Page 8 of Come Sail Away

Suddenly, it seemed as if he sang to her…just for her. It didn’t matter if the bar area was packed or not. The timber of his voice vibrated against her chest, making her feel a way she’d never felt before. A mushy sensation settled in her stomach. It reminded her of a marshmallow toasting over a fire, all oozy and melting and sliding off the stick into the flames. That’s what her body felt like. Boneless. Hot. As if he were touching her with his hands and not just his eyes and voice. Her breaths came in quick, shallow bursts, and a flush of perspiration clung to her shirt.

Taking slow steps, he moved closer and closer to her. His gaze mesmerized her as he held out his hand. She swallowed. Did he want her to take it?

Hesitantly, she placed her hand in his. The words of the song washed over her as, inside, she secretly swayed like a swooning teenager.

This was simply part of the show, she told herself. She’d seen performers engage with the audience in a similar manner before. She couldn’t explain why he’d chosen to do it with her, but the crowd seemed to be eating it up.

She drew her hand back as if she’d been burned. He stood and moved to his left, still watching her. He took his time turning his attention to the audience as a whole.

When he did, Harper exhaled the air from her lungs. Would she have felt this way if it had been anyone other than Sully McGlamery? Dammit, she didn’t think so.

He sang a few more songs, and then his set was finished. The MC thanked him and proclaimed some of Sully’s accolades, announcing his upcoming performances in Las Vegas and Rockefeller Center this coming fall.

Surprised by the list of high-end venues, Harper’s brows rose. Wow. Good for him.

After a slight bow at his waist and a final wave to the audience, Sully ambled over and took a seat next to her. A few lovely women tracked his progress as he strolled up to her table and parked his oh-so-sexy body in the seat across from her. Harper could see the appreciation in their stares. And something more… Interest? Disappointment that he hadn’t visited their table? Maybe even resentment? Whatever the women emitted, it was new to her. Other women didn’t usually ogle the men she was with.

A glimpse from her teenage days surfaced in her mind. Sully had been in a rock band, but it had only accounted for part of his popularity. The rest was pure Sully.

“I’m glad you got a chance to eat,” he said.

“What about you?”

He shrugged. “I don’t eat when I sing.”

“Well, you did great,” she said with a shy smile.

“Thanks.”

“I’m embarrassed we never got around to talking about you earlier today. I didn’t realize you were a star.”

“I’ve had some good luck.” He got to his feet. “Come on, let’s go back to the villa and away from the noise.”

She grabbed her drink and walked alongside him. Wow, wasn’t this a one-eighty? Tonight she was the one leaving with the hunky popular guy. She promised herself not to let it go to her head. This wasn’t the real thing, just make believe due to circumstance. He couldn’t have feelings for her, or vice versa. Their lives were worlds apart. Not literally, of course—Baja wasn’t that far from Los Angeles—but they couldn’t be more different.

As they walked to his villa, she tried to muster up some of the anger and hurt she’d felt toward him back in their high school days, just to get some distance, but even that failed. It didn’t matter any longer. She wasn’t the same deprived girl she’d been then. She was a mature, confident woman now, and she didn’t need to have a flashy boyfriend to show off.

Actually, she’d given up on that sort of thing altogether.