Hot Buttered Yum (9 page)

“Did you drive
over last night?” Ginger asked.

She was very
astute. And she knew her friend well.

“I walked,
actually.” Roni’s voice sounded a bit too prim and
proper to her own ears.

Ginger nodded, then looked through the patio door once again, this time
without the binoculars. A few seconds later, she turned back. “What did you
wear?”

Dang it. “That silver
dress I wore to the plated-dinner fund-raiser at the hotel earlier this year.”

“Hmmm. And the shoes? If I come to your house, will I find the
shoes in your closet?”

Roni lowered the
binoculars and pressed her lips together. When she met Ginger’s eyes, she had
no doubt that she’d been found out. Ginger knew which were
her favorite shoes to wear with that particular dress. Roni had gone on and on about it when she wore the
combination last spring.

Ginger would
also know that Roni wouldn’t walk half a mile in
four-inch heels.

She shot Ginger
a hard look and then motioned with her eyes to the two women who’d once again
joined them at the doors. Ginger swung her light-green gaze in the direction of
the women. Finally, she slumped her shoulders and
overplayed a mopey look. She knew she wouldn’t be getting details today.

“Then I’ve got
to go,” she grumbled. “Grocery shopping to do since the store should be empty
of other women right now. They were all clumped along the boardwalks as I drove
past.” She returned the binoculars to the case behind the piano and stopped and
stared at the instrument.

Roni followed her
over. She’d had the piano delivered when she’d first moved to town.

“There was talk
on the ferry this morning about your performance yesterday,” Ginger told her. “Some of the regulars from in here.”

Roni sat on the
bench and put her hands on the keys, softly starting to play Bach. There were
plenty of people that lived on the island who went over to the mainland for
work every day. “Never thought they’d see me with a country band, huh?”

“Actually, it
was about the solo. They knew you were good—or used to be—but they’d never seen
you in concert. Seems you impressed.”

She gave a
shrug. Apparently she had. She’d heard it from a number of people herself.

“You given any more thought to a full concert after the parade
next week?”

Roni didn’t
hesitate. “I told Kayla no.”

She had agreed this
morning, though, to play a couple songs with the band when they returned for
the final night. Their songs only.

Ginger sat on
the bench as Roni continued playing. Roni caught sight of the two women still at the doors, now
holding their drinks. Suddenly their faces turned in her direction and their
eyes grew round.

“You’re…?” the
brunette mouthed, one finger pointing helplessly toward Roni.

Roni smiled and
nodded. Yes, she was the pianist from the Mr. Yummy Santa contest. The one who used to be famous. This wasn’t the first time
she’d been asked that question today.

The women
returned to their seats, moving almost reverently.

Apparently Roni was now more exciting than Lucas in a kilt. At least for the moment.

“But why won’t
you?” Ginger asked quietly, pushing the idea of the concert. The spot between
her brows pinched into a vertical line. “What happened, Roni?
Why won’t you perform anymore?”

Roni looked at the
person she’d known longer than anyone but family. She should have told her
friends years ago. When it had first happened. Just
possibly, they could have helped her through it.

That burning
sensation of impending tears appeared again.

“Not today,
Ginger. I don’t want to talk about it today.” She didn’t want to talk about it at
all, but lately she’d been feeling the need to.

Bach continued
coming from her fingertips. She didn’t even have to think to play. She stared
out the back doors and let the music flow, while she felt Ginger continue to
watch her.

Fifteen seconds
later, Ginger leaned in, one arm going around her waist. She squeezed. “When
you’re ready, sweetheart,” she said. “We’re here when you need us.”

The three friends
may not all be in close physical proximity anymore, but they were still tied by
the heart. Plus, Andie was only a call away.

Roni tilted her head
and rested it on Ginger’s shoulder. “I know,” she whispered.

Ginger touched her
own head briefly to Roni’s, and then she patted Roni’s leg and stood. “Call if you need anything.”

