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  Hunter turned his attention to her.

  “Lance just informed me that the band is the entertainment for your New Year’s Eve party.”

  “Oh.”

  “Look, if Kevin’s coming back and he wants to play, it’s okay. You could’ve just said so.”

  Hunter scratched his head and then put his hands in his pockets. “Kevin’s not back yet.”

  She said nothing. What could she say? He obviously had changed his mind about wanting her at the party.

  “I was trying to figure out how to talk to you about it.”

  “Straight out is usually best.”

  “Usually, but last time I mentioned the party, you weren’t too interested in coming.”

  She wanted to scream at him. Back then they were barely friends. Now they were sleeping together, in a relationship. At least that’s what she thought.

  He came close and held her hand. “I’d like you to be at the party, but it’s going to be pretty packed.” He filled his chest as if whatever was coming next would need lots of oxygen. “I’m not sure how many members of the marching band are coming. Last year, a whole lot did. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable being here because of them. I made a promise to not let them know about us.”

  Oh, crap. This guy was so good at turning her into a puddle of goo.

  He rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand. “If you don’t want to come, no pressure.”

  She turned her body and tugged his hand to pull him closer. She released his hand and placed it on her hip before twining her arms around his neck. “I’d hate to lose my chance at a midnight kiss. Maybe we should practice.”

  So they did.

  The night of the party Hunter ran back and forth through the apartment filling up bowls with chips and stacking more plastic cups by the keg. Sydney had spent the night at home the previous night because he had to help Adam and Free get ready for the party. He wished she were here now, though.

  Both Adam and Free swore they had dates, but Free was looking miserable, which was saying something because he was dressed as Doctor Who, his all-time-favorite character. That costume never failed to make him happy.

  “Where’s your date?” Hunter asked.

  Free shrugged. “I don’t know if she’s coming. She wouldn’t return any of my calls for the last few days.”

  Hunter almost questioned if Free had really asked her, but there was no way even Free could fake being that upset. “What did you do?”

  “I have no fucking clue. I ran into her at my dad’s holiday party. She came with her parents. She seemed really upset to find out I planned to work with my dad after graduation. She was under the impression that my goal was to be an actor.”

  “Didn’t you ever talk about your major? Careers? Anything? That’s like basic-level stuff.”

  “I don’t know. She never asked, so I didn’t offer. It’s not like investment banking is an exciting topic for most people. If they don’t ask, I don’t mention it.”

  Hunter popped a tortilla chip into his mouth. “Let me guess. She saw the costumes and made the leap that acting is your passion.”

  “Not such a leap, but yeah. Looking back now, I can see where she made those assumptions and I didn’t make the connection to correct her.”

  Hunter slapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. I hope she shows.”

  “Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”

  “I know it’s sad when you pull out The Shawshank Redemption.”

  Free poured himself a beer and drank.

  The apartment filled quickly, but it didn’t get as crowded as last year. As people filed past him, he kept an eye out for Sydney. He greeted people and pointed to the booze. About an hour in, Adam began drawing tattoos on people and he thought of Sydney and her dragon. Maybe he should get a matching one for the night. He was thinking about where to have Adam draw it when a pair of feminine hands covered his eyes from behind.

  The nails clicked and the cloud of perfume filling his airspace told him it wasn’t Sydney. Instead of playing the silly guessing game, he peeled the fingers away and turned. Amy.

  “Hi.”

  “You’re supposed to guess before you turn around.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I thought we could have a good night.”

  Whoa. “Sorry, Amy, but I’m seeing someone.”

  She laughed and looked around. “Yeah, okay.”

  “I’m serious.”

  She laughed harder. “We all know you don’t do serious.”

  “You need to leave.” He grabbed her elbow and turned toward the door. She yanked from his grasp.

  “I’m not going anywhere, except to have a drink. If you don’t want to hook up, I’m sure there are plenty of other single guys who will.” She sauntered off toward the kitchen.

  His stomach sank, and then fell through the floor when he caught sight of Lisa walking his way. She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek before he could dodge it. When he asked her to leave, her response was similar to Amy’s. At least when she walked away, she went in a different direction.

  Ten minutes of avoiding all women had him sweating. Sydney still hadn’t arrived and the band was supposed to start soon. He needed to talk to her before she ran into Amy or Lisa.

  And just when he thought it couldn’t get worse, someone punched his arm. He didn’t have to turn to know it was Kelly.

  Why the hell did the universe hate him?

  She didn’t offer any conversation. She simply said, “I’ll catch you at midnight.”

  As much as he wanted to explain that no, she wouldn’t, he knew it would be a waste of breath.

  He did the next best thing: He went to his friends.

  Free stood in front of a bowl of chips, staring at them as if he had to make a decision about which one to eat.

  “No sign of your girl yet?”

  “Nope.”

  “I have a favor to ask.”

  Free straightened. The guy liked to have a mission.

  “Amy, Lisa, and Kelly are all here.”

  “Ex-girlfriends?”

  “Yeah, and they won’t leave. My new girlfriend, Sydney, will be here soon. I don’t want them to cause trouble. Last year was bad enough and I didn’t have a girlfriend then.”

