Read And Then You Fall (Crested Butte Series) for Free Online Page B

That’s something everyone would want to hear about.”
    “Shh, lower your voice. God, I’m so embarrassed.”
    “No one can hear me over the band, and why would you be embarrassed? He’s . . .”
    “Hot. Very hot. Scorchingly hot.”
    “See?”
    “And that’s all you’re getting out of me.”
    “Damn.”
    Liv looked in the direction of the bar and saw one of the guys she’d met at dinner, Johnny or Jimmy, or something like that. He waved and motioned for her to come to the bar.
    “I’ll be right back.”
    As she walked up she saw Ben standing at the bar next to whatever his name was, with his back to her. He turned as she drew closer, and smiled, that devastatingly perfect smile that made her want to slide into his arms and never leave. His worn jeans, with holes and tears in all the right places, sat low on his hips. His Henley crept up as he reached his hand out in invitation, revealing a peak at his rock-hard abs. His signature True Grit plaid shirt, open in the front, stretched across his broad shoulders—and that cowboy hat, sitting down low on his head, almost covering his eyes, was just another of Liv’s weaknesses.
    “Wow, look at you all sexy and hanging out at the bar. Aren’t you afraid your fans will mob you?” She slid her body up against his and breathed in the scent of him.
    “Nah, I’ve been out here forty-five minutes waiting for you. Nobody recognizes me.”
    “Had I known you were waiting for me, looking as hot as you do, I would’ve gotten here much sooner.”
    “Me? Look at you, you’re like fire and ice baby.” Liv’s sleeveless red dress clung to every curve of her body. She wore only a single, solitaire diamond necklace, on a long chain that hung down, resting in the hollow between her breasts. Her four-inch nude heels made her legs look impossibly long and her wavy hair framed her face with perfectly placed blonde highlights.
    Ben sat on a bar stool, put his arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to him. “I want to kiss you so bad, right here in the bar. Would that embarrass you?”
    Liv rubbed her lips across his before pulling back and away.
    “That was hardly a kiss. Come here, give me some more of that.”
    Before he could pull her closer she stiffened her arm, keeping him at a safe distance. “Careful, your adoring fans may not like seeing you with me.”
     
    “What’s goin’ on with you?” Jimmy asked after Liv was out of earshot.
    “I wish to hell I knew. God, just look at her.” Ben breathed in deep and let it out. “I could just eat her up. Have you ever seen a more beautiful woman?”
    “I’m confused, didn’t you just meet her? You seem kinda’, you know, over the top.”
    “Yeah, I did just meet her. I mean, I met her last summer, after that show we played at Red Rocks.”
    “Oh yeah, now I remember, so you met her then, for five minutes, now she’s coming to our shows? Hmm.”
    “Nah, it isn’t like that. I ran into her at the pool yesterday morning. And then one other time, at the Goat, in January.”
    “And you don’t think she meant to run into you? Come on.”
    No, she was different. She hadn’t meant to run into him, it was fate that keep putting her in his path. Liv had been fighting the attraction between them. She didn’t recognize it for what it was. Something special, something unique.
    “I’m tellin’ you, it isn’t like that. And I really like her, so back the fuck off.”
    Jimmy held up his hands. “Just sayin’, don’t get so touchy.”
     
    Liv could not wait for them to get up on stage. She loved their music so much and couldn’t wait to watch him play, up close, where she could see those big, powerful hands on the guitar, watch his eyes as he sang.
    Wow, it was getting hot in here, maybe she should go get some fresh air before they started. Wait, what was she thinking, this was Las Vegas, there wasn’t much fresh air and what there was of it wouldn’t cool her off.
    One by one the band members started