Ruby Tuesday (2 page)

She decided to end the set with a new song she’d just finished writing that morning. She was proud of the song,
Maybe Tomorrow
, and felt perhaps it was one of the best she’d ever written. At least it fit into Riley’s request for an upbeat song. It had a fun, whimsical melody with playful words. As she began strumming the guitar, she felt herself floating away to what she thought of as her happy place. Every now and then, she’d simply lose herself in the music, in the sheer joy of singing and playing. She let her voice flow around the words and weave itself into the sounds coming from her beloved acoustic guitar. The guitar had been her mother’s before she died and it was Teagan’s most cherished possession.

As the song ended, she was surprised to realize most of the chatter in the bar had died down. Instead of the polite applause she was accustomed to, she received hearty cheers from the old guys at the bar and Mr. and Mrs. Tibbs had risen to their feet. She grinned and thanked them.

Putting her guitar down on the stand, she’d forgotten all about Sky Mitchell—until she stepped off the small stage and bumped into him at the foot of the stairs.

Sky watched the colorful gypsy descend the two steps of the stage, not even aware of the fact he was crowding the small space at the bottom until she ran into him. She 11

Mari Carr

stumbled slightly and he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her. He was surprised to discover how small and shapely she was beneath her voluminous clothing. With her long, flowing skirt and baggy, loose-fitting top, he’d been unable to discern if she had any figure at all. To top it off, the blinding outfit was a kaleidoscope of color—purples, yellows, greens and blues all competing for dominance in the wildly patterned material, which made it tough to focus on anything at all.

Until her last song, he’d never made it past her crazy clothing to bother looking at her face. Now that she was literally right under his nose, he grinned like a lovesick fool at the wholesome visage glancing up at him. She had long, rich red hair, bright green eyes and honest-to-God freckles that covered nearly every square inch of her pale complexion. She wasn’t beautiful, but she sure as hell was pretty, striking. He felt his cock stir and fought to bring the unruly thing under control before it embarrassed him.

His jeans were too tight to allow him to hide even a mild hard-on.

“Excuse me.” He made certain she’d found her balance before taking a step back.

He studied her expression, waiting for the inevitable moment when she would recognize him. His disguise was a weak effort and there was no way it would fool this woman now that they were standing so close together.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t see you standing there.” He counted to five in his head, surprised when the usual fawning, “oh my God” reaction didn’t come and an awkward silence fell between them.

“Um, I was quite impressed with your set, especially that last song,” he said, aware he sounded a bit like a babbling idiot. What the fuck was going on with him? “You have a lovely voice.”

“Thank you,” she replied. “I have to confess I just finished writing that final song this morning.”

“So you’re a songwriter in addition to a performer?” His interest in her rose higher.

He was hiding out in Baltimore, taking a long-needed hiatus from touring with his band and grappling to make a serious decision regarding his future. He’d started 12

Ruby Tuesday

writing songs for his next album. An album he hoped to record solo, though he hadn’t confessed that dream to too many people. In fact, he’d only just sprung the idea on his best friend, Rod, tonight. His friend had understood his need to try something new and Sky had appreciated his support.

“Actually I think it would be more accurate to say I’m a songwriter who performs occasionally.”

“You sing well enough to have landed the gig here,” he said, surprised someone with so much obvious talent would sell herself so short.

She laughed at his words and he grinned at the music in the soft sound. “It’s my family’s pub.”

“Ah,” he said. “I was wondering if you would join me for a drink. Just until your next set. I’d like to talk to you about your music.” He wanted to buy that last song. He knew the moment he’d heard
Maybe Tomorrow
he’d found the title track for his album.

“Um, sure,” she said and again he was shocked by her hesitance. It dawned on him that either she didn’t know who he was or she didn’t care. Both answers were so atypical he found himself uncertain how to react. “Let me just pop over to the bar to get a glass of water and I’ll come right back. Can I get you something?” He shook his head and gestured to the untouched beer on his table. “No thanks. I’m good.”

