“Let’s hold off on the pictures for now.” She tugged at her top again. “What about Nick or Stax? Are they here?”
Maybe they’d seen Liam.
Jace’s open expression shuttered. “You know Nick never comes to these things. Not a big fan of crowds, he says.” He shrugged. “Besides, the moon’s full. They like to go out in the desert and commune with nature. Howl at the moon and shit like that.”
Howl at the moon? Nick and Stax? Was Nick like Stax?
If she asked Jace, he’d think she was crazy.
You are crazy. You spent the night in a threesome with a coyote.
In her defense, he hadn’t been a coyote at the time.
Jace leaned his elbow on the bar beside her and studied his nails casually. “Speaking of friends, where are yours hiding?”
Dani bit her lip so she wouldn’t laugh.
It was too bad, really. He was gorgeous. Women salivated over his dark good looks, sharp cheekbones and lean build. He could have anyone, but it was Kaya he was chasing. Unfortunately, he had all the maturity of a ten-year-old boy pulling pigtails at recess, so he was in for a rough road.
“Looks like someone wants to get in a fight tonight.”
Speak of the devil.
Dani saw the glimmer of excitement flash in Jace’s eyes before he turned to face Kaya, who’d come up behind him with a grinning Bailey in tow.
He held up his hand. “Who me? I’d rather make love than war, babe. Want to join me?”
“Better idea.” Kaya crossed her arms defensively. “How about you disappear, and I won’t tell Liam you were staring down Dani’s dress?”
Dani’s hand popped up to cover her revealing cleavage and Jace sighed dramatically. “You two are the one’s he’ll be mad at for bringing her out with all that beautiful skin on display. I’m just a Neanderthal. You should both know better. What were you thinking?”
“Um, Jace?” Dani said, watching Kaya’s eyes narrow dangerously.
“Yeah, I can see that. Fine. I’ll go, but not too far. Someone has to babysit you troublemakers until Daddy gets home.”
All three women watching him walk away. By his slow, deliberate stride, Dani had a feeling he was enjoying the attention.
“He’s right. This dress is ridiculous. I should go home and change.”
Bailey and Kaya both turned back to her and gave her a blank look. “What? You two may be used to people staring at you, but I’m not.”
Kaya held up one finger and shook it chidingly. “Jace is never right.”
“Unless it’s about food or poker.” Bailey tossed a friendly arm over Dani’s shoulder. “But she has a point. There’s no going back now, or the man who thinks he needs to babysit our cleavage will get the last word. So try to enjoy the attention and stop worrying. For feminism. Anyway, Liam will be here soon. After what you told us, I doubt anything will keep him away from you.”
Kaya nodded. “As if he wasn’t hooked before.”
She wasn’t so sure about that. Three times now, she’d left him hanging in one way or another after things got intimate. Maybe he’d decided she was too high maintenance.
Maybe he’d finally gotten what he wanted, and lost interest.
Does that sound anything like Liam to you?
It didn’t. It wasn’t. “You’re right. He’ll be here.”
A loud cheer went up in the restaurant and Dani and the others turned toward the stage. Uncle Marc, the tall, bald, barrel-chested birthday boy, was grinning from ear to ear behind his bushy mustache. “Welcome to my party! Thanks to Dmitri for the food, and to the chefs from the resort for making me edible.”
He pointed at Jace and a few of his fellow line cooks, who waved at the crowd from beside their masterpiece—a milk chocolate trumpet player that looked surprisingly lifelike.
“And thanks to all of you. Sedona loves you, I love you and I know we’re all sorry to see the Casa close. So, if you’ll indulge me, I would like to invite a few of my friends up here for a final birthday jam.”
The roar of approval was deafening. Dani watched as he pulled out his trumpet and a chaotic stream of people holding various instruments joined him on the stage.
Dani knew most of them. The longhaired vocalist in a leather jacket and biker boots had a yogurt shop down the street. The man with a Civil War era beard and a long hemp caftan who played the bongos was everyone’s favorite couch surfer and retired historian. Bailey’s accountant was already going to town on his didgeridoo, and the older Joan Jett look-alike playing bass was the local librarian.
The scenery and spirituality defined so much of what Sedona was for tourists—and for Liam the fishing was definitely a factor—but for her, what made this place so special was the people. They all marched to their own beat, but they did it together. Strangers looking in from the outside might not understand the music. But she did.