Chapter 2 #2
He stood up and gave her a quick hug. He wasn’t sure why it felt as if they’d already progressed to that point, but Andi hugged him back, so the familiarity was shared. “It was a great recommendation.”
She glanced down at his empty plate. “Fish and chips? Excellent decision. They’re killer, aren’t they? I swear the cook, Riley Collins, is the best in the city.”
“Collins? She’s related to Padraig?”
“Yes. The Collins family has owned and operated this pub forever. Started with Patrick Collins and his wife, Sunday. Then some of their kids, and now there’s a lot of the third generation working here as well, Padraig included.
” Andi clearly adored the Collins family.
“Are you hanging out for a little while? I’m about to start my set. ”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
She smiled at his response, then climbed the stage, tuning her guitar for a minute before she started playing. For an hour, she sang an array of music, from popular bar tunes that everyone sang along to, to a few songs she’d written herself.
Joel was blown away. He’d known halfway through the first song Padraig had been right. Because there was no way Joel was going to allow someone as talented as Andi to continue working three dead-end jobs. Not when she was so obviously destined for much bigger things.
When her set ended, she rose and walked right over to his table. “You stayed.”
He pointed to the chair. “Can you join me for a little while?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I usually take a fifteen-minute break. Then I’ll do another set. I only do two on Sunday nights.”
Padraig walked over to hand her a glass of water. “Great job, Andi. As always. I’ve had a couple people ask if you’re going to sing ‘Bigger Dreams’ tonight?”
Andi lit up. “Seriously? Yeah. Of course, I’ll sing it. Wow.”
Padraig returned to the bar, leaving Joel to wonder about the request. “Bigger Dreams?”
“It’s a song I wrote. Usually people request the covers, so I’m thrilled they want to hear one of mine.”
“You perform here a lot?”
“Just Fridays and Sundays. Then I wait tables the rest of the week.”
Joel sighed. “You’re going to work yourself to death at this rate.”
Andi didn’t seem to share his concern. “It’s worth it.”
“Why?” Joel asked, curious about what was driving her to work so damn hard.
“I told you why. Because of my brother. Dylan wants to go to college. That’s not cheap, and there’s no way I’m letting a lack of money be the reason he can’t attend. He’s done without enough in his life.”
“And what about you?”
“What about me?” she asked confused.
“Aren’t you doing without things too?”
She waved his question away like it was ridiculous. It wasn’t, and her response tweaked the alpha in him that wanted to demand she take better care of herself.
“Where are your parents?” Joel knew it was a personal question, probably too personal considering they hadn’t even known each other twenty-four hours, but he needed to know what he was up against if he hoped to convince her to give up her three jobs and take a chance on a new career, recording her music.
“My dad split when I was nine. Mom was pregnant with Dylan at the time. She did the best she could…for a while. She has a drinking problem,” Andi admitted.
“So you pay the bills.” His statement wasn’t a question, but Andi answered it as if it was.
“Mom chips in sometimes but holding down a job isn’t really one of her strengths.” Andi gave him a rueful grin as if she was ashamed of herself for saying something negative about her mother.
Meanwhile, he felt the need to meet her mom and read her the riot act for allowing her daughter to not only carry the weight of the family on her slim shoulders but for also letting Andi put herself in dangerous situations to do so.
Andi had no business working in that convenience store in the middle of the night.
“To be honest,” Andi added, “the nights I sing here don’t feel like work. My music is my happy place, so having the opportunity to play my guitar and sing the songs I’ve written for an audience feels like a gift.”
“You realize you’re talented enough to record. Have you never considered pursuing a career in music?”
She laughed as if the idea was preposterous.
“I wasn’t joking,” he said, too seriously. This woman worked too hard for her family without giving a second thought to herself. Didn’t she have any dreams? “What do you wish for, Andi? In life,” he clarified.
She tilted her head. “I told you. I want my brother to go to college.”
“No.” Joel shook his head. “That’s your brother’s dream, not yours.”
