Page 20 of The Best Thing He Never Wanted

Blane pursed his lips, wondering whether he should… But the hesitation was all Cash needed.

“Did you go with the woman?”

Blane was about to deny it, but there wasn’t much point. “Yeah. Matter of fact, I did.”

“Well, damn. And before you even tell me how it went, I want you to know I’m proud of you.”

“Does that mean you’re expecting me to report that it was a disaster?”

“Didn’t say that, did I?”

“It wasn’t one anyway.”

“This is awesome, Blane. But wait. Why are you talking to me?”

“Uh, because you called me?”

“Yeah, but I mean, where’s the woman?”

“Her name is Bea.”

“Okay. I’m liking this more by the minute, bud. Except the part where you’re talking to me and not her.”

“We made it back to the hotel and her friend called and …” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Oh, fuck it. I’ll tell you, Cash. Her phone rang, and the first thing I thought was I needed to get out of the way. So I came back up to my room.”

“Shit. What did you do that for?”

“I don’t know. I’m just …” He was still pissed at himself for leaving her standing down in the lobby, but he wasn’t going to admit that to Cash.

“So, when do you get to see her again?”

“At the venue tonight, I guess. But it’s pointless, Cash. She’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

“Yeah, probably. Still impressed, though. And hey, if she’s the kind who’d be impressed by it, you could take her backstage with you tonight.”

“Nah. Don’t think that’d do much for her.”

“Your call. But I need you backstage anyway.”

“Why?”

“Need you to check in with the teams before the first act goes on. Make sure everyone’s set for the Hamburg leg. Then I want you back there after the show before they head out.”

Blane frowned. “You want me to go with them when they leave?”

“No. Nothing like that. I just want you checking in on everyone for me.”

Blane had been hoping to ride the tube back to the hotel with Bea again after the concert. Didn’t look like that was happening now.

“You good?” Cash asked.

“Yeah. I guess.”

“Well, shit. I was hoping you’d tell me I was screwing up your plans with the woman.”

“Bea.”

Cash laughed. “With Bea.”