Ginger left the
building and Roni once again disappeared into the
music. She let her hands feel the notes. Striking out sharp,
hard beats, and then caressing. Whatever the music
called for. And she let her mind drift back three years.

It was a rare thing
that she let herself go there. She’d learned early on that you dealt with your
problems quickly, and then you moved on. Her father had taught her that.

Parents get divorced?
Give Mom a hug and head back out on the road. No time to fret.

Lose your
father? You’ve got a concert to get back to.

Have your heart
ripped from your body and thrown off a cliff? Don’t loiter feeling sorry for
yourself. Suck it up, move on. Put on your brave face.

It had always
worked.

Until she’d found
herself unable to step back on stage.

She snapped her
eyes open and returned from the past. It did no good to hash through what
couldn’t be changed.

Letting her
fingers fly, she finished out the piece, realizing when the last note ended that
she was out of breath. She lifted her hands and looked around. She’d forgotten
she was at Gin’s.

Kevin was still
behind the bar, but he was no longer playing with the bottles. The two women in
the dining room seemed to have no interest left in the men. And the waitress
and chef had come out from the back.

All of them
silently stared.

And then one of
the women started to clap. She began slowly until the others joined in. Then there
were five pairs of hands showing their admiration. There was little expression
on their faces other than shock. She supposed she had just impressed again.

She sighed. She couldn’t
seem to stop doing that lately.

But the interesting
thing was, she kind of liked it.

Music blared from inside the bar as
Lucas made his way across the parking lot. It was Wednesday night. They’d been
through three challenges and he was still alive in the contest. The fifty thousand
remained within his reach. But he was tired of Roni
ignoring him. So tonight he was seeking her out.

As was,
apparently, everyone else.

The door of
Gin’s opened below the huge caricature of a happy, red-headed smiling face, and
raucous laughter billowed out. Along with very loud music.
He shook his head at the contradiction. The bar looked … not upscale so
much … but not honky-tonk, either. More like it catered to both
mild-mannered sports fans and well-dressed women looking for an afternoon glass
of wine.

Yet he could see
several of the guys inside partying it up, and heard more than one good-natured
catcall. And he would swear the parking lot was shaking with the noise level.

He’d heard
plenty of talk about Roni over the last couple of
days. He wasn’t the only one smitten with her. She spent mornings cutting up
with the guys. Teasing and flirting. Then again in the
evenings. She’d even come out to the obstacle course today. He’d seen
her on the sidelines, a big floppy hat and a breezy skirt swirling around her
ankles, cheering people on.

But she hadn’t
uttered one single word to him since Monday night.

He looked back
at his rental car, where her heels were still tucked safely inside the trunk.
He’d been carrying them around like some Prince Charming, looking for a time to
get her alone. Only, he didn’t just want to get her alone to give back her
shoes. Most notably, he wanted to know if that kiss had kept her awake all
night or if it had been just him.

The good thing
was, being unable to sleep for thinking about the way her body had so easily
molded to his—along with that piercing he’d felt!—had allowed him to get plenty
of work done for the day job. And since that was what kept the lights on, he
had to get that in.

He’d been a
telecommuter for years now, working for a large insurance company out of
Houston, and they were used to him putting in odd hours. It had started three
years ago when he’d had to move back to Dallas. He’d spent so many daytime
hours at doctor’s appointments, the evenings had been
the only time to get the work done.

As he was their
top systems architect, they’d gone along with it.

His cell buzzed
and he pulled it from his pocket. He had a text from home. He moved to the
shadows, standing on the boardwalk instead of heading directly into the bar.
The ocean was licking up on the dunes at his back and the bright, friendly
atmosphere of the bar was at his front.

He punched out a
quick reply. It had been a long time since he’d been away from the house for
more than a couple nights, and he was discovering that it was harder to do than
he’d thought. He kept the occasional modeling job because it allowed him to get
away. A little distance and he stayed sharp. Thankful.
He didn’t take anything for granted.

Plus, these days
he put everything he made through modeling into charities. He wasn’t sure where
he would be without them.

