Jesus Christ, the pistol wasn’t just loaded, it was loaded for bear.

Gigi’s tawny hair tumbled around her shoulders in soft, shiny waves. She had on a dress, green and loose-fitting on top but held up by nothing more than a thin strap around her neck and her magnificent breasts. Beau found himself craning his neck, rising to the balls of his feet to get a look at the bottom half, but some guy blocked his view.

He let his gaze slide back to her pretty face with those pink cheeks and glossy lips until finally her eyes snagged him. God, how he wanted her. Their kiss had turned him inside out and he couldn’t get the taste of her out of his head.

Gigi grinned and then broke their stare to turn and wave to the crowd as they clapped and called her name. He got a long look at her back and his cock twitched as he noted the way the silky material caressed her plump ass. Shit, he was onstage in front of thousands of people, it was so not the time to sport a woody.

Behind him, Rex broke the spell as he led off with a four count then let loose with a familiar roll. Beau snapped his eyes closed and let the music ground him. That was better. He and Gigi were DOA. She didn’t want a man in her life and there was no point in daydreaming about what he couldn’t have.

For the next forty-five minutes, he managed to only look at her twice. Both times it was a mistake. The guy in front of her had moved away and his view of her was unobstructed. Her arms were high in the air as she swayed to the beat. The movement jacked her dress up to mid-thigh and he nearly fell off the stage trying to get a closer look.

The second time she had pressed her way to the stage and he looked down at her, only to get an eyeful of the most spectacular cleavage he’d ever seen. It didn’t help his

situation at all. Lucky for him, it was the last song, and a few minutes later the band was back in their dressing room.

Some of the crew was already there, sipping bottled water or beer, waiting for the people with passes to come back, take pictures and chat with the band.

“Good show, guys,” Quinn said, still panting from her onstage antics.

“You’re going to need to stop hopping around soon, love. Stresses me out,” Rex said. His tone was light, but the worry beneath was evident.

“The doctor said I’m doing everything right, babe. I’m listening to my body and when it tells me to slow down, I will.”

Rex pulled her close for a hug, then met Beau’s gaze over her head. “You okay, man? You were acting…weird.”

Quinn struggled in Rex’s arms until he released her, the she turned to face Beau. “Yeah, Beau. What’s up?”

The innocent expression on her face was so out of character, the suspicions he’d held regarding the catalyst for Gigi’s new, edgier look solidified.

“So it was you.”

Rex and Tai both turned to stare at Quinn. She puffed up like a biscuit in the oven and nodded. “She looks awesome, right?”

“Wait, you did that to Gigi? When?” Rex asked.

“This afternoon, when you and Tai were shopping at MusicMax.”

“She looks great,” Tai said with a low whistle, holding up a hand for Quinn to high- five.

She obliged him but kept her eyes on Beau. “What did you think?”

“I thought she was pretty before.” He hadn’t realized that was true until he’d said it. He did like being able to see more of her, but if she walked around in her apron and jeans with her hair up every day from this point forward, he was pretty sure he’d be just as hard-up for her. Not that it mattered any. Still, what was Quinn playing at?

She gave him an assessing look before a wide grin split her face. “She was. I just wasn’t sure if you noticed.”

“Hey, guys.”

They all swung their gazes to the doorway. Gigi hovered there, her cheeks lit up like the tip of Rudolph’s nose. How much had she heard?

“Did you like the show?” Quinn asked, drawing her into the room.

“Yeah, you were all great.” She was talking to Quinn but her gaze never left his. She shifted from foot to foot and offered him a shaky smile. The delicate scent of her perfume crept up on him, and he resisted the urge to bury his face in her neck.

“Thanks. You want a beer or something?” he asked.

“No thanks. If you have a minute, can I talk to you? Alone.”

Okay, something was definitely up. His mind raced, running through all the possibilities. After years of groupies coming on to him, his sex-ometer was pretty refined, and only one possibility made any sense.

She wanted him for real.

The thought that maybe she’d come to her senses and realized she could date and still start her business sent a thrill through him.

“Absolutely.” He took her hand and pulled her to the exit and out into the dark lot behind the club.

“New dress?” he asked as he swung her around to face him in the warm evening

air.

“Yep.” She was slightly breathless as she gazed up at him.

“I liked the way you looked before.” He knew he sounded like an asshole but he

couldn’t help himself. She was different than the girls he was used to and he liked it. There was no question that the clothes showed off her assets, but a part of him missed sweet-looking Gigi with her spicy side cleverly hidden by an apron just waiting for him to draw it out.

She moved her hand away from his and cleared her throat. “Well, you seemed to really like the way I look now while you were onstage.”

“I do.” He reclaimed her hand and ran his thumb over her palm. “Very much. Your clothes fit you for a change, which is nice. I just meant that it doesn’t matter to me. You don’t need all this.”

“That’s good.” She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “I want you to have sex with me. I mean, I’d have sex with you too, like it’s…ugh. Beau, will you sleep with me tonight?”

As he stared at her, he could feel his throat working but no sound came out.

She continued, the words coming so fast she could’ve been an auctioneer. “You don’t have a girlfriend, so no worries there. And I’m too busy for a man. In a nutshell, we’re perfectly wrong for one another, so there’s no way for anyone to get hurt, you know?”

“No.”

She flinched and guilt stabbed at him like a tack. He was shorter than he’d intended to be, but the combination of shock and lust at her suggestion had left him reeling. Sweet Gigi, virginal Gigi, suggesting a one-night stand?

She began to wring her hands together, and her gaze flicked to the door. For a second, he thought she was going to turn around and walk away. Instead she let her hands fall apart and met his gaze head on. “Why not? I can tell you wanted to when we kissed. Well, enough to manage it at least. So tell me why not.”

