“Emma,” I say with a nervous smile. “And this is Sirius.”
Red turns slightly away from me, reaching for something on the side of his seat. When he turns back my way, I see he’s holding a dog biscuit. He holds it up for Sirius to see and says, “Can you sit, little man?”
Sirius’ butt hits the rubberized mat we’re standing on.
“Good boy,” Red praises. I think he’s smiling, but I can’t really see his mouth under all that hair on his face, but his eyes are crinkled so I think so. He tosses the biscuit to Sirius, who catches it with flopping jowls that throws a small thread of drool to the floor.
I grimace and say apologetically, “Sorry about that. I’ll clean it up.”
“Leave it,” Red growls, but in a nice way. “Dogs drool. It’s not the end of the world.”
And this time, I level him with a big smile. Red clearly is a dog person, and he’s already taken to Sirius. His eyes crinkle more, and I definitely take that to mean he’s truly smiling back at me.
A slight cough behind me, and I realize Evan’s waiting to come up the steps.
“Sorry,” I say as I turn left into the main area of the bus and then just gape at what’s before me. In almost a daze, I lean over and unclip the leash from Sirius’ collar. His nose drops to the floor to start investigating the space.
The sumptuous, ridiculously posh space.
I’m staring at a living area with blond hardwood flooring, a cream leather couch on the right, and two swivel leather chairs to my left. On the other side of the chairs is a built in desk with a laptop, and beyond that is a kitchen with tiled flooring and stainless steel appliances. I can see an open doorway leading into a bedroom with plush cream carpeting, as well as a bed decorated in expensive-looking linens. Sirius takes off to the bedroom and makes a flying leap onto the mattress, where he flops onto his back and starts wiggling around.
A warm, heavy hand on my hip causes me to jump, and then Evan’s pushing past me into the living area. With a wave of his hand, he says, “So this is it… the living area. There’s a desk there for you to work. Kitchen. Bathroom is on the other side of it, and then the bedroom in the back. It’s only a full-sized bed but plenty big enough.”
A sizzling jolt of shock slams into me and I blurt out, “I’m not sleeping in that bedroom with you.”
Evan’s eyes flash and his lips curve upward. He takes a step toward me and murmurs, “Your choices are that bedroom or you can stay on the second bus behind us. That’s where the band and a few of the road crew ride. They sleep in bunks built into the wall.”
“But… but…” I stammer, completely stunned by this news.
Then Evan bursts out laughing as he rests a hand on my shoulder. “Relax, Emma. The bedroom is yours. This couch converts and I’ll sleep out here.”
Amazingly, there’s a twinge of disappointment to know that Evan had no intention of sleeping in the same bed as me, but the overwhelming relief obliterates it. I’d simply die if I had to share a bed with such a gorgeous specimen of a man, who is so far out of my league it’s not even funny, not to mention the fact I really don’t like him all that much.
Liar.
“I can’t take the bedroom,” I say hastily. “You’re the star. You deserve the star treatment. So I’ll sleep out here.”
Evan grins at me a moment before he moves to the kitchen area. “You’ll take the bedroom. I’m a southern boy first and foremost and we have our manners before we have anything. I’ll be fine out here. Want something to drink?”
I shake my head. “I’m good.”
“We’re taking off, folks,” Red says from the front, and I hear the doors hiss close. The bus rocks as he steps on the gas and I take a seat on the leather couch, my head spinning. I hear Sirius jump out of the bed and come barreling down the short hallway, through the kitchen, and right past the living area where he flops down on the floor beside Red. I note he absently puts a hand down to briefly scratch my puppy’s head before he returns it to the wheel.
Evan takes a seat on the other end of the couch and that grabs my attention, so my head swings back his way. He stares at me, takes a sip from a can of Diet Coke, and then just stares at me some more.
It’s awkward and before I start fidgeting under his heavy gaze, I try to make desperate conversation. “I went over the tour schedule you emailed me last night. I was sort of exhausted just reading it. Forty-two shows over three months.”
Evan nods. “Pretty much. We’ll do a show, pack up, and drive to the next venue although in the cities where we do two shows, we’ll stay in a hotel for some extra comfort.”