A couple more
texts back and forth and he tucked his phone back in his pocket and stared at
the bar. It was just casual fun he was looking for, he reminded himself.

So why did he
suddenly think he should get back in his car and forget that he’d ever had his
hand on Roni’s breast?

“Alexander, is
that you?” A voice called from the patio. The doors had opened and it looked as
if the crowd inside was expanding to take up the space on the outside. Kelly
was waving him over. “Come on in, man. This chick is fantastic.”

Roni being the
chick, he supposed? “Heading that way.” As if he had a
choice.

He could no more
get in his car and drive away than he could ignore her for the next ten days.

Roni looked up from
the piano as someone shouted a song title. “I don’t know that one,” she yelled
back.

The men—and
quite a few women—were enjoying piano karaoke tonight. And they were bad. But
the bar manager was happy. Singing, dancing, drinking.
It was the right combination for this kind of establishment.

Plus, Roni was having a great time. Even if her
ears were bleeding from the tone-deaf singing. Good thing these guys
didn’t have a talent show coming up in the contest.

Another song was
shouted out and she nodded. She had to think about it, but she could do that
one. Closing her eyes in concentration, she went into the song as someone in
the middle of the bar began bellowing out the lyrics.

A cool breeze
swept in from the opened patio doors and she lifted her head to let it wash
over her face. It had become stuffy inside the building over the last hour. The
group of men had all followed her there immediately after the ritual kicking
off of two of the guys. Those two didn’t seem so down, though. They’d so far
talked adoring fans into buying all of their drinks for the night, and they
looked to merely have to choose which ones they wanted to take back to their
hotel room for the evening. What players.

But hey, at
least a good time was being had by all.

Mostly all. She hadn’t seen
Lucas come in. Which was good. Since
she was still avoiding him.

She opened her
eyes when someone sat down beside her. Contestant number
nineteen—a way-too-young-for-her cutie from Des Moines—gave her an ear-to-ear
grin.

“Sure would like
to dance with you tonight,” he said in his Iowa dialect.

She gave him a
smile. “Hard to dance when I’m playing, Jason.”

“I could put
some money in the jukebox,” he suggested. “Find a good slow song.”

Oh, she bet he
could. But she was not going to be seduced by a twenty-one-year-old, no matter
how cute. Or how worked up Lucas had gotten her the other night. She gave Jason
a let-down wink. “Sorry, sweetie, not gonna happen.”

He lifted his
hands in an I-had-to-try kind of way. “Can’t blame a guy.
Let me know if you change your mind,” he said as he stood.

Yeah. She’d do
that.

She suddenly
felt old. Last year she might have even considered taking him up on his offer.
But tonight she felt …

Her shoulders
slumped as she played. She didn’t know what she felt. Out of
sorts.

She turned her
face back to the breeze, and her gaze landed on the man in her mind. He was
standing, arms crossed over his chest and a shoulder leaned against the
doorframe.

And
he
.
Looked
.
Good
.

He stared at
her, unwavering, and she suspected her time in hiding had come to an end. He
motioned with his head, asking her to come outside. His steady gaze never broke
from hers.

No!
she silently screamed.

She gave him a
nod.

She didn’t want
to avoid him any longer.

What was life if
you didn’t live a little?

Lucas
disappeared back into the dark of the night and Roni
finished the song. Immediately more titles were shouted out.

She stood and
held up her hands. “I need a break, guys.”

Number nineteen
looked up quickly from
where he leaned on the bar, a hopeful expression on his face. She shook her
head. Still not going to happen. He shot her another
grin, dimples flashing. Got to give the guy credit for
trying.

Downing a drink
of water from the bottle sitting on top of the piano, she closed the cover over
the keys and headed for the main door, all the while wondering what she was
doing. She’d been perfectly fine keeping her distance, and now with one crook
of his head, she was following Lucas out into the dark?

The door swung
closed behind her and the noise level dimmed. A cool breeze kissed her heated
face.

Yeah, one crook
of his head and she was following him out into the night.

And she was fine
with that.