I swooned.
Was it hot in here?
I almost had to fan myself.
Royce wrapped one of those strong arms around my waist.
A belt of possession.
Energy flashed.
“This is Emily.”
I swooned a little harder.
At this rate, someone was gonna have to carry me out of there.
“Miss Carolina George.” Lyrik chewed at his lip as he said it, appraising, and oh god, I was pretty sure I needed to find a closet where I could hide. “Great to meet you,” he told me.
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
Tamar waved an indulgent, tattooed hand in the air, the huge black diamonds she wore on her fingers flashing under the light. “I’m pretty sure the honor is ours. I nearly wept when I heard you sing up there. God . . . that was just . . . amazing. Straight-up amazing. I heard you sing several times back in Savannah when I used to work at Charlie’s. . . but you were some kind of spectacular tonight.”
The blush I’d been fighting swept across my face, rushing like a wildfire down my neck and across my chest. “Thank you.”
Tamar smiled. “I can’t wait to see what you do.”
“She’s going to do amazing things. That you can count on.” Royce squeezed my side.
“Holy shit . . . Royce Reilly. The motherfucking king.”
I jerked my attention to find Ash Evans pushing through the crowd so he could get to Royce. Ash didn’t shake his hand. Oh no. He threw his arms around him, lifted him off his feet, and bounced him all over the place. “I missed the fuck outta ya. Where the hell have you been my whole life, man?”
Royce laughed, though it was with a bit of discomfort. “Working.”
“Wrong line if you’re asking me.”
“I wasn’t,” Royce answered, a little harder than I thought necessary. Confusion pulled through my senses, and I was trying to keep up, put the pieces together.
It took me a second to remember that Sunder had once been under the Mylton Records label before they’d branched off and their original lead singer, Sebastian, had started his own production company when he’d decided to retire from the road.
Still wanting to dabble his fingers in music but wanting it in a different way. I fully understood that.
Ash laughed a loud, raucous laugh, the guy so easygoing that he could put a raging bull at ease. “Gotcha, man. Gotcha. No sweat.”
He turned his blue eyes on me, a big smirk lighting his face. “Hey there, darlin’. I’m Ash.”
Right, because I didn’t know who he was.
“I’m—”
“Emily fucking Ramsey. You think I could forget your name after that little stunt you pulled onstage tonight? You might as well get over that because you are unforgettable.” He swiveled his attention to Royce, flapping his index finger in my direction. “This one . . . don’t let her go.”
Royce slanted those eyes to me. Pinning me to the spot. Expression as hard as his words. “Don’t plan to.”
Ash smacked a hand on his shoulder. “That’s my man. You find something good? You wrap your hands around it, protect it with all you have, and well . . . yeah . . . you got it . . . don’t fucking let it go.”
Ash snagged a woman from around the shoulders and planted a sloppy kiss to her cheek. “Like this one.”
She swatted at his chest, though she snuggled in to rest her head on it, all too willing to get swamped in his overbearing hug. “Hi, I’m Willow. Ignore this brute.”
He gasped in feigned horror. “Now why would someone want to ignore me? I’m the best around, baby. A superstar. Best bassist in the land.”
A giggle slipped from my mouth. “Well, don’t tell that to our bassist, Rhys. He’s been trying to give you a run for your money for years.”
“Tell him to bring it.”
“I’d gladly throw down some Benjamins for a friendly wager. And where the hell is Leif? Dude needs to get his ass whipped for sneaking in and snagging our Mia right out from under our noses.”
Willow frowned through a laugh. “No betting for you, big boy. No ass kickin’, either. Leave poor Leif alone. I think he got plenty enough crap from Lyrik.”
“Are you trying to wreck my fun?”
“Totally, babe, totally. Goal of my entire life is to strip you of any joy.” She rolled playful eyes.
I couldn’t stop my smile.
They were adorable.
“Is Baz here?” Royce asked, looking through the group, antsy and anxious.
Royce let his gaze move over Austin and Zee, Sunder’s lead singer and drummer, who were chatting with a group that had gathered around them.
“Be here in twenty. He was videoing with the kids before Shea tucked them in for the night,” Lyrik answered.
Royce nodded his head, rubbing his hand over his mouth, looking around the growing crowd. “All right, tell him I’m here when you see him, yeah?”