Chapter 2 #2
The other guys were perched on the chairs next to him.
Rolling my shoulders, I headed their way.
If they didn’t warm up to me by the end of the evening, I would turn down the assignment and move on to something else.
It would be hard to pass up this much cash, but I couldn’t work under conditions that were less than conducive.
Brayden stood up, flashing me a devastating smile as he met me halfway to the bar. Everything about him was delicious. Even though I tried so hard to resist the urge to check him out when we met this morning, I did notice he was wearing the same shirt as earlier.
But I wasn’t that strong now, and my eyes wandered.
The dim lights worked in my favor. No one could possibly tell where exactly I was looking.
Did I mention the man was simply delicious?
He had an athletic body, with muscled arms and broad, strong shoulders.
The T-shirt fit him perfectly, tight enough to highlight that he obviously put equal effort in his abs training.
I couldn’t check out his butt, but I was sure the opportunity would arise later tonight.
“Isabelle,” he said simply, leaning in to kiss my cheek, surprising the heck out of me. I sucked in a breath, overwhelmed by his sheer presence and his lips on my skin. He moved his mouth closer to my ear, whispering, “The boys promised to play nice. Don’t push their buttons… too much.”
He pulled back, winking at me.
“How about yours?” I teased. “May I push yours?”
The corners of his mouth twitched. “You’re welcome to try. My reaction might… surprise you.”
Holy shit, he even sounded sexy and dangerous! Of course it was why his voice was famous, since he had that raspy, rugged tone, but these words—this delicious warning—were just for me.
He led me to the guys, who all stood up, shaking my hand. I took that as a good sign.
“Well, let’s get the game started,” Lars said in a raised voice, clapping his hands.
“What do you want to drink?” Brayden asked me while Lars gathered the troops. “They make excellent cocktails.”
“Want to get me drunk this early in the evening?”
“From a cocktail?”
“I’m a lightweight.”
“Good to know.” There he went with the dangerously sexy voice again, as if he somehow planned to use that information against me.
“I’ll have a beer. That way I can keep my head in the game.”
I smiled and turned to face the bar, ordering a Budweiser.
“So how did you get the boys to promise they’d behave?” I asked while the bartender poured me a draft.
“I have my ways. I can be very persuasive.”
I had no doubt about that.
“We all want what’s best for the band,” he added. “We just don’t always agree on what exactly is best.”
“What do you think that is?”
“I think it’s important to keep our fans happy. We owe that to them. But I also want to stay true to ourselves. We don’t change our music according to the whims of fans. I also don’t want us to pose as something we’re not.”
“That’s very good to hear.” I appreciated that more than he knew. I didn’t like people who pretended to be something they weren’t just for appearances.
“At first we interpreted what Sasha said as having to fake a certain type of image. But what she meant was simply showing the public more of us.”
“Yes, exactly!”
“But we’re not comfortable with sharing personal information.”
“We’ll find the sweet spot. Something you don’t mind sharing that would make fans feel more connected to you. The question is what to show?” I narrowed my eyes, tilting my head playfully as I grabbed the glass of beer. “What secrets are you hiding, Brayden?”
A smile played on his full lips. He leaned in a bit.
“I’ll let you discover them. Much more fun, don’t you think? And worth your while.”
“Hmm, true…” I was being coy and flirty, and I had no idea how to stop. It was impossible to think clearly with him so close.
“By the end of the evening, I want you to tell me what you think.”
“Demanding much?” I scoffed.
“Very much.” His smile widened as he pulled back.
Wow. I held his gaze even though this tension between us was growing thicker by the second. Could he feel it, or was I the only one? His bossy and flirty demeanor was incredibly attractive. I’d never met anyone so aware of his own sex appeal.
I was sure part of it was the job and maybe it was now ingrained in his behavior, in the band’s image, but some of that had to be natural. He was magnetic, and he was drawing me in. I needed to be careful.
“Brayden, Isabelle, come on. We’re starting,” Sasha called from the alleys.
I twirled on the spot, heading in her direction, feeling him walk right behind me. We stopped in front of Sasha, and I let them know there was no way I was bowling—I was very bad at it. “I’m not playing, just observing.”
