Real Men Will (Donovan Brothers Brewery 3)

The front man was a Jamaican rapper—or he was pretending to be Jamaican. College students had a weak spot for all things Jamaican, after all. Still, the guy was good. Even though Beth wasn’t into rap, she had to admit that he sounded amazing with a live band backing him up.

Davis finally stepped off the stage. “Thanks for coming out,” he said as he took the chair next to hers.

“You guys sound great. I’m really impressed.”

He smiled. “It takes a lot of commitment to keep this up after college. Not as much fun to rehearse after working a full day.”

“I can tell you love it,” she said. She made herself concentrate on Davis for the next ten minutes, because he deserved it. He was funny. And talented. And she could see the interest growing in his eyes as they talked. She noticed the way his eyes swept down her legs when he turned to talk to the drummer. She even felt a responding warmth of interest. Thank God. It wasn’t just Eric. He wasn’t the only one she wanted.

But…she couldn’t lie to herself so easily. Sure, she was interested in Davis. Just as she’d been interested in previous men, some she’d slept with and some she hadn’t. But she didn’t feel that awful, wonderful need. That temptation to press her face to his neck and breathe in his scent and take him home and let him do anything he wanted.

“You look great, by the way,” Davis said, his eyes traveling down to her heels again. “Thank you.”

“I’ll admit I have a weakness for heels.”

She smiled, feeling pleasant warmth again. “So do I.”

“Nothing wrong with that.” When he set down his drink, he rested his hand on her knee. Beth’s heart jumped. It felt…strange. Was that a good thing? It was better than nothing, which was exactly what she’d been getting lately.

“Hey,” Davis said, gesturing toward the stage where the drummer was taking his seat behind the drums. “We’ve got another set. We should be done by ten. Will you hang around?”

Would she? Beth looked down at his hand on her knee. It was a nice hand. Elegant. Long. A little callused at the fingertips from playing guitar.

“We could go somewhere,” he said.

“Okay. Yes.” She nodded, trying to convince herself she was doing the right thing. She needed to put Eric behind her once and for all. She couldn’t keep up this one-sided relationship with her memories. And if her heart felt a little panicked instead of excited, well, so be it. She had to get back out there.

“Great.” He smiled, and his hand tightened on her knee for a moment as his gaze slid to her heels again. “Then I’ll be right back.”

Beth tried her best to look anticipatory, but her mind was already working, working, working. Where were they going to go? To his place? They’d only kissed that one time. Was she ready for this? Her heart thumped harder, and when the music started, the screech of the guitar made her jump.

Calm down, she told herself. You’re being ridiculous. You can do—or not do—whatever you want.

Right. Maybe they would go to his place. And that would be fine. They could just take it from there. They could kiss and see where that led. That was all. See if it felt right. No big deal.

But now his kind comments about her shoes were starting to tumble around in her roiling brain. Beth shook her head. So, he liked heels. Most guys did. No big deal.

But what if he had a thing for heels? What if he wanted her to wear them every time they went to bed? What if he wanted to lick them? It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened to her. That one guy had—

“Beth!”

She spun toward Cairo, desperately relieved for the distraction.

“Harrison is getting a group together for rock climbing next weekend. Want to come?”

“Oh, I don’t climb.”

“I don’t, either, but it’s fun to watch.” She took a moment to give Harrison a sly wink and a smile. “You could stick with me. We’ll set up a picnic while they’re climbing.”

Beth laughed, picturing Cairo on the edge of a cliff in a dress and pearls, her tattoos peeking past her sleeves every time she set another dish on the blanket. “That sounds fun.”

“I could teach you the basics,” Harrison offered. “If you want to try an easy climb.”

She cringed. “I don’t know. We’ll see how brave I’m feeling.” But she found the idea surprisingly enticing. A little scary, maybe, but still fun. Which was exactly how she wasn’t feeling about Davis. Instead…it just felt weird. And that wasn’t how it should feel. She was making a mistake. Trying to force the issue because she’d gone home alone last night and gotten herself off, thinking about Eric. Again.

But now she was losing sight of the lesson she’d learned from that night with Eric. She’d finally touched that feeling she’d been reaching for all her life. That place where she couldn’t think, because she was too damn busy living in the moment.

That first night, when they’d met at the wine bar…when he’d touched her, she’d been lost. So lost that she’d spread her legs under the table and closed her eyes and let him get her off right there. Right there, where she could have been worrying about everything, not to mention everyone around them.