I swear, if Declan saves me from this man within the next two minutes I’ll give up chocolate and start going to church every Sunday with my mom.

I took it back as soon as I thought it. Nothing was worth that sacrifice. And I didn’t really need saving from Sam. He was a million times nicer than Cal and couldn’t hurt a fly. But damn, could he talk.

I’d been standing there, nodding and agreeing with him for over—I glanced at my phone—twenty minutes, and I hadn’t even tried to end the one-sided conversation. Probably because the music was so loud, I could only make out half of what he was saying.

When the band’s drummer had told me he knew where Declan was I’d thought he would take me right to him. But Sam had somehow decided that by choosing to following him, I’d also agreed to listen to him complain about how hard his life was. I mean, yeah, it wasn’t all Nobel Peace prizes and parades, but what did he expect? He had great rhythm and got paid to hit some drums with two sticks of wood in front of shockingly impressed fans. It wasn’t as if he were flipping burgers for minimum wage.

At least he recognized the irony—slipping in occasional comments about how this had been his dream for as long as he could remember and that, despite his complaints, he knew how lucky he was.

Made me wonder if anyone thought about all the potential downsides of their dream before they were actually living it.

Thankfully, Sam hadn’t said anything I’d consider a come-on. No bad pickup lines or hints he was interested in doing anything other than talk my ear off.

“Declan will be back soon, right?” I shouted to make sure he could hear me above the music.

My interruption didn’t even faze him. “Yep. He promised. Dec always keeps his promises.”

Oh, how I hoped that were true. For countless reasons. Of course, I had to fault Declan a little on his truthfulness. Or lack thereof. Granted, we hadn’t spent that much time together…talking, but why did he tell me he was a writer and leave out everything else?

Now I knew he was the lead singer of a really popular band. Oddly, the lie that might’ve angered someone else actually made me more interested in him. I knew my reasons for hiding parts of my life, but I didn’t know his. And that created a sad little bond I didn’t have with anyone else.

Why would anyone hide that? The crowd adored him. And damn, he was a fantastic singer. I loved the gritty, sex-oozing quality of his speaking voice, and his singing voice was even better. I could still hear it when I closed my eyes. Something I’d been doing a lot while Sam explained in great detail how drummers never get the girls.

I could still picture Declan gripping the microphone during the only slow song they’d played, closing his eyes and holding the mic to his mouth. There was actually something incredibly sexual about it—a gorgeous man brushing his lips across something shaped an awful lot like my vibrator. I’d never imagined that would be hot, but it was. So very, very hot.

I’d never been into popular music much. I was someone who loved to groove out to whatever was on the radio, but I didn’t care about the names or personalities of the musicians, let alone who they were dating. Until now, anyway.

Now, I cared very deeply about who one particular musician was dating. And even though I had absolutely no right to feel that way, I really hoped he wasn’t dating or sleeping with anyone. Anyone…else. How ironic that I’d been the one to tell him he wasn’t allowed to care about me and then, once I’d effectively pushed him away, I prayed he did care.

I didn’t believe in fate. Declan rescuing me from Cal in that alley a week after we’d spent the night together was totally random. So was my office being in the same building as Trevor’s shrink, and that I happened to be on that elevator at the exact moment Trevor stepped onto it. And that he’d handed me a flyer to a club where unbeknownst to me, he and Declan’s band was playing.

Totally circumstantial. Not that I’d want to have to prove it to a jury of my peers or anything.

“Maybe we should go to the entrance,” I said, mostly to stop thinking. “Then we’ll see him come in.”

Sam shrugged. “Okay.” He led me through the crowd with his arm over my shoulder to shield me from the occasional flailing appendage of a few overexcited clubgoers.

“You really don’t have to wait with me, Sam.” I felt a little guilty, as if I were using this perfectly nice guy to get to Declan. But that’s not how it had started and certainly wasn’t my intent. Sam didn’t seem to mind or be surprised, though. I guess it happened a lot.

“I want to. It’s nice to have someone to talk to. Girls tend to notice the guy in front more than the guy in back hiding behind the drum set.”

My guilt disappeared, and my insecurity flooded in as I imagined countless women throwing themselves at Declan. He was the lead singer of a band, gorgeous, and sexy as hell.

Since the end of my awkward teen years, I’d never doubted my attractiveness, never had any problems getting whomever I wanted, but then again, I’d never competed with an entire city of other women before.

No, this wasn’t a competition. And even if it were, I was fairly sure I’d be among the top contenders. I mean, how many other women did Declan have time to actively pursue? How many other women did he admit to caring about…right before he walked away?

So, tonight wasn’t about proving anything. Tonight was just about congratulating him on a great performance and wishing him the best for the future. Right?

It took my brain a minute to snap out of my insecurity and focus on the message my eyes were sending. Maybe it was because a single person was standing still in this flood of people pouring through the entrance.

“Declan.” I smiled at him and lifted my hand to wave.

He stared at me, his eyes tight and intense, occasionally glancing at Sam before shooting back to me.

I never got around to actually waving, my hand just hanging in the air. Again, there was a short delay between what I was seeing and what my mind actually took in, but it got there eventually.

He looked pissed. Even more so when he shoved his way through the crowd toward us. If I’d been able to, I would’ve backed up, but the space had already been filled, and I had nowhere left to go.

“Hey, Dec!” Sam yelled. “I was—”

“I know what you were doing, Sam. And we’ll discuss it tomorrow.” He didn’t even look at his friend, his glare solely for me. For a reason I didn’t understand. “But I’d like to have a quick chat with your date, if that’s okay with you.”

