, but I didn’t much care for the nip of guilt that came with deceiving more people.
But Asher was still looking at me, and his green eyes were so captivating. Damn gorgeous green eyes.
I ended up nodding and saying, “Sure. Okay. Whenever.” So he started to lead me toward the bar, and I guess whenever was right then. Mierda.
I don’t know how many times we were stopped by fans, wanting to hug Asher, kiss him, or just touch his shirt. Some were too reluctant to actually make contact but still hovered, crowding as close as they dared and making our trek to the bar seem like the Boston Marathon.
Mostly he was vague and distant with everyone, smiling with them and then setting them an arm’s length away once he let them have a hug.
We were only about five feet from our destination when a pretty little blonde squirmed her way through the people to reach him, screeching, “Asher!”
He broke into the biggest grin and swept his up into her arms, kissing the side of her head.
I have no clue why that bothered me. I barely knew this guy, and feeling all possessive of someone just because I thought he was hot totally wasn’t my style. Hell, I hadn’t even blinked an eyelash when female fans had frenched Fisher right in front of me...when I’d been engaged to him. Yet the urge to pull blondie off Asher by way of all that pretty pale hair hit me hard.
Maybe because he looked so happy when he gazed at her. I liked it better when he smiled at shit I said. “Hey, beautiful,” he called over the noise into her ear. “Thanks for coming tonight.”
I was mentally trying to nitpick his girlfriend’s looks apart, but dammit, not finding a single flaw about her, when he turned her my way.
Oh, joy, I realized. I was going to get introduced to the perfect specimen.
“Sticks, this is Caroline.”
I lifted an eyebrow as I glanced at him. “The reason we played ‘Sweet Caroline’ tonight? Twice.”