Laid Bare - Lauren Dane [52]
“Why?” She shot a look at the two girls who’d been edging closer. This was her place, a haven for Adrian and their friends. No little groupie girls would change that. They tried to ignore her. She touched Adrian’s hand to shush him and then moved to the girls.
“You two have a problem?”
They blinked up at her, but she narrowed her eyes. They shoved their hands in their pockets. “We just wanted his autograph,” one of them said sullenly.
“He’s having a cup of coffee. Leave him alone. If you’re at a show, that’s when he’s working. Show some manners, girls.”
Muttering, they shuffled out and her regulars chuckled.
“My valiant protector,” Adrian said with a wink. “Back to the subject, I have his number. I’m not asking your permission or anything. I just thought I’d let you know I was going to get in touch.”
She frowned. “All right. But don’t be a dick.”
“He’s the dick, Erin. He broke your damned heart ten years ago and I don’t like that.” He held a hand up to stop her from speaking. “I know and I agree, he’s making up for that now. He seems a stand-up guy and all. But Brody and I are your family and we deserve to know what his intentions are.”
She snorted, moving to pour a cup of coffee for a regular who’d just walked in. It was sweet, this protective thing her brothers did. Todd could handle himself, she knew that much.
“Fine. Just be nice or I’ll let the girls get at you.” She winked and he laughed, pushing the hair from his face.
“That’s low. By the way, Jeremy called me this morning. Studio loves the new material. They want me to tour. This will be the first big one without you up there with me.”
She took a deep breath. Inside her the craving to be on stage warred with the fear, the fear of the public eye and the horrors that came with it.
“Would you consider doing a few shows? We’d open and close at the Gorge. Hometown crowd. And then Madison Square Garden. That’s just three shows.”
She wiped the counter down just to have something to do with her hands. “How long do I have to answer?”
“First show would be next May. They’d obviously want to pimp it if I told them. But we don’t have to tell them. You could just show up. Whatever. I’m not asking to boost ticket sales.”
“I’d never think that. I need some time. I’ll let you know by August. Is that okay?”
He took her hands, grinning. “That would be awesome. Thank you.”
She shrugged. “This is our baby. I’d like to do a few shows. You know, if I can.” Not a whole tour. Not ever. But a few shows, maybe.
“You may not have to call Todd after all,” she said, smiling toward the doorway, where Todd had just stepped through with Ben and Cope.
Todd’s gaze went right to her and he smiled. She’d had to leave early the morning after their, um, thing with Ben, and she hadn’t seen him for the rest of the week around their conflicting schedules.
He approached, bold as brass, and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Hi, honey. Take pity on some guys in desperate need of caffeine?”
“You remember Adrian, right?” She indicated her brother.
Todd nodded and the two of them did that guy handshake thing and then began to talk, heads close.
“Let’s see, Americano with room for you and an iced mocha for you, right?” She turned back to Ben and Cope with a smile, her hands already at work on their drinks.
Quickly, she slid a refill to Adrian, an iced latte to Todd and then finished up the drinks for Ben and Cope.
“You two want anything else? Since tomorrow is a holiday I only have soup and bread for lunch. It’s good though, Indian veggie. The bread is focaccia from the bakery a few doors down.”
“Yes, please.” Ben paid for everyone’s drinks and food and went to sit down.
Without needing to ask, she put two big bowls out for her brother and Todd on her way to take lunch to Ben and Cope.
“Let me know if you guys need anything else, okay?”
“Delicious stuff, Erin. I can’t wait to see what you bring over to the party tomorrow.” Cope grinned.
“I grew up in Seattle and I’ve never known anyone who had a boat. I’m so excited to watch the fireworks from the lake that way. Todd