Page 18 of #Moonstruck

He smiled again, and there was so much charisma behind it I felt dazed. “This isn’t about notches. I’m currently notchless at the moment.”

“Ha. I don’t follow you or read tabloids, and even I know that’s not true.”

“I can tell you only the actual truth. What you choose to believe is up to you. And I wasn’t asking for a date. I have something else in mind.”

Then he put his arm around the back of my seat, and I was slammed with a cacophony of sensations—my heart raced, I couldn’t breathe, my neck flushed, my skin prickled. I knew what he had in mind, and despite my body’s reaction, I wasn’t interested.

“Um, thanks for returning my phone. I should probably get back.” Before my overprotective idiot siblings organized a mob and/or I did something I’d completely regret.

“Wait. I have a proposition for you.”

My stomach lurched and twisted. My brothers had warned me not to get into a situation like this! If Ryan’s proposition included any of my body parts that were currently covered by clothing, I’d tell my brothers’ mob where to find him. “Proposition?” I hated how my voice squeaked at the end.

“I need an opening act for the rest of my tour.”

Why was this both a relief and a disappointment?

“You have an opening act.” I distinctly remembered them. A group called For by Four, which I told Angie was either a spelling mistake or grammatically incorrect. They were a bunch of girls from a reality talent show that had been put together as a group and had a couple of Top 100 hits. They had lip-synched their entire set list.

Now Ryan looked uncomfortable. “There was ... a misunderstanding.”

“What kind of misunderstanding?”

“The kind where Leilani told the world we were in a relationship even though we’d barely even spoken.”

I had a vague recollection of Angie saying something about them dating. “You can’t really blame people for believing her. You do, um, date a lot.”

“I thought you didn’t follow me and didn’t read tabloids,” he teased, his eyes laughing, which caused a yanking sensation just below my stomach.

“That’s how bad it is. Even I know you’re a manwhore.”

“I’ve had maybe one serious relationship in my life that ended when I found out she was selling private pictures and texts to the highest bidder. Anything else is either publicity or lies. It’s not easy to find someone you can trust. Most women don’t want me. They want Ryan De Luna.”

He led a charmed life. He didn’t need my pity. I didn’t want to feel bad for him, even though when his voice cracked a little, I considered hugging him. “If nothing happened between you two, then why would it matter if Leilani said it did?”

“Because when I confronted her about it, she offered to, you know, notch me to make things better. And didn’t want to take no for an answer.”

It took me a second to realize what he meant. “I’m not a spinster schoolmarm. You can use the actual word.”

“Not according to Rodrigo.”

Rodrigo? “How do you know Rodrigo?” I felt like my whole world was spinning crazily out of control, and nothing made sense anymore.

“He used to be a studio guitarist. He went on my mom’s last tour. When you told me this was where you played, I got in touch with him and asked about you and Yesterday. He said you were a really good girl and that I should be a gentleman.”

Next time I saw Rodrigo, I was going to punch him for not telling me he used to play and then let him know I was full up on older brothers and not holding auditions for a new one.

“That doesn’t explain why, out of all the bands in the world, you would choose us to open for you.”

Ryan sighed, drumming his thumb against the steering wheel. “There’s a few reasons. The first is that you and your guys are good. Really good. You’re actual musicians who play actual music. I want to move in a new direction with my sound. I want it to be more like what you’re doing. And Rodrigo told me I’d be a complete idiot if I didn’t have you opening for me. I kind of owe him.” He let out a little laugh. “There’re some other reasons, but I don’t know you well enough yet to tell you.”

He was serious. I thought it had been some kind of move or ploy. That maybe he never had a woman not show interest in him so he was going to extraordinary lengths to move me into Luna-chick territory.

He wasn’t done. “There’re about thirty stops left on the tour. You’d earn $15,000 per show, plus whatever merch you sell.”

That ... was a lot of money. Two seconds ago my decision was a vehement no, but that made me reconsider. That kind of dough would pay for Mom’s bills for a long time. “I can’t just make a unilateral decision. I have to talk to my bandmates. We’ll have to vote.”

“What if there’s a tie?”

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