Let Me Be the One Read Free Page A

drink?” Jason asked. Cass jumped up to help him.
    After making something for everyone who’d asked, he turned and fixed his gaze on Suzi who had managed to duck him thus far. “Nothing for you, Suzette?” Her name sounded awkward coming from him, more like a form of address than a name.
    “I’m sorry, I don’t drink, and please, call me Suzi.” Her face heated. It sounded so superior and condescending. Or nerdy.
    “Tonic water?” Cass suggested. “Cup of coffee? It’s a little chilly tonight.”
    Logan shifted beside her. He probably thought she was being difficult. Suzi would have loved a cup of tea, but that required heating water and messing with tea bags, making her more difficult. They might not even have tea in the house. Five minutes into meeting Touchstone and she was already a disaster. “Tonic water would be fine.”
    Jason delivered the drink and then sat down beside her.
    Suzi clutched the glass as her mouth dried up. She wanted to drink, but she was afraid her shaking hands would spill it. Of course, that would provide her with an excuse to go home and change. Earlier she’d rejected an outfit of dark wash jeans and a green sweater that would have fit in better. Except spilling her drink all over herself would be embarrassing too.
    “I just loved your last album,” Charity gushed. “‘Take It’ is one of my favorite songs ever.”
    “That’s off Chaos ,” Suzi corrected softly, focused on her tonic water.
    “What’s that?” Jason asked, leaning forward.
    Suzi cleared her throat and tried to avoid staring into his dark, dark eyes. “I was just reminding Charity that ‘Take It’ was off Chaos .”
    “I know that,” Charity snapped.
    Suzi took a sip from her glass and gave Greg a hairy eyeball, pleading mentally for him to say something before Charity opened her mouth again. Unfortunately, he was giving Suzi the same look, and so were Toby and John, leaving her no choice. “I thought Bayonet Ball was a really interesting album overall. ‘Love Lies Weeping’ had a lovely lyrical—com—plex—ity.”
    Toby, John, and Greg were now staring at her as if she’d grown a horn in the middle of her forehead. She would have smacked herself in the face, but that would have been a lot more noticeable. And she might have impaled her hand on the horn.
    “Thank you,” Jason said. “That means a lot coming from you.”
    Suzi peered at him to see if he was joking. If he was, he hid it well. How could he not be? She’d just called his Grammy-winning, platinum album “interesting.” Dork, dork, dork.
    “We’ve read your books, of course,” Jason told her.
    Of course. “I hope they kept you up.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to cringe. That had been her automatic response since she’d started getting published until Logan commented that her books kept him up in all kinds of ways. Could Jason tell how close she was to hypovolemic shock? All the blood in her body must have rushed to her face.
    “Well, I’ll go see how dinner is coming.” Cass stood, breaking the spell.
    “Do you need any help?” Suzi asked.
    “No, I’ve got it.” Cass picked up the wine bottle on her way out.
    “So Jason, did you get a chance to listen to the demos?” Logan asked.
    Suzi leaned against him. He was so getting some tonight for rescuing her. He was going to get some anyway, but she’d have to make it extra rewarding.
    “We did. How do you guys like to work in the studio?” Jason asked.
    Suzi sipped from her glass, trying to appear interested in the details of recording an album. She hated tonic, but unless she wanted to start drinking, she had to get used to it. She didn’t imagine Jason would be too pleased to make her a Shirley Temple, even if she were able to ask for it.
    * * * *
    “That was fantastic. This is going to be so cool,” Greg effused from the phone Logan had hooked onto the dashboard.
    Logan glanced at Suzi. Greg’s enthusiasm wasn’t catching. She was