“You’re welcome, kid,” he replied, with a teasing wink.
“You, sir, are impossible.”
“Want some dessert?” he asked.
Tilting my head, I tried reading Rhys’s watch. “Wait, what time is it?”
“Almost six thirty.”
I slammed my napkin down on the table. “Oh shit, really?”
“What’s the problem?” Leaning forward, he gave me an impish grin. “Don’t tell me you turn into a pumpkin at eight?”
With a grin, I replied, “Ha, ha, not exactly.”
After taking a sip of his wine, Rhys’s expression darkened a little. “You didn’t tell me you had a date tonight.”
“No, it’s nothing like that.” Part of me debated lying to him and telling him I had to go to work. Where I needed to be was somewhere secret—something I hadn’t even told my parents or Jake about. It wasn’t something I was ashamed of. It was just something I wasn’t sure how they were going to feel about it.
When I continued to remain evasive, Rhys said, “Are you sure? You’re certainly acting like there’s some mystery man you have to get to.”
As he continued staring me down, I finally decided to give in. “Do you promise not to tell Jake?”
Rhys’s dark eyes widened. “You’re doing something Jake doesn’t know about?”
“Seriously? I’m twenty years old. Jake certainly doesn’t know half of what I do or don’t do,” I replied.
“Interesting,” Rhys replied.
“You didn’t answer me.”
Holding up his hands, he replied, “Fine, fine. But only if it turns out not to be something dangerous or illegal.”
“Okay, here it is. I have to get back home and change because at ten tonight, I’m singing at Saffie’s Tea Room.”
Silence permeated the table as Rhys didn’t have a quick response or retort. Instead, he sat motionless, ingesting what I had just said. Finally, he replied, “Did you just allude to the fact you’re singing at some club tonight?”
“Yes.”
“And just how is that possible? You’re only twenty.”
“The owner happens to be Cassie, the woman who owns the house I live in.”
“I see.”
Taking my napkin back in my hands, I twisted it nervously at his response. I don’t know why I was so concerned with his approval. In the end, he wasn’t my parents or Jake. He was just the guy I was completely in love with.
“You see, she has this band that plays during the week. Well, when the lead singer broke up with the drummer, she left the band, and in turn, she left Cassie without entertainment.”
“What’s the name of this band?”
“Pink Magnolia.”
Rhys’s brows shot up, sending my already frayed nerves into overdrive. I couldn’t help hoping that the name of the band had made him think of the magnolia charm he’d given me on my sixteenth birthday. I was probably desperately clawing at straws on that one. “I see,” he once again replied.
“Anyway, so after she heard me singing in my room when I was unpacking, she totally ambushed me to take the singer’s place until she could find a replacement. At first, I didn’t want to because Jake is the entertainer in the family, not me. Truth be told, I’m not that great a singer. But she was desperate, so I finally agreed to do it.”
“Saffie’s Tea Room,” he repeated in an even voice. “Am I correct in assuming this is named after Sappho, the Greek poetess?”
“Yes, it is,” I replied, twisting my napkin a little farther.
“The lesbian Greek poetess.”
“Yessss,” I hissed like the sexual orientation was supposed to matter.
Leaning in on the table with his elbows, Rhys cocked his head at me. “Let me get this straight. You are underage and singing at a lesbian nightclub?”
“Mmm, hmm.”
Rhys stared at me for a moment before howling with laughter. “What I wouldn’t give to see Jake’s face when he finds out.”
“It’s not funny,” I huffed indignantly. “It’s a perfectly respectable establishment. And the girls in the band have been nothing but sweet and helpful to me.” When he snorted back his laughter into his napkin, I said, “As a matter of fact, I’m having so much fun doing it, I told Cassie not to worry about finding a replacement. I would just stay on until I went back home.”
The mention of home sobered Rhys up. “You’re going back to Atlanta?”
Glancing down at the table, I sighed. “I guess I’m just a big baby. I miss my parents and my friends. I even miss my dog, Toby. Most of all, it’s hard not being able to see the twins whenever I want to.”
“But that will change when we go out on tour.”
“I know,” I murmured.
Reaching across the table, Rhys took my hand. “It’s okay to be homesick, Allison.”
“It shows a total lack of character strength not to be able to embrace difficulties and challenges.”
“Bullshit.”
I couldn’t help my brows shooting up at his word choice. But then I shook my head. “Oh really? I bet you’re never homesick,” I challenged.
Sadness flickered in his eyes, and instantly, I regretted my words. “There has never really been much of a home here for me. You don’t really bond with your parents when it’s your nanny who dries your tears after a nightmare or sits by your bedside when you’re sick. When I was far too young, I got shuttled off to boarding schools where I only came home on the weekends. Then I moved to Atlanta for college and now I live on and off of a tour bus.” Running his fingertip over the rim of his wine glass, he said, “There’s really never been a home for me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It is what it is. So while it’s true I don’t really get homesick, there are times I long for Savannah. I get homesick for my nanny, Trudie, for the familiar landmarks, and most of all, for my sister.”
Latching on to the mention of his secretive sister, I quickly said, “I hope to get to meet her while you’re here.”
Refusing to look at me, Rhys stared at his wineglass, lost in thought. “Maybe,” he finally murmured.
I didn’t have to look at his watch again to know I had to go. As if sensing my need, Rhys jerked his gaze to mine and grabbed his phone. “I’ll get us a cab, so you can make it home quicker.”