Andi sighed and for the first time since he met her, that ever-present smile on her face faded.
“Dreams are for people with money, Joel. I’ve learned it’s smart to keep my aspirations smaller, more achievable.
I need to get back on stage. Thanks for the chat.
I hope the rest of your business in Baltimore is successful.
” She used the word he’d said to describe his brunch meeting. “Goodbye.”
It was apparent she expected him to leave, but she didn’t know him well enough to understand that their conversation was nowhere near finished.
Andi thought walking away would end the uncomfortable topic, but she was about to get her first lesson in who he was.
Because Joel was a stubborn son of a bitch.
He spent the next hour, listening to her sing, falling more and more in love with her voice—and God help him, maybe even Andi. He found himself imagining a future for her since she refused to dream herself.
When she sang the requested song, “Bigger Dreams,” he didn’t have a doubt that Andi had the potential to become as big a star as Teagan Collins.
As the last strains of the song faded away, she rose, thanking everyone for coming, then packed up her guitar.
“You’re still here.”
He liked that she sounded pleased by that.
“I am. Are you heading out?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I don’t live too far away. I usually walk.”
Joel bit his tongue as he looked out into the dark night. “You have a penchant for living a dangerous life, don’t you?”
A small crinkled formed between her eyebrows as if she was confused by his comment.
“It’s not safe for a woman to walk home alone at night,” he added to clarify. “Would you like to share a cab with me?”
He was proud of himself for managing to make his words a request when all he really wanted to do was tell her she was going to let him see her home safely.
“Sure. That would be nice. I’m beat. Only managed to squeeze in a three-hour nap after leaving the hotel, so I’m struggling from missing a night of sleep.”
He frowned. “You didn’t sleep at all last night?”
“When I got home after my shift here, Barbie called to ask me to cover for her at the store. It’s no big deal. Mo’ money,” she joked as his scowl grew darker. “Plenty of time to sleep when I’m dead.”
He didn’t laugh. Instead, he reached out, taking her guitar case from her, then grasping her other hand to hold. The moment their palms touched, an electric spark traveled along his skin. His body already knew what his head was only just starting to wrap itself around.
This woman was his.
Joel was no stranger to relationships, but he was a hell of a lot less familiar with love. He’d always pushed the emotion off, claiming he didn’t have time for it, too obsessed with his career.
Now, all bets were off. Because he didn’t just want Andi in the recording studio, he wanted her in his bed.
They waited on the sidewalk outside the pub for a few minutes, neither of them speaking, just holding hands and enjoying the peaceful night air.
When the Uber arrived, they climbed in, and she gave the man her address. Joel paid attention to the route, bothered that she walked these dark streets alone too many nights.
That wouldn’t be happening again.
If Andi’s family didn’t care enough to make sure she was safe, then he was stepping in and taking over.
As they pulled up in front of a run-down apartment building, Andi thanked him for the ride, even trying to give him cash to pay half the fare. He told her to put her money away.
“I’m in Baltimore until Tuesday afternoon. I’d like to see you again. Any chance you could take a night off to go out to dinner with me?”
Andi nodded. “Mondays are actually my night off at the pub anyway. I’m finished work at the convenience store by three.”
“Perfect. I’ll pick you up here at six?”
“I’d like that.”
The two of them got out of the car together, Joel asking the driver to wait while he walked her to the front door. Once there, he cupped her cheeks in his hands and bent toward her. She was a good foot shorter than his six-three frame.
“Good night, Andi.” He sealed those parting words with a soft kiss, loving the feeling of Andi’s hands gripping his waist. When they parted, he rested his forehead against hers. “See you tomorrow night?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I can’t wait.”
He couldn’t either.
Once she was inside, Joel returned to the car, pulling out his phone as he planned their date and a lot more. She worked too hard with too little time or money to do anything nice for herself.
As of right now, that changed because he intended to spoil her, to make every wild hope she’d never dared to dream a reality.
He wanted to show her the world, but more than that, he wanted to be by her side every step of the way.