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was a band that deserved getting a record deal, it’s them. I really hope they make it someday.”
    Evan nodded. He sat motionless for the rest of the night, not drinking, not speaking, his eyes focused on Jesse. When Conquest finished their set and Jesse and his band disappeared into a room at the back of the bar, Evan headed out to the black Cadillac Escalade Marcus had hooked up for him. He climbed in and stared at the steering wheel, Jesse’s beautiful voice resounding in his head.
    “Jesse Alexander,” Evan whispered, caressing the name with his tongue.
The guy was incredible. His voice, the sensual way he moved on stage, his skill at instruments, playing keyboard, guitar, and bass, switching between them in different songs with graceful fluidity all while singing and never missing a note. Jesse’s talent, with a little guidance, could rival his own.
Evan paused, the realization hitting him hard. Jesse just might well be his equal. A slow grin lifted his lips. A soft chuckle slipped from his throat, and he leaned his head back on the headrest. He felt giddy, like a warm, euphoric energy was rising in him.
He wanted to talk to Jesse, to meet him, to get close to him, extremely close to him.
    He stopped himself before the thoughts progressed. He didn’t have the right to allow himself even the slight pleasure of little dreams and fantasies, let alone the extreme pleasure of actually being with a guy like Jesse. He didn’t even know if Jesse was into it, and if he was, then what? What if Jesse started to really like him? What if he started to really like Jesse? He didn’t deserve to be happy with someone that extended beyond a night or two of physical pleasure. What he really needed to do was go back to his hotel, get his things, go to the airport, and…
    A melodic laugh like a lively violin concerto touched his ears, and he jerked his head toward the sound. Jesse walked up the sidewalk with his guitarist at his side, both carrying two guitar cases. Evan tuned his ears to catch Jesse’s voice.
    “See? I kept my promise. I didn’t fight with Mike, even though he totally sucked. But if he blows this bad next time, I swear I’m gonna throw him head first into the drum set.”
    Evan laughed under his breath. Yeah, he was a total perfectionist. He watched Jesse and Kenny walk past the driver’s side window.
    “That’s real cute, Jess. Now I swear, if you lose us another drummer, I’m gonna chain your skinny ass to the drums and make you play ‘em.”
    “Maybe I should rewrite the music so I could drum in a couple of the songs, but it’s ‘Vanish’ that’s the problem, and I need to play rhythm guitar in that one.”
    Evan listened to their voices recede. So he could play the drums, too. That pretty much clinched it. Like himself, Jesse was a musical prodigy, and here he was stuck playing in little dives struggling to get by. He couldn’t let Jesse’s talent be suffocated to where he might decide to give up his music altogether. Whether or not he deserved to be with someone as special as Jesse wasn’t the point, the point was Jesse deserved a chance to shine on stage before thousands, millions, of eyes.
    Evan fired up the Escalade and headed back toward the hotel, deciding he liked the car enough he would buy one of his own. Buying a car meant he needed a garage, especially if he was going to bring the two cars from New York he put in storage before leaving on his travels, which all meant he needed a house.
    An inward chuckle rose in his chest. He had made the decision to call Chicago his new home with hardly thinking of it. But Jesse had sparked something in him that he hadn’t felt in years, inspiration. And while not directed toward his own music, to feel it in regards to Jesse’s was just as good.
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One month later
    Greg Hansen sat behind his dark cherry desk and frowned at the numerical figures in front of him. It wasn’t good. The new studio the owner and president of Phoenix