Chapter Eight

When Bonnie touched her arm a moment ago and Ava saw Chase standing there, looking all crazy sexy, gorgeous and yet with a vulnerability, it touched her heart.

She glanced around to see if Daisy was with him, but the redhead seemed to have disappeared. For Chase to come over and ask her out made her think that he wasn’t already taken. She’d responded instinctively with her sultry answer and now it shocked the heck out of her that she’d said those words only a moment ago. Dazzle me, superstar.

Ava cringed inside a little and waited to see how he was going to respond. She held her breath and all her focus was on him. Her body hummed and desire settled with delicious heaviness between her thighs. Good Lord, he was definitely the kind of man she’d never, ever met before. She was unable to pull her gaze away from him. His deep brown eyes snagged her and she felt delectably wonderful. She’d never been so turned on by a simple look before.

“Dazzle you, Boots? I can definitely do that. These hands are magic.” Chase lifted his hands and did jazz hands, and Ava choked, lost between amusement and arousal.

“I’m sure you’re a regular Criss Angel, but first I want to know if you have a lovely assistant waiting for you. As in, a girlfriend?” She asked point-blank, wanting that particular scenario cleared up right off the bat; there was no way she was going to beat around the bush when it came to the possibility of being the other woman. When she finally found her man, it would be just the two of them. For life. Ava shared almost everything, except food, but she definitely had no intention of sharing the man that she would spend the rest of her life with.

Which didn’t mean that would be Chase. Because that would be crazy talk. She had just met the impossibly handsome, sexy and charming guy!

“Girlfriend?” He looked perplexed again and glanced around like there would be a clue to what she meant in the crowds. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“What about Daisy?” Ava almost held her breath, waiting for his answer. She wanted, so desperately, for him to deny that Daisy was his girlfriend.

“You got that all backwards.” Chase stepped closer to her and his presence seemed to vibrate in the air between them; it washed over her in a powerful wave. She inhaled a deep breath and held it when the scent of his soap, cologne, wildness filled her. Her eyelids fluttered as the feelings he roused in her did all sorts of good bad things to her, making her heart thump harder in her chest. If he could make her body respond so acutely with just a look, his voice, what he could do with his hands?

She had to think for a minute about what they’d been saying. Oh yeah. “And how do I have that backwards?” Ava asked, tipping her head to the side and looking at him from under raised eyebrows, desperately trying to keep her equilibrium.

“I grew up with her.” Chase edged closer still and rested his hand on the back of her stool. His thumb brushed against her dress. Ava nearly sprang out of the seat at his touch but she saw the grin curving on his face. For a man with a beard and a mustache, something she was not normally attracted to, he had it all.

The urge to raise her hands and grab the bolo tie to pull him down to her so she could kiss him was nearly overwhelming, so instead she shifted to reach for her drink, and managed to tip it over. The contents of her glass spewed over the bar in the direction of Fredi and Celia. They both sprung from their seats with cries of alarm.

“Damn, Ava, we’re not the ones who need a cold shower!” Fredi stood back with her hands out, looking down to make sure nothing had got on her clothes. Celia, on the other hand, had quickly grabbed a rag from the other side of the bar and was mopping up the mess.

Ava was mortified. She was behaving like a child: nervous, clumsy—and it so wasn’t like her. Lord, she needed to get a grip, and fisted her hand when it began to tremble. She stared at it, not wanting to look up to see the humor that was probably shining in Chase’s eyes.

From behind her, Bonni put a hand on her shoulder and Ava heard her whisper right next to her ear. “Chill, Ava. This man has gotten you all aflutter. Just relax.”

Ava turned around enough to be able to look Bonni in the eyes. Her bestie nodded at her and squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. “Thanks,” Ava said gratefully.

“You’re welcome. Now, go with him. It’s not like I can’t track him down if I need to,” she said in a low voice, and gave Ava a little nudge.

Ava steadied her breathing then turned back to Chase. “Have you met my friends?” She decided to avert her nerves by making introductions. “That’s Celia, cleaning up my mess—she’s an amazing writer. Over there with the curly hair is Fredi; she’s a wedding-dress designer.”

Ava turned to Bonni, not wanting Fredi to be her normal self and blurt out anything about how she had inundated Fredi with wedding-dress designs. Good Lord, could you imagine? “This is Bonni. She’s a cop—a detective, actually.”

Celia waved the rag in Chase’s general direction and Fredi opened her mouth before snapping it shut at a killing look from Celia. Bonni leaned around Ava and put her hand out for Chase to shake. “Pleased to meet you.”

“That explains it,” Chase said quietly as he shook hands with Bonni. As they let go, Bonni gave him a little nod combined with a warning look and Chase rested his fingers on the brim of his hat, as if tipping it.

“Explains what?” Ava asked, looking between the two of them.

“Ah, nothing. It’s nice to meet you all. I know you’re here for the festival and that you are spending time in one of the arena suites. But if you’re free tomorrow night, after the last concert, I was wondering if you’d all like to come to a party.”

“Oh, I don’t think so. It’s going to be so late—” Ava started to answer.

“A party?” Fredi interjected, and smiled brightly at Chase. “I’d love to go to a party.”

“Hmm, Celia, what’s on the schedule for tomorrow night after the concerts?” Bonni inquired.

Ava was getting a little annoyed that this conversation was happening as if she didn’t exist.

“Tomorrow—Thursday—is actually free during the day, and then the first performer goes on at the Nissan at—”

“Okay, guys, listen, I think I have some input here…” Ava said, giving them each dagger stares.

“Ava, you can think on the party and let me know. But I have another proposition for you.” Chase pushed up the brim of his cowboy hat with his fingertip. The shadow gone from his face and the bar light reflecting in his eyes, she realized even more how ruggedly handsome he was.

Her mouth went dry and now she desperately needed that drink she’d just knocked over. Ava craned her neck to see if she could flag down the bartender. If there was ever a time for two piña coladas, this was it!