Free Rock n' Roll All Night by J.A. Bailey Page B

looked
embarrassed. “Not that Jazz doesn’t do a fine job of running this place—it’s
sure to get some big names soon—but it’s early days for the club.”
    “I’m happy
to be here.”
    Actually
he was ecstatic to be here. He’d leapt at the chance to play in Jazz’s club.
She’d sent the most formal email he’d ever read and he’d responded just as
politely but inside he’d been high-fiving himself. At a loose end since the breakup
of the band, he’d been debating going home and finding her. And now she’d given
him the perfect entry back into her life.
    He only
hoped she’d have him back.
    Hell, he
had time. Though working on a producing career, it was not like he was in any
hurry. He’d been savvy with his money from the band and he had a few
endorsements still paying out. If it took him a lifetime to get Jazz back, it
would be worth it. None of the groupies or model girlfriends had ever matched
up to his childhood sweetheart.
    “Lenny—”
    Jackson
darted his gaze up to see an exotic woman pause in the door behind the bar. His
heart stuttered as if it forgot how to beat for a moment and his jaw probably
dropped open.
    “Jazz!”
    She
appeared to physically shake herself before she stepped forward, letting the
door swing shut. Coming around the bar, she approached with a careful smile on
her face and a pensive look in her eyes.
    “Hi…
Jackson. Thanks for coming. We weren’t expecting you for…” She glanced at
Lenny, who backed away, perhaps sensing the tension.
    “Catch you
later for sound check, Jackson,” he said before hastening away through the rear
doors.
    “Awesome.”
    He didn’t
take his gaze off Jazz. Hot damn, she’d grown up nicely. Though she’d been
twenty-one when he last saw her, she’d still had that cute thing going on. Now
she was all woman. Full breasts stretched a black t-shirt with the club’s name
in gold lettering on it. A tease of flat stomach kept winking up at him above
the waistband on her jeans and those legs… fuck, they were long and lean. He
was willing to bet her ass was just the right fit for his hands. Shit, he couldn’t
wait for her to turn around.
    “You grew
your hair,” he stated lamely, wanting to kick himself.
    “Yeah,
uh…” She fingered a long curl. “Needed to look professional sometimes, you
know? Business meetings and all that. I even put it up in a bun if needed.”
    He
laughed. “Yeah, I could see that.” He shook his head at her incredulous
expression. “Actually, no I can’t. You’re still all rock chick, babe.”
    She lifted
a shoulder. “Not exactly but I still rock it when I can.” A slight smile crept
across her face and it struck Jackson just how Goddamned beautiful she was.
What a fucking idiot he was for ever giving her up.
    Well, he
was here now and he sure as hell was going to make up for time wasted. “Got
time for a drink?”
    She darted
a look around the empty bar, pressed her palms down her jeans and nodded. “Sure.
We’ve got a few hours until the staff turn up. I kinda thought you wouldn’t
turn up until the last minute, what with you being a big star an’ all.”
    “Yeah,
well I don’t have much on my plate at the moment.”
    They both
strolled behind the bar. “Whisky?”
    Ah, so she
remembered. “Yeah, please.”
    She poured
him a generous measure and then herself one, knocking it back quickly before
leaning back against the bar to eye him. “I’m sorry the band split.”
    “Yeah,
well these things happen. It couldn’t last forever.”
    “It must
have been a big blow. You guys were at the top of your game. Everyone was
pretty surprised when you announced the split.”
    Jackson
was all right about it now, but he had to admit it had been a blow. They had
been at the top. In some ways, he’d expected it to last forever. Thanks to guys
like the Rolling Stones, it was cool to be an aging rocker. But the break had
given him a chance to assess his life. All the touring, the constant pressure…
at