Will

As fast as it stopped, the world started spinning on its axis again. I shook my head and forced myself to put one foot in front of the other, relieved as denial started to take root in my thoughts.

Too much story time with Uncle Jared. His words along with being surrounded by all the happy couples must have given me momentary brain damage.

I really should have gone to the Bahamas for the holidays with my other bandmates instead of sticking it out in the city with Jared. What had I been thinking?

But even as I argued with myself over what just happened, I found myself pulled unerringly toward the bar. No matter how much I wanted to kid myself, the idea of a cocktail wasn’t the major attraction.

The bartender seemed to have caught up with the crowd that had surrounded her. As I stepped up, she handed off a drink to the lone guy standing there with a big smile.

Damn. That smile was even more devastating up close. I could feel my cock reacting, too, something that hadn’t happened to me without my permission since before I turned sixteen.

“What can I get for you?” Miss Destiny turned to me with an impersonal smile.

But the second she laid eyes on me, her expression changed. Her smile faltered, her blue eyes widened, and her lips parted.

I didn’t know which was more captivating, the wide-eyed stare or the soft, full lips. When the lips parted farther so the tip of her tongue could slip out and moisten them, I had my winner.

“You’re…you’re Will Canter.”

Her stuttering brought me back to reality in an instant. Shit. For the first time since our first single hit number one on the billboard charts, I had regrets about being a rock star. For some reason, I didn’t want this girl to be just another groupie. And I wanted it with a vengeance that shocked me.

“I guess it’s too late for a disguise, huh?” I rubbed a hand along the back of my neck.

She shook her head a little, the movement more like a reaction to her own thoughts than in response to my question. And as I watched, her expression changed. It was like a curtain coming down. The fake smile stole over her mouth. It definitely never hit her eyes. She straightened a bit and tilted her head to the side, sending the pompom on the end of her Santa hat bouncing.

“Definitely too late,” she said. “I mean, after that night we spent together, it would take more than a fake mustache and glasses to keep me from recognizing you.”

“Umm…what?”

“Oh, come on, Will. You’re not going to tell me you don’t remember me.” Her breathy voice did nothing to make my dick soften, but her words flummoxed me. No way on God’s green earth I’d have forgotten this woman if I’d had her.

“The kids are going to be disappointed. They were hoping they’d get to spend Christmas with you this year.”

“The kids?” I parroted.

She batted her lashes at me. “You can’t tell me you totally forgot that time we got married in Vegas and then adopted those refugee orphans from the Internet?”

Her teasing tone finally sank in and I felt the tension leave my shoulders, appreciating the fact I wasn’t about to get treated to a round of squealing fangirl devotion. I decided to play along. “That was you?”

“Of course, it was me.” She shook her head and pressed her lips together and faked a sad look. “I do have some bad news, though.”

“Oh yeah?”

She gave me a solemn look. “Rufus, the beagle we adopted, went up to the big farm in the sky.”

“Not Rufus!”

She nodded. “Afraid so.”

“That’s a shame. I hope Fred and Ginger weren’t too upset.”

“Fred and Ginger?”

“Our children, honey. Surely you remember their names.”

She sent me a wicked grin. “Of course. I have after all been raising them on my own all these years.” She picked up a glass. “Perhaps you’d like to make a toast to poor Rufus. What was it you always drank? Whiskey, neat?”

“Ah, yes, a toast. But it must be one of your other husbands you’re thinking of. I’ve always been a Jack and Coke kind of guy.”

“Right.” She flashed me a grin and went to work making my drink.

I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was gorgeous and funny, but let’s face it. My day job was rock star. Women weren’t exactly hard to come by, even gorgeous and funny ones. Why had this one had such a major effect on me?

As I watched her mixing my drink, I made the decision to believe I’d imagined it. It was the Christmas music and Jared’s words and hearing Jade married the guy she’d thrown me over for. All of it was playing with my head.

But even as I half convinced myself I’d imagined it, the music changed. She paused with the soda nozzle in her hand, hovering over the glass full of ice. Her eyes dropped closed and I could see her chest move up and down as she pulled in a deep breath.

