Hearts on Fire (The Hunter Family) (2 page)

"I have no idea.  Who was that? I haven't seen you look at a guy like that since Scott, and even then you didn't look at him like
that
.”

“He’s our cabana boy, or whatever the equivalent to a cabana boy is here. He’ll be right back, he went to get me some sparkling water.  Claire, he is so gorgeous!  Don’t even think about flirting with him, I saw him first.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Oh, please.  Our types are night and day.  When have we ever had an issue over a guy?”

Just then Zane came back with my water and he looked surprised to see a mirror image of me standing next to me.

“Oh wow, twins.  Here’s your water, Abby.”  He turned to Claire.  “Can I get you anything, Abby’s twin?”

She giggled at him.  “Cute.  My name is Claire, and I’ll have a sparkling water also.  And you are?”

“Zane, I’ll be right back.”

Claire looked at me with approving eyes.  “Wow, Abby.  Not bad.”

“I told you.”

“Don’t get too wrapped up in him, he lives in Mexico and mom and daddy would never let you move here.  It’s too far away from them.”

“Give me a break, Claire, I’m not moving to Mexico, I don’t even know the guy!”

“I know, but you know how you can get, Abby.  If you like a guy you get pretty wrapped up in him really fast.”

She was right, I did tend to fall pretty hard pretty fast.  My sister knew me so well. If I did end up liking Zane, I would probably be telling her how I was going to figure out when I could move to Mexico.  Our parents were overly protective sometimes and the thought of any of us moving away made my mother dissolve into tears immediately so I knew that it wasn’t a real possibility.  But that never stopped me from dreaming.

Zane came back with her water and we chatted with him for a couple of minutes before he went over to another group of people.

            Claire sat in the chair next to me and we both just relaxed in the sun, enjoying the perfect weather.  A couple of hours later we went back to our room to shower and get ready for dinner.

The resort had a five star restaurant and Claire and I stuffed our faces until we couldn’t eat anymore.

“Remember, Abby, this is just because we’re on vacation, we can’t eat like this every day.”

I laughed out loud at that statement.  “Are you saying that for my benefit, or yours?  Claire, our diets are nearly perfect so we’re allowed to indulge every once in a great while.  It won’t ruin our figures or cause us not to be able to dance anymore.  You need to relax a little, we’re on vacation.”

“You’re right, you’re right.” We sat there in silence enjoying the relaxing ambiance in the restaurant and I saw a couple who looked like they must have been on their honeymoon.  They were sitting right next to each other at their table, and he had his arm around her shoulders.  A deep feeling of sadness fell over me as I looked at the two of them, and I couldn’t help but think about Scott.  I thought we had something that would last and seeing the couple in front of me reminded me that I was now alone.

Claire must have seen the look on my face because she reached out and gently put her hand over mine which was resting on the table.

“What’s wrong?”

“I know I probably shouldn’t, but I miss Scott. Seeing that couple over there reminds me of what we used to have.”

"Abby, you deserve so much better and you will be better off without him. Someone great will come along and make you forget all about him, I promise.”

I looked down at the table and didn't say anything. I knew that she was right but at the moment it didn't make me feel any better.

"Come on, let's go back to our room. We have had a long day and I am sure that you are exhausted. You'll feel better tomorrow Abby, I promise.”

When we got back to our room, I got ready for bed and I think I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow.

The next day, we explored the resort and went horseback riding for part of the afternoon. We had both fallen in love with horses when we were little girls, so it was a nice treat to be able to ride horses along the beach on such a beautiful day.

We laid out for the rest of the afternoon on the beach, soaking up as much sun as we could. I casually glanced around wondering if I would see Zane but he was nowhere to be found.  I felt a little bit disappointed at the thought that he might have already left the resort, but I pushed that thought out of my head because it didn’t really matter.  It was not like anything would ever happen between the two of us anyway so I just wrote him off as a really hot guy that I met on our vacation. 

  At around 6:00 Claire and I went back to our room to shower and we made plans for that evening.

            Claire looked over at me as she brushed her hair.  “There is a really cool bar on the resort and they’re having a musical showcase tonight, so we should go check it out after dinner.”

            “Okay, but I don’t want to stay out too late, I am emotionally drained from all of the Scott stuff so I’m really looking forward to climbing into bed and drifting off to la la land tonight.”

