Page 71 of Coast to Coast

“I guess playing the guitar is about as close as I’ve ever gotten to that. Though I could ski all day. Even though I normally hate the cold, I barely notice it while I’m out there.”

“So get up there and flow, okay?” He asked.

My God, he was beautiful. I could stay in this car and drown in his gaze. Could I change my mind and bring him back home instead?

“Keep looking at me like that, and I’ll forget anyone else exists.”

He flashed his grin again, and I’m not sure how it was only the first time I’d noticed it, but he had a dimple. This giant beast of a man softened his entire look with a dimple. I reached out, cupped his jaw, and poked my thumb into his dimple.

“Hey,” he said, ducking his head.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I didn’t notice your dimple before. I like it,” I said before slipping out of the passenger seat of his truck. As my foot hit the ground, an SUV pulled up, and several of Tom’s teammates poured out. I looked over at him in a brief moment of panic. They knew us, but I didn’t know them. Did he invite the entire team?

“Cal, you good?” he asked.

“Umm, I wasn’t expecting everyone to show up.”

My brother, sister, and parents had always come to see my performances when they could, but I had never had this many friendly faces in the crowd.

“I wasn’t either. But you’ll be fine. Remember what I told you?”

“That they have a soft spot for Taylor Swift?”

“Yeah. Just playBlank Space,and they’ll be putty in your hands.”

“Of her entire catalog, that’s the one you picked?” I joked with him while we carried my equipment in the back door. I had a little more than an hour before I had to be on stage, and my equipment, while more than one person could carry, wouldn’t take that long to set up.

Once we set everything up, Tom brought me back to one of the tables that theBlizzardshad taken over and introduced meto them rapid fire. I was never going to remember everyone’s name.

“Everyone, this is my girl, Callie.”

“Hi, Callie,” three tables full of athletes stared back at me, and my heart beat a little faster, loving when Tom introduced me as his girl. Because right now, I felt like being his was exactly where I belonged. I caught Mariana’s eyes, and she smiled back at me; Bridget, Gwen, and Britney waved.

The club manager waved me down, and I went with him as he walked me through the equipment set-up, and we confirmed the length of time I would perform. He kept glancing over to the fan club that Tom had accumulated on my behalf. I’m sure he hoped that a club filled with NHL players would draw an even bigger crowd. Tom had been my booking agent, and I had no idea if he’d seen me play or just took Tom’s word for it, hoping for the best.

“Do you need a drink?” He offered.

“Water would be great, thank you.” I wasn’t one to perform while drinking alcohol, but I looked forward to a cocktail or two once I finished my set.

TOM

Ihadn’t expected everyone to come out tonight, but seeing that the team had all come out tonight was great. So far, the final roster had promise, and we’d been playing better than expected together. With Callie and Crew at home and travel not starting for a few weeks, it was easy to be lulled into a false sense of security. Better yet, having my mother in town as a built-in babysitter allowed us to act like a normal couple for a few days.

Callie opened with one of her original songs, one I hadn’t heard before but was a mix of country and pop. Our core group had already heard her sing by the fire the night of the cookout, but the rest of the guys were more than surprised when she began her set. She offered requests, and I watched in awe as she played a song she’d never played before, and it sounded almost as good as the original artist.

I finished my second beer, barely taking my eyes off Callie to make small talk with the rest of the crew. A few glares at Lukas; one of the rookies shut him up after he made a few off-color comments about Callie. Alex had even knocked him in the back of the head for me.

“I wanted to thank my fan club for their support tonight,” Callie said, gesturing to us. “I’ve heard that the boys have a soft spot for one of my favorite artists, and I figured I’d play my last song of the night for one guy in particular.”

I laughed when I realized she’d picked Taylor Swift’sLover, but my humor faded when I realized she was singing it directly to me. As she finished up the song, I formed the shape of a heart with my two hands, and the rest of our group followed my lead. Yep, they got the memo.

When Callie joined us, I pulled her into my lap and passed her the tequila and soda I had ordered for her while she sang. Our server had come over and told us several people had bought Callie a drink. Her tip jar was overflowing, and her phone lit up with notifications of electronic payments for other tips.

“Feeling good?” I asked.

Her face was flushed, and shit, she fucking glowed. “I do,” she said, her fingers threading through my hair as she leaned in and kissed me quickly, looking around cautiously.

Gwen, Bridget, and Mariana scooted over to talk to her while Britney stayed back with Jonah. I watched her interact with the women, folding in with them perfectly, but then again, Callie got along with everyone.

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