  “You really like this girl.”

  Instead of shying away or dodging the truth, he simply said, “Yeah.” Then he pointed out the three girls he desperately wanted to avoid.

  Adam was no longer at his tattooing station, which was a small card table set up in the corner with a stash of markers sitting on it. Hunter wove through the crowd to find him.

  Adam’s bedroom was the last place he checked and where he found him drawing on Reese. “Here you are. A bunch of people are looking for you to tattoo them.”

  Adam shot him a look over his shoulder. “I’ll be done in a minute.”

  Looked like Adam was interested in more than drawing a tattoo on Reese. Interesting. Hunter chuckled. “Maybe close and lock the door next time. Sock on the knob.”

  “Shut the hell up.”

  “For real, when are you going to be done? I need your help.”

  “Two minutes.”

  Hunter glanced over his shoulder and shuffled his feet.

  Adam sighed. “Time me.”

  Hunter pulled out his phone and set the timer. Then he leaned against the wall beside the door so he could see if Sydney came in. Adam finished his drawing and he and Reese came out of the bedroom. “Hey, dude, can I talk to you?”

  Adam told Reese where to get drinks and food. Then Hunter dragged him into the far corner of the living room. “I need your help.”

  “With what?”

  “Amy, Lisa, and Kelly are all here.”

  “So?”

  “I didn’t invite them.”

  “Again, so?”

  “I have a date planned for tonight. And it isn’t any of them.”r />
  “These aren’t the same girls from last year, are they?”

  Hunter shook his head. Sure, he made jokes about the girls fighting last year, but it wasn’t really funny. Especially now. “No, but they worry me.”

  Adam laughed. “What am I supposed to do about them?” Biting back his irritation, he said, “Keep them away from Sydney. And me.”

  “First of all, who the hell is Sydney?”

  “My date. She’s our drummer for tonight.” How had Adam missed her being around?

  Adam shook his head. “How do you suggest I keep them away?”

  “Use your imagination. Tell them what a horrible guy I am. Introduce them to other guys. Tell them to leave. I don’t care.”

  Adam stared at him. “Why not tell Sydney that these old girlfriends are here? I find being honest with a girl goes pretty far.”

  “Because she’ll leave. She’ll think I’m playing games and leave.” The thought burned like acid in his stomach. He’d just gotten her to trust him and open up.

  “Are you?”

  “Playing games? No.”

  Adam agreed to do what he could and Hunter pointed out the girls to him as well. He looked around again. “Sydney should be here soon, so I’m going to go warm up.”

  “Did you try telling these girls you have a girlfriend? Maybe they’d take a hint.”

  “I tried. They laughed. Three conversations, three women, and they all thought I was kidding.”

  He could still hear their giggles, like he didn’t even know how to have a serious conversation much less a relationship. No way could he let Sydney anywhere near them.

  Sydney walked through the unlocked door and into Hunter’s crowded apartment. As she unwound her scarf, Hunter appeared out of nowhere.

  “Hey,” he said, tugging her elbow. “We’re about to start playing.”

  She followed him, taking off her jacket as she walked. “Sorry I’m late. Trish wanted to have a little drink and toast before I left since we won’t be together at midnight. Traffic was a bitch, and I had to park, like, two blocks away. To top it off, I had to walk slow because half your neighbors didn’t salt the ice and I didn’t want to fall.”

  He gently shoved her toward the drums. “You want me to get you a drink?”

  She shook her head. “I’m good.”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “Okay.” She sat behind the drums and pulled out her sticks. “Shoot.”

  He shot a glance over his shoulder. He opened his mouth, but Jay cut in. “You ready to start?”

  Hunter nodded and grabbed his sax. They did a little warm-up, but were ready to jump right in. They played a couple of songs, but no one was dancing. It made her wonder why they didn’t just turn on the radio. After a set, they took a break.

  Hunter looked out over the crowd of people and took Sydney’s hand. He pulled her through the apartment and straight to his bedroom. He shut the door and then closed in on her.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing. I missed you. And given your dislike of people knowing about us, I didn’t want to do this in front of everyone.” He held her hips to his and kissed her.

  When he took it deeper, she was glad they were alone because his dick was prodding her stomach. “You told the band to take five. We don’t have time for all that.”

  “I can’t help what you do to me.” He kissed her neck and ran his hands up the sides of her body.

  She pulled away before they both lost control. She touched his face. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. You want a drink or something?”

  “You don’t have to wait on me. I can get my own drink.”

  “I know. I should probably check on people and food and stuff. If you need anything, you can ask Adam or Free.”

  She chuckled. “I suppose I could if I knew who either of them were.”

  His eyes widened. “Uh, well, you can’t miss Free. He’s dressed like Doctor Who. Adam is the one drawing tattoos on people.”

  It wasn’t quite an introduction to his friends, but it was better than nothing. “What did you want to talk about?”

  “Huh?”

  “When I first got here.”

  “Oh, that. Uh . . .” He got shifty and blew out a breath.

  This wasn’t the Hunter she was used to. No flirtation or quick smile here. “What’s wrong?”