            “Okay, deal. We’ll just watch a couple of the acts and then turn in. We can plan a bigger night out tomorrow night.”

            I let out a deep breath and tried my hardest not to whine.

“Claire, I hope you don’t think that we're going to go out every single night we’re here. This is not the kind of trip where I'm going to need to take a vacation from my vacation by the time I get home, is it?  I want to relax while I’m here.”

            Normally, I would be the one dragging us out every night and I knew that she was coming from a good place, she was trying to help me get over Scott, but I really didn’t feel like hitting the bars every night, at least not during this trip.

            “No, it’s not, don’t worry.  I just want to make sure you have a little bit of fun.  I don’t want you moping around thinking about Scott the whole time.”

            “Honestly, Claire, the gorgeous beach and weather are helping me forget all about…what’s his name again?”

            We giggled as we walked back to the room and she put her arm around me.

            “That’s the sister I know and love.”

            When we walked into the bar the room was completely packed that night.  It wasn’t a typical, small bar, it was more like a nightclub that you’d find in New York.  It was huge.  I looked over at Claire and she looked just as puzzled as me. 

“I didn’t know they had a place like this on the resort!”  The music was really loud so I had to shout.

“I know, I feel like we’re at home!”

We turned a lot of heads as we made our way to a roped off VIP area.  Our travel agent had arranged for us to have VIP treatment everywhere we went during our vacation.  Not to sound spoiled, but it was the life we were used to.

            We had been ballet dancers since we were little girls and while we didn’t get special treatment in class, we did get special treatment everywhere else.  As we got older we both wanted to be just like all of the other kids but we found out that it wasn’t possible.  The only other place we felt like everyone else was at our private school.  Everyone’s parents were wealthy and all of the kids were like us.  It wasn’t until we joined dance class that we were able to meet kids from different economic backgrounds.  Claire and I gravitated toward them because they seemed to have such a normal life, a life that we craved.

            I think my privilege pushed me toward guys who didn’t have a ton of money because I was not into the entitled rich guys at all.  When I brought home my first boyfriend my dad wasn’t surprised that his family didn’t have money and it didn’t bother him.  Most people in my parent’s circle were surprised that my father didn’t make a bigger fuss.  My father was a fairly private person so only his very closest friends knew how my parents met.  My mom went to college later in life and she was a star intern at my dad’s company, and they fell in love.  He didn’t care that she didn’t come from money, he always told us that it was what you felt in your heart that mattered most.

            I looked around the bar at all of the people and the crowd was literally packed wall to wall.  There was a buzz and an energy in the air and I knew it couldn’t just be because everyone was happy to be on vacation.  We decided to walk around the bar because we didn’t want to be cut off from everyone in the VIP section.  As we walked by a group of girls, I decided to ask them what was going on.

            “Hey, is there something special going on tonight, the bar is totally packed!”

            “This really hot band, Kisses on Fire, is playing tonight!”  A bubbly blonde looked super excited.

            “Kisses on Fire?”

            “Yeah, you’ve never heard of them?  They’re a really cool underground band.  They’re really big in New York.”

            Now wait a second.  If they were big in New York, I would have heard of them.

            “Really, what kind of music do they play?”

            “Rock, with a hint of funk.  Never heard of them, huh?”

            “No.”  I was starting to feel like my cool card would be revoked.  “What are they doing in Mexico?”

            “They’re on tour and this is their last stop.”

            “Oh, cool!  Thanks!”

            I turned to my sister who was chatting with some guy and I tugged on her arm.  She turned to me and raised her eyebrows.

            “There’s some band that’s supposed to be a big deal playing here tonight. They’re called Kisses on Fire, have you heard of them?”

            “I think I’ve heard Melissa mention them, she said they’re pretty good.”

            Melissa was my sister’s best friend. “How is it that
I
haven’t heard of this band, have I been living under a rock?”

            “I don’t know, you’re always the first one to tell
me
about things like this. I think you were so caught up in Scott that you have been oblivious to a lot of stuff going on around you.” She looked around the room. “They’re obviously really good because all of these people are here to see them. Should be cool.”  She turned back to talk to the guy again.

            “Claire, I’m going to go get us drinks, what do you want?”

            “Sparkling water.”   

She barely got the words out and then she turned back to the guy she was talking to.   My sister talked about me getting caught up in guys but she couldn’t seem to tear herself aware from that one.  She had a boyfriend back home but you would never know it from the way she was hanging on to that guy’s every word.