It only lasted a heartbeat before she opened her eyes again. But the change it wrought was startling. The wide, fake grin was gone. Instead, a small, soft smile curved her lips. Her eyes looked like a light had been turned on inside her. How she managed to hide that glow while she teased me a second ago, I couldn’t fathom. Because she shone so bright in that moment, I almost couldn’t breath just looking at her.

The glow remained while she finished my drink. She placed it on a cocktail napkin in front of me with a sheepish smile. “Sorry. This song always gets to me.”

I made an effort to hear the music and the strains of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” hit my ears. I listened closely until the final note rang out and the music moved on to the next song, keeping my eyes locked on her face. Beautiful.

She shook her head and in a second, the softness was gone. The teasing smile from a few minutes ago was back. She tipped her head toward my drink as a couple approached the bar.

“It was good seeing you again, husband. Let me know when you’re ready for a refill.” She gave me a wink before turning to the newcomers, dismissing me.

“I’ll be back, wife,” I said quietly, probably too quiet for her to hear.

And I would. Because Jared got it right.

I was a goner.

* * *

Lily

“Oh, my God, Lily.” Maggie whisper-screeched at me, making a beeline for the bar the minute I served drinks to the last of the latest wave of party-goers. “Was that Will Canter over here before?”

All I could manage was a nod. Because I knew she was having a groupie girl moment over the fact I’d served a drink to the guitarist of Sliding Violet. And yes, he was Will Canter, rock god and sexiest man alive two years running. But my reaction to him had zero to do with his rock star status.

I’d met Jared Sloane, lead singer of Sliding Violet, earlier. And while I might have fangirled for a second or two before I got it together and mixed him a drink, that was nothing compared to my reaction to Will Canter.

My response to Will came purely from a visceral level. I swear I felt his presence even before I looked up and recognized him.

And yes, a woman would have to be dead not to notice Will Canter was hot. His overlong brown hair, chocolate eyes, and broad shoulders were just the beginning.

In his jeans and button-down shirt, he looked casually confident in a room filled with people dressed far more formally. And the way he filled out that shirt made me long to slide the buttons open to discover what I’d bet was a six-pack underneath.

I sighed and shook off my silliness, concentrating instead on the pain in my feet from standing on these stupid heels all night and my friend looking at me expectantly from the other side of the bar.

“How’s your night going?” I asked.

She quietly squeed and moved closer. Her feet were probably fine. The girl could run a marathon in those heels and then spend a night out dancing without so much as a blister.

“I can’t believe this place.” She leaned in closer. “I mean, we’ve done some swank parties before, but holy moly. This is deluxe. Have you seen some of the dresses these women are wearing? I’d kill for that little green number she’s got on.” Maggie discreetly tipped her chin toward a woman several yards away from us.

“Oh, yeah.” I had noticed that dress as soon as she stepped up to the bar earlier. It was spectacular. The ruffled hemline ended several inches above her knees and the sleeves had discreet slits that showed small peeks of her shoulders as she moved. And the price tag for it would probably cover the cost of outfitting my dream house with new hardwood floors.

After taking the opportunity to covet the gorgeous dress, I allowed my gaze to wander the room, drinking in every detail of the plush rugs and gleaming floors to the simple and elegant window treatments.

“You’re mentally scrapbooking again, aren’t you?” Maggie asked.

I turned my head and grinned at her. One of my favorite pastimes was cutting pictures out of magazines to save interior design ideas. When the ideas came from actual spaces, Maggie called my attention to details my mental scrapbooking.

“You know me too well.”

“I do know you well. Probably even better than you think.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“I know you well enough to know that meeting Will Canter rattled you.”

I looked away from her, grabbing a bar rag and wiping down the counter between us, keeping my eyes on my task. “Of course he did. He’s the guitarist for Sliding Violet. I’d have to be dead not to be rattled by him.”

“If you were anyone else, I’d agree with you. But you didn’t get rattled when Jared Sloane was over here. And you didn’t start a conversation with him, either. You can’t say the same for Will. I saw how you reacted to him.”

