Bang The Drummer Read Online Free Page B

T-shirt.
    Jill glared at him. “Well, I’m not. He’s perfect for April. And he plays in a band called—get this—Rainy Day Blues.”
    “Jesus, Jill.” He shook his head. “Are you sure this is all worth it? Maybe you should try a different tack. Or maybe just cancel the whole thing and let nature take its course.”
    “I tried that more than once, remember? Can you spell disaster? Besides, everything is paid for, and I don’t want to lose the money.”
    He curved his fingers around her wrist, a gentle touch that sent unexpected sparks flying through her.
    This is stupid. I’m reacting to any man because the last three were such washouts.
    But his touch was also reassuring and settling. And when she looked up at him again, he was smiling.
    “You know I’m here for you, no matter what. Right?”
    “Yes.” She nodded. “And you’ll never know how much it means to me.” She tilted her head. “Maybe when we get this taken care of we can put together a project to find the right woman for you.”
    That might even be fun. Who wouldn’t like a guy six feet tall, lean and muscular, with shaggy blond hair, eyes as dark as espresso, even a tiny dimple at one corner of his mouth. Charlie was a real hottie. Too bad he was her best friend.
    He put up his hands in a signal for stop. “No thanks, kitten. I can only live through one of these. I can handle my own love life.”
    She frowned. “And do you have one? You spend so much time with me, when do you have time for yourself?” She realized she had no idea what kind of woman Charlie dated. What he did with his spare time when he wasn’t hanging around her. What appealed to him. For a very brief moment, she chastised herself for being so selfish in their relationship. Then she squelched the feeling. She had important things to do. When she got herself settled, she could focus on Charlie.
    The dimple flashed as he grinned. “Don’t you worry about me. I’m doing just fine.”
    She might have accepted his words at face value except she heard a faint undertone of…something.
    Charlie’s a big boy. He can handle himself. You have to focus on your own situation.
    “Would you like to come to the tasting with me next month? The caterer has put together a list of yummy foods to choose from.”
    “Shouldn’t you be doing that with your fiancé? I mean, when you decide on one.”
    “Of course, of course.” She took another sip of her coffee. Why was she so jittery today? “I just want to be prepared. To narrow the choices.”
    “Uh huh. Jill, if the right guy comes along, he won’t care if you get married at Christmas or on Halloween. Or what you eat at the wedding.”
    “Well, I care,” she snapped. “And I’m done discussing it.”
    “So tell me about this guy and his band. And when are we going to see him?”
    “I told you. It’s a blues band. They only play on weekends because of his job at Channel 6.” She tapped her iPad and turned it to face him. “Here’s his picture. Isn’t he cute?”
    Charlie laughed. “Jill, guys don’t call other guys cute.” He studied the picture. “He’s not bad. How is he as a drummer, since that seems to be the main requirement?”
    “He’s great. Mitzi gave me some CDs to listen to. We’ve talked on the phone, and we’re meeting Saturday for breakfast.”
    “A meal, huh?” He chuckled. “The first three guys only got coffee.”
    “He suggested it,” she sniffed. “Shows he has manners and knows how to treat a woman.”
    “We’ll see.” He pushed away from the table. “Ready to leave? You said you wanted to watch the game tonight.”
    “I do.” Baseball had always been one of her passions. It was one of the things that connected the two of them. “It’s your turn to buy the pizza.”
    “Okay. Let’s hope April’s guy is a winner and doesn’t rain all over your parade.”
    A week later, Jill thought about Charlie’s words because it wasn’t rain pouring over her but a deluge, helped along by