I went to the bar to get our drinks and as I was waiting for my vodka tonic the lights slowly dimmed and a guy from the bar jumped on the stage.

“Alright, alright!  Let’s make some noise for Kisses on Fire!”

I leaned against the bar and quickly downed my drink before ordering a sparkling water.  My sister would give me a really hard time if she knew that I was drinking alcohol because as dancers, it was not supposed to be part of our diet at all.  I liked to have a drink every now and then and she knew that and told me that was why I wasn’t as good as I could be when I danced, but I ignored her.  I didn’t think that one drink every now and then would make any sort of difference.  I grabbed our sparkling waters and as I was walking back to where my sister was standing I froze in my tracks as my eyes fixated on the stage. Standing in front of me, hands wrapped around the microphone, was gorgeous Zane belting out a gorgeous melody.  I was totally taken aback by how good his voice was, and then I was instantly confused.

How is he a part of this band that is on tour and working at this resort at the same time?
It didn’t make sense.

When I handed Claire her water she grabbed my arm, shaking it with excitement.

“Do you see who’s on the stage? How is that possible? He was our waiter yesterday!”

“I know, I was thinking the same thing. If I get a chance to talk to him again I’ll have to ask him because it’s really weird.”

“The drummer is so hot!”  Claire couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

My sister was acting a bit out of the ordinary and it was good to see her letting loose.  She was always the one who followed all the rules and did everything she was supposed to and I always thought it would be good for her to let her hair down every once in a while.

As I stood there enjoying the music
I
couldn’t keep my eyes off of Zane.  He seemed at home on the stage and the band was incredible.  The women in the room were screaming like crazy and I could see that they were focused on Zane, and for good reason.  He stood there, tall and sexy, in jeans and a simple white t-shirt that stretched across every inch of his muscular chest and arms.  By the third song, as the sweat slowly rolled down the side of his face, I wanted to jump up on that stage and rip his shirt off, totally not caring that everyone there would see me. 

Abby, get a hold of yourself! 
My reaction to him was the weirdest thing, I had to keep telling myself in my head, over and over, to relax.  I hadn’t had sex in a long time so I was thinking that might be the reason that I was acting like a dog in heat. The good thing was he was far away for me on the stage and not right in front of me where I could have really made a fool of myself.

The band did not play for very long, and when they were done the crowd erupted in screams and whistles.  A few women even threw their bras on the stage at Zane.

Claire tore herself away from the guy she was talking to and linked her arm through mine as we made our way back to the VIP section.

“What happened to Mr. Wonderful?”  My tone was teasing as we settled onto the plush couch.

“Oh, he was just a distraction, something to do to pass the time before the band started.  Speaking of the band, they were really good, didn’t you think?”

“Yeah, they were amazing.”  I glanced around the crowded bar not wanting my sister to know just how affected I had been by Zane.

“I still can’t believe that guy is the lead singer of the band. Something doesn’t add up. There is no way that he is a waiter/cabana boy or whatever they’re called.  Didn’t that girl you were talking to say that they were on tour?”

“Yeah, she did.  If we see him again we’ll have to ask him about that.”

Just then, a guy who looked like he was with the band came over to us and whispered something in the bouncer’s ear who was standing in front of our section.  The bouncer nodded and then turned to us.

“Ladies, the band would like for you to join them backstage.”

Claire jumped up before I had a chance to protest and she turned to look at with me with a semi-irritated look.  “We’re going backstage, come on.”

I reluctantly stood up and followed her.  My heart was pounding as we made our way backstage and I could barely breath. 

What is going on with me?

The guys were hanging out in a room in the back and, thankfully, no one was smoking.  I could feel Zane’s eyes on me before my eyes met his and he walked right over to us.

“Hey, it’s the twins, I’m glad you guys could see the show.  Can I get you something to drink?”  His eyes slowly traveled up and down my body before settling in my eyes.  I had to tell myself to breathe.

Claire launched right into him, her hand on her hip.

“Speaking of that, why are you a waiter at the resort if you’re a successful musician who’s on tour?’

He seemed amused by her irritation and he glanced at me as a sexy smile played at the corner of his lips.

“I never said I was your waiter, I simply asked if I could get you anything.  Like now, what can I get you?”