My eyes flew to hers and I blew out an exasperated breath. “Fine. He rattled me. He’s hot. He’s got sex appeal practically seeping out of his pores. The whole time he was standing here all I could think about was stripping off his shirt and licking him all over. Happy now?”

The only warning I had was Maggie’s eyes slowly growing wider and wider before a voice came from behind me.

“Happy doesn’t even begin to cover it, sweetheart.”

I whirled around, forgetting my ridiculous shoes and almost face planting behind the bar. But that didn’t happen. Because Will jackknifed over the bar and snatched me up in his arms.

Before I could blink, I found myself cradled bridal-style in Will’s arms, his face close to mine.

“You okay?” he asked, his dreamy, dark eyes searching mine.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. The best I could do was nod as I stared up at him, eyes wide.

He gave me a gentle shake. “I need the words, sweetheart.”

Words? I think I might have lost the power of speech for good after the move he just made. All over Brooklyn my old teachers and foster parents were rejoicing. Not one of them had been able to get me to keep my snarky thoughts to myself in all their years of trying.

But Will Canter managed it in one fell swoop. Literally.

“I think she’s speechless.” Maggie’s awe-filled whisper reflected just how momentous an occasion this was.

Will turned toward her, keeping his hold tight and swinging me around with him. He flashed a distracted smile at Maggie. “Sorry?”

I couldn’t help it. I giggled. It just slipped out. But the look on Maggie’s face. Oh my God. She looked like she might swoon on the spot like some insipid female in an old historical romance. And that was with Will’s smile at only half-mast. I could just imagine what would happen if he flashed her the one he gave me earlier—the one full of mischief and masculine charm.

My giggle brought Will’s attention straight back to me. His smile widened. “You sound like you might just live, but I’d still feel better if you gave me some verbal confirmation.”

“I’ll live.” For some reason I whispered the words. The moment felt too intimate to speak any louder.

Dear God. I was turning into one of those insipid, fainting heroines, too. What the heck was wrong with me?

“You rendered her speechless, made her giggle, and then when she spoke no sarcasm came out.” Maggie captured Will’s attention again. “Don’t mean to interrupt, but just saying. Those might be the first three signs of the apocalypse.”

Will chuckled. “I guess you two are friends?”

“We’ve been best friends since we were kids. I’m Maggie, by the way.”

“Nice meeting you, Maggie.” Since he kind of had his hands full at the moment and couldn’t shake, Will acknowledged her by tipping his head to the side. “You seem to be a little chattier than your friend here. Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” she breathed in a voice that sounded like the answer would be the same if he asked her for pretty much anything.

“Does your friend have a name?”

She grinned. “She totally has a name.”

He waited a beat while Maggie continued to stand there and give him a silly smile. He raised an eyebrow. “Care to share it with me?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe we should let my friend tell you if she wants you to know it.”

Maggie was teasing, but I was suddenly struck with an urge beyond all reason to hear my name on Will Canter’s lips.

“Lily,” I said. “My name’s Lily.”

His eyes came to mine one more time and all traces of amusement fled. His look was so solemn, so serious, you’d think I’d just shared the secret handshake to gain him access to heaven.

“Hi, Lily.”

My eyes dropped closed without my conscious decision to shut them. The same feeling that filled me when I heard “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” earlier, filled me again at the sound of him saying my name. The feeling was so profound, it stole my breath.

Finally it occurred to me that I was being an absolute, complete, and total ninny. And I did not do ninny.

My eyes flew open and…Holy crap. The fourth sign of the apocalypse reared its ugly head in the form of heat suffusing my face. I was blushing.

“Oh my God. Could this night get any better?” Maggie asked before she confirmed my worst fears. “I didn’t even know you could blush.”

Crap. Without even thinking about it, I buried my head in Will’s neck, hiding my burning face.

He chuckled, and the vibration rocked through me at the same time the scent of him filled my senses. All thoughts of embarrassment fled and I was filled with a desire unlike anything I ever felt before.

I burrowed closer to him and he seemed perfectly fine with that. He bent his head, his forehead touching my temple, cocooning us in a little intimate bubble right there in the middle of the posh, crowded Christmas party.

I was in so much trouble here.