Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

HENDRIX

From that night on, whenever we finished for the night, I went looking for Arthur. He was always there. He was a little awkward, a little shy, but he warmed up to us eventually. I dropped myself onto the stool next to him, beaming at him when he pushed a sparkling water my way.

"Good show tonight."

"Thanks, Artie! The crowd is really growing lately. I think you're our good luck charm."

Even in the dim lighting, I could see him blush. Ruby never outright said what she could pick up off Arthur the day we met, but I figured it out on my own. He didn't blush as much around the others. I was flattered and definitely interested, but I didn't want to chase away our number one fan by coming on too strong. I figured I'd let him come to me, but three weeks later, he still hadn't made a move.

Worried he'd never get up the nerve on his own, I figured I'd throw out something to get his attention.

"Hey, do you like weddings?"

He frowned. "Uh… I guess? Why?"

I lifted a shoulder. "Maya's wedding gig is coming up. I'd hate for you to miss a show. I need a date anyway. Interested?"

His mouth opened and closed in shock, and I had to roll my lips between my teeth to hide my laugh. I didn't want him to think I wasn't serious, I totally was, but his reaction was adorable.

"I–I'm– Uh… When?"

"A week from Saturday. The girls picked this nice joint in the mountains. We went up there last week to check out the set up and make sure we had everything we needed for the gig."

Her brow furrowed a little. "Oh… I'm… I'm sorry, I can't on weekends. I'll have my daughter with me and–"

My eyebrows shot up. "You've got a kid? Are you married?"

That'd seriously put a damper on the evening. I wouldn't take back the invitation, Arthur was a nice guy, but I wasn't a home wrecker.

He shook his head quickly. "Divorced. I get Sophie on the weekends. I'm sorry I'll miss it, but…"

I pursed my lips. Divorced I could work with. He was unattached, and I was too interested in getting to know him better to let it deter me. He was a nice dude, showing up for every gig and giving us his support. He was the one who pointed out that we didn't have any social media or any songs up online for people to buy. No videos either, even free. I wasn't really tech savvy, so I never thought of that. I put Duncan in charge of social media and we were working out getting some studio time so we could record our songs and find a distributor. They were smart ideas, and I loved that he cared enough to suggest it.

"Well, I don't see a problem with bringing her along. Lemme ask Maya, though. Yo, Maya!"

She was on the other end of the bar, talking to her fiancee. I waved at Isla, who slipped off her stool and came to join us when Maya did.

"What's up?"

"You guys don't have a no kids rule for the wedding, right?"

Isla made a face. "No one we know has kids."

Not really my point. I lifted my eyebrows at Maya. She was more forthcoming.

"Uh, no? I really wouldn't care either way. Why?"

I pointed at Arthur. "I asked our biggest fan to come as my date, but he's got his kid on weekends. Can she come?"

Isla and Maya looked at each other before they both shrugged. "We're cool with that. How old is she?"

We all turned to Arthur, who looked a little overwhelmed. His eyes darted between the three of us, his voice a little shaky. "She's, uh… She's nine. You don't have to go through the trouble. I know weddings are expensive and you probably already have your guest list. I–"

Maya, my beautiful hero, waved his worries away. "Don't worry about that. The wedding isn't big enough for us to worry about an extra guest." She looked thoughtful for a minute before her eyes lit up. "Oh! Does she want to be a flower girl? Like I said before, we don't know anyone with kids, so I was going to just skip that part, but if she wants to do it, that'd be a major help."

Isla let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh, yeah, that'd seriously help us out. Your mom has been asking random kids at her church to do it because she wants one so bad. I didn't realize a flower girl was an integral part of a wedding."

Maya rolled her eyes. I'd heard plenty over the last nine months about the wedding planning. Maya's mom was a bit of a mother-of-the-Bride-zilla. She wasn't happy about Maya and Isla's vision for their wedding and threw a fit whenever they nixed certain traditions. I'd kind of been hoping she'd talk Maya out of having us play at her wedding, but apparently she didn't care as long as we played the songs she requested. Hers were the sappiest on the list, but luckily Maya stopped her at two requests.

Turning back to Arthur, I nudged him with my elbow. "What do you say, Artie? Will you be my date to the wedding?"

He flushed dark red, ducking his head, but he didn't turn me down. He bobbed his head a little, scrubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Uh, sure… Sophie loves dressing up and playing wedding. I think she'd really enjoy that. I can pay for her meal if–"

"Not a chance," Isla interrupted. "She's basically part of the wedding, which means her dress and her food are on us. What size is she? I'm sure Madam Demanding has an outfit in mind."

Maya snorted, shoving her shoulder. "Don't call her that."

They continued their playful bickering while I beamed at Arthur. "Looking forward to meeting your kid. Is she a fan, too?"

He shook his head. "No. I wanted to show her, but you guys don't have anything online, remember?"

Ah. I forgot about that part. I grinned sheepishly. "My bad. We're working on that. I honestly thought we had to go through a label to put our music online. But you could sing it to her, right?"

The way he shook his head, with a bit of horror on his face, was hilarious.

"I'll take that as a no, then."

"No, absolutely not. I can't hold a tune to save my life. Sophie's caught me humming a few times, and she says it sounds like I'm an injured animal."

"Ouch. Harsh," I grimaced.

He nodded, though he didn't look offended about it. "She gets that from her mother. She isn't afraid to give her opinion."

Now I was a little nervous about inviting them along. I'd heard plenty of criticism about our music over the years, and it was never easy to hear. And it wasn't like I could tell a little kid to fuck off.

Like he could see my trepidation, Arthur put his hand lightly on my forearm. "You don't need to worry. Sophie loves all kinds of music. When she's home with me, the radio is almost always on and she picks random stations to see if we can find something new that we love. The only reason I've never brought her along is because her mother has her on weekdays."

Maya had tuned in at one point and leaned against the counter to join in. "Really? Aren't their shows a little late for a nine-year-old?"

Arthur shrugged, drawing away from me uneasily. I was disappointed, I liked him touching me, but he shied away from me whenever people were around. I wanted to get him alone so I could see what he was like without an audience.

"I usually stick to her bedtime on the weekends, but I'm not against letting her stay up now and then as a treat. We went to the midnight release of her favorite movie once, just so she could experience it. I had to make her swear on her favorite toys that she'd never tell her mother, but she was happy to keep it to herself as long as I promised to take her again for the next movie."

"Man, if you were my dad, you'd be my favorite parent," I chimed in.

Arthur's face fell. He averted his gaze, frowning at the bar top. "I know I'm a lot older than you, but I don't think I'm old enough to be your father."

My mouth fell open. "That's not–"

"Harsh, Hen. Artie doesn't strike me as a Daddy," Ruby drawled. She was flirting with her feeder, who'd come for the show tonight, but apparently she was listening enough to torment me.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

The band ribbed me relentlessly, but my entire focus was on Arthur. He still looked dejected, and I hated that I made him feel bad about himself. I didn't even know how old he was. With the big glasses and the freckles on his nose, he looked young to me.

"Artie…"

"I, uh… I'm gonna head out."

"Wait! Gimme your number so we can send you the details," Maya pleaded. Arthur handed his phone over, but he didn't smile back when she grinned at him. The look on his face killed me and when he headed for the exit, I followed after him.

"Artie, wait!"