“Band, behave,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument. Then he put an arm around my shoulders, his fingers brushing my bare shoulder blade. My skin lit up where he touched me, and that heat coiled slowly throughout my body. My nipples tightened and my throat dried up. I wanted this man.
No, no. Down, girl .
My body couldn’t react to him like this. It wasn’t possible.
Sasha beamed, clearly happy that he was still on my side.
“Perfect. Brayden, I’m on your team, along with Lars and Harvey,” she said.
That was a relief. It meant I’d have plenty of time to talk to Brayden when it wasn’t his turn. I could also observe the others and draw conclusions. I’d read about them quite a lot this afternoon.
What I knew so far was Brayden played the piano, Lars the guitar, Thomas the drums, and Harvey the violin and a number of other instruments.
They were all thirty and had met at a party at NYU.
Brayden, Lars, and Thomas were among the most sought out bachelors in the country.
Thomas had been too, right until he got married.
It wasn’t just their fame though. They were all gorgeous.
Lars was tall, with deep blue eyes and jet-black hair.
Harvey had piercing dark eyes and light blond hair.
Thomas was the shortest of the group, but he still towered over me.
All of them were tall, and it was clear they worked out often.
Brayden and I sat at a booth a bit farther away from the rest of the group.
“What do you like most about this life?” I asked.
He answered without hesitation. “The music. I’d cut out everything else if I could. I don’t like public appearances.”
“How about concerts?”
“I like performing, but the concert tours themselves are insanely intense. It requires a lot of focus. I have zero time for any distractions during that time.”
“Sounds grueling.” I was committing every detail to memory. I didn’t want to write it all down—it would make this look far too formal .
“It is, but it comes with the territory. What made you become a counselor?”
Even though this was business and not about me, I thought it might put him at ease if I answered, keeping this more informal and comfortable so I could learn more about him and the band.
“No idea. I just always knew that’s what I wanted to do, ever since I was a kid.
I always played the family’s counselor, trying to gauge what my siblings were up to based on body language and so on.
” It was true. Dylan and Ian used to get mad at me for trying to interfere between them and our parents when they were fighting—I typically only made things worse.
My brothers were quite cunning at getting out of trouble, and I accidentally ruined their plans on more than one occasion. I had to smile at the memories.
“How many do you have?”
“Three. Two brothers and one sister. My sister came to New York when I was still in middle school, and the boys stuck together even more after that. But I was determined to get in on their games and schemes. Do you have siblings?”
I hadn’t found much information about his family, but given his fame, it was to be expected. There weren’t any personal details to find on any of the band members.
“I’m an only child, but the guys are like my brothers.”
I laughed. “I can see that. And you’ve got the big brother role? Keeping everyone in check?”
“You could say that.”
“Has it always been like this? This strong camaraderie?”
“I think so.” He didn’t expand on that, which I thought meant he was avoiding me until I realized he was glancing over my shoulder at the game. “It’s my turn. Want to cheer me on?”
He hopped out of the booth, and we walked over toward the others.
“Yes. Make sure you win. Can’t have the guys thinking I bring bad luck.”
“I always win,” he said, and that boyish charm appeared once again. “The secret to it all is in the moves. The positioning is important. You know…”
I tuned out the rest, because my mind was already wandering down Dirty Lane, imagining all sorts of positions that had nothing to do with bowling.
“Focus on cheering, Isabelle,” he whispered in my ear, sounding amused. Had he guessed where my mind just went?
“I’m trying.”
“Are you?”
“Yes. Let’s see what you can do.”
He failed spectacularly. The ball veered all the way to the right, bypassing all pins.
Sasha gave us a thumbs-up, smiling good-naturedly. Brayden was smiling too, but there was something sexy about it. Tendrils of heat coiled around my body. I looked away, unable to keep eye contact for too long.
Brayden focused on the game after that, and I didn’t press him with more questions. He did ask me to cheer for him again when it was his turn. Gutter balls. He lost again.
I headed to one of the benches, needing a time-out. The testosterone was getting to me.
To my surprise, Lars sat next to me.
“Inviting you here was Brayden’s best idea,” he declared, grinning.
It made me suspicious, and I had to ask, “Why are you so happy?”
“Because this is the first time Brayden’s losing, and I have you to thank for that. He’s been bragging for years about being unbeatable. I’m going to remind him about this evening every time he starts again.”