He watched her walk across the room before returning to his booth. As he sat, he felt a welcome sense of optimism rising within him, a hopefulness that sadly had been lacking in his life lately. For the past decade, he’d eaten, slept and breathed nothing but The Universe, touring ten months out of the year, recording the other two and loving every single moment of it…for a while. Then nearly a year ago, he’d hit the wall.

Burned out. He’d realized he had reached the point in his career where he needed a change. He’d gone as far as he could go with the band and he was dying for a new adventure, a bigger challenge, something different.

13

Mari Carr

When he’d made quiet noises about going solo, the band’s manager, Marty, claimed he was merely overworked and undersexed and suggested he take a break. It was Marty who’d sent him to Baltimore to relax for a month. He’d set him up in the penthouse of a swanky hotel under an assumed name and told him to hide out—get drunk and laid—until The Universe’s last scheduled concert over Thanksgiving weekend. Unbeknownst to Marty, Sky had been putting the time alone to better use than sex and alcohol. He was determined to put together an album’s worth of solo songs.

He scratched at the itchy fake beard on his face and wished he could rip the damn thing off. He glanced out the large plate-glass window at the front of the pub and decided against it. The paparazzi—always relentless—had stepped up their pursuit of him since his breakup with Holly Gonzalez, supermodel extraordinaire, and he’d had to take some extreme measures lately in order to fly under their radar.

He closed his eyes wearily as Holly’s plastic face flashed in his mind. Super
bitch
extraordinaire was more accurate. While he’d made a serious commitment to their relationship, it seemed Holly was only committed to the idea of fame and fortune. She was perfectly content with him when there were cameras flashing in their faces. It was when they were alone that things disintegrated. He’d finally read the writing on the wall when she suggested they invite cameras into their apartment and star in their own reality show. Their well-publicized breakup had only convinced him more that it was time for some serious changes.

“Hi again.”

Sky looked up to find the singer standing by his table and realized he didn’t even know her name. He rose quickly and gestured for her to join him. She placed her glass of water on the table and he nervously decided to take the plunge as they sat down.

Perhaps she really didn’t recognize him through his disguise, though he feared an introduction would generate the rabid fan response.

“I’m Sky Mitchell,” he said.

14

Ruby Tuesday

She never skipped a beat as she replied, “Teagan Collins. Nice to meet you.” Her tone gave away nothing and again he was struck by the absurdity of the moment. He’d clearly spent too many years in the limelight if he didn’t know how to hold a normal conversation with a new acquaintance.

“Teagan is an unusual name,” he said, searching for some scrap to start the conversation since she obviously wasn’t going to spend the standard twenty minutes gushing about how great he was and how much she loved his music.

What a relief.

She laughed lightly. “Yeah, well, I have Sunday to thank for that.”

“Sunday?”

“My mother. She took the naming of her seven children very seriously.” Sky leaned back in the booth and grinned. “Seven children?”

“Yep.” Teagan turned toward the bar. “In fact, if you take a look over there, you’ll see two of my four brothers glaring at you from behind the counter.”

“Ah, so they are. Should I be preparing for a ‘pistols at dawn’ challenge?” he joked.

Teagan shook her head, her smile growing wider. “I think you’ll be okay so long as you stay on that side of the table. Tris and Ewan have learned a bit about restraint lately. My oldest sister, Keira, just recently moved in with her boyfriend.”

“I think I’m beginning to understand your comment about the unusual names—

Keira, Tris, Ewan.”

“Actually, I have to confess all the names seem to fit. For instance, ‘Teagan’ means poet.”

Sky nodded. “Very fitting for a songwriter.”

“Your name is fairly unusual as well,” she said.

“It’s not my given name,” he confessed.

“I didn’t think it was. No doubt someone must have thought Sky was a terribly clever name for the lead singer of a band called The Universe.” 15

Mari Carr

“So you
do
know who I am.”

“Of course,” she said, and then she broke into peals of laughter. He was confused by her response until she added, “Actually, I had no idea until my sister, Riley, spotted you. I mean, I’ve heard of The Universe, but I have to admit it’s not the type of music I usually listen to.”

