Page 51 of Speechless
It appeared Mav was clenching his jaw when he extended his hand to Jack. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”
Jack smirked before accepting Mav’s hand. “Wish I could say the same. All Codie’s old stories about you aren’t too flattering, man.”
Without missing a beat, Mav said, “I’m not surprised. I was the dumbass kid who broke her heart. But I’m all grown up now…” His gaze drifted to mine slowly. “And ready to make up for all the time we lost.”
Wow. The sexual tension was palpable when he looked at me like… he wanted to tear my clothes off… with his teeth.
Jack shot me a look that spoke volumes, questioning whether this guy was for real. Whether we, as a couple, were for real.
I still didn’t know the answer to that, but by the time Mav headed back out on the road in a few days we would have decided whether we were moving forward together… or apart.
“You need any help setting up, Codie?” Jack asked.
“I think I’m good for now,” I said, giving him a quick hug. “Thanks, and thanks for being here, Jack. You know it means a lot.”
He nodded before glancing at Mav. “Be good to her, man.” His voice was laced with warning when he said, “She’s been through enough. She deserves to be happy now.”
Mav and I shared a look before he said, “I couldn’t agree more, and I plan to make her happier than she’s ever been, if she’ll let me.”
There’s a long beat of silence before Jack said, “Right, well I better get back to my set-up. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
Mav waited for Jack to walk away before he said, “It’s obvious he still cares about you.”
“And I care about him. We’re friends, Mav. Like I said. And you want the best for your friends, right? If there was a girl in his life who’d done a number on him, and wanted a chance to do it again, you better believe I’d put her on warning.”
He nodded. “Fair enough, I get that.”
The old Mav would have gone off on Jack, instigated a fight, probably gotten drunk or arrested. But this new man had too much to lose, so he’d learned to reign it in. Or he’d really matured, and I wasn’t giving him enough credit. Time would tell.
* * *
It was the end of a long and grueling night. Every muscle in my body ached from back-to-back tattoos, for hours. That I was used to. But the sound of Mav’s incredible voice, projecting over the microphone while he dominated the stage, singing songs that he’d written about me, and us, was more than I could handle.
I was grateful when I could finally pack up my equipment and J.T.’s wife, Nikki, took the stage to sing a few songs. We’d raised almost ten times as much money as the event had ever raised in the past, and I had to admit, Mav’s idea to sing, and include some of his famous friends in the show, had been a stroke of genius.
“Can I have this dance, beautiful?”
His voice glided over me like warm honey, causing chill bumps to rise all over my body. It was a little raspy and gravelly, from his extended performance, but that only made him harder to resist.
I turned to face him. “Tonight was amazing. I can’t thank you enough, Mav.”
His half-smile was even sexier than his full-on, mega-watt grin, complete with the shallow dimples only a good shave would reveal. “We make a good team. Tattoos and Song. What do you think? We could take these fundraisers on the road. Make a boatload of money for tons of good causes.”
I smiled before reaching for both of his hands. “We do make a good team, don’t we?”
His look screamed of trepidation when he asked, “Does that mean you’re willing to give us a shot? Even if it means people might give you a hard time about us being a couple, at least for a while?” Before I could respond, he said, “Everyone will get used to the idea, Codie. They’ll quit asking questions eventually and life for you will return to normal.”
I quirked an eyebrow, wondering if he was trying to sell me on the idea or was really naïve enough to believe that life with a partner who was a huge country music star could ever be normal.
“How about that dance?” he asked, before I could respond.
I glanced up at the stage. Nikki was rocking it, as she always did, and her husband was front and center to cheer her on. J.T. had been a champion bull rider when they met. He’d been a star in his own right, but when he retired and fell in love with Nikki, her star outshone his and he didn’t seem to mind.
Maybe he was more secure than I was. Maybe he didn’t need the ego gratification of being known for his accomplishments. Or maybe he just loved his wife so much it didn’t matter what anyone else thought. Could I take a page from his book… and love Mav enough to give us a chance in spite of my fear of being swallowed up by his celebrity status?
“I’d love to,” I said, finally accepting his hand.
I let him lead me to the dance floor before slipping into his arms. There were a few other couples on the dance floor and all eyes discreetly turned to Mav. I’d noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that gorgeous women had been coming on to him all night, between sets and while he was on stage. But he didn’t seem to care. Maybe he was already a master at shutting down the groupies.
