Free His to Claim by Opal Carew Page A

know her deepest secrets.
    “Well, you don’t really know me. And I didn’t think you were staying in the city.”
    “I wanted to spend some time with my sister. I only met her fiancé briefly when they
     came to see us play on Thursday, and we didn’t get much time to talk. I can’t let
     my little sister just marry some guy without getting to know him.”
    She smiled. “And do you approve?”
    He grinned. “That depends. Do you like the guy?”
    “Mr. Ranier? Yes, of course.”
    “You call him Mr. Ranier?” He shrugged. “I guess he was your boss. Yeah, he seems
     a bit overbearing to me, but he seems to make Jess happy.”
    She nodded.
    “And as for not knowing you,” he smiled, “I wouldn’t mind changing that.”
    “Is that why you asked me to lunch?” She pushed a loose strand of hair, which had
     escaped the elastic that bound it, behind her ear. “You know I’m seeing Storm.”
    He shrugged. “I asked you here because I want to get an engagement gift for Jess and
     I want it to be something special. I thought I could ask your advice. Maybe you’d
     even help me pick it out.”
    “Oh, that’s nice of you.” She nodded. “Sure, I could do that.”
    The waitress brought their food and she picked up her fork. As she enjoyed a bite
     of her salad, she gazed at Travis.
    Just being at the same table with him set her off balance. Despite his tough-guy attire,
     he had a sensual aura about him, and she sensed the soul of an artist in him. She
     felt a strange desire to run her fingers through his sandy brown hair. As if reading
     her mind, he pushed a lock behind his ear, revealing three small hoop earrings.
    Why couldn’t she stop thinking about how sexy he was? Was she forming an addiction
     to rock musicians? Or with Travis, was the appeal that when he looked at her, he seemed
     to truly see her?
    He glanced up and caught her staring at him. A slow smile spread across his face.
    “So, darlin’, just how serious are you and Storm?”
    *   *   *
    The limo pulled up outside the coffee shop where Melanie worked and Rafe got out.
     He’d tried texting her about twenty minutes ago to ask her to lunch, but she hadn’t
     responded yet, so he figured he’d stop by and ask her in person. She didn’t keep her
     cell with her while she was working, so that meant she probably hadn’t left for lunch
     yet.
    He stepped into the shop and saw the smiling Sue serving a customer, and another woman
     he didn’t recognize wiping a table by the window.
    “Oh, hi,” Sue said when she saw him. “Um … Melanie’s not here right now.”
    “That’s too bad. I was going to take her to lunch.”
    “I’ll let her know you stopped by.”
    “Excuse me.”
    Rafe turned to the other woman who now stood beside Sue behind the counter.
    He smiled. “Yes?”
    She examined his face. “Aren’t you in Savage Kiss, too?”
    Too?
    “Yes, I am.”
    Her eyes lit up the same way he’d seen a thousand times before when a female fan recognized
     him, which boosted his ego every time. But right now he wanted to know who else she’d
     seen from the band, and when.
    “I thought so. You’re Storm, the guitarist.” She smiled brightly. “You’re all really
     good, but you’re my favorite.”
    “Thank you very much.”
    If he had been wearing his jeans, he’d have smiled wickedly and called her baby, since
     the fans loved that so much, but in his suit it just felt … odd being recognized.
     No one had ever recognized him as Storm when he was in his suit before. Actually,
     no one in Philadelphia had ever recognized Storm from Savage Kiss. The band was becoming
     well-known now, so if he continued to play with them when they were in town, it would
     start to happen more often. That could become disruptive.
    “Have any of the other band members come in?” he asked.
    “Yes, the lead singer, Travis, came in about an hour ago. He took Melanie to lunch.”
    Somehow, Rafe maintained his calm smile without even a