“And you should hear the song she composed last night,” Kellen added.
“Maybe I’ll write another tonight,” she said. A look passed between the couple that nearly set Melanie’s eyebrows ablaze. Apparently Gabe wasn’t the only member of the band who knew his way around the female anatomy.
Gabe cleared his throat. “Would you two like to be alone?”
Kellen started. “Gabe!” he said, smiling widely, and pounded Gabe on the back as if he hadn’t seen him in years. “When did you get here?”
“I was here before you arrived.”
“Didn’t notice,” he said.
“With Dawn beside you, I doubt you’d notice if the room was on fire,” Gabe teased.
“She does demand attention.”
Dawn went pink.
“So you somehow talked Melanie into joining us for the evening,” Kellen said, leveling his deep, dark eyes on Melanie. When this man centered his attention on her, she definitely noticed. Her knees wobbled unsteadily. She wasn’t sure how Dawn was still standing after being subjected to Kellen’s attention all day.
“He didn’t have to twist my arm too hard,” Melanie said with a laugh.
“I was surprised your friend left in the limo without you,” Kellen said. “What was her name?”
“Nikki.”
“She didn’t seem too happy for someone getting a free ride in a limo.”
Melanie’s heart thudded unpleasantly. “Was she crying?”
When three pairs of eyes lowered to gaze at the floor, she wished she hadn’t asked.
“She’ll get it over it,” she said. She hoped sooner rather than later.
“Don’t beat yourself up over it, Mel,” Gabe said. “She didn’t start crying until I told her, rather bluntly, that I would not pressure you into having a threesome with her.”
Melanie blinked in disbelief. “She didn’t?”
Gabe and Kellen both nodded. So apparently Nikki had been causing a big enough scene that bystanders had caught on to her ploy.
“I honestly don’t know what to do about her,” Melanie said. She rubbed at her forehead, hoping that would ease the tension gathered there.
“Why do you think she’s your responsibility anyway?” Gabe asked.
“Because she doesn’t have anyone else.”
“Maybe there’s a reason for that.”
Melanie’s jaw dropped. Had that really just come out of Gabe’s mouth?
Chapter Nine
“That’s a really mean thing to say,” Melanie said, unable to believe that he could be so cruel.
“You’re right,“ Gabe said, “that was uncalled for. I apologize. I don’t want to see her get hurt, but I care about you, and the relationship you have with Nikki is obviously stressing you out.”
Melanie laughed sardonically. “It’s that obvious, is it? She’s not so bad when it’s just the two of us.” That wasn’t entirely true. Nikki was always needy, but she wasn’t always outlandish. She just needed lots of cuddles. And validation. And cash.
“Good friends are hard to find,” Dawn said. “But those who claim to love you shouldn’t take advantage of your loyalty, they should cherish it.”
Kellen shifted uncomfortably, and Melanie couldn’t even begin to guess why Dawn’s words of wisdom unsettled him.
A sudden flurry of activity near the dressing room door drew Melanie’s attention. The door was propped open and the smell of spice and seafood accompanied several staff members dressed in white aprons. Tables were set up and a buffet was quickly laid out along one wall.
“Dinner?” Melanie asked.
“They do feed us occasionally,” Gabe said.
“Why didn’t you say something? We wouldn’t have had to stop for sandwiches.”
He leaned close to her ear. “And you wouldn’t have had time to try out my glove.”
She bit her lip to hold in a laugh. “Good call.”
“Hope you like it hot.”
“You should already know that I do.”
“I mean Cajun food. Jacob ordered it, and he likes it spicy.”
It took Melanie a moment to remember that Jacob was Shade’s real name. “I’ve never had authentic Cajun food.”
“You’re in for a treat then.”
When Gabe said hot, he really meant “destroy the lining of your digestive system” spicy. The gumbo and jambalaya were delicious. Well, what she could taste of them. She was certain her tongue, her throat, and her stomach were on fire. She refused to try the crawdads, however. She couldn’t bring herself to eat something that still had legs and antennae. And eyestalks.
After dinner the band was escorted out of the room for a meet and greet with a group of VIP fans. Melanie used the time to chat with Madison, who actually had a functioning brain when Adam wasn’t plastered to her side. Madison always had one eye on the door, though, eager for her lover’s return. Melanie completely understood the desire to be alone with someone she didn’t get to see often. Dawn excused herself to call her agent or something. Melanie wasn’t sure where Lindsey had gone, but she had to ask someone about her, so she settled for the only person in the room not wearing a “Staff” shirt.
“So what’s the story with Lindsey?” she asked.
Madison shrugged. “I don’t know. Apparently she got knocked up by Owen, and she didn’t have anywhere else to go. They’re not a couple or anything.”
“So Owen is the father? Gabe sounded unsure.”
“As far as I know,” Madison said. “She hangs all over him, so I just assumed… Why? Did you hear differently?”
Melanie shook her head, deciding she must have misunderstood what Gabe had meant earlier. She felt bad for Owen, but she felt even worse for Lindsey. She couldn’t name a single man whose life had been completely turned upside down by the birth of an illegitimate child, but she knew of dozens of women who had to figure out how to raise a kid on their own while some deadbeat lived it up without a care in the world. She hoped Owen wasn’t like that. He seemed like a nice guy, but he obviously wasn’t interested in the baby’s mother. She supposed the more important question was how did he feel about the child?
When the guys returned—in high spirits after being thoroughly worshipped by the VIPs—it was time to head for the backstage area and start connecting the musicians to their equipment. Gabe’s hook-up consisted of being handed a set of drumsticks and having a feed put in one ear. He spent the rest of his time backstage with Melanie in his arms, just holding her against him. He seemed to need the peace of rocking silently with her, and she didn’t mind being plastered against his chest one bit. In fact, she groaned in disappointment when he had to release her to take the stage. She supposed she could share him with the 15,000 people in the audience for one hour, just as long as she got him all to herself for the next seventy-two.