His brain still floundered like a fish on dry land as he thought about how to answer.

A second later, her shoulders slumped as her bravado faltered some.

He cleared his throat. “Well, I can sure enough manage it. But is that what you’re willing to settle for? Is that what you waited for all this time, someone who can ‘manage it’?”

She shook her head. “That’s where you’ve got things mixed up. I told you before, I’m not some starry-eyed romantic holding out for some knight on a horse.”

“I get it,” he replied slowly. “But you’ve gotten where you wanted to be, you have your college degree and you’re a chef. You’ve waited this long, why not lighten up a little, have a normal relationship and let nature takes its course?”

“Unless I make a success of this business, every sacrifice I’ve made up to this point was for nothing. I don’t want a relationship, I don’t have the energy to expend on a relationship. I just want to feel what it’s like to—” Her gaze grew shuttered, and she turned away, yanking her hand from his grasp. “You know what, it’s no big deal. Forget I asked. I just thought we…never mind.”

He wanted to grab her, pull her back, but he restrained himself. As much as he wanted to take her up on her offer, doing so would make him a top-notch douche bag. After years of spending time with girls who were just looking for the next meal ticket, it was easy to forget that there were good women out there. Even more of a reason not to take advantage. Especially of one as good as Gigi.

She deserved better. She deserved roses and champagne. Romance and adoration. He had no idea if he was capable of that and even if he was, she didn’t want it. The right thing to do was to let her walk away. Someday soon she’d find someone she was crazy about, a guy she felt was worth the risk. His jaw tensed at the thought.

Gigi approached the door, then turned to face him. Her voice wavered. “No matter what, I’m not going home a virgin. I can’t live like this anymore.”

His stomach did a flip. What that fuck did that mean? “Oh really. And how do you plan to rectify that? Am I going to wake up with you on top of me or something?”

Her face paled and he wished he could take the words back. He was frustrated at her stubbornness and taking it out on her. She recovered quickly and leveled him with a stare full of the steely determination she seemed to apply to everything in life.

“I think you might be overestimating your allure, Mr. Trudeau. Or underestimating mine. I’m not desperate, you just seemed like the logical choice. Since that’s not an option, I’ll move down the list.”

“The list? Okay, so humor me. Who’s next on ‘the list’?”

“I’m going to ask Tai.”

His gut clenched, hard. “What?” His voice had risen to a pitch he usually reserved for singing harmonies with Rex and he struggled to normalize it. “No. No way. That’s not an option.”

She stuck a hand on her round hip and glared at him. “He’s sweet. And he thinks I look pretty. So why not?”

Because the thought of his hands on you makes me want to gut him like a catfish. Because I want to bury myself between those curvy thighs until you scream. Because I want you all to myself. A dozen more reasons flashed in his mind and died on his tongue, unspoken. He could promise her nothing and she wanted even less.

Would she go through with it? Maybe it was a bluff and maybe it wasn’t. Either way, she was grown and it was her life. He pursed his lips and stood.

“Fine. If that’s what you want, then go for it. Ask Tai. But don’t come crying to me when you realize it’s more than just smashing bodies together. There are repercussions. Feelings.”

“Yeah.” She snorted. “Because I’m sure you love all the groupies you sleep with.”

“You’re not me. And to be honest, that’s getting a little old, even for me. Not to mention this is going to be your first.” He let his voice go soft and tried one last time. “It’s not going to fill the hole, Gigi.”

“You’re wrong there, Beau,” she fired back. “By definition, that’s precisely what it will do. Sweet dreams.”

Then she turned on her heel and walked inside.

* * *

It was after midnight as Gigi made her way through the opulent lobby of the Belvedere Hotel. The concierge had given her a key and she gripped it tightly as she stood in front of the elevator. The ornately carved door slid open with a whoosh, and she stepped in, pressing P for penthouse.

The elevator soared upward. Like the rest of the hotel, the view was stunning but she had to look away as her stomach lurched. She’d told Tai not to go to any trouble, but he’d insisted that if they were going to do this, they should do it right. He’d been so sweet to her when she’d asked. At first, he’d looked at her, through her really, with those serious dark eyes but didn’t speak. When he finally did, he’d said very little.

“I’m honored, Gigi. But are you certain you want to do this?”

She’d assured him she was, but the embarrassment and anger at Beau’s rejection that had given her the balls to ask Tai had long since faded. Now she was just a jellylike mass of doubt and nausea.

The elevator stopped and she stepped out, directly in front of the only door in the hallway. She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath, and let it go in a rush. Something that felt remarkably like terror coursed down her spine.

Tai was sweet, handsome and not looking for a long-term relationship. Plus, while he was certainly attractive, she didn’t feel as if she was falling off a cliff when he touched her. She only liked him as a friend, which made him an even better choice than Beau. Easier to walk away from.

So why did it feel so wrong? This was about sowing some oats before she got so old they fell off. She just needed a guy willing to help with the sowing. But if that was true, why did the thought of sleeping with Beau make her weak in the knees and the thought of sleeping with Tai made her weak in the stomach?

She pushed away the face that kept weaseling its way to the forefront of her thoughts. The devastating dimples, the honey curls, the smoldering eyes, so true blue they matched the color of a child’s crayon.

Damn it.

She might not know Beau well enough to be in love yet, but deep down she had the unsettling feeling that she could fall in love with him…so very easily.

Her hands were slick with sweat as she stared at the hotel room door. She lowered the hand she’d raised to knock and leaned in to rest her forehead on the cool wood frame. In less than two weeks, she’d be back home, knee deep in work.

Again, she raised her fist to knock but before she could, the locks tumbled and the door swung open.