Sweet Melody (Rock & Rodeo Romance #1) (14 page)

W
hat a bitch
. No one deserves an ex like that. At the same time, the fact that she’s Hunter’s ex makes me wonder. What the hell did he ever see in her? And if his judgment’s that far gone, then what does that mean about us?

Once I had told Bethany all about my night together with Hunter, she had sent me back to his place. She hates to waste perfectly good orgasms. When I drove up and saw the door open, of course it made me worried for him. But when I walked in there unannounced, I witnessed something truly ugly and disgusting.

I drive around in my car, ignoring my phone. It pings every few seconds with messages from Hunter. He’s called multiple times as well, but I keep swiping to ignore him. My head needs a little space to sort things out.

Bitch did have one point worth listening to. Public perception. My presence in Hunter’s life could be a major liability. Small time girl, no college education, bartender. Although he seems to love my tats, society tends to push girls like me into convenient little boxes. But that’s not the worst part.

I meant it when I told him last night that we were moving fast. He may not have said it out loud, but my body knew what he felt with every thrust. The L word. While I’m not against love in particular, I don’t say it out loud. To anybody. But I can’t deny what coursed through me, pumped by my hopeful heart. Even Bee picked up on the tiny shift inside me.

Anyone who sees us together must think I’m opportunistic. Hell, the band probably thinks I’m as bad as his ex. Maybe worse since we’re so close to them coming in to their success. Last night, I should have ended things.

But now, after seeing that piece of shit with her finger on him, all I want to do is claim him. He’s mine. Because isn’t that what last night was about?

And when he gets to Nashville? Surely the label’s going to market him as the next hottest bachelor. How am I going to feel about all the new screaming fans he’ll earn? A girl can’t slap every bitch that comes after him.

My phone rings for the hundredth time, and I pick up. “What?”

“Oh God, Mel. I am so sorry. That was Gemma, my ex.”

“Yeah, I figured that. She’s…something.”

“How much did you see?”

Is he really that stupid? I finally pick up the phone, and that’s what he asks me.

“Wrong question, jackass.”

He sighs. “You’re right. Listen, will you come back here?”

“Fuck no.” In no way do I want to return to the scene of the crime.

“Can we meet some place so we can talk?”

Moments tick by as I contemplate where to declare neutral territory.

“Please, Mel.”

He sounds tortured. And a tiny ripple of pleasure sits in my chest. It’s not like he’s the villain. But he let her into his place instead of turning her away. So let him suffer a little.

“How long will it take you to make it to Fire Ninja’s?” I pull a U-turn and head the other direction up the boulevard.

“I’m leaving right now.” A door slams in the background. The same damn door he should have closed in her face. “Be there in 20.”

“Make it 15 if you can.” That’s pushing it, but I can’t resist giving him shit.

From his place and with mid-day traffic, he will be closer to twenty, which is fine. I actually need as much time as I can get to make a firm decision.

M
y legs sweat
against the plastic booth seat. Asian-style club music pumps over the speakers. A little early for the cool vibe, but the darkened room brings the closed-in club atmosphere despite it being the middle of the day. I suck on some edamame while I wait.

The door chimes open, and Hunter peeks out from behind the partition, searching for me. He talks to a hostess who points in my direction. He thanks her, and walks in my direction. His feet move fast, but his face carries a wary weight. I could jump out and meet him half way, but pride anchors me to my seat.

He sits down across from me and takes off his baseball cap. Running his fingers through his hair, he looks up. My gaze holds no clues for him as to how things will turn out. Talk first. Eat. Then final decisions.

His fingers drum on the table after he asks for water and a Sapporo.

“Drinking in the middle of the day?” My eyebrow quirks up.

“Figured it was necessary. Look, Mel—” He stops when the waitress brings him his water.

I interrupt. “Your ex is a piece of work.”

He scoffs. “Yeah, no shit.”

“So why was she there?” His answer won’t change the fact that she was. But it burns me that less than a couple of hours after I left him sated from a blowjob, she stood breathing in the same air that I had.

“She brought me a box of stuff.”

“How long’s it been since you’ve seen her?”

“A year.”

Her evil plan to get inside worked. Bitch has game. “You do realize you’re the dumbest asshole on the planet, right?”

His head pops up as his mouth opens. “Pardon?”

“She so played you. She played you like her own personal fiddle. Every single note.”

He slumps back in the booth. “I should have shut the door.”

“Which time?” My voice carries across the room, and the guys making sushi look up. Lowering my voice, I lean into the table. “Which time?” I repeat in a lower voice.

“Both. Shit. I’m so sorry.” He reaches his hand across the table.

