“You don’t want to continue talking about my sordid past?”
“No, I don’t.” She reaches across the table and takes my hand in hers. “We’ve all made mistakes, Jake. Especially when we were younger. I slept with men I shouldn’t have in my modeling days.”
I don’t want to know this.
“I want to know who you are now.”
“Who I was then affects who I am now.”
She nods slowly. “True. And maybe, with time, we’ll talk about that more. But for now, I’m content to talk about other things.”
“Minnesota.”
“Excuse me?” She releases my hand to eat more of her meal.
“I’m from Minnesota. My parents divorced when I was nine. Mom remarried and lives in Texas with her husband. I stayed in Minnesota with Dad.”
“Did he remarry?”
I shake my head and eat a carrot. “He was kind of heartbroken when Mom left. He passed away a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry.” Her eyes are sad.
“Not your fault.” I shrug, the familiar pain I get in my chest settling in when I think of my dad. “I miss him too. And I might feel a little guilty.”
“Why?”
“It kind of goes back to the jackassery. When I was with Hard Knox, we toured constantly. I was wrapped up in the band, and I didn’t see him or speak to him as much as I should have.”
“I’m sure he was very proud of you,” she says with a soft smile.
“I think he was.” God, I hope he was.
“How did you end up in Portland?”
“Max is from here,” I reply. “When the band broke up and he came back here, I decided to come with him. I bought a place just outside of Hillsboro.”
“Do you like it here?”
“I’m liking it more and more,” I reply truthfully, holding her blue gaze in mine. “It helps that you’re crazy about me.”
“You’re just crazy,” she replies primly.
“Seriously, you’re embarrassing me. Stop fawning all over me.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s grinning, and I know she enjoys the banter as much as I do. “What’s your favorite kind of music?”
I tip my head to the side. “I love all music.”
“But there must be a favorite. A band, or a genre.”
“Can I get you dessert?” the waitress asks, but I quickly shake my head no, and she leaves.
“Maybe I want dessert,” Addie says with a raised brow.
“I do too, but we’re going to get it somewhere else.”
“Fun.” She smiles.
“Um, baby, you have something in your teeth.” I point to the spot, and she frowns as she searches for it, making me laugh. “You got it.”
“Thanks.”
I pay the check, then take Addie’s hand and lead her out into the warm early summer evening, leading her toward my favorite ice cream place.
“So, you didn’t answer my question,” she says.
“You answer it first, and then I will.”
“You just want to copy my answer to make me think that we have stuff in common.”
God, she’s funny.
“You caught me. Just humor me.”
I glance down and watch her move next to me. She’s in killer red heels with her matching red toes poking out the end, and a black skirt, but she’s walking as easily as if she was wearing sneakers.
Amazing.
“Johnny Cash,” she replies, surprising the fuck out of me.
“Excuse me?”
“I love Johnny Cash. Especially the old stuff.”
“You’re shitting me.”
“No,” she says and giggles, then shocks the hell out of me by linking her fingers with mine. “He was amazing. I also like newer stuff like Daughtry and I’ve always loved the Goo Goo Dolls.”
“What about Hard Knox?” I ask, unable to help myself.
She looks up at me with narrowed eyes. “I didn’t have your posters on my walls.”
“I don’t give a fuck about posters,” I reply honestly. “It was never about that shit for me.”
“I loved your music,” she replies softly and stops us, right here, on the sidewalk so she can look up at me. “ ‘Simply Red’ is my favorite song, but I knew them all. Your voice gives me goose bumps. But that’s not why I’m here tonight.”
“Why are you here?”
She glances down, but I catch her chin with my finger and make her look me in the eye.
“I’m here because I can’t seem to say no to you, even though I want to say no to you. I don’t have a good history with musicians.”
“Dated a few?” I ask, feeling my gut clench. I know how musicians can be in relationships. Hell, I know how men can be.
“My share,” she says with a nod. “So, I’m not here because you’re a successful musician, Jake, I’m here in spite of it. I’m here because I feel the chemistry between us.”
“And because you like me.”
“I didn’t say that.” She smiles now, relief in her eyes. “I’m still deciding on that.”
I take her hand and continue leading her down the sidewalk to Sweet Treats. “How can I tip the scales in my favor?”
“Tell me what kind of damn music you like already.”
“I like the bands you mentioned,” I reply thoughtfully.