Page 61 of Mine

I glanced back at the line. Every single person waiting was beyond gorgeous. Women in beautiful dresses and outfits who exuded sexual energy.Why the hell is he interested in me?

The man stepped to the side to let me go by. “Have fun.”

My pulse raced as I slipped past him and stepped into the venue. It’d been a long time since I’d been at Russo’s, and it looked like they’d made some updates for the better. A bar ran the length of the entire wall to the right, and different levels of seating all faced the stage at the back corner.

Some of the house lights were still on. I checked my watch and raised a brow, wondering if they were having set up issues. I went up three steps and looked over a balcony, searching for Salt.

When I saw him, every muscle in my body froze. I swallowed hard, even more aware of what I’d worn for him, and that coming here was putting us in jeopardy. Russo’s wasn’t the best bar to hear music, but it was still frequented by a lot of people in the industry. This was Nashville, after all.

Salt stood on the stage talking to a man I vaguely recognized. Other musicians bustled around the two of them, setting up quickly. I recognized the three band members who were at the last show. More than likely, Salt was opening for whoever their headliner was.

He turned his head and I sucked in a breath as his gaze met mine.

This was the first time I’d seen him in person since Friday night.

He held up his hand and crooked a finger. A potent mix of frustration and tension seeped into my muscles. I scowled as I went down the stairs and made my way to the stage.

“Thisis your guest?” the guy said, his eyes widening.

“Yep,” Salt said without missing a beat.

He startled me by jumping off the stage, landing in front of me with a kind of ease that reminded me my knees were not like they were a decade ago.When I was his age. What the fuck am I doing?

Salt held out his hand and I shook it, pulling away before he could kiss my knuckles. Amusement glimmered in his dark gaze as he turned to look up at the man. “This is Pepper.”

“Oh, I know her,” he snorted, his tone not disguising his disdain.

Great. My expression hardened and I slipped on my business mask, everything turning to stone. “Do you?”

“Yeah. You’re the reason my sister never got signed to a record label.”

“I’m certain I had nothing to do with that,” I answered coolly.

“Well, it’s your label, isn’t it?”

I fought a smile. “What was your sister’s name?”

“Amelia,” he sneered. “Great voice. Talented songwriter. Ended up with another label, better than yours.”

I knew exactly who he was talking about. I remembered her, her grating voice, and the sense of entitlement she had. And really, the nail in the coffin was that she was a bitch to Tommy. The only reason she got picked up by another label was because of a friend of their family. Last I’d heard, they dropped her for making homophobic statements online.Good fucking riddance.

“Amelia, Amelia, hmm…” I trailed off, and then shrugged. “Oh, I remember. Is that the Amelia who got dropped last month by her label for being homophobic online?”

The man’s ears turned red, his face dropping. “That was a misunderstanding.”

“I doubt it,” I said pleasantly, fluttering my lashes.

Salt looked away, hiding a laugh from the guy on stage. I felt more eyes on us and glanced up. The bass player was watching us closely. It made me feel anxious. Salt found a shred of composure, raked his fingers through his hair, and turned to face the dipshit. “Um, well. She’s my guest regardless, so can she have a badge, Dale?”

Dale fumed, but shrugged his shoulders, mimicking me. “Fine. I’ll get her one. You better be fucking worth it.”

Salt bristled. “I could leave instead, and let everyone waiting outside know that you changed your mind at the last minute, if you’d like.”

He held up his hands. “No need for that, man. I’ll go grab the badge.”

Salt didn’t say anything else, giving Dale a glare as he scampered to the back.

I shook my head. “This was a mistake. I shouldn’t be here. I showed up like you asked?—”

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