“Not a fan of popular music?” he asked, surprised. While her songs were definitely folksy,
Maybe Tomorrow
would be very easy to put a contemporary twist on by eliminating the acoustic guitar and adding more instruments.

“Not particularly. I prefer folk music. You know, songs where you can actually understand what the singer is saying.” The moment the words left her lips, he watched her blush uncomfortably. “I’m sorry,” she added quickly. “That was completely rude and I can’t believe I said it.”

He shrugged good-naturedly. “I’m not offended. I agree there are a lot of bands out there that rely on painfully loud music to drown out the fact that their lead singer can’t sing or their words are utterly ridiculous. I hope you don’t feel that way about The Universe’s music.”

She winced. “I was kind of hoping to avoid admitting the fact that I don’t really know any of your songs. I mean, it’s entirely probable that I’ve heard them on the radio and just didn’t know it was The Universe.”

Sky shook his head in disbelief. He wasn’t so cocky as to believe everyone in the world knew the band’s music, but it had been so long since he’d actually met someone who didn’t, he wasn’t sure how to react.

He watched Teagan glance at a spot behind him and he realized it was the third time she’d done so. He turned to see what she was looking at. All he saw was a staircase. “Are you waiting for someone?” he asked.

“My sister, Riley. She was excited when she realized you were here. She went upstairs to change her clothes.”

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Ruby Tuesday

He grinned.
That
was a response he could understand. “Is your sister as pretty as you?” he asked.

“She’s much prettier. No freckles or bright red hair.” He was surprised by the sincerity of her response, as well as the lack of jealousy behind it.

“Oh Teagan, I had to tell you how much I loved that last song!” Sky looked up to see an older woman standing by their table. He was struck by the fact that, once again, he was virtually invisible, as the woman never glanced his way.

“Thank you, Mrs. Tibbs.”

“Bev wanted me to ask if you were still coming to teach the music class tomorrow.”

“Of course I am,” Teagan replied. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Music class?” he asked.

Mrs. Tibbs looked at him briefly. “Teagan teaches music at my daughter Bev’s preschool every Wednesday.”

Sky pictured Teagan surrounded by small children. The thought
lucky kids
drifted through his mind as Mrs. Tibbs turned back to her. “I’m afraid my husband and I are leaving early tonight. His arthritis is bothering him again. Darn cold weather.”

“Oh no. Tell him I hope he feels better soon. Good night,” Teagan replied.

“Good night, dear.” The older woman walked to the front door, where her husband waited to help her into her coat before they left together.

“Apparently Mrs. Tibbs doesn’t listen to The Universe either. I can’t begin to tell you what this evening has done for my ego,” he joked.

Teagan laughed and he reveled in the genuineness of the sound. After years spent around women who giggled like schoolgirls or offered him husky laughter meant to sound sexy, he enjoyed the true humor behind Teagan’s. His cock moved again and he forced himself to think of something other than what she would look like with that ridiculous skirt hitched up around her waist and him kneeling behind her.

17

Mari Carr

“Believe me, Riley will more than make up for Mrs. Tibbs and me. Although I can’t understand where she is. Even for her, this is an excessive amount of time spent primping. Maybe I should go check on her.”

“Actually,” Sky said, taking her hand quickly to keep her from rising. “I was hoping to talk to you about that last song you sang.”

“
Maybe Tomorrow
?” she asked.

He nodded, and then decided to grab the bull by the horns. “It’s a terrific song, Teagan. I’d like to record it.”

“Record it?”

“I’m in Baltimore for the next month, working on songs I hope to record on my debut solo album.” He wasn’t sure why he felt compelled to tell her about his plans, but the moment the words flew from his lips, he knew his decision to break away from The Universe was finally made for good. No more waffling back and forth—starting tonight, his new direction was set.

“Solo album? You’re leaving The Universe?”

“I’m been toying with the idea for months, but yes,” he said more assuredly, “I’m leaving the band.” He’d have to break the news to Marty soon, but the fact was his contract with The Universe was about to expire and in a few short weeks, he’d be a free agent. The record company had been hounding him to extend his contract but he’d managed to hedge, claiming personal problems as the holdup. It was the only time his breakup with Holly had come in handy.