Do I put him out of his misery now or let him languish for a few more minutes? Thinking about it, his ex gets lumped in with the inevitable groupies. Unless he’s pursuing her, which I doubt based on how uncomfortable he was with her, then she’s a non-issue. And how can I be pissed with his interaction with her when I still work for Trey?

The waitress cuts in to take our order. Since I know he’ll be picking up the tab, I order the sashimi platter, two pieces of eel, tempura vegetables, and some hot sake.

“And for you, sir?” she asks.

“Don’t think you’re eating any of my stuff,” I warn him.

He orders a California roll and some chicken teriyaki. The waitress leaves, and I look down at his hand that’s still on the table.

“What, you don’t like sushi?”

“It’s not really my thing. I’ll live.” He shrugs. His shoulders slump a bit, and the forlorn look on his face kills me.

I reach across and hold his hand. His fingers tighten around mine, and he lets out a long breath.

“I don’t know what you heard or saw,” he starts.

I squeeze his hand. “Hunter, I have a question you need to answer.”

He sits up straight, a little too enthusiastic to serve penance. “Okay.”

“Did you guys kiss?”

His hand stiffens in mine. His brow creases. “She kissed me.”

“Did you kiss her back?”

He shakes his head. “Hell no. I pushed her away and told her to get the fuck out.”

“Something you should have done in the first place,” I remind him. Taking a deep breath, I steady myself to end his pain. “Good.”

The waitress brings the veggie tempura and the hot sake with two small cups. I pour hot liquid into both and push one across to him in front of his bottle of beer.

“What do you mean by ‘good’?” he asks, eyeing me.

“Well, if you had kissed her back, then I was gonna have to kiss her based on our mutual agreement. And no one should have to kiss a foul bitch like that. So drink that down, Cowboy.” I pick up my warm cup of sake.

He stares at me for a second, dumbfounded. I pick up his cup and place it in his hands, clinking it with mine. “Here’s to not having to kiss her. Because BBC.”

Hunter’s cup hangs in the air. “What’s BBC?”

“Bitch Be Crazy.”

His laugh echoes throughout the entire open space. He swallows down the sake, takes my cup out of my hand, brings my hand to his lips, and kisses it.

“I deserve much worse than what you’re throwing at me right now, but I don’t give a fuck. Thank you.”

Our table fills with food, and his chicken teriyaki deserves mocking in front of my huge plate of carefully cut fish. He wrinkles his nose as I smear wasabi over a piece of tuna, dip it in the soy sauce, and pop it in my mouth.

“Not sure I’m gonna want to kiss you after you eat that.”

“You sure you want to be saying that to me after what was attached to your mouth today?”

He shuts up fast enough. Curiosity courses through me with so many questions, like what happened after she kissed him since I left, what EJ said when he went inside, and others burning a hole in my brain about his past with her. A realization hits me, and sake almost goes up my nose.

“Oh my God. She’s the ‘Wicked Witch,’ isn’t she?”

He nods. “That song was more than just cathartic.”

A heavy weight falls on his shoulders. Something went down with her, and he’s not saying. But I’ll give him time to reveal things before hounding him.

“Why aren’t you pissed at me? Yelling at me? Leaving me?” Without knowing it, he emphasizes the last question.

My choices about how I feel and where we go was mostly made last night, but her intrusion into his place and our time together solidified them for me.

“If I’m going to be your girlfriend, especially long distance, then I’m gonna have to get used to girls throwing themselves at you for various reasons. A girl can’t take a swing at every bitch. And that particular one gets one pass. I’m a lady, after all.”

Hunter stares at me again, longer than acceptable.

“What? Is it the sashimi? You really don’t know what you’re missing.”

He finds his voice after throwing back another swallow of sake. “You said girlfriend.”

“Isn’t that where we’re headed after last night? Or did I read things wrong?”

He gets up from his side of the booth and slides into mine. His arms encircle me, his warm body easing the nerves I’ve been hiding. He kisses my head and works his way down to my mouth.

“What about the fish?” I murmur against his lips.

“Just kiss me, dammit.”

His lips worship mine. The long table could make a good bed. My leg crosses over his until a small cough interrupts us. Pulling back, we see the waitress walking away after refilling our water.

He squeezes my hand again and slides out to return to his side. We sit in comfortable silence, eating.

My mind wanders back to his ex. She’s already got a mark against her. Whenever Hunter tells me the rest of the story, she better stay the hell away.

“Seriously. She gets one pass. The next time, it’s gloves off. I’m kicking her ass.”

F
unny how time moves
. When we want it to fly by, it creeps. Hunter and I want every single second to last as long as possible. But each day passes by in a blur.

My fears about how the band feels about me evaporate after crashing their final meal all together here at Nana’s home. Mac and Levi leave tomorrow. EJ and Hart leave in two days. Hunter will be the last man standing, and my heart aches in anticipation.

