Nothing Between Us (39 page)

“Dr. Phil gets all his best stuff from me.”

“Just tell me about this charity thing so I can get to bed and think about the sex I won’t be having tonight.”

Gibson paused as if ready to push the topic, but then relented. “Fine. The charity project would involve music.”

“Excellent.”

“And would be helping my lovely sister-in-law-to-be out.”

“Making sexy Tessa happy. Good.”

“You’d be working with kids.”

“And . . . I’m out.”

Gibson scoffed. “You have something against kids?”

“I’m inked up, curse like a convict, and have piercings in questionable places. Parents don’t want me near their children, and the kids freak me out.”

“Bullshit. How can you be freaked-out? You’re one of them.”

“Sorry, Gib.”

“Are you being serious right now?”

“I’m not a kid person.” He could still smell the stench of the house he’d grown up in. The overstuffed diaper pails. The spoiling government-issued baby formula. His younger siblings seeking him and his sister out when their mom couldn’t keep up.

“This would be the older group, not the little ones.”

“Can’t I just write a check or donate proceeds from a show or something?”

Gibson blew out a breath. “No, they need your expertise, not your money. Just hear me out. Tessa has a great idea for a fund-raiser, but she needs someone with experience in producing music. All the money would go toward the college fund and resources for the after-school program. You know what the charity’s about. These kids don’t have a lot, man. You and I both know what that’s like.”

Fuck. “You’re really going for the jugular here, Gib.”

“Just speaking the truth.”

Yeah, that and Gibson was a brilliant PR guy who knew how to pitch things. Monty laid his head on Pike’s chest, and Pike scratched behind Monty’s ear. “You’ve even got my dog giving me the don’t-be-a-bastard look.”

Gibson chuckled. “I sneak him treats when I’m there. He’s on my side.”

Pike ran a hand over his face. “What exactly do they want me to do?”

He could almost hear Gibson’s victory grin over the phone. “It won’t be a big deal at all.”

Pike closed his eyes. Famous last words.

Roni Loren
wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven’t improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. Though she’ll forever be a New Orleans girl at heart, she now lives in Dallas with her husband and son. If she’s not working on her latest sexy story, you can find her reading, watching reality television, or indulging in her unhealthy addiction to rock stars, er, rock concerts. Yeah, that’s it. Visit her website: roniloren.com.

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