  “There are a lot of people here—”

  Syd’s hand flew to his chest. “Don’t worry about it. I know I told you I wanted us to be a secret, but I knew that people from marching band would be here. It’s okay.”

  He opened his mouth to say something else, but she kissed him. “Let’s get back to the party.”

  They left the bedroom and walked in opposite directions. Hunter was acting weird. Maybe it was because he had to play host and bandleader all at once. Maybe it was because this was the first time they’d be around other people as a couple. If anyone should be nervous it should be her.

  She grabbed herself a crappy draft beer from the keg and a handful of chips. As she headed back to the living room, she spied the guy who had to be Free, but he was deep in conversation with a busty brunette in a clingy green dress. Although she saw people walking around with ink on their arms and hands, she didn’t see anyone doing the actual drawing, so she didn’t have any luck finding Adam.

  Jay strummed his guitar to get everyone’s attention. Syd made her way to the drums and set her beer on the windowsill behind her. Hunter stood next to her with his keyboard on a stand. With a quick smile for her, he counted for them to start.

  Chapter 13

  Burning seared through Sydney’s arms. They’d played almost nonstop for hours. The party was in full swing and people had had enough alcohol that they were dancing like they would at a club. It gave her a rush of adrenaline like nothing else and propelled them all to keep playing.

  It was nearing midnight and Sydney watched as couples paired off on the dance floor and in corners of the room. She wondered how many arrived as couples and how many jumped at the chance to be with someone for the night.

  Hunter had no shortage of admirers as he played, but then again, so did Lance. She wasn’t immune to the whole falling-for-a-rock-star thing, but she liked knowing that she’d be the one kissing Hunter at midnight.

  As if he read her mind, he turned and winked at her. Then he called out to the crowd, “It’s almost midnight.” He pointed at her. “Drumroll, please.”

  She did the drumroll as the partiers did the countdown. Noise erupted through the whole apartment. The band broke out in “Auld Lange Syne.”

  The drunks attempted to sing the words, but Sydney didn’t think any of them had a clue as to what the lyrics actually were.

  The band set down their instruments and the guys all did the man-hug with a “Happy New Year.” Lance and Jay both gave her a real hug, but the only one she wanted to have her arms around was Hunter.

  She walked around writhing bodies wondering where he’d taken off to, when a hand suddenly wrapped around her wrist. She spun to yell at the asshole for being grabby, but she faced Hunter and her anger melted away. “Been looking for you.”

  “Come here.” He pulled her into his embrace. He cupped her jaw and their gazes locked.

  “Hey, Hunter, I thought I was getting the midnight kiss.”

  He froze, his lips hovering over Sydney’s. A look of fear came into his eyes. She could almost hear him thinking, “Busted.”

  Syd pulled away from him and turned to see who spoke. The girl was cute with long brown hair bouncing around her shoulders. She wore nothing fancy, just a Northwestern sweatshirt and jeans.

  Behind her, a perky blonde smiled. “Is this the line to get a kiss from Hunter?”

  Syd took another step back. She looked at the women and back at Hunter. A third one came up behind him and stroked a hand across his shoulder. It was a move she was obviously comfortable with. As she took in the scene, Sydney felt a whole new burn run through he
r.

  Embarrassment. Foolishness. Heartbreak.

  The night came into clear focus. Hunter had been acting weird because he hadn’t wanted her here. He’d assumed she wouldn’t come because of the band members who might see them together, so he’d invited other girls.

  He kissed her hello in the privacy of his bedroom not because he wanted to be alone with her but because he didn’t want the others to see.

  She was such a fucking idiot.

  She had no words. She was more upset with herself than anything. Shaking her head, she turned away. She grabbed her jacket from the floor near the drums and wove around couples oblivious to the pain she felt.

  “Sydney, wait.”

  She didn’t stop. What could he say? I didn’t mean to hurt you. She didn’t need the bullshit.

  By the time she got to her car, tears streamed down her face. The cold wind whipped against her cheeks, threatening to freeze the tears in their tracks. Before her car was even warm, her phone started buzzing.

  Hunter. She ignored the call.

  She drove home in a daze and was glad to find Trish wasn’t there. She couldn’t talk. Not to anyone.

  Her phone had gone off repeatedly since she’d left Hunter’s, but he’d left only one message.

  In the kitchen, she found a bottle of whiskey Trish kept for her boyfriend, and she slammed a shot. Then another.

  Then she was ready to listen to Hunter’s message. Between the tears and the alcohol, the buttons on her phone were blurry. After one failed attempt, she hit the right sequence to hear the message.

  “Syd, please come back. I didn’t invite these girls. I went out with them before, yeah, but I didn’t ask them to come tonight. When I found them at the party, I asked them to leave. I told them I was with someone. They didn’t take me seriously. Just like everyone else. Please. At least call me back so I know you’re okay.”

  She threw her phone against the couch. No, she was not okay. She didn’t know if she could believe anything he said. And what did that say about her and their relationship? She didn’t want to be with a guy if this was going to be her reaction every time some woman talked to him. It would make her crazy.