Nana cooks like a fiend. I arrive late enough to have missed the preparation since I worked inventory today with Trey in exchange for the night off, much to Shane’s annoyance. The house smells so good that I could eat the air. Everyone cheers when I walk in, and Hunter stands up to greet me. The rest whistle and holler at our kiss.

“We came here to eat food, not suck face,” EJ shouts.

“Eugene Justin Wilder, you leave those two alone.”

The whole room explodes with laughter.

“Yeah, Eugene. Stuff your face and shut up.” A shiteating grin spreads across Hart’s face.

“Nana,” EJ whines.

“No wonder he’s such an obnoxious shit,” I whisper in Hunter’s ear. A little louder, I say, “Poor bastard never had a chance with a name like Eugene.”

EJ scowls at me, and I flip him off. Hunter gives me another squeeze and lets me sit down next to him. The table’s covered in good Southern home cooking. Fried chicken, meatloaf, mac and cheese, collards, mashed potatoes, and Brussels sprouts with bacon. There’s so much that I can’t keep up with it all.

“You must have been cooking for days, ma’am.” I shove food out of the way and scoop some mac and cheese onto my plate.

“Call me Eugenia, dear. And thank you for the compliment. I gotta feed my boys one last time before they go. Don’t know when they’ll be able to eat a good meal again.”

EJ’s cheeks redden in answer to my unspoken question. He’s named after his grandmother. I don’t know whether to poke fun or hug him since he clearly adores her.

“We won’t be starving, Ms. Eugenia.” Mac’s quiet voice holds reverence. “They’re putting us up in a nice house and stocking the fridge.”

She frowns a little. “Still. I’m sending you two there with some food. Don’t let me forget to pack some up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Mac and Levi say in unison.

“You can’t give them any of the meatloaf. That’s mine.” EJ points a finger of warning at the other two.

“Don’t make me smack you to teach you a lesson in sharing,” Nana warns, earning EJ more mocking.

Hunter and I help clear the table as Nana brings out two pies and a cobbler with a quart of vanilla ice cream.

“Honey, scrape the dishes off and stack them to the side of the sink. I’ll get them after we sweeten up a bit.”

My stomach stretches out. Though I’m full to the gills, I stifle a groan so Nana won’t be offended. She’s spoiled all of us. No one should be able to eat two slices of pie and a scoop of cobbler. EJ reaches for the strawberry rhubarb pie plate, and Nana slaps his hand.

“You let them have the rest.”

He rubs his hand and whines in protest. She walks around the table and kisses the top of his head. “Don’t worry, my boy. I’ll make you one all to yourself before you go.” She squeezes him with her thin arms, and he melts into her.

Displays like that make me happy to see, but sad because of my lack of an upbringing that included such obvious displays of care and love. Hunter spies my moment of reflection. He reaches under the table and holds my hand, rubbing it with his thumb.

Nana leaves to start cleaning up. The guys discuss final moving plans around me. I sneak out while they talk business and join Ms. Eugenia in the kitchen.

“Lord, I’m gonna miss all of them eating me outta house and home.” She shifts to her left of the sink.

“How long have you known them?” I join her to rinse the dishes and stack them in the drying rack.

“Well, let’s see. Hunter’s been sitting at my table since he was a stick of a boy. Mac joined in once the boys hit high school. Hart started coming around after Hunter and Mac found him at college. And Levi was the newest. That is until you.”

My heart hammers in my chest. “I’m not one of them.”

She weighs my answer and washes her dish with a rag. “No. Not one of the boys. But a blind person could sense that there’s more between you and Hunter than you want us to see.”

I stay quiet, contemplating how much she guesses and how much she knows. And whether or not she’s right.

“At least you’re not anything like that foul beast with breasts that his ex-girlfriend was. What a total bitch.”

“Holy shit.” I almost drop the plate in my hands.

“Well, I’m right, aren’t I? Heard you had some trouble with her.”

I smirk. “Does EJ tell you everything?”

“Yes.” The woman does not mince words. “Trouble follows wherever she goes. I told Hunter before you got here that he needs to squash whatever nonsense she’s starting before it gets bad.”

We fall into a silent partnership cleaning up the kitchen and listening to the guys laugh and talk. Before we go back into the room, Nana takes me by the arm in a gentle hold.

“You know, Mac played me the song you recorded with Hunter. It’s even more beautiful than the night you two sang together.”

My cheeks flare with heat. “Thank you.” I try to pull away, but she holds me fast.

“Make EJ give you my number or put it in your phone. That technology is a bit beyond me. Now that you’re part of the family, you call me anytime. ” She embraces me, and I tower over her tiny frame.