When Sam’s arm flew off my shoulder and he stepped back, I understood what Declan might have misunderstood.

“Sam’s not my date.”

“Right,” he snapped. “Because you don’t date. Can’t believe I forgot that. Well, then I’d like to have a quick word before you go fuck my friend. That better?”

My jaw tightened. I suddenly wished this part of the club were as loud as the farther inside, so I wouldn’t have heard him say that. “No, actually. That’s worse. Not to mention incredibly rude, judgmental, and an all-around shitty thing to say. Aside from it not being true, of course.”

“Of course, it’s not. I’m sure fucking me had nothing to do with the band either.” He leaned closer to me. “You know, it would’ve been a lot easier on both of us if you’d just asked me for an autograph.”

“Oh, wow. Am I supposed to be impressed? Too bad I didn’t even know you were in a stupid band until last night. Partly because you somehow left that out when you told me about your job.”

He briefly shut his eyes and took a breath. “You’re right—I shouldn’t have lied. It was wrong.” Then he nodded. “And no matter what your reasons for being here, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry. My mind’s been having a tough time sorting things out tonight.”

I could tell he meant the apology, but the rest didn’t make sense. “My reasons for being here? What does that mean?”

“Your friend—Carissa. She told me you knew who I was. I guess I was hoping a little too desperately that wasn’t the case.”

“I find it a little hard to believe you’re desperate, Declan. And I seriously doubt you need to lie to get in a girl’s pants.” I clenched my eyes shut, hoping at least some of this would start making sense. “Guys lie about being in bands to get women to sleep with them.” I knew this because a few of them had tried. It hadn’t done anything for me, but when I thought about it, it had definitely worked on Carissa. “I’ve never heard of someone lying about not being in one.”

“If it’s any consolation, I only partially lied to you.” One side of his mouth curled into a guilty grin, deepening the dimple on his cheek and giving me a peek into what he’d looked like as a little boy. I bet he got away with everything. “I really am a writer. But instead of books or articles, I write songs.”

“You also sing and play the guitar in front of big crowds of cheering people.”

“Sometimes.” He nodded. “I’m a songwriter who’s really sorry for assuming the worst and being an asshole.”

“Don’t worry about it, dude,” Sam cut in. “I was just talking to her while we waited for you to get back, anyway.”

“Were you really waiting for me?” he asked me hopefully.

I wasn’t ready to let him off the hook. “Don’t worry, it’ll never happen again. Now that I know better.”

“I’m really sorry, Sara.” He ran his hand through his hair, but it flopped right back into place. “I did exactly what I asked you not to do the last time we saw each other. I shouldn’t have assumed you were anything like other women. Can we start over, go back to before I turned into a jealous asshole?”

He was jealous. That shouldn’t have made me so happy to hear. Jealousy was a terrible emotion—always.

“Please,” Declan said. “Can we find somewhere to talk? Just for a minute?”

I wasn’t sure anymore. I hadn’t expected this reaction and, frankly, it hurt. I slowly blew out a breath, giving myself a chance to figure out what I wanted from him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something I could decide in a single exhalation. All I knew was that I didn’t want to be here anymore.

“I’m leaving. If you really want to talk, you’ll have to do it while I’m waiting for a cab.”

He nodded quickly. “I’ll take it.” Then he turned to Sam. “Sorry, man.”

Sam slapped him on the shoulder. “No prob. But you owe me one. You wouldn’t believe how many assholes were gawking at her, even though it was so obvious how into me she was.” He winked at me. “If I’d have turned away for a second, they all would’ve pounced. Women are right—men are fucking pigs.”

“Speaking of pigs…” Declan said with a half-grin that was more a showcase of his dimple than a smile. “Somebody needs to make sure Trevor gets home—the sooner, the better.” Then he turned to Sam, peeled a twenty-dollar bill from his billfold, and gave it to the drummer. After shoving the rest of his cash into his back pocket, he reached into the other one and pulled out a worn canvas wallet. “This is Trevor’s. Do you mind helping—?”

“Our little piggy go wee-wee-wee all the way home? Sure, no prob. I was going to take off soon, anyway.” Sam grabbed the wallet and peeked inside.

Declan laughed at his look of disappointment. “Damn, you shitheads are expensive.” He reached for his cash again and handed over another bill. “Thanks, man. I owe you two now.”

“Nah, I was just kidding about that. After all, your tardiness let me get in some quality time with a very beautiful, very sweet listener.” Winking, Sam put his arms out to me as if he expected me to run in for a bear hug.

I grabbed his face and gave him two kisses, one on each cheek. I really did appreciate him keeping me company. Although, at this exact moment, I wasn’t sure how smart it had been for me to stay.

Thankfully, Sam seemed to understand, motioning me in with his pointer finger as soon as I let him go. Maybe he hadn’t understood. I leaned in warily.

“I’ve never seen Declan freak out about a girl before,” he said. “He must really like you. Give him another shot. Dec’s one of the good guys, and there aren’t enough of them anymore.”

Everyone’s definition of good guy was different. Mine didn’t include men who yell at me. But I’d hear him out because, even though he and I would never have a future together, I didn’t want to walk away feeling the way I was right now. Plus, Sam was right—there weren’t enough good guys left.

“Take care of yourself, Sam. Thanks for your help.” Then I turned around and headed toward the front door without checking to see if Declan followed. If he really wanted to talk, it was up to him to keep up.