Part of the family. Talk about moving fast. I try not to stiffen in her arms, and plaster a small smile on my face when she releases me. I excuse myself to use the bathroom, and take long, deep breaths to settle my nerves.

She’s given me something I’ve wished for all my life. My own mother never spoke about grandparents. From what I could piece together, her own parents weren’t alive. And my father’s parents had no contact with me after he left us, whether by their choice or my mother’s. Ms. Eugenia’s enormous gift to me should feel like all the holidays rolled into one. But it squeezes the air out of me. The offer’s too good to be true. And that’s how I feel about everything that’s happened since the concert. It’s all too good to be true.

When I return, all of them stand up, readying to say their thank you’s and farewells. Mac and Levi both take turns hugging Nana. She whispers wise words in their ears based on the looks in their eyes, and kisses their cheeks. They both get their own bags packed full of leftovers, much to EJ’s disappointment. The two man-hug their way around the room. Although I try to hide from them behind Hunter, neither of them let me get away with it.

Levi gives me a side hug and tells me he’ll let me know when he gets the “making of” video of our recording finished and posted to YouTube. Mac sets his bag down and full on hugs me.

“You know this isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing each other, don’t you?”

I nod, unwilling to answer him with words.

“Hunter will give you my number. You contact me anytime you want. In fact, I’m kind of hoping you’d be willing to consult on a few things once we’re there. Your Patreon idea’s perfect, and I want your input as to how we should set it up and use it.”

Hunter pushes Mac away from me. “Okay, stop talking business with my girl and get on the road. See you in a few.”

Mac and Hunter hug each other hard like two brothers. Mac tells Hunter to let his parents know he’s sorry he won’t be there for the final dinner. After another round of goodbyes and kisses for Nana, Mac and Levi head out to start the drive to Nashville. Two down, three to go.

After Hart leaves, Hunter and I are the last left with EJ and his grandmother. She offers me a bit of bourbon, but I turn her down since I drove myself here. We sit in her formal living room on flower-covered furniture. Nana massages EJ’s feet on the couch. He smiles like a smug kid. My inner debate about “too good to be true” distracts me until I miss something.

Hunter squirms beside me. I look between him and the two Wilders on the couch.

“I’m betting Nana here $50 that you’ll be in Nashville within a month.”

“And I’m trying to school my grandson in how to keep his nose outta other people’s business.” She tickles his foot, and EJ squeals like a little girl.

Pushed to my limits, I stand up to leave. Hunter gets up and puts his arm around me. I let him hold me for a second, and shrug him off. Nana gets up with a small groan and walks over to me, linking her arm in mine. She walks me to the door.

“Don’t let my grandson bother you. He’s a handful. And stop overthinking things. I’ve watched your brain working overtime tonight. It’s better if you listen to what’s in here over what’s up there.” She taps my chest over my heart and points at my head. “If I hadn’t done that, then I would’ve missed out on my husband, Jackson. Lord, that man could make me dizzy with his kisses.” She fans herself.

“No one needs to hear that, Nana.”

“Hush, you. If your grandpa hadn’t found me and held me tight, then your daddy wouldn’t have existed. Neither would you.” She laughs beside me.

“And the world might have been a better place without Eugene,” Hunter says. Without looking behind me, I know they’re flipping each other the bird.

“And you.” She slips her arm out from mine and places both her hands on Hunter’s arms. “You better take care of those you love.”

I want to believe she means the band, but a slight glance my way gives her away. We walk down her steps toward the car.

“See you tomorrow,” EJ calls out to Hunter.

“Goodnight, Eugene,” Hunter replies.

“Mel, hit him for me.”

“How about I give him his punishment in private?” I ask, winding EJ up.

“That’s it. I’m staying here tonight. Nana, you better have some bacon left for breakfast.” The door closes behind him as he goes inside.

Hunter walks me to my car. Cicadas click in the trees around us, and the leaves rustle in the night air.

“I’ll follow you to your place.” I unlock my door.

He steps into me. “Hey. I don’t know what happened tonight, but something’s not right. Did Ms. Eugenia say something to upset you?”

I look up at the moon, marvel at the stars, follow the sound of a car revving, and avoid his eyes. He brushes his fingers down my cheek, and I shiver. He waits for me with a cautious probing look.

“She did say some things to me. But it’s not what she said that’s the problem.”

He wraps his arms around me and rocks me back and forth. His way of letting me know he’s here for me. And the comfort he gives does make me feel better. But once again, I’ve allowed doubt back in.

“What’s the problem, baby?” He kisses the top of my head.

Taking a deep breath, I step away from him. My hand grasps the handle to the car, and I pull it. The door opens a bit, forcing Hunter to move.

“Me. I’m the problem